Sarah
I don't know how we managed, but with the help of the four guys and my three kids, my house is spotless, there is food in the pantry and a crock pot in the refrigerator ready to be turned on in the morning.
My parents will be here any minute and a thought just occurred to me as the guys are walking out the door.
"Shit. My car is still at the hotel." Grace's eyes pop out of her head and she turns pale.
"There were a bunch of fans at the airport, so we had her meet us at the hotel restaurant instead," Ashton lies, calming Grace down. Thank you Ash!
"We'll have Dave and John drive it over. He'll put the keys in the mailbox for you." Mikey tells me.
We say our goodbyes and I curl up on the couch with all three of my kids. I have no clue what I'm going to do now. The tears start to fall again as the shock wears off and reality begins to hit, and they don't stop. When my parents arrive, they let themselves in because I can't move, and neither can my kids. Everything is a blur for the rest of the night.
Michael
We make it back to the hotel, and pretend to go about our business. Sarah's car gets back to her place like we said, but I don't hear a word from her. I don't expect to either. This is such a sudden turn of events and my heart is breaking for her. Things may have been bad, but she still loved him, and just like that, her world is turned upside down.
To babydoll
I'm so sorry babydoll. I'm here if u need me. Thinking of u. Goodnight.
I don't expect a reply, so I drift off to sleep.
The next morning I wake to a very short text from Sarah
To milkshake 2
Tks. Goodnight
We have a lot to do to get ready for Jingle Ball tonight. I was hoping to give her and Grace tickets, but I'm not going to be able to do that now.
As we're getting dressed to go, I remember about my jeans. It was such an amazing welcoming that turned wretched really quick. Now I have to wear blue jeans. I know the fans will get a kick out of it, so I decide to tweet about it, also knowing that Sarah will see it too.
Michael5sos: alright DC i'm wearing blue jeans on stage tonight for the first time in 3 years because all my black jeans are dirty. literally sue me
I post a few other random tweets, when Ashton comes in giving me shit about my jeans. He finds the dirty ones on the floor from yesterday, eyes bulging out of his head. Oops.
"That's it, you're out of the band!" he giggles. Since I'm still on twitter, I add one last tweet.
Michael5sos: @5sos plz don't kick me out of the band
I close twitter and we get ready to go to the show. I have to put everything out of my mind and I put all my heartache and frustration into one of the best shows I've done.
Once it's over, I text Sarah that we're heading out of town, saying goodbye. It's going to be another eight months til I'm back in the DC area and it kills me not to be able to say goodbye, but under the circumstances, that's what I have to do.
*********************
Sarah
The past two and a half weeks have been a blur. Somehow I managed to get through the funeral and Christmas. We received a box on Christmas Eve with gifts for me and Grace and the boys with no return address. I made them wait until today to open it. Grace got a wide assortment of band tees, and I mean a WIDE assortment. Based on the different bands, it's easy to tell who they're from, and which of the guys picked them out. They're all the same ones Calum wears, with a few extras. Mason got every shooting Xbox game that's on the market. Gee, I wonder who picked those out! Casey got a box full of books, all the series he wanted, as well as a wide assortment of other genres. Ashton! It's my gifts that brings tears to my eyes. There's a ton of pictures the guys took of us in Australia, all enlarged and framed (Ashton), numerous boxes of kcups for my keurig, with pancake mix (Calum), and a new iPhone, preloaded with all the 5sos albums (Luke, since he gave me so much shit about my android). But my gift from Mikey is what brings tears to my eyes. He made me an appointment with Kat Von D in Los Angeles, Valentines day weekend, with four round trip tickets and prepaid hotel reservations. I had shown him the tattoo I wanted to get, but didn't have the time or money to get it. It's a very special tattoo symbolizing Grace's recovery. And Kat Von D is one of the greatest tattoo artists in the United States. On top of that, he's paying for us to take a family vacation to LA. I burst into tears when I open it and Grace's mouth hits the floor. Mason's eyes bulge out of his head and I tell him, "I don't want to hear one more negative word out of your mouth about 5sos ever again."
"Wait, these are from 5sos?" he asks.
"Yes, Mason. Mikey picked your gift out. He's the gamer. He could probably give you every trick and code out there for each of these games."
"Okay, keep talking to 5sos, just don't make me listen to their music 24/7."
"Deal."
I haven't talked to any of the guys since they left my house that day, and I think it's time I do. They're in Australia so it's back to those phones.
To milkshake1, giggles1, luke1, pita1
Thank you guys, all of u for the amazing gifts. It means everything to me. And the kids.
I get texts back from everyone but Mikey, and my heart sinks. I decide to text him privately, thanking him personally, but I still get no reply. He's probably with his family, or duh, in his man cave. I put my phone away and focus on the kids and their excitement.
We eat some breakfast and lay around before we start to pack for the week at my family's. As I'm packing, another thought pops in my head. 5sos will be in New York City for new years eve. Before the crash, I had thought about going out but I haven't even thought about them until today. I'm not sure if I should go. I would love to see they guys again, all of them, but I don't know if it's a good idea right now.
I sit on my bed, procrastinating packing. I don't feel like going, but it would be good for the kids to be around the extended family and forget for awhile. I'm deep in thought when there's a knock on my bedroom door. The kids used to never knock, but recently, everything has changed.
"Come in," I yell out. I'm sitting on Rob's side of the bed, my back to the door. The bed sinks as it's likely Casey climbing on my bed. He does this a lot now, climbing into my bed in silence, just to be near me.
Suddenly my eyes are covered by large hands and a familiar scent makes my stomach flip.
"Mikey?!" I turn around quickly and see his beautiful green eyes smiling at me. "Oh my god! What are you - ? When did you - ? How did you - ?" He chuckles and kisses me quickly to shut me up.
"I just got in an hour ago and ubered here. I knew this would be a rough day for you and the kids, and we're going to be here next week anyway, so I flew out early. I wanted to surprise you. Grace let me in." he answers all my half spoken questions.
"But, your family...."
"Christmas was yesterday in Australia babydoll." Right. Timezones. "You're packing? Shit, I didn't even think about that. But that's okay. I can spend the week in New York. But I just wanted to see you. To remind you that I'm here for you." Tears are rolling down my face. I can't stop them. He lays back on my bed, pulling me onto his chest and I just cry. A few minutes later, my kids knock on my door but I can't speak.
"Come in guys," Michael answers for me. I briefly look up as they walk in the room and I go back to crying. All three kids climb onto my bed around Michael and I and we all cry, even Michael.
