Hold a Smile (Demi Lovato) COMPLETE

Fifty-Five:Ready for the First Show

Demi's POV

My alarm went off on the morning of the first concert. I looked down at Avery curled up next to me. We've slept in the same bed every night so far, and we probably will continue for the whole tour. She's nervous not being in a familiar place.

I ran my hand down her face and pushed her hair behind her ear. She grumbled a little, then yawned.

"Good morning, Princess," I said in a quiet voice. She opened her eyes and grinned a little. "We need to get up. We have a long day."

"I'm going to watch you sing," she said while stretching.

"Yup. You'll be able to watch me the entire time if you want. You can even come on stage. People will love you."

"Are they going to be loud?" She asked.

"Yeah, but that only means they're excited."

She didn't say anything else. Instead, she yawned and curled back up again.

"No, we can't go back to sleep. Come on, let's get breakfast."

"I don't need to eat," she mumbled.

"Yes you do."

"No, I need to sleep," she argued.

"You need a great breakfast to start a great day," I responded.

"I'll eat after I sleep."

She has the persistence of a teenager.

"Come on, we can't start off the day late. We'll get rushed." When she didn't respond, I sighed. "Avery." Still with no response, so I lightly poked her side, which made her flinch.

"No," she mumbled into the pillow. I did it again, making her giggle a little. "Don't."

"I'm going to keep on until you get up," I told her.

She pushed my hand away when I tried again. I waited a few minutes before full on tickling her. Giggles filled the room, making me smile.

"Okay, okay! I'm getting up! Momma, stop!" She said, still laughing.

"Come on, let's go."

We walked down to the lobby of the hotel to get breakfast. We sat further than everyone so we wouldn't draw too much attention. Then we went back up to the room and brushed our teeth. We both brushed our hair out, and I put Avery's in a braid. We changed into some comfy casual clothes, and we headed out the door to the arena. We were going to be there pretty much all day.

Once we arrived, we did some final sound checks. The nerves were hitting me, even though we still had several hours before the concert started. Avery liked running around and hanging out with me while all of this was happening.

After lunch, we started getting ready. You'd be surprised at how long hair, make-up, and wardrobe would take.

I was waiting in the dressing room with Avery until one of the stage managers showed up. "Avery, remember Ms. Amy?" You're going to be hanging out with her all night."

Avery nodded and ran to her, giving her a hug. They had been getting to know each other for the past couple of days, and Avery really took a liking to Amy.

My hair and make-up artist came in and starting making me over. Avery watched intently, and when I was all done, my stylist offered to do Avery's hair and make-up.

"Just a little bit," she said as she applied some blush to my daughter's cheeks. "She doesn't need much. She's already so gorgeous," she said, looking at Avery as she spoke. Avery shyly smiled, then let her finish. Afterwards, she got some curls in her hair. When she was finished, she looked at me, smiling brightly.

"Beautiful," I told her.

"Like a princess!" She said into the mirror.

"Better than a princess," I said, kissing the side of her head.

All too soon, it was about time to go on stage.

"Nerves?" My manager asked as I waited backstage. I silently nodded. "It's been a while," he continued, earning another nod from me.

"Don't worry, Momma," Avery said as she took my hand. "You'll be great." I couldn't help but smile at my little girl.

Avery took Amy's hand as we got closer to the wings. The sound of the crowd brought back so many great memories. I felt at home again.

I waited for my cue to make my first appearance. Here goes nothing.

Geez, I JUST say that this book hit over 100k reads!!! That's insane, thank you!! Some say it's not that much compared to others, but it is amazing to me. So thank you for your interest in my book!