Vegas;

Chapter 18

It had been about a month or so since we were on tour with the boys, day after day had been the same thing. A couple shows, switched beds, laundry, hotels, doing a few things on our days off and a bit of drinking. It wasn't that I was bored -- far from it. I was having the best time of my life, and I had pictures to prove it. Every moment was amazing but it took a huge toll on me. I could only imagine what it was doing to the boys, who actually had to perform on top of everything. 

Jack and I had gotten closer, getting over the new relationship closeness, and had found a balance between his friends and I. Allison and Alex's relationship had grown stronger, also. They weren't afraid to show people they were together, and that made me happy. I'm glad that we both found someone to make us happy. Especially her. She's had such troubles with boys in her past, and now she had someone who treated her right, and not as selfish. 

Our next stop was Maryland. The boy's home town. Jack had told me that he was going to show me all the spots that he use to go when he was a little kid, and I couldn't wait. The bus had dropped us off at certain houses, Jack and I were the third ones off. 

It was a nice house. It wasn't big, but it wasn't small either. We had walked in as Jack knocked on the door, and looked around. "Mom?" He asked. 

"I'm in the kitchen," she said. She had a slight accent and the house smelt like vanilla with a touch of rosemary and lavender. It was clean, and the colors were a bit ordinary; it seemed to have been a mix of an old person's house and an older adult's house. 

"Mom, I brought someone over," Jack said, taking my hand and leading me towards her. We had met halfway between the kitchen and the hallway as she wiped her hands on a patterned towel. Her face was gorgeous and she wore simple pants and a shirt with a button up sweater over it. They had hugged and she smiled, rubbing his back. 

"Oh, Jack, I've missed you so much," she said. "How is everything going?" 

"It's pretty good," he said parting and turning 90 degrees, so he was between us. "Mom, this is Emily, she's the girl I've been telling you about." Jack had the biggest smile on his face as he held out his hand, a gesture instead of pointing to me. 

I let out a nervous chuckle and kept my hand tucked into my body as I waved to her. "Hi," I said. 

She held out her hand and I took it, shaking it then giving me a quick hug. It was slightly cold, but I'm sure whatever she was doing prior to us walking in made them that way. Perhaps doing dishes. "Hi, Emily, I'm Joyce," she said. Her voice had a sweet note to it, and she seemed to be the perfect mom. 

"What are you doing, mom?" Jack asked, looking into the kitchen. 

"Oh, I was making brownies before dinner. Are you staying?" 

"Yeah, for sure. You know I love to stay for dinner. It's always nice to have a home-cooked meal instead of fast food or something from the frozen section of the store." She nodded as we walked into the kitchen, sitting down at the table. It was nice, and seemed heavy, but you never knew. "Where's dad?" He asked looking around. 

"Golfing," she said. 

"When will he be home?" 

"Just before dinner," she said. 

I had stayed quiet, barely listening to their chit-chatter and just thought about the past few months. 

There had been a few happy times, laughing, wrestling (and naked wrestling, as some might say), and of course fights. They weren't ever big, but everyone was starting to get on each others nerves one day and it was just awkward. I guess it was because Alex was trying to be funny about something, but it was just the wrong place at the wrong time.