Chapter 23

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~Sarah~

After Rilynn sat at the table to do her homework, I stepped out back and called Brendon.

"Hey, Sarah, what's up?" he asked. "I go on stage in ten minutes."

"I know, I'm sorry, but something's up with Rilynn," I sighed. "She doesn't want to go to school, but she says everything is fine. Her teachers say that they've noticed something's going on, too, but she won't talk to them either. I don't know what to do, B. We're supposed to fly out tomorrow night after she gets out of school."

"Fly out tonight," he said immediately. "I'll take care of the ticket situation. She needs a break. Bring her out and let her be here with us a little longer. I'll take care of calling the school too. Don't worry about anything except for getting her here so she can be happy. We'll fly out tonight instead of tomorrow morning so that we'll be there about the time you are. Don't worry, Sarah. It'll be okay."

"Are you sure you want her to miss school?" I asked. "I know we talked about not letting her miss for band stuff."

"Sarah, I'm sure," he said. "She needs it. If she's not talking and she's having trouble at school, she must be missing us really badly. I swear, Sarah, I'm positive about this. I'll text you the details of the flight."

"Okay, I'll see you in the morning, B," I said. "I love you."

"Love you, too, Sarah." I hung up and walked back inside.

"Finish up, love," I said, starting dinner. "I'm going to make dinner really fast."

"Okay, Mom," she replied. Her voice sounded hollow and forced. I bit the inside of my lip and forced myself to turn around and make dinner. Dinner was almost done when I got a text from Zack.

Zack: Brendon had me take care of the tickets. Flight leaves at 10:30. Be on the plane by 10. Here's ticket details for the front desk.

He sent a picture of an email he got with all the ticket information. I thanked Zack and finished dinner. Rilynn finished her homework and put her backpack in her room while I set her plate on the table. When she came back downstairs, she sat at the table and waited until I sat down before eating. After dinner, she said she was tired and went up to bed. That night, I called a cab to pick us up and I woke Rilynn up.

"Hm?" she asked sleepily.

"Hey, honey, you can sleep on the plane," I whispered. "The cab will be here soon."

"What're you talking about?" she asked.

"We're getting on a plane tonight," I whispered. "I changed the plan. We're flying out and meeting them in New York in the morning. We'll spend the weekend with them and be back home in time for school Monday morning."

"Really?" She sounded more awake now and she sat up in bed. There was a small smile on her face. 

"Yes, really," I smiled. "Come on, I'll carry you out to the cab."

"I can walk," she said, shaking her head and climbing out of her bed. 

She ran downstairs and slipping on her shoes before grabbing her bag. I laughed to myself as I grabbed the rest of the bags and carried them outside where the cab was waiting. The cabdriver took our bags and loaded them into the trunk while we climbed into the backseat. He took us to the airport and helped us unload our bags before driving off. We walked inside and up to the desk, where I talked to them about our tickets and got them switched over. Then we boarded the plane when they called for our flight and I held Rilynn's hand until she fell asleep.

When we landed, I grabbed Rilynn's hand so I wouldn't lose her in the crowd of people pushing to get off the plane. We took our carry-on bags with us and made our way to baggage claim. We picked up our bags and made for the main hall so we could get into the parking lot. We were walking, when all of a sudden Rilynn yelled something and took off running. I lost her hand and I called after her, trying to figure out where she went. Then I saw him. Brendon had picked Rilynn up and hugged her tightly, smiling. He looked tired and jet-lagged, but he was smiling. I walked quickly through the crowd and finally caught up. I wrapped my arms around Brendon's neck while Rilynn hugged Dallon.

"I thought you wouldn't get in until later," I said. 

"Well the plane left on schedule and we arrived no problem," he said, hugging me to his chest. "We got in earlier than planned and I wanted to surprise you."

"Well you sure did surprise me," I said. I looked up into his beautiful brown eyes, which told me that everything was okay. "I love you so much, Bren."

"I love you, too, Sarah," he said. "Come on, we already let the hotel know we're staying an extra night and I got you and Rilynn a room on the same floor as the band." 

He took our bags and carried them outside. Dallon carried Rilynn on his shoulders and rolled his suitcase behind him. I smiled up at her as she smiled, actually smiled, for the first time since we left Utah. She was wide awake by now, laughing and talking to Dallon and Spencer. I took some bags from Brendon and held his hand, leaning my head against his shoulder as we walked. 

"So what's the story?" he asked, watching Rilynn.

"I don't know, she won't say anything," I sighed. "I get calls from her teachers all the time because she just doesn't talk. She sits alone at lunch and recess and doesn't talk to any of the other kids. They think she has trouble with her homework, but she won't let me help her. She just constantly says she's fine, but I can tell she's not. I just don't know what to do anymore."

"Maybe she just misses us," he said. "I'll talk to her and if I can't get anything, I'll have Dallon and Spencer take a shot. It'll be okay."

"Thank you for this," I whispered. "I think we both needed it." He kissed the top of my head and wrapped his arm around my waist. I leaned against him and smiled softly at the sight of Rilynn laughing with Dallon and Spencer. 

Zack was waiting for us outside with the tour bus. Dallon lifted Rilynn off his shoulders and helped her into the bus before climbing in after her. Zack took all of the bags and put them in the compartment so that they were out of the way. Spencer followed Dallon and Rilynn in. Brendon let me climb in before him and I found Rilynn sitting on Dallon's lap, listening to Dallon and Spencer tell her stories of the tour. She leaned against Dallon and hung on ever word. I knew she wanted to finish out the tour with them. I could see it in the way she listened to them. I could see it in her eyes. They lit up whenever someone mentioned music or tour. She loved music, I could tell. She was just like Brendon. I saw him in her every time music was the topic of conversation. His eyes lit up just like hers. He may not be her biological father, but I saw so much of him in her. I sat next to Brendon and leaned my head on his shoulder, smiling softly. He hugged me close to his side and we listened to them talk, Brendon jumping in with a comment of his own every so often.

*Y'all, I'm really on top of this, aren't I? So many updates lately... I've just been having trouble sleeping lately and the best thing for me to do is write and edit. So that's kind of why I've been updating so much. However, basketball season is getting closer, and that means I'm gonna be really busy again. I'll still try and at least get a bunch more chapter written and hopefully finish up this book soon. Don't fret, there'll be a sequel, no doubt! As of now, I am working on Chapter 33, which means I'm going to try and start wrapping it up soon. I like to have around 40 chapters per book. This one might be a little less than 40 because I think I want to end it after the tour is finished and start the sequel when they get back and Rilynn goes back to school. I may think of somewhere else to end this and start a sequel though, depending on where I end tour. We'll see what happens I guess.

- A <3

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