ethereal [joe jonas]

chapter one

"dad, why don't sam and ray have to come?" i whine, not caring that i sounded like a toddler. i was sick and tired of this whole touring thing and my dad was pushing me to pack my suitcase faster so that we could leave. we had to be at the airport early next morning, where we'd take a flight from our hometown, chicago, to new jersey, where the first tour would be opening. then my dad and i, along with everyone else involved in the tour, would travel around new york and its surrounding states for two months. thank god i'd made a deal with my dad to drop me back home in chicago after two months, he'd fully intended for me to be touring the whole first leg of the shows, which lasted eight months.

"elly, you know the reason. sam and ray already have jobs and they don't need-" my dad pauses. "this" he says finally, gesturing to my suitcase. i roll my eyes. "i don't need this either." i grumble. my dad's tone raises slightly and i know not to push it because he'll flare up at me. i don't need a whole round of nagging about why i was going with him. "sam and ray were supposed to take over this business, but they didn't, so it's up to you!" my dad says loudly, and i sigh and go back to packing. sam and ray- short for samuel and rayna- are my older twin siblings, they're 23 this year. sam is working as a doctor while rayna is studying to become a teacher. i always admired how they managed to pursue their own career paths and not get pulled into what my dad wanted them to do, but i'd be lying if i said i wasn't a little angry sometimes that they were the reason i was stuck with doing this instead of them.