Billie Joe's POV
July 18, 2000
I stood next to my wife, Adrienne, as she took deep breaths after giving to our first daughter. I haven't taken my eyes off of her since she was handed to me. She was truly a wonder.
"Lillie Joe," Adrienne breathed out.
"It's Billie, honey," I teased, "I think you need rest."
"No, Billie," She chuckled, "I want her name to be Lillie Joe."
"That's my name!" I exclaimed happily.
"No, it's Billie, honey," she teased back, "I think you need rest."
I playfully rolled my eyes and kissed Adrienne's head, "Thank you. I love it."
I sat back down in my chair, still staring at my new daughter. Mike, Tre, their wives, and Joey walked into the room. Joey walked to Adrienne, while Mike and Tre sat by both my sides.
"So this is the new mini Armstrong?" Mike asked, smiling at her, "What's their name?"
"Adie wanted her name to be Lillie Joe," I smiled.
"Are you sure it wasn't you who wanted that to be her name?" Tre teased.
"Shut up," I chuckled, "It was Adie's idea. You can ask her if you don't believe me."
"I believe you, I believe you," laughed Tre.
"Go say hi to your new sister," I heard Adie tell Joey.
Joey approached me, shyly. He was only three years old.
"Hey, Joe," I greeted him, "This is your sister, Lillie Joe."
"Lillie?" Joey tried it out, "Lillie!" He shouted happily.
He shouted a bit too loudly because he woke Lillie Joe who was previously sleeping. As she started wailing, Mike and Tre took Joey out of the room. Adie was in her dressing room getting ready to leave, and I was left with my crying daughter.
"Sh, sh, it's okay I'm here," I tried comforting her, but it didn't work.
I tried rocking her, bouncing her, and shushing her but it still wasn't working. I could only try one more thing.
"Sing us a song of the century
Seems like American Eulogy
The dawn of my love and conspiracy
Forgotten Hope and the Class of '13
Tell me a story into that goodnight
Sing us a song for me." I sang to Lillie as she slowly stopped crying and stared at me with her big green eyes.
Adrienne walked back into the room and sat beside me, "I guess she's a fan of her dad's singing."
I smiled, "Yeah, I guess she is."
"Billie Joe, you haven't looked up since she was handed to you. Please look up."
"I can't," I whispered, my eyes full of tears.
"Why not?"
"Because she's the source of my happiness. I can't break my gaze and let her fade away."
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September 28, 2002
"Again! Again!" Lillie Joe commanded.
I was trying to get her to bed early since Tre and I planned for Ramona and Lillie to have a playdate tomorrow morning. I have sung her the song I made for her which I named 'Song of the Century' twice already and now she's asking for a third time.
"Alright, one last time," I sighed and calmly told her, "But after this, you have to go to sleep. Okay?"
"Yes! Sleep, after song!" She agreed excitedly.
"Alright, here we go," I tucked her into her bed as I sang,
"Sing us a song of the century
Seems like American Eulogy
The dawn of my love and conspiracy
Forgotten Hope and the Class of '13
Tell me a story into that goodnight
Sing us a song for me."
Lillie Joe yawned and released my hand, which I didn't know she had in her grasp.
"Goodnight, Daddy, love you," She said as she buried herself into her blanket even more.
"Goodnight, Lillie, I love you, too," I kissed her head then left the room, closing the door behind me.
"I love hearing you sing that to her," I turned to see Adrienne smiling fondly at me, "I can tell she loves it, too."
"I'll sing it to her every chance I get, just so I can make sure she'll repeat it without my help when she's older."
Adrienne kissed my cheek, "Let's head to bed, shall we?"
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July 16, 2005
"Sing us a song of the century
Seems like American Eulogy
The dawn of my love and conspiracy
Forgotten Hope and the Class of '13
Tell me a story into that goodnight
Sing us a song for me."
I heard five-year-old Lillie Joe sing while she packed her bags. It was the first time she's sung that song without my help.
"Hey," I greeted.
"Daddy!" She exclaimed and ran over to hug me, "Did you hear me? That's the first time I sang that song all by myself!"
"Yes, and I'm very proud of you," I hugged her tight and kissed her head, "Are you almost done packing?"
"I am done! I just gotta get my bags downstairs."
"You excited to go on tour with me?"
She nodded happily.
"You remember when we're leaving right?"
"In two days!"
"You wanna go play with your brother while I take your bags to the door?"
"Yes!"
"Okay, have fun."
I watched her run to Joey's room. He was eight years old now and almost finished third grade. After a long talk with Adrienne, I've managed to convince her to let me pull Lillie out of kindergarten to go on tour with me and the guys. I let Joey do it when he was her age and there were no incidents, so now it's her turn. I promised Adrienne, Lillie Joe, and myself that I would not let her out of my sight. I promised to always protect her and keep her safe and happy. And I never break promises. Little did I know, this mistake that I made caused me to break the biggest promise I had ever made.
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July 18, 2005
Pacing back and forth in the back of my band's tour bus, I had tears falling down my face. I couldn't breathe, I couldn't see what was in front of me, but I didn't care. I was retracing my steps, trying to find where I had lost Lillie Joe. She's been gone for a whole day now and I was starting to get worried. I lost her in New York. Mike, Tre, and I were all sweaty and exhausted after a long show and made our way back to our dressing room. They guys collapsed on the couches while I wiped my face. While doing that, i couldn't help but feel like I was forgetting something. After a while of thinking, I finally realized the lack of laughter and joy emanating from my beautiful daughter, Lillie Joe.
I left my dressing room and asked around if anyone had seen her, but everyone had given me the same answer.
'No, I'm sorry, but I havent seen her."
'She isn't here. Have you tried checking-'
"You could try retracing your steps. Check your phone to see if you have any missed calls saying you left her at some specific location."
Then I came across a woman. She had blonde hair and blue eyes. She looked very young and sophisticated. After I asked if she knew where Lillie Joe was, she looked me dead in the eyes and said,
"She's in good hands."
I completely ignored her statement until I entered the bus. Mike and Tre had been gone for a couple of hours now, looking for Lillie. They haven't come back, and I haven't heard anything from them since they left. I thought of only one reason why this could be.
Lillie Joe was gone.
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