JoJo, I need to see her. She's hurt, she needs me. I can't see, but I bump through the path I know towards her crib. I trip over a figure and land with a loud thud. "Where is she?" I look frantically as my vision begins to clear. "It's alright, she's here. She's right here, I won't let anything happen to her." Ricky has JoJo cradled in the nook of his arm as he then grabs me and pulls me up against him, I look at her, still breathing with light tears going down her cheeks. "What did it tell you?" I notice our daughter is beginning to settle back to slowly into sleep, away from pain for now. "What are you, guys, still not telling me?" At this moment, Ricky realizes he's caught yet again and cuddles JoJo close to him. "I asked you first." He replies innocently with his cheek pressed against JoJo's.
"In my past life, I've cheated, I've lied, I've hurt people, and I pissed one of your voodoo gods off because I was with three of her favorite men and I guess that's frowned upon in your culture—"
"That's frowned upon in any culture, Vanessa."
I ignore him and continue going. "And everything that has happened to this point is all my fault, the fans dying, Balz's falling, everything! And now JoJo is going to die and it's all my fault!" JoJo is soundly asleep now, her breathing steady. "Hey, calm down. Everything is going to be okay, my job as a Father and your partner is to protect you two when you can't. I will not let anyone else die, I will not let anyone else get hurt. Do you trust me?" Ricky sets a hand on my cheek, stroking it with his thumb and gives me a sincere look. "Always."
"Then let's get on this plane and fix it all."
•••
Waiting for a plane has never been so exciting for me till now, fans seem to notice us no matter how many hoods we put up and sunglasses we put over our eyes. However, a girl stands out, she is more pale than I and her black hair caresses her cheeks. She's tall and lanky, her skirt hitting at her knees and a white crop shirt reveals the skin under her belly button. Her boots lead to the top of her shins and add an inch to her already astounding height. "Hello, you are Vanessa, yes?" Her brown eyes lock to the bundle in my arms whom is JoJo gurgling in protest of being held. "Yes, can I help you?"
She bends over enough to peek at JoJo. "Who's the Dad? Christopher?" Chris looks at me and shakes his head. "My child would be more attractive." I roll my eyes at him and return to the girl with a small smile. "We are keeping it personal till the Dad feels comfortable with showing her to the public. What's your name?"
"Rachel Bennet, your singing is quite good. I just came over to say hello and see if it was you." Chris stands up, this girl was an inch away from being as tall as him! Chris walks toward the coffee shop where Ricky and Vinny are, Rachel sighs so my attention is on her again.
"Where are you all headed?" JoJo let's out her frustrated cry and she begins to try to free herself from the blanket. I fix the blanket so she can move a little more before answering Rachel. "Back home, personal reasons." I look at my little girl and tickle her neck to distract her from the blanket prison, waiting for Rachel to leave. She doesn't though until her family calls her back to them, two other girls and three boys have the same features as Rachel. Their parents look similar to them as well, they have blonde hair instead of black and they appear very tired from herding children around. Ricky, Vinny, and Chris show up in time for us to board our plane. "A mocha for my lady and here is your water, Ryan." Ryan accepts his bottle of water from Ricky as I take my coffee from Ricky's other hand. Renee and Gabe argue over who got a window seat and I smile at them. Ricky and I decided that Gabe and Renee should stay with us till Ricky's sister shows and claims them.
We then board the plane, Ricky and I settle into a seat with Josh and Vinny behind us. Chris is sitting by Devin while Ryan takes a chance in sitting by Greg in front of Ricky and I. I watch the rest of my friends from the other bands board, the roadies and crew took the buses home in volunteer so I would have to text Audrey later about how JoJo is and if I was nervous about being pregnant on an airplane (both were obvious and I honestly think she did it just to give advice).
Ricky stretches before sliding an arm over my shoulders. "Wow, so smooth, Ricky Olson. I am glad you know how to get laid 1940s' style." I say before getting out my book to read for the flight home. He sends me a goofy smile and plays with my hair. "I never said my flirting was better than Dallas Winston's, but hey, do I have a chance?"
"No."
I respond with a smirk and open my book. "And Dallas Winston was a teenager in the 1960s' smart one." He lays his head on my shoulder with a sigh. "It was worth a shot." When the plane is finally in the air, both JoJo and Ricky fall silent when fatigue takes over. I continue to read Warm Bodies, sometimes looking at my family to see if they are still sleeping or looking out of the corner of my eye at Chris and Devin. Chris is currently drawing something on Devin's palm while Devin has also fallen asleep.
"What are you drawing?" I whisper over to him, Chris glances over. "You want to look?" I nod, Chris gently holds Devin's palm so I can see the drawing of Tim Burton's Jack Skellington and Sally except he has etched Devin into the face of Jack and a girl into Sally's. "He won't shut up about his girlfriend so I'd feel lonely, figured I could go ahead and give him his two favorite things in one."
"It looks nice...You could be with that witch if you really want to." Chris stops drawing on Devin's palm and sets his hand back to his lap. Chris then caps the pen before tossing it into his backpack. "No, it's like when you see an attractive stranger: I'll see her once and never again, and even if I did I wouldn't have a chance."
"Sure you could."
"Not everything is a fairytale ending like what you and Ricky have." He whispers and then looks at my book, a smile making an appearance on his face. "Warm Bodies? Really?"
"Shut up, I don't judge you."
"Are tastes are wildly different though."
"You're right I have them and you don't."
I huff before going back to reading, I find myself starting to drift away for sleep instead of literature. "Ricky," I wake my boyfriend up and he groans in response "I need to sleep. If JoJo wakes up, play with her to keep her quiet. Wake me up in an hour." When I slept, I did dream. This time it was a very good dream, Ricky and I had JoJo along with another girl. JoJo and the girl were of the same age, possibly six or seven in polka dot dresses with their black hair tied into pigtails. Out on a green hill together, playing hide and seek, while Ricky watched them closely.
The dream was interrupted when the real world awoke me. I sit up and see most of the people are starting to depart the plane, I turn my head to see Ricky's hand on my shoulder from when he gently shook me awake.
"I told you to get me up two hours ago." I stand to my feet and reach my arms to the ceiling, revealing skin. I sigh before pulling my shirt back down and grab up JoJo from the carseat. "You were tired, I let you sleep." Ricky takes the carseat and we manage to get off the plane without much problem, we step outside to see the sun starting to set. "She's not going to sleep tonight." I mutter as I watch our daughter giggle and play with her feet, I see my car waiting for me, with a guy in the front seat. Now usually; your first instinct, if you were a singer that just signed a record label and is soon to be paid a large amount of money, is that: 'Oh, hey! This dude brought me my car from home!' Not:
"Ricky! Someone is in our car!" And run towards it, ready to fight said person for your car you think they're stealing, but that's how my mind is set. After apologizing to the driver and trying to erase the embarrassing moment from my mind while everyone else makes fun of me, I drive back towards the place I knew as my true home. My phone sounded it's text tone and Ricky picks up to read it to me. "It's a group text."
"Okay, but who is it and what is it about?" Ricky quietly sets the phone back down and folds his hands in his lap. "Ricky?"
"You'll get mad." I decide then that it's best I should wait till we get home if I read the text, I watch the line of cars in front and beside me as we move at a fairly steady pace. "So, what's our plan?" Ricky finally speaks half-way home when I turn the car down the next road. "That's the thing, I am not exactly sure. I think Hayley has a part in this, I just don't know what is. I am going to talk to her in person tomorrow and get some answers before we all go crazy and go into the demon nest with guns and shoot the place up."
"Aw, but why not?" I smile and roll my eyes at him. "As nice as that would be, we need to be a little civil about it. If every demon is like Braxton then we will need to be strong and smart, we'll also need more than three demons, a half-blood, a fallen angel, and two mortals. And I don't think Vinny or Devin want to be wrapped into this." I turn into my driveway, sighing on the inside to see it intact and welcoming. I ask Ricky to take JoJo inside the house while I check my phone. I pick it up from the cup holder and set a hand on my stomach while unlocking the phone.
I feel a small movement under my hand, I know it's hard to believe, but sometimes I forget I am still pregnant. "Demon biology is so weird." I whisper and begin reading the text that had been set up by Vinny.
Vinny: we can't let those guys get away for stealing are cars!
Vinny then had a picture of the driver in his own car. I almost slump my head down at the reminder, Vinny is not going to let me live this down for years. Some of the other guys have decided to chime in and are being smart too, in a way I am glad I made the stupid mistake because I can't help but laugh at myself and their stupid comments on it. I'm happier than I have been in years, I love it and I hope to keep it just like this. I text them all back that it isn't safe to text while driving before getting out my suitcase and JoJo's portable crib that I got from Audrey. Then I go inside my house to see Ricky already struggling with JoJo's pajamas. He stops when he sees me and scratches his head. "I tried to be a Father and do fatherly things..."
I chuckle at his thoughtful attempt to dress his daughter for bed, I then tug JoJo's night shirt over her head properly and she only slaps at my hand once or twice. I can hear Renee and Gabe brushing their teeth upstairs with the water running. "Hey, kids! Turn the water off, I can barely pay the bill as it is." I hear the water turn off and Renee apologizing for her brother and herself. I tuck my bangs behind my ear before picking up JoJo to calm her before bed. "I'll be in bed, unless you want me to do it instead." I shake my head at Ricky's offer, it's my turn anyway to get up and tend to her through the night. "I'll be fine, thank you though." I go to the room across from Ricky and I's to set up the portable crib.
After figuring it all out (it was pretty impressive for me.)
I lay JoJo on her back in the crib, then setting Audrey's old baby monitor very near her. There is hardly any room for the crib in my old bedroom, but she'd be close by and I am even considering maybe staying up late then forcing Ricky awake when I felt tired. "Goodnight, girly." Her little blue eyes look at me as if to ask, 'you're leaving?' I sigh with a tired smile, I squat down to her crib and stroke her forehead. She is so precious, so innocent, so fragile. I fear of the day when she'll hurt more emotionally then physically, the day when she comes home crying about what she did so wrong or why she could not have been better. I can not prevent it, I know that, but I can only hope she'll never have to endure the worst. I stand back up and flick the lights off, leaving the door open after making sure the windows were locked and the curtains drawn.
I enter the guest room to see it illuminated by the lamp on the dresser by the bed where Ricky lays. "Renee and Gabe?"
"When I left they were asleep, I don't promise they still are." I shake my head at him and grin at him. "And the best Father slash Uncle award goes too." I gesture at him with my hands, he claps his hands. "I'll be here for another eighteen years!" I laugh silently to not wake the kids before crawling to the other side of the bed next to him. Once under the blankets I wrap my legs and arms around Ricky. "Now, I know my girl is a total badäss, but I got to doubt her a little on this challenging the demons gods thing since...You know, they're kind of irritable?"
I know I can't exactly go charging into their little evil lair and claim that I was better and rules need to be changed, but at the same time I have a feeling that's exactly what I am going to end up doing.
"Tomorrow, I am meeting Hayley for coffee. I think she might have something to do with this, I mean, strange texts? Bad things happening after I get her texts? Seems shady."
Ricky sighs then takes my hand under the covers after turning the lamp off. "Just promise me something?"
"Yeah?"
"Don't get yourself killed."
[Song: Happy Song by Bring Me The Horizon
Hey, here I am:3 so I have a question for you all, what do you plan to be for Halloween? if you are a Halloween fan like myself and still do that]