thin white lines | l. hemmings

08

"Get up, it's time to go!" Were the words Ashton used to wake Delaney up very early in the morning after she had trouble sleeping through the night in the first place. 

"I'm up already," she replied, her voice giving away her tiredness. 

"Come out here then, Dana needs to talk to you."

"Sure," she said, a little confused as she opened the door to him holding up his phone. "Just tell me who the hell that is and I'll be happy to." 

"Our tour manager," he clarified, putting the phone in between them both. "Here you are, Dana." 

"Great, Delaney was it?" Her voice came through the speaker. 

"Yeah," Ashton answered for her. 

"Ashton. I wasn't talking to you," her sigh was very clear even over the phone, which made Delaney laugh. "Delaney, I'm glad the boys found you and think you're capable but it's not an easy job. There is a lot of responsibility to go with this job and a lot of paperwork you'll have to take care of on the plane. Before you get here."

"That'll be no problem," Delaney told her, Ashton nodded as if he were a part of the conversation. 

"Good. I am glad to have you on the team, Calum sounded very excited about it so I'm sure you'll have fun. Ashton, tell Calum to answer his goddamn phone once in a while though, will you?"

"Absolutely, Dana. See you later." He hung up the phone and raised his eyebrows at the manager's high energy. 

"I'm gonna have so much fun." She faked a smile and snapped a finger across her chest to back up her sarcasm. 

"You never know, it might be better than you expect. This bus ride sure won't be but we gotta go on it anyway."  

She had already gotten dressed and put her stuff together, so she grabbed her bag and followed Ashton out the door and into the bus where the other three boys were already spread out in the seating area. 

"Can I go in one of the bunks?" She asked after noticing there were three on each side. Calum and Ashton shrugged and Michael was draped over a seat, struggling to keep his eyes open and Luke had his eyes glued to his phone. 

"Go for it," Ashton said. 

"Still tired?" Calum asked. 

"No," she shook her head and climbed into the highest bunk on her left, leaving Calum confused for a second and then a little, but rightfully offended. The thin mattress quickly became uncomfortable once she had climbed in, and even with the small light above her, the grey interior seemed dull and dark. She pulled the curtain closed for privacy and took out the phone that she had barely touched.

Willow's text remained unopened in her messages. But she knew she'd have to answer soon because on an average day she'd answer Willow usually within a few hours, and now it had been about thirty. 

So, have you talked to him?
ugh idk where you went but Dawson was asking about you
I think sam should be your priority here though for sure

Every word she typed out felt wrong. There seemed to be no way to say it in a way that said her message in a tone she wanted. So, she called her instead. It rang a few times before she picked up. "Wow Lane, is it really you?"

"It is," she let out a small laugh while also trying to keep her voice down as much as she could. "I'm sorry, I dropped my phone in the bath. We took it to the store to make sure it was alright." 

"Isn't it waterproof?"

"I think it's supposed to be but I panicked and thought I'd stay on the safe side, either way."