Adopted

Chapter 25

Sarah woke me up a couple of hours later. 

"Hey, feeling okay?" she asked as I rolled over. 

"Yeah. But the nap was really nice," I smiled. 

"I made lunch. Sandwiches. Come down, we'll sit by the pool and enjoy the sun, okay?"

"Sounds good," I said, getting up. 

Sarah and I walked downstairs and Grace was bringing a tray of sandwiches and a pitcher of iced tea out to the backyard. 

"There she is," Boyd said as I walked out to the backyard. "How're you feeling kiddo?"

"Okay. Better. The nap was nice," I said. 

Grace patted the chair beside her and indicated for me to sit there. I did. 

"Let's start again, okay? We'll talk and you can tell us more about yourself, and everything."

"Okay," I said. 

We sat and ate and talked and had a really nice afternoon. I was feeling a lot better than I'd been feeling since the hospital and felt almost back to normal. 

They left to go back to Las Vegas on Thursday, and Brendon was ramping up getting ready to leave on tour.  Sarah and I ran around doing errands, but she made sure I got plenty of rest in between.  Sarah and I did more shopping for more clothes for me and before I knew it, I had what could definitely be considered a wardrobe. I had never seen so many clothes in my own closet. 

I packed some of my stuff in my duffel bag. Sarah helped me pack and laughed when she realized we'd bought more clothes than I was used to, and that I wasn't going to have enough space in just my duffel. She got out another suitcase for me to pack in and helped me pack it up. We were leaving on Sunday for the first show, actually in Vegas, on Monday night. 

"Your grandparents are going to come to the show, and they'll hang out with us backstage," she said. 

"Okay," I replied. 

I looked around my room and pulled out my backpack. I would pack some of my books and my new Switch and the couple of games I had. I also had my phone and made sure to pack charging cords. I also packed my computer in my bag as well. 

On Friday we went to the pharmacy to make sure I had all my medications, at  least an 8 week supply.  We also stopped in to see Dr. Roberts and he gave me a good exam, told  me to rest as much as possible, but that I seemed to be doing quite well.  

"It would seem that some of the better medications are helping," he said. "You're lucky you  have access to them now." 

With a relatively clean bill of health, a whole set of new meds, and a few books on extended loan, I was ready to go out on the road for the first time. 

On Saturday, Sarah and Brendon had a bunch of friends over for a goodbye party.  Josh and his bandmate Tyler were there. Josh kept teasing me about falling asleep the last time. Tyler was really nice and talked with me.  Zack and Kala were there, of course, and Kala hung out with me and Sarah talking about the upcoming tour and some of the things we'd do while the guys were busy.  Pete and Patrick were there as well and eventually there was singing and music. Sarah sent me to bed at eleven and the group all quieted down when she did. 

Sunday morning, Sarah woke me up early. 

"Tour day! Let's get moving, huh?" she said.  I got out of bed enthusiastically.  Brendon was on and off the phone, dragging bags around the house, checking things. 

"What about the dogs?" I asked. 

"I dropped them off at the dog sitter this morning. I'm sorry, I should have let you say goodbye to them before."

"That's okay," I said. 

"Sarah, Jess! Let's go!" Brendon said, rushing by. 

We packed our bags into the car, and Brendon drove us to the studio.  His car was going to get picked up and brought back to the house by a friend of his, or something. When we pulled in, I saw a couple of buses, and a bunch of trucks. 

"What is all this?" I asked. 

"The buses are for us and the band. The trucks have the stages and the lights, sound boards, instruments, equipment and wardrobe," Sarah explained.

"I forgot my guitar!" I said, as soon as Sarah said 'instruments'. 

"No you didn't. Brendon got it and put it in the car before we left. Don't worry, we got you," she smiled. 

Brendon was in a meeting of some sort, and once he came out with the rest of the band and Zack, we loaded up on the buses. Brendon, Sarah, Zack, Kala and I were staying on  one bus, the band was on the second bus. 

Sarah and I got onto the bus and Sarah gave me a tour of the bus. 

"Every bus  is a bit different, so I'll be a bit unfamiliar with some things here, but they all basically have bunks, a sitting/living area, usually with a pull down table, and a bathroom. We try to avoid using the bathroom unless it's an emergency. Number one is okay. Number two is a no way," she laughed. "Unless it's an emergency."

"Okay," I said. 

"Let's get you a bunk. You want a top or bottom?" she asked, showing me the bunks.  They were like little holes in the wall. 

"Um, bottom, I think," I said. Imagining falling out of bed while we were moving. It seemed pretty far to fall. 

"All right," Sarah said, putting my bag on a lower bunk. "There are some drawers and shelves you can put your clothes and shoes in to keep them out of the way. There are also shelves on the inside of your bunk where you can put your books and your Switch and computer and stuff. There are a couple of plugs in there too, I think, so you can charge them and your phone."

"Okay," I said. 

"Alright, let's see what goodies we have on the bus, huh?"

"Goodies?"

"The record label and sometimes the tour sponsors like to stock the bus with snacks and treats for us."

"Oh, neat," I said. 

Sarah opened up some of the cabinets. There were chips and cookies and a bar.

"That's off limits to you, missy," she said. I laughed. 

We found a few more treats in the fridge - some chocolate and pop and stuff.  Then, Sarah and I settled into a couch and just... waited. 

About 10 minutes later, Brendon hopped onto the bus. Followed by Zack and Kala. 

"Alright, we are ready to go!" he exclaimed, tossing his bag onto the bunk beside Sarah's.  Zack and Kala took a bunk at the back. 

Brendon flopped down beside me and pulled me close. 

"Okay kiddo, you are about to see America in a totally different way," he said. 

The bus started up and we pulled out of the studio lot. 

We all sat and talked for a while. Brendon showed me some of the tricks he'd learned about living on a bus. We watched a movie and I fell asleep.  Vegas was a 4 hour drive away, so we stopped part way to grab some lunch. 

"We'll do dinner backstage in Vegas," Brendon said. "Your grandparents are going to be there."

After lunch we got back on the bus, and continued the drive to Vegas.  I fell asleep, more out of boredom than anything.