Hero(A Newsboys fanfic)

Chapter 3: Florida and new faces

I woke up feeling more rested than I had in a long while. I looked around saw I was alone in the bunks but I could hear talking outside the door. I rolled out of my bunk and got dressed. I slid the door open. The boys looked over at me as I joined them.

"Good Morning, Layla." Jeff smiled at me. "How did you sleep?"

"Good, thank you." I replied. "Where are we?"

Duncan gazed out the window. "We just arrived in Orlando. We're almost to the arena."

I sighed and sat down on the couch. I felt like I should be happy. People were helping me,
I wasn't on the streets anymore. I had a little more money now, new clothes and products to take care of myself. But I couldn't bring myself to smile. I didn't feel happy. Just tired, lost, scared.

In a few minutes, we arrived at the arena. The boys and I climbed off the bus and waked inside while the crew started unloading all the gear. We waled into the main area, where the chairs in the floor section and stage were already set up.

"Where are the girls?" Michael asked, looking around.

"I just let them know we're here." Duncan answered.

He, Michael and Jeff continued to talk amongst themselves. Jody turned and looked at me with a soft look in his eyes.

"How are you holding up?" He asked.

How was I holding up? I didn't know, truthfully. I wanted to say good, that I was feeling better but that would be a lie.

"Fine, I guess." I say as I shove my hands into the pockets of my jacket. "I just wanna say—"

"Daddy!"

Suddenly, a little girl who looked around four years old came sprinting at us. She run up to Duncan who bent down and scooped her into his arms. Two women followed her and they looked around my age. One of them, who based on the resemblance I could guess was the little girl's mother, craddled another little baby in her arms.

"Hey, boys." The girl's mother said. She looked over at me and smiled warmly. "You must be Layla. I'm Avery."

"And I'm Mya." The other girl added.

"And the little girl is Aidyn." Avery pointed the the little girl. She gently bounced the baby in her arms. "This little guy is Ben."

"It's nice to meet you." I gave them all small waves.

The crew walked in and started loading gear on stage. "Well, we gotta do soundcheck, so we'll leave you with these three." Duncan said as her set Aidyn down.

"Will you be alright?" Michael asked.

I nodded. "I think so."

The boys started heading up on stage and the girls and I sat on the front row in the floor section.

"The guys already told us everything." Mya said. "We're so sorry for everything you've gone through. But we promise we're gonna help you."

"Thanks." I ran my hand along my arm. "I really appreciate it."

"Hey Avery, Mya." One of the boys' crew members walked up to us. "Can you come help with something?"

"Sure." Mya stood up and began following the crew member. "We'll be back."

"Aidyn, do you wann stay here and watch the soundcheck?" Avery asked her daughter.

"Uh huh." Aidyn replied, nodding her head eagerly.

"Do you think you can hold Ben for a couple of minutes?"

"Yeah!" Aidyn stuck her arms out.

Avery have a curt nod. "Okay. We'll be back in a bit." She bent down and gently placed Ben in Aidyn's arm. "Be gentle." Once she was sure her daughter had a good hold on the baby, she turned and followed after Mya and the crew member.

Aidyn gently rocked back and forth. She looked up at me, her bright blue eyes were sparkling with excitement. "This is my baby brother."

I gave her a small smile. "How old is he?"

"He's Two months." Aidyn answered and held up two fingers.

"I have a little brother too." I told her. "He's not as little and yous though."

"Is he older than me?" Aidyn asked, curiously.

"Yeah. He's sixteen."

Aidyn's eyes widened. "That's a lot older than me. What's his name?"

"His name's Adam."

Talking about my brother, made me realize how much this whole thing was affecting him too. I left him alone with our father. Adam's relationship with out dad was never as strong as his relationship with me or our mother. Ever since she died, I was all Adam knew. I was his guardian. And now he's stuck with our father. He doesn't have me anymore.

{*.*.*.*}

I could hear the crowd getting excited as they waited for the boys. I had never been to a Newsboys show before. My family went to other Christian artists concerts back when my mother was still alive but from the hype I was getting from the girls, I guess I was in for a treat tonight.

After a couple more minutes of waiting, the bous came out of their dressing room. They waited on standby while waiting for their little intro to start. Jody grabbed his guitar and walked over to me.

"What we you gonna say earlier?" He asked.

"Oh I-,"I ran my hand up and down my arm. "I was just gonna say thank you for stopping your bandmates from asking me more questions last night. I didn't really wanna talk about what happened but didn't want to be rude."

Jody smiled softly. "You're welcome."

The intro for the boys started playing and the guys went on stage and got the show underway. The show was amazing and lifted my spirits a little as I was reminded of some of the shows I saw with my family when my mother was still here. 

Halfway through the show I walked outside the venue, back out where the bus was parked. I looked up at the night sky. Millions upon millions of stars dotted the sky but there was one, bigger and sparkling brighter than all the others.

A sudden calm came over me. But it didn't last long as I started to feel my heart l ache. I starred up at the star.

Please Mom. Watch over Adam.