broadway, baby// andrew garfield

Chapter 33

Bella's POV

Already a month on tour and we're almost at our breaking point. The first two weeks of the tour were amazing. At all of the venues we played at, the energy of the crowds were blowing the roof off. Everyone was energizing us on stage by jamming out to our music and singing the lyrics back to us. Everything was going well until Angie stopped by one concert and told us we weren't putting all of our energy in even though we were. Despite us, and even the tour crew, telling her that we were, she told us we needed to fix it. We couldn't fight with her because she and many other investors pay us and we need to get paid. After that day, we've been trying our best to perform really well but at the end of every concert, we'll be dead exhausted. It's a repetition for us, being dead tired after the concert, waking up, and doing the same thing over and over again. When we were supposed to have days off, we would only have a few hours to ourselves because Angie has set interviews for us.

Now I'm just laying in my bunk as we traveled to Cincinatii for the concert tomorrow trying not to talk since my voice is about to be gone. It also doesn't help that I have a headache because of the amount of energy I've been putting in and everyone else on the bus is fooling around. Taking the nerf gun that I have in my bunk, I shot them to get their attention when an idea popped into my head. I got out of my bunk and texted them that we're having a band meeting. Everyone followed me to the back lounge and we sat down.

"What's going on." Dani asked and I typed my answer down on my laptop.

"You wanna leave the label?" Jack read what I wrote which I confirmed with a nod.

"Well I'm glad that someone agrees." Leighton leaned back in her seat.

"But why?" Andi questioned.

"Because Angie's been overworking ourselves." I typed my explanation. "Also, isn't it weird that we're not performing at any festivals?"

"That is weird." Jack nodded his head in agreement. "I know it's not because of Simple Creatures."

Simple Creatures is a duo that Jack's in with Mark Hoppus from Blink-182. They're about to release their first ep in a week and another one in a couple of months. Yes, they plan to tour but it doesn't affect us since we're done for the rest of the year after the Asia leg.

"But it could be a coincidence." Leighton reasoned. "There's so many festivals going on and limited acts to put on the posters."

"True but Sad Summer Fest always hit us up even though we branched out making different genres of music." I rebutted.

"I did ask Dylan about Sad Summer, and she said that nobody reached her. She asked Angie and she said nobody had reached her either." Dani told us.

"I sense a but coming." I spoke a little.

"But, Dylan did say that Angie was acting a little weird." Dani added. "I mean hasn't she been acting a little suspicious?"

All of us nodded our heads at Dani's statement. Ever since the third album, Angie has been acting a little money-hungry. I mean that's normal, I mean all of us acted a little money-hungry from time to time. The level that Angie's at is over the top. Constantly setting us up for interviews and photoshoots. We've also heard through the grapevine that she's looking for new artists/groups to join the record label.

"Y'all do have a point." Andi agreed while letting some of her southern twang out.

"So, what's the plan?" Leighton questioned.

"I don't know." I shrugged my shoulders while leaning back on the couch. "I don't know."

All of us sat there for a second before heading back to our bunks. Blowing a strand of hair out of my face, I looked at the ceiling of my bunk wondering if this was the right decision for us. I mean, Angie's label was one of the first big labels that reached out to us. We did our first studio album with them and it was a big hit. We owed a lot to them for making us successful but now I don't see myself with them anymore. I'm sure about the others but that's how I feel. There were already talks about me making another album but I'm just not ready yet. I need a really long break. I want to focus on other things that are important to me like watching Kara grow up and take her to school since she's starting pre-school this fall. I also want to build my relationship more with Andrew and the rest of my family.

We soon reached Cincinnati and we walked into the hotel after getting off the bus. Grabbing our room keys, Dani and I were sharing a room while Leigton and Andi were sharing one. Jack had a room all to himself which is not surprising. Unlocking our door, Dani and I walked in placing our bags down and letting out a sigh of relief as we laid down on our beds. Just saying, your bunks are not that comfy. Unless you have a thin mattress topper, you won't get a good night's sleep. I sent a message to Dylan that we were at the hotel and we'll be at her mother-in-law's house for dinner in an hour, hour and a half. Dani got off of her bed and grabbed a new pair of clothes to change into. Throughout the day, we've been just in our pajamas since we didn't really have to go anywhere. I just changed into a loose fitting t-shirt and a pair of jeans. Putting on some minimal makeup and tying my hair up, I slid on my shoes when Dani walked out of the bathroom dressed. The both of us grabbed our things and headed out of our room to meet the others before leaving the hotel for dinner.

"Hey, welcome." Dylan opened the door and greeted us with a hug.

We walked into the house, took off our shoes, and greeted Mark and his mother. All of us helped out with the cooking and setting up the table. We all sat around the round table while there were dishes of Korean food in front of us and filling our nostrils. Everyone filled their plate up with food and we ate the delicious and savory food. The band and I let out moans of pleasure because all this time we've been eating microwaved meals or the same sandwich every time we need to eat something on the bus. It felt so good to have a home cooked meal. Throughout dinner we complimented Mark's mom on how good her food was and we talked about stuff other than tour. The band and I also sent each other some looks knowing we had to tell Dylan what we talked about this afternoon.

When dinner was wrapped up, the band and I went to go wash the dishes since everyone else cooked. After all the dishes were washed and clean, we headed out to the backyard patio where Mark and Dylan were.

"I have a feeling you guys need to tell me something." Dylan said as we sat down around the fireplace.

"Yeah, we do." Dani confirmed.

"So, what's up?" Our manager asked.

"We might leave Angie and the label." I told her.

"Oh." She has a slightly surprised expression on her face.

"Yeah." All of us nodded our heads.

"You had a feeling didn't you?" I asked her.

"Yeah." She nodded her head. "I guess all of us had the same reason also. Do we have a plan?"

"Ha, nope!" Leighton laughed before taking a swig of her beer.

"Well then, we need to make one." Dylan sighed.

Everyone nodded in agreement and we started talking. As it got later in the night, the five of us got up from our seats and told Mark's mom that we thank her for inviting us. The car pulled up and we headed back to the hotel for a night's sleep.