the tour

Chapter 21

I wake up to movement in the bed. It's dark out so it must be still the morning. Billie is thrashing around in her sleep and saying something inaudible. "No... no" she says loudly. I nudge her arm "Baby?" She doesn't hear or feel me. "Billie" I say louder and nudge her more firmly. She wakes with a jolt and sits upright. She's shaking and sweating. "Baby, it's OK. I'm here. Did you have a nightmare?" I ask her. "Yeah... I think" she says breathless. "Lay back down. I've got you" I reassure her as I pull her into me. She cuddles into my chest and I stroke her face and hair with my fingers. We both fall back asleep.

I wake up to find Billie's body intertwined with mine. I reach for my phone to check the time. It's 10:25am. Our flight leaves at 2pm. We've got plenty of time. She stirs and I try to stay still so she doesn't wake. Too late. She lifts her head and rolls over to her other side. I play the big spoon and curve my body against hers. She takes my hands and kisses the back of each of them. She turns to face me and pulls me into her. "I feel like fucking shit" she grumbles. Her voice is deep and husky. "You slept for like 12 hours. You should feel as fresh as a daisy" I say. "Mmm" she responds. "Baby, do you remember your dreams last night?" I ask wondering if she remembers the nightmare she endured. "I don't remember anything that happened after the show" she scoffs.

——

On the plane, we spend more time awake than last time. We play games. Uno being my favourite as I could always find a way to win. I even manage to get Finneas to join in after I beat Billie so much she gets irritated. Finneas is better than she is and we are even with wins. Billie keeps score for us. "This ones for the win" she says with excitement. "OK, if I win, you owe me dinner" Finneas says. "Hey! She's mine and you've got a girlfriend" Billie chimes in. I blush. I like being called hers. "Fine then, if I win, you have to give constructive criticism on songs I've been working on" I laugh and put my hands up. "OK.. um. If I win, you have to play a Justin Bieber song on piano during the next show." He contemplates this for a few seconds "And I get to choose the song" I add. "Deal" he says and holds out his hand. I shake it and say "deal."

I'm curious as to why he wants my opinion on his songs. Maybe he was just saying it. It still doesn't make sense to me. I end up winning by slamming down two 'Drawer Four' cards in a row. Now I have to think about the best Bieber song. I'm sure Billie will sing along no matter what the song it is.

——

Another day, another hotel room. I'm not bored at all but the packing and unpacking is tedious. "You asked me earlier if I remember what happened last night. Why?" She asks me. I stop taking in the view of Brisbane city to turn to look at her. "You had a nightmare and you were freaking out" I say. "Oh" she looks down at the ground. "I, um, I get them sometimes. It's always the same. I'm in a hole in the ground and I can't get out. Then the hole starts filling up with water and I drown." "That must be so scary" I say sitting on the bed next to her. "Happens all the time" she says shrugging it off. "Anything else happen?" She asks. "Well, you fell asleep on the couch so I took you to bed and you were talking to me but you were out of it". She stills at my last words. "Do you remember what I said?" She asks. "Um, you apologised and thanked me I think" I say, not thinking anything of it. She continues unpacking. "Hmm, OK". She says. What does she mean. Did she say something else? She does mumble a lot when she's tired.