After Headlines

26: Family Matters

" Hey Cinnamon." Sky strolled to Cara's spot in the pit.

" Hi liebling." She smiled at him over her shoulder. He pressed a kiss to her forehead.

" Don't you have to get ready for a show?" She smirked.

" Nah, I'm quite content right here." He shook his head. 

" You guys aren't gonna start making out, are you?" Leonard, the cellist, asked from a few seats over.

" Funny." Cara said dryly.

" I thought it was pretty funny." Tyler, the pianist, commented.

oOOo

Bexley and Josh stood center stage as they took their bows. The audience cheered as the cast filled off the stage. Bexley thought she caught a glimpse of someone familiar, someone she didn't want to see.

" Josh." She grabbed his hand as they went backstage.

" Yeah?" He turned to her. She paused for a moment.

" Nothing." She smiled.

" Okay." He threw her a confused look, smiling nonetheless.

" Hi!" Penny basically launched herself into Josh's arms as they went to their dressing rooms.

" Hey kiddo." Josh laughed, spinning her around. Penny squealed with laughter.

" Come on, let's go to stage door!" JoJo jogged past them.

oOOo

" Can I have mac and cheese?" Penny asked Bexley quietly. The Toursies gang, plus Natalie, went to a restaurant down the road from the theater.

" Of course, sweetie." Bexley smiled. She glanced at the man a few tables over. She could barely see his face but there was something eerily familiar about him.

" You okay?" Josh whispered, his hand resting on her thigh.

" Yeah." She gave him an assuring smile.

" Okay." He nodded, but he didn't buy a bit of it.

oOOo

The gang made their way back to the lounge. Penny, Ben, Sky, Josh, and Iain were playing a really intense game of Chutes and Ladders. Bexley, JoJo, Michael, DeMarius, Anthony, Chaz, and Jeff did the choreography to King Of New York while Cara recorded on her phone. Nick and Natalie were sitting on one of the couches playing Uno. All was calm. Until-

" Bexley?" They all turned to see none other than Thomas Levy.

" Nope!" Ben jumped up.

" We will call the police if you don't vacate yourself in the next 90 seconds." Cara got her phone ready to dial 911.

" I just wanna talk." Thomas held up his hands.

" I don't wanna hear it." Bexley stated firmly. Josh stood next to her with Penny hiding behind their legs.

" Who's that?" He nodded to Penny.

" None of your concern." Josh replied.

" Come 'ere, Squirt." Ben picked her up, carrying her out of the matter.

" She's cute." Thomas commented, only to get no response.

" I just wanna talk." He repeated.

" Why should I do that?" Bexley crossed her arms.

" Because you owe it to me, as your father." Thomas replied.

" No, you owed it to me, as your daughter, to protect. But you didn't. Instead, you left me behind. So I owe you absolutely nothing." Bexley snapped.

" You're acting like a child." Thomas sighed.

" No, I was a child when I was being bounced from house to house." Bexley shook her head.

" And now you're being petty." Thomas shot back.

" Okay, you can stop talking to my wife like that." Josh stepped in.

" You should stay out of it." Thomas spat.

" I won't." Josh shook his head.

" It's true, he won't." Bexley nodded.

" Why did you marry him?" Thomas looked to Bexley.

" Cause I love him, and he loves me." Bexley shrugged.

" I'm sure he loves something." Thomas grumbled.

" Can I call the cops yet?" Cara raised her hand.

" You have 90 seconds." Bexley stated. Thomas stared her down.

" Fine." He left with a huff.

" Well, that was fun." JoJo commented.

oOOo

Cara was setting up in the pit when JP came up behind her.

" Hey-" He started when she whipped around.

" Another step and you will find out what an inverted rib cage feels like." She held the bow to his chest threateningly. He took a few unmanly steps away.

" Um-yeah, sure." He tried to play it off as cocky, it didn't work.

" Shoo!" She waved him off. And he left, quickly.

" Cara, you're also a badass!" Katrina called from somewhere in the wings.

oOOo

Josh found Bexley before the show started.

" Bexley-" His sentence was cut short when she grabbed his collar, pulling him down to kiss her.

" What were you saying?" She asked once they pulled away.

" Uh, I was just coming to give you words of encouragement and to tell you I love you." He replied dumbly.

" I love you too, now let's do this." She smiled.

" Ew." JoJo wrinkled her nose from a few feet away.

" You guys are so cute it's gross." She stated.

" What was that?" Ben wrapped his arms around her. JoJo smiled before glancing at the cocky couple next to her.

" Shut up." She glared.

" We didn't say a thing." Josh laughed.