Thrive - Side 2

A week has passed and two are back on tour while Luca is now eight days old. Miranda’s mom just went back home after helping out, but Abby and I know that she wants her back. I don’t know how Jack is even dealing with this right now; it’s bound to get tougher.

“Hey, beautiful.” I said during Abby’s lunch break.

“Hey.” she said, smiling.

“What’s up? You look pretty comfortable.”

“I’m all stretched out in my car. My feet are killing me already. How about you?”

“Not much. I’m really cold up here in Maine.”

“Aww... and without me to cuddle with.”

“I thought you weren’t much for cuddling now.”

“Yeah, but I don’t like to hear how cold you are.”

“Well, I appreciate that. That sounds really nice right now.”

“You know what else sounds nice?”

“What’s that?”

“A foot massage.”

“How about I give you one when I get home?”

“I love the sound of that.”

“Hey, would I be able to talk to Scarlett by any chance?” I asked, scratching his head.

Now that we know how well she can hear us, we’ve been talking to her everyday; I love this so much.

“Of course.”

I smiled big when she answered me. She moved her phone so I could speak to her.

“Go ahead.”

"Hey, Scarlett. I hope you're okay and that you're treating your mama well."

"She kicked." she said.

I kept on smiling like a fool.

"I love you so much, baby girl."

“I miss you and your mama so much. You have no idea.”

She started tearing up and noticed her sniffling.

“Are you okay?”

“I’m fine. I just tear up sometimes when I hear you talk to her.”

She moved up her phone, so she was looking directly at me and I knew how much I wanted to hold at that very moment.

“I tear up sometimes too. The fact that there’s a human growing inside of you is amazing and that she can hear us is unbelievable and beautiful.”

“Are you trying to make me cry?” she asked, laughing.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to.” I said, laughing.

“That’s okay. I love you.”

“I love you, too.”

“She kicked again.” she said, rubbing her belly.

“Someone is clearly happy.”

“Damnit, Scarlett.”

“We teaching her how to swear now, too?”

She laughed.

“Why not? Just kidding.”

“I guess there are some All Time Low songs she can’t hear, then.”

“Well, she has the next best thing. You.”

I blushed.

“That’s all that will truly matter. Her daddy’s voice.” she added.

“Guess you’re right.”

“I am.”

She’s too good for me.

“I hate to let you go, but my break is almost over.” she said, making a face.

“I love you. Have a great day.”

“I love you, too. Have a great show tonight.”

“Bye.”

“Bye.”

It was nearing five-thirty and I was hungry, so I put my phone in my pocket and left the bus in search of food. I found Jack nearby and saw that he was looking at something on his phone; I figured it was either a text or a video of Luca since he was smiling. I continued to walk past him when he said something.

“Hey. You talk to Abby?”

“Yeah. Talked to the baby. She kicked when I spoke… twice.” I said, smiling.

“Well, you do have an amazing voice, Alex.”

I laughed and shook my head.

“Be serious, for once.”

“That’s fantastic, man. You sing to her, yet?”

“Not yet. I surely plan on it. It brings me so much joy talking to her. You know?”

“There’s nothing like it. Just wait till she’s here. You’re not gonna believe how amazing you’ll feel.”

Spoken like a true dad.

Night, baby. I love you. Hope you had a wonderful day!

I was chilling on the bus after the concert when I sent a text to Abby. Five minutes later, she surprisingly called me knowing how tired she is at the end of a work day.

“Hey. I’m surprised to hear from you, but I’m glad you called.”

“I’m glad I did.” she said plainly which was worrisome.

“What’s wrong?”

“Why are you assuming something’s wrong?”

“Your tone of voice. What’s going on, Abby?”

“I was rear ended on-”

I interrupted her.

“When? Is everyone okay?” I said in a panicked voice.

“Like an hour ago, maybe? We’re fine. I have a possible concussion, scrapes and bruises while she’s perfect. She matters the most.”

“No. You two equally matter.”

“But what’s key is that she’s fine. Who cares how I am. You realize how broken I’d be if anything happened to her?”

“I care, Abby. Don’t you ever dare say who cares how you are ever again. I’m already worried enough with you still having to be on your anxiety medication while you’re pregnant and with your history of depression and PTSD. You talk about how broken you’d be? You might as well put me in the nuthouse if anything would happen to either one of you. I love you both more than anything, more than what I’m doing right now.” I said angrily.

She began to sob and it was painful, but I had a right to feel the way I felt.

“I’m sorry.” she managed to say.

I didn’t speak for a matter of seconds; I needed a moment.

“Alex? Are you still there?”

“I’m here.”

“Thank goodness. Please don’t pause like that again. You know, I do worry about you, too. I know your history of anxiety attacks; it’s not exactly easy to avoid them and we both know how badly they suck. I need you in my life. We need you.”

She had a point… a very strong point.

“I promise I won’t do that to you again.”

“Thank you. There’s something else I need to tell you, but please don’t interrupt me.”

“Ok.”

“Someone was following me. Every time I would speed up, so would he. He was the one who did this.”

“Please tell me you didn’t have any flashbacks.”

“Of course I did. That sense of being followed felt a lot like what happened that night; I was so uneasy, that I felt like I was gonna puke.”

“I need to be back there.”

“I’ll be fine.”

“Are you sure? I can be there in a heartbeat.”

“I want you doing the other thing that makes you happy; that will make me happy.”

“Who was your other emergency contact?”

“Miranda, but I decided that with an eight day old baby, it’d be better to pick another friend. Brielle.”

“That’s a good choice. Do they know who rear-ended you?”

“No, but maybe they caught him on a traffic camera?”

“How do you know it was a man?”

“I can’t fathom a woman doing this. This is cowardly behavior.”

“Well, I hope they catch the bastard. I can’t stand the thought of you on the road with him still out there. You know, I don’t even know if I want you out there.”

“I need to be. It’s just me and the dogs.”

“At a certain point, you’re gonna have to stay home. You know that, right?”

“Yeah. Of course. Kinda looking forward to it at this point.”

“That’s good to hear.”

“Hey, Brielle just walked in. I’ll let you go. I love you.”

“I love you, too. Goodnight.”

“Goodnight.”

I hung up and sighed; I was worried and I don’t think it’s going to change for quite a while.

Notes