(2) Overnight Sensation: An All Time Low Fanfiction Romance

Chapter 74: Almost

        I hadn't really processed anything that went on around me for the rest of that day. I could barely remember rolling out of bed and getting ready to help Vinny set up the tent, or going to catering. It was all a blur in the back of my mind. But when the boys started playing, that's when I got the call.

        Naturally, my heart soared when I saw "Dad" flash across the screen. I pushed it eagerly to my ear, basically spilling my guts to my father. It's the only thing I remember from that entire day in Floriday. I remembered it more clearly than any other moment in my entire life.

        "Dad?" I asked fervently, fumbling with the phone, in shock that he was calling me.

        "Hey Stella, sweetie," It was the biggest relief to hear his voice from the other end of the line. He almost sounded happy, like he was feeling some release of gloom from his shoulders. But at the same time, his voice lingered with a strange aftertaste. "How are you?"

        "Holy crap, it's so good to hear your voice." I missed the way my dad would greet me, and how that was the only way he ever did on the phone. He always called me sweetie when I answered his phone calls. It felt like my heart wasn't drowning inside of me anymore. "I'm -- I'm just really good now. What about you? How's work been?"

        "Works work.." He dismissed the subject quickly. I felt my eyebrows pull together in confusion. Normally, my dad loved to talk about work. Besides being at home with me, it was his life. He treasured what he did, even if it meant moving around a lot. He was a leader, and he got to prove that every day on base. "How's touring going? Where are you now, at the show?"

        I was even more puzzled to hear him be so enthused about me being away. Wasn't this the reason that we weren't talking in the first place? Wasn't this the reason I called him every single day to talk to him and sort all of this out? DIdn't he hate the idea of me being here, and want me home on the next flight out?

        "Uh -- it's been good. And yeah, the guys are on stage doing their thing.." I shouted back, hoping he would hear me while I walked away from the stage. I mouthed to Kara who I was on the phone with. She smiled and gave me a thumbs up in response. You really got used to the noise when you were around it every single day. I was watching Alex move acros the stage absentmindedly.

        I smiled graciously while moving between workers to get behind the stage. And I weaved through stage crew and friends back stage to the area where the sound wasn't as loud. I sighed in relief, feeling cooler even in the summer heat.

        "Sounds like a lot of fun." His voice was strained, like he was really trying to be happy for me. But I could hear it in his voice, the way his voice fell after he finished his fake sentence. It hit me that there was a reason for him calling, it wasn't just to check up.

        "What's wrong?" I curled my free arm around my waist, listening to his light breaths on the other side of the conversation. I could already tell that he was doing that small pacing that I did. It was the same thing I did when I was nervous.

        "Stella, hon, there's no easy way to say this," He was getting right to the point. But I didn't know if I wanted to hear about the only reaon he was calling me. "But -- I -- they're making me go to Germany."

        Oh.

        It was the only thing that came to my mind for the first few seconds. I couldn't hear anything else around me, except the exhales in my receiver that were getting louder with my lack of reponse. But I cleared my throat, fingers moving through my hair, squinting at the sky.