Faith in Us

8.

Robert sat on the couch in the tour bus, eyes trained onto the window as the bus drove down the bumpy road. The bus was silent, everyone was exhausted- Robert felt bad for all the workers who had to endure this shitty tour. Robert sighed and laid his chin on his knees, drumming his fingers on his calf before the bus slowed down. "This it lol?" Chris asked, who was standing next to the bus driver, helping with navigation.

"Yeah- thanks." lol said, grabbing all of his things and approaching the front of the bus while a few others got out to grab lol's drum set and other gear. Robert sighed softly, opening his eyes once more and turning away from the window; placing his feet down onto the ground. "Who's next chris?" Robert asked quietly, doing his best to pay Simon no mind.

"You are actually." Chris called, suddenly leaving the bus since a few of the blokes carrying lol's gear were struggling a little. Robert sniffed a little before leaning back against the couch, eyes lingering at his feet before he heard Simon scoff.

"Typical.." Simon uttered, sounding bitter- like he was looking to start some type of confrontation. Robert set his jaw, eyes darting up to look at Simon (who was steadily staring him down a good majority of the ride back).

"What?" Robert said, lips turning into a frown.

"You. you're fucking typical. You must hate everyone in the band if you're so fucking eager to leave." Simon hissed, his dark glare never leaving Robert's face.

Robert opened his mouth to say something back- however he realized that this was nothing more than Simon trying to get a reaction out of him. Robert pursed his lips, staring at Simon before simply turning away and ignoring him.

That was the best Robert could do- it was the only thing he could think of to just make Simon stop. However, Robert should have known better...

"What? Don't have anything to say? That's new- usually you have so much to say about everything." Simon hissed, getting frustrated from Robert's lack of emotion.

A heavy sigh came from robert.

"Just stop simon- I've already told you that after this tour is over, I'm done. I can't continue doing something I hate- it's killing me." Robert said quietly, still not meeting Simon's harsh gaze. "And i- i don't.... I'm not going to let you get inside my head anymore. If you're so upset about this then why don't you make a band with gary.'' Robert said that last part quietly, ending the conversation by standing up and leaving Simon on the couches in favor of going to the bunks and grabbing his suitcases and other belongings.

~~~~~

The time finally came for Robert to leave, and to be honest Robert was feeling a bit overwhelmed. Robert ran a hand through his hair, sighing heavily as he looked at his family's home. Robert chewed his lip, lost in thought for a moment before he felt a hand on his shoulder.

"Will you be alright?" Chris asked, having finished taking Robert's gear off the bus.

Robert thought for a moment before shrugging. "At the moment I'm not sure... I feel rotten- like a piece of me has been lost.." Robert admitted to chris. It was the least he could do. "I feel lost. I don't know who I am anymore..." Robert whispered, a deep frown resting on his face before he sighed and looked at chris.

"But... for what it's worth- I appreciate everything you did for me... for the cure." Robert said, offering a weak smile to chris.

"Ah... damn, Robert," Chris said, looking moved by Robert's words. "Come here mate!" Chris laughed, pulling Robert into a tight embrace. "You have my number- so don't be a stranger alright?" Chris said, wiping his face.

Robert let out a breathy laugh before nodding his head and patting Chris's back. "Alright- I'll be sure to." Robert said, looking at the sky for a moment until Chris pulled away and patted Robert's shoulder once more. "Alright then." Chris said with a toothy smile before leaving Robert and getting back onto the bus.

Robert took in a breath before looking back to the bus, spotting Simon in the window. Robert set his jaw, feeling his gut twist painfully; knowing that this was really it. There was nothing Robert could say to make things better, to make up for his cruelty towards his former best friend- hell Robert wouldn't lie if someone asked if he missed Simon already.

Robert clenched his fists, unable to look at Simon any longer. This was worse than any break up Robert had- he didn't even know how to handle this. It wasn't like they were lovers- they were friends. Robert blamed himself for letting things get this bad, however he had no control over how Simon reacted to things.

"This is for the best..." Robert told himself, grabbing his luggage and walking to the front door; not looking back at the tour bus as it pulled away and drove down the road.

The front door opened and Rita stood, happy to see that her son had returned. "Welcome home robert!" Rita said merrily, rushing forward to hug robert; who gladly returned it.

"Thanks mum."