A Defining Mistake

Chapter 12 - Reunited (part 2)

The coach pulled into the Bournemouth bus station. As it lurched to a stop so did Ada's stomach. She felt nothing but dread, stalling so that she was the last person off the bus. Though in a different location, Ada was reminded of the last time she joined the tour. Back then, she felt nothing but excitement, could barely stop herself from running across the arrivals lounge, hoping to see Jordan. Now, the thought of him standing there alone made her want to keel over. She didn't even know who was going to meet her, actually. The group chat was where she found her coach ticket, asking no one in particular what the plan was for her return. Jordan had replied, sending her the link to her ticket and simply: "someone will be there to pick you up." She hoped it wasn't him. After the way they left it, there was no way she was ready to have the conversation with him just yet.

Dawdling, Ada walked through the arrivals lounge, scanning the crowd through her eyelashes. Someone frantically waving caught her eye and relieved, Ada saw it was Sam. He swivelled his cap to the back of his head and pulled her into a hug.

"I've missed you, kid," he smiled. "Welcome back!

"I've missed you too mate. How is everyone?"

"Well apart from Jordan, everyone is already hammered so that's why I'm here."

"Yeah?" Ada replied nervous at the mention of Jordan's name. "Off to a good start then?"

"Yeah. Jordan was so mad, he's all stressed and extra bitchy today. Jo and Ryan have been drinking since like 8 this morning and they've been hassling him all day."

Ada desperately wanted to ask why Jordan was so stressed and moody but she didn't know how to casually ask. Saying that, she wasn't sure if she was ready to hear the answer to the question anyway. The taxi journey to the tour bus passed easily, the two friends catching up, and far too quickly for Ada's liking. Her nerves increased with each second.

Sam threw Ada's belongings into the storage hold of the bus and allowed her to walk onto the bus before him. Ada pushed the door open, taking a deep breath. A chorus of cheers went up and Ada was tackled to the floor by a tangle of arms and legs, attached to people she couldn't quite make out. When they let her up, she saw it was Jo and Ryan. Sam was right, they were all hammered, babbling incoherently as they greeted her. A quick scan of the room told Ada that Jordan wasn't there. She felt a small stab of disappointment, realising that he too was avoiding her.

The first week with Ada back on tour was excruciating. Ada lived in a permanent state of anxiety. Where Ada once spent every day in the makeshift office with Jordan, she now worked from the confines of her bunk. It was hot and the noise on the bus made it difficult to work, particularly when Alyx was awake. The lead singer constantly needed attention, his constant chatter meant Ada had to keep pausing her videos to hear him. Once he'd asked her why she was working from the bus rather than the office with Jordan and Ada had simply responded with a glare. He'd left the topic well alone after that.

Luckily for Ada, Jordan was either even busier than usual or he too was hell bent on avoiding her. Where Ada would have ordinarily stood alongside the crew during the before show meet and greets, she now pulled an apologetic face when she was asked and gestured to her laptop. She was called out on it, once, by Mikey. He didn't back down from a single glare so Ada had pulled the only card she knew would work. She feigned 'lady problems'. As expected, he'd run a mile.

After the shows, it was a little harder to avoid Jordan. His work was finished for the day and it was tour protocol to drink heavily at the end of the show. This, Ada dealt with by inviting the support bands onto The Heap's bus for a party every night. It meant the bus was so packed with people so that she couldn't even see Jordan half the time. A couple of times, she spotted him heading in her general direction, weaving his way through the crowd. Unsure if he was actually coming over to her and not really wanting to find out, Ada ducked her way through the crowd each time, finding another cluster of people to disappear into.