The bus jerked, instantly waking me up. I sat up and rubbed my head, then my stomach. I felt nauseous, motion sickness was really starting to get to me. Resisting the urge to run to the bathroom, I laid back down and tried to close my eyes again. The light from the early morning sun peered through the window. I looked up at the window, watching the trees go by. Justin’s hand slid across my mid-section and wrapped around my body, pulling me close to him. I snuggled into his chest, trying not to remind myself how sick I felt. “You okay?” He whispered, he could sense the tension in my body. “Fine.” I lied. I didn’t want him to worry about me when he’s got a million other things to be focused on. He kissed my jaw line and rested his head back into the pillow. I shut my eyes and tried to get a few more hours of sleep before we arrived in Las Vegas. The bus quivered again, unsettling my stomach even more. Shit. I flew out of the covers and ran to the bathroom connected to our room. I slammed the door behind me and fell over the toilet. After a few minutes of heaving, the vomit finally ceased. I flushed the toilet and got up to the sink. I looked at myself in the mirror, my skin pale and speckled with sweat. My legs shook a little, weak from being sick. I washed my face with cold water and wiped it off with a towel. I checked myself over one last time before going back to bed.
“Elle?” Justin looked at me concerned. I put my hair up in a bun as I walked over to the bed. I crawled under the sheets again and laid down, calming my nerves. “You okay?” He asked, stroking my cheek with his thumb. I shook my head a little, “I’m fine.” “Motion sickness, huh?” He saw right through my lie. “Yeah.” He laughed a little, and I gave him a stern look. “Don’t worry, you get used to it.” I rolled my eyes and then covered my face with my hands, “This is such a terrible feeling, though. I just want it to go away.” His body fell next to mine and he wrapped me in his arms, soothing me. I sighed heavily and closed my eyes. We laid in silence for the next hour before someone came in. “Breakfast!” Scooter’s voice broke the noiseless air. Justin got up and got dressed in a pair of yellow Abercrombie sweats and a white t-shirt. He threw on a turquoise cap and matching Supras. I got dressed in shorts, a loose fitting tee, sandals and I polished it off with sunglasses. We walked out into the main part of the tour bus and saw we were parked in a diner parking lot. I stepped cautiously on to the pavement and walked towards the tiny restaurant.
We were seated into our own booth while the adults were at another one, discussing tour dates and such. I took my sunglasses off, revealing my exhausted eyes. Justin’s hand extended across the table and gently caressed mine. I smiled at him weakly and then my gaze fell to the menu. “What are you getting?” His sweet voice asked. He seemed genuinely concerned about earlier. “Probably just some toast, my stomach is still unsettled.” I said grimly. He sat silent for a minute before saying, “I’m worried.” I laughed weakly, “Don’t be, it’s just the motion sickness that’s got me messed up.” I looked up at him and his eyes flicked with light. “You sure?” He pursed his lips. “Positive.” I gave him a small smile before looking back over the menu. The waitress came over and took our order, I settled on toast and Justin got pancakes. We ate in silence.
After breakfast we all boarded the bus again and continued to make our way over the Hoover Dam. I got nervous going over the bridge that connected across the dam, it didn’t seem safe. It was so high up and seemed unstable. I squeezed my eyes shut, half in fear, half in trying to calm my stomach again. I wanted to keep what I had eaten down, and that was that. Another hour had passed and I could see Vegas in the approaching valley. “So what are we gonna do while they’re setting up for tonight?” Justin thought for a moment, “Well I don’t have to be at rehearsals until five, so that means we’ve got quite a few hours to walk the strip.” I hadn’t ever been to Vegas before and I was quite excited to go touring. We finally came to a halt and everyone evacuated the bus. I got dressed in more decent clothes and brushed my hair. I curled it loosely and then ran my fingers through it, making it messy. I walked out of the bathroom and found Justin changing. He didn’t see me walk in, so I watched him intently. He was down to his underwear before he finally noticed me. “Hey, no free shows.” He teased. I laughed at him and then pretended to cover my eyes. He had gotten into a pair of jeans and threw on a baseball jacket over his t-shirt. I watched as he carelessly ran his hands through his hair, spiking it up. He looked to me and smiled before taking my hand and walking me out of the bus. We set foot into the hot air and slid our sunglasses on.
