Never My Intention

home soon.

I had spent day after day filming in New York for the movie Nerve. Truthfully the hardest part had to be being so far from friends and Casie, but with the way my schedule was set, I always had time to call and play catch up.

I never went a day without hearing about Slim's recent DJ gigs in Cleveland, Dub's new music, Ashleigh and Dre's recent bookings for me and Hailey's adjustment to the move happening in Vegas. My friends always managed to keep me updated no matter the situation. I even heard about Baze and AJ working closely in the studio with Slim, so I knew a masterpiece was soon to come of this. I had so many pages filled with lyrics that needed attention as soon as possible.

But before I could make it onto a flight for Vegas where Dre had me performing at Drais in the weekend, I only wanted to speak to my curly haired young'n.

I grabbed my laptop from off of the bedside table to connect to Facetime, previously letting her mother know an hour earlier to keep an eye out for my video call. I was a pretty lucky guy to have her work so closely with me while I was out doing my own thing. She understood my lifestyle and each time we spoke I couldn't even express how much I appreciated her.

When the call was picked up and I saw her familiar smile, a wide smile came onto my own features. The human I had created was just growing up too damn fast.

"Dad!" She spoke excitedly as I let out a laugh.

"What are you doing, princess?" I asked.

That brought on a whole story of school, recent birthday events on her mother's side of the family, her trips she took with Bridge to see her cousin Hendrix. She even told me about Dub and Slim willingly taking her to the movies and parks while they had their time off. Although they never had to do this, the friends I kept always made sure to keep Casie in close contact while I was away.

She asked about me and I told her about New York, even showing her the view from my hotel room. We were pretty high up, so you could practically see almost everything. I talked to her about the movie and a few funny parts that had happened on set. She was so deep into this life with me that I was sure she'd do something great with it. She wanted to be a rock star and I was gonna give her every tool and piece of advice necessary whenever she was ready.

"I love you. I miss you tons and I'll see you soon." I promised as she nodded, the ends of her perfect brunette curls bouncing in the process.

"Love you!" She said before the call had ended and I let out a deep sigh.

Sometimes after calls like this one, I had to give myself time to process. I shut off my laptop, closed it and then stashed it away in my backpack along with the charger and a pair of headphones I had brought along.

Being away from Casie had always normally took a toll on me. To think the girl had become such a vital part of my life was something I thought would've never happened. Having her at a young age was never something I planned, but it happened anyway. It was normal to be scared to be something bigger than who I really was for a child, but I wouldn't take it back at all. She had become my saving grace.

I made sure I had everything I absolutely needed from my hotel room because I knew I wouldn't be back for it for a bit. I pulled on a sweater, pulled my backpack straps over my shoulders then grabbed my guitar that sat in its case. I was pretty set on leaving once I had my suitcase, pulling it out into the hall and making sure the door shut behind me.

I requested an Uber on the way out, glad it wouldn't take too long for the driver to arrive. With New York traffic, you could never be too sure how much time in advance to schedule for a ride.

Luckily the driver I did have wasn't in much of a talkative mood. He helped load everything I had into the trunk and then the two of us climbed into the car to begin the drive to the airport.