crucio ↠ billy hargrove

050

Location; Washington D.C.
August 14, 1984 (Day 54)

-CHARLOTTE-

It was a few days after we left Japan. It was something completely different than what I was used to. Being on a 15-hour flight wasn't the nicest feeling. And another five-hour flight to Washington D.C made me want to throw up on the pilot. Not literally.

"Charlotte," Jon called me.
"Yeah?" I lightly replied.

"How was Japan?" he asked. He didn't ask me a few days ago because he knew I was in a sickly type of mood from all the flying.
"It was...something new. Something good," I replied. Most of the food we ate there was always different. Our usual pizza takeout was not an option there. It was all food I never had. I was just a little lucky I didn't get sick from it, unlike Tico who got sick.

"I could tell you had a good time," Jon teased. I spent a lot of time with him there. We went to a small restaurant just the two of us one night. He told it was a date, but it felt like two friends hanging out.

I stared at Jon for a while. I never really focused myself on his features before. His highlighted hair, his clean flawless face, his ocean blue eyes. He indeed was handsome.

"You like the view?" Jon smirked. I rolled my eyes playfully and looked outside the window. It was a really sunny day which bought a smile to my face. And brightened my already bright mood. I touched my long hair. The boys took me to a salon where I professionally got extensions since the ones Vic gave me were kind of falling out. Also before I left to Japan with them, Vic let me borrow a bunch of her dresses so I was able to have a small wardrobe. Including a pair of tennis shoes. Vic seemed to only have dresses in her closet, I've never seen her wear pants or anything besides a dress. It was weird.

"It's going to be hard, saying goodbye," Jon said. The boys and I made an agreement that after Japan, they would drop me off at my Mama's and they would have to return to New Jersey for their small break. And once the tour started up again, they would take me with them.

"It won't be a goodbye, it'll be a see you later. And you can come to visit, we're not that far from each other," I said with optimism. "And hopefully you won't come running back a few days after,"

"That only happened two times, it won't happen again," Jon defended himself. The first time, they rescued me from ending up on the streets again. The second time, they found out I ran away.
"Okaaaay," I smiled at him.

We stayed silent for a few minutes. It felt a little awkward.
"What going on with Richie? He used to talk to me..." I said. He used to talk to me a lot. Now, he was very distant and quiet when we all chat together. He's either strumming guitar or writing down lyrics.

"I don't either. I'll try to ask him if he's alright,"

"He seems very distant. Like he's planning to murder us any day," I replied.
"I think the only person he's going to murder is Alec." I laughed. I think everyone would murder him. He was like the mother of Bon Jovi. He made sure everyone was on time, everything was clean. Made sure we were alright. He was the oldest of the group. He was 33. While Jon was only 22 along with David being the youngest.

The bus made a stop and I saw Vic waiting for me outside. My smile grew with excitement. I stood up and I ran out of the bus. I ran to give Vic a hug. She didn't expect it but after a bit, she embraced me hard. Hugging her was like hugging a sculpture. Smooth but solid.

She released me, "How was Japan?" she asked.

"It was good, did you miss me?" I asked her with a bit of sass.
"No, definitely not," she replied. I lightly socked her.

"Well I did," James said. He was standing by the door with a shy smile. I came up to him and we hugged. The few days after Bon Jovi came to find me, James and I got to know each other. James is very shy but he's also outgoing. I noticed he loved poetry and classical music. He also told me that he had a boyfriend.
James was a complete softie while Vic was the complete opposite.

"Where's Mama?" I asked James. "She's in the kitchen," he said.
I went passed him and entered the house straight to the kitchen. I smell food since I entered the house. Was my mother cooking?

I saw her by the oven fanning something. She had an entire buffet ready. She had large plates of macaroni and cheese, spaghetti, salads etc.

"Mama," I whispered. She heard me and I went up to her and she gave me a hug. She patted my head lightly and gave me a kiss on the cheek. "I missed you," I said.
"I missed you the most. I hope you had a wonderful time love," she said.

We released our hug and I asked her, "What's this?"

"It's a little welcome home. I made lunch and a little bit of dessert," she pointed to the brownies and small cakes. I felt my mouth water a bit. It all looked so good.
I heard the footsteps and it was the boys with Vic and James. They all greeted my mom and she gives them a kiss on the cheek. Leah also came in with them.

We sat down and eat lunch together. It was a nice time. We talked about pretty much everything. From memories to embarrassing ones. I got to know a little bit more of the boys and my siblings. My mother hardly told us any stories but she made some commentary and laughed with us. It was nice to see her like that.

Bon Jovi couldn't stay with us for the whole evening. They had to leave before 5 pm in order to get to their flight on time. When it was time for them to leave, something inside me felt queasy. It felt like my heart dropped.

"I guess it's time to say goodbye," Jon said to me.
"See you later," I corrected him. He playfully rolled his eyes and smiled at me.

I gave each one of them a hug including Leah. She was always there for us and she basically droves us everywhere. Unfortunately, she won't be coming with us for the second half of the tour because she's only a tour driver. And the second half will mostly be on a plane.

Jon came up to me and leaned in and gave me a slow kiss on the cheek. "I'll miss you the most," I said. "I'll see you later," he said and he ran to the bus waving all of us goodbye.

I watched them leave on the bus. A part of me was happy I was able to be with my family and another part of me was sad because I have gotten so used to the boys always being around. They were like my family. I'll see them in a month.

word count; 1280