Sequel to On the Road- Awsten Knight.
One year later, their worlds have been torn apart, but through late night phone calls and inside jokes can they rekindle what they had?
I haven't heard from Isla in months. She's deleted all of her social media and not replied to my texts. If it wasn't for her brother, Eli, posting a picture of them both on his Instagram, I'd think she was dead.
We've been touring with ONE OK ROCK for a week now and we're almost in Toronto, Canada.
"Awsten, you need to stop with that creep ET before you make me break it on your face!" Geoff shouted at me as he found my toothy ET in the mini fridge.
"We don't need a lawsuit!" Lucas yelled from his bunk.
"Fine." I rolled my eyes and put it back in my bunk.
I came and sat next to Otto, who was watching a movie in the back room. He noticed me sitting down and moved his chips that were besides him and offered me some.
"No, I'm good thanks." I gestured the packet away from me.
"How you feeling?" He asked me.
"I'm okay, my throat is hurting a bit but what's new." I gave a husky laugh.
"We're almost in Toronto. Wanna grab a hot drink when we're there?" He looked at his phone to check the time.
"Sounds good to me!" I smiled and started to watch the movie, he was watching.
********* I laughed at what Jawn had just showed me on his phone as we walked to the Starbucks near tomorrow's venue. Jawn had joined Otto and I to go get coffee.
We walked out of the cold into the Starbucks. I ordered an Americano and went to go find us all a table. As I approached the table I accidentally brushed past a girl at another table.
"Oh sorry. My ba-" my heart raced and my face dropped when I got a proper look at the person I had just nudged.
"Awsten-" She breathed out in just much shock as I was in.
"Isla-" My mouth was completely dry. "What are you doing here?"
"Er- I'm just visiting a family friend. She moved here a few years ago and asked if I wanted to visit for a few weeks." Her voice shook but was still as smooth as frosting. "What are you doing here?"
"I'm on tour." I stared at her. Her lips still curved the same way they used to. Her hair was now a shade of auburn and cut to her jaw. She looked slightly more tan and slimmer. She's still so beautiful.
"Awsten, they've been calling your name so I just got it for you. What are you doing-" Otto stopped when he saw her. He looked at me and then back at her in confusion.
"Oh my god, Isla!" He smiled and put the two mugs down on her table bringing her into a friendly hug. God, why haven't I hugged her yet. "Why are you in Canada?"
"I'm visiting a family friend." She smiled.
"Will you join us?" I let Otto do all the talking. My thoughts were going to fast to even chase.
"Yeah. Definitely." She closed her laptop and grabbed her bag and coffee, before walking to a bigger table with us.
"Isla!" Jawn grinned and wrapped her in his arms. "The fuck!"
"She's visiting a family friend. How crazy is it that we're here at the same time?" Otto explained to Jawn.
"It's so good to see you. You look really good!" He said as we all sat down. I was pretty much silent.
"I feel it." She gave him a warm and genuine smile. There was something different about her. She turned to me and smiled.
"I'm really sorry I haven't been in touch. I needed to go on hiatus for awhile." She spoke gently.
"You look so beautiful." I said without thinking. Otto was smiling at me like a crackhead and Jawn choked on his drink.
"Oh. Thanks." She giggled a little.
"Sorry. I didn't mean to say that." I stumbled over my words.
"No, don't apologise. It's okay." She place her hand on top of mine. She must have felt it shaking. There is no way that she couldn't have.
"Jawn, I forgot to bring my phone and Grace might have messaged me. Do you mind coming back to the bus with me so I don't get lost?" Otto looked at Jawn with a smirk. Otto doesn't usually get lost. Jeez he's just trying to get Isla and me on our own.
"Yeah sounds good. We'll get our drinks to go. You'll be alright, won't you, Awsten?" Jawn gave me a devious smile and winked.
"Um yeah-" I looked at him in the way that meant that I was going to murder him.
"Awesome! It's so good seeing you, Isla! Will you come to the show tomorrow? We'll guest list you." Otto asked giving her another hug goodbye.
"Yeah that sounds good. I'll get Aws to give me the details." She smiled clueless of their cunning. Jawn gave her another hug too and they went to get their drinks to go, before leaving me completely alone with her.
"So..." I looked at my fingernails, not knowing what to say or do.
"Awsten, it's me. You don't have to be awkward." She giggled.
"I- I know but I'm just a little shocked." I scratch my neck.
"Honestly, me too." She placed her hand on top of mine again. Bolts of electricity shot through my body.
"What have you been doing for the past few months?" I asked heavily exhaling a breath I was holding.
"Well, I dropped everything and went to Morocco. Then I stayed with my parents for a week before flying out here." She had this calmness about her I hadn't seen in a long time.
"What about Tom?" Her eyebrows furrowed when I mentioned his name.
"We broke up before I went to Morocco." She sighed.
"Oh." Was all I could say.
"He hit me and I knew I could never go back to him." My blood began to boil.
"What?!"
"Awsten, it's okay. I'm never gonna see him again." He thumb rubbed against my hand. I looked in her eyes and felt so warm.
"I've missed you so fucking much, buttercup." Tears began to brim in my eyes.
"I'm so sorry. I really needed time to heal from everything." She let go of my hand and came and sat next to me. She pulled me into an embrace. I began to breakdown in the warmth of the crook of her neck. My tears fell onto her tee shirt. She ran her small hands threw my hair.
"You're my everything." I sobbed. A whole years worth of pain released into the jersey knit of her tee shirt.
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