MISSING YOU; Bradley Simpson

9.

EVELYN

2 months later...

I wake up, rolling over to my side with a smile. That instantly fades away when I realize Brad isn't next to me. Why is that? Because he's away on tour.

I sigh, getting up from bed and checking on Faith. I feed her and make myself some breakfast. The apartment feels so empty without Brad. I was getting so used to having him around every day, because he decided he wants to move in here. I couldn't say no, I want him around me and Faith every second of our lives.

After I finish my breakfast, I dress my daughter up and pack my bag. I'm going away for tour as well, to promote my new book. I talked with my mother and she said she'd be more than happy to watch over Faith, so I sit in my car and drive towards her house. Once I drop the little girl off, I drive towards the airport. My manager and the whole crew are already waiting there for me.

"There she is!" my manager, Jess shouts with a smile on her face. I approach them and give everyone a hug as greetings. "How are you feeling?" Jess asks.

"Pretty nervous, honestly," I admit.

"Why?" she raises an eyebrow.

"I'm gonna meet so many people around the world for a whole month. Plus, what about my daughter?" I look at her with wide eyes, just realizing what I'm doing.

"Calm down, Eve. Your daughter is in good hands and you're absolutely amazing with fans," she caresses my arms reassuringly.

A few minutes later, I find myself already on the plane. I sit next to Jess and plug in my earphones, listening to music. It's going to be a long flight, I might as well distract myself and maybe have some sleep, read a book too.

Maybe I stress too much about this tour, but I've never been on one. Jess came up with this idea because a lot of my readers asked her to do this. I gotta admit, it's a great opportunity to meet some of my readers around the world, but I still can't help, but worry. What if I mess up something? What if I say or do the wrong thing and they are going to hate me?

"Hey, calm down," Jess puts her hand on mine and gives it a reassuring squeeze. She must've noticed my worried expresion. I just nod my head, closing my eyes and focusing on my music.

--

A lot of hours later, we finally land in LA. I put my luggage in the bus that is only for me and my crew and sit in. I'm so exhausted and jet lagged. Never thought I'd experience this horrible feeling after what I had to go through when I first arrived in Birmingham two summers ago.

The bus starts when everyone is in, driving towards the hotel we are going to stay in.

"Okay, so the plan for today..." Jess starts and I look at her with a puzzled expression. How can she talk about plans after this flight? "We're all going to spend the day in the hotel or, if you'd like, you can walk around the town. But don't get lost," she says and I let out a breath of relief. Thank God we don't have to do anything today.

I lean my head against the bus' huge window that is next to my seat and start planning the rest of my day. I'm gonna take a long, warm bath, facetime Brad, take a nap and maybe go to the hotel's mini-bar at night. Sounds like an amazing day.

--

I fall on my bed as soon as I enter my hotel room. Ever since I got off the plane, I've been waiting for this moment. I take my phone out, tweeting that I arrived in LA and letting my readers know. A few replies come in only seconds when my phone starts ringing. Brad is calling me to facetime.

"Hi," I answer the call and show my face. My heart immediately flutters as I see his on the screen of my phone, having missed his beautiful smile. We haven't facetimed much ever since he left for tour because he didn't have the time. I completely understood that, of course, and sent him a few messages every morning, telling him about my plans for the day. He replied as soon as he woke up, telling me about his plans.

"How's tour?" I ask, smiling in the camera.

"It's great. Did you do anything yet in LA?" he asks curiously.

"No," I shake my head. "I'm too tired to do anything besides lying in bed and talking to you," I say dramatically, making Brad laugh.

"Okay. Do you think maybe we could have dinner tonight?" he asks, a small smirk playing on his lips. My eyes immediately light up and I sit up in shock.

"You're in LA?!" I practically shout.

"Yes," Brad laughs through the camera, the sound making my heart flutter.

"Oh my God, yes!" I shout in excitement.

"Okay. I'll just go up to your hotel room and we can order room service?" he suggests.

"That sounds amazing," I nod with a smile on my face.

"Okay. Send me your hotel's name in text, I have to go now. Bye, I love you," he blows me a kiss and waves at the camera.

"Love you too," I chuckle, hanging up.

I get up from my bed and walk into the bathroom, getting ready for that hot bath I was planning with a stupid grin on my face. I can finally see Brad again, in person. That feels so much better than seeing him through a camera, whether it's facetime or a concert video or an interview I'm watching.

I get in the bath tub and scroll through my phone. I check the messages the others wrote in our groupchat. That chat has been dead for months, but now everyone says how much they miss each other, especially the couples. I enter my messages with Brad and text him the hotel's name and address, if he doesn't know which one it is. I put on some music and place the phone on the counter behind the tub. I close my eyes, enjoying the hot bath.

--

By the time I finish in the bath and dry my hair, someone is already knocking on my room's door. I hurry out, opening it with a grin. I gasp as soon as I see a huge bouquet of roses covering Brad's face.

"Wow, these are beautiful," I take the bouquet out of Brad's hands and hurry to put them in water. "Thank you," I step in front of Brad and stand on my toes, wrapping my arms around his neck and kissing him longingly.

"God, I missed you," he whispers against my lips, making me smile.

"I missed you too," I pull away and smile at him.