Life On Tour (Peterick Sequel)

So Long, Farewell

*In celebration of Patrick replying to me on Twitter, I decided to do an early update*

My whole world suddenly came crashing down around me. Every word I tried to say got caught in my throat and my mind just wouldn't believe the terrible news.

"No." I stated. "No, this isn't happening. It has to be a mistake. Megan has been perfectly healthy all of her life! How could this happen?" I started to ramble, the words that wouldn't come out started to flow like to tears from my eyes.

"Patrick, I need you to calm down. I know it doesn't seem like a possibility, but Megan hadn't been feeling well lately and she called me and asked if I could take her to the hospital. They ran quite a few tests and they determined the primary diagnosis as leukemia. Mom and dad weren't down there for vacation, they were on their way to come see Megan. We didn't want you to know quite yet just because we didn't know if things were going to change." Kevin spoke slowly, giving me a chance to absorb the information. His voice was already quite croaked and shaky, giving off the vibe that he had been crying for the past few days. Suddenly, I was outraged.

"What do you mean you guys didn't want to tell me it away? Am I not supposed to know about the care and well-being of my own sister? I can't believe you kept this from me! How long has it been going on?" My my throat was scratchy, my fists were clenched, and I couldn't bear the fact that no one had told me sooner.

Kevin was hesitant to answer, make me worried about how long it had been happening. "Umm, a few weeks..." I open my mouth to yell but he beat me to it. "Just hear me out Patrick! You already have a lot going on right now with tour and we didn't want to stress you out. Megan doesn't want you to come and see her, so don't plan on canceling any shows in the future. She doesn't want to put stress on you guys and the crew for having to manage rescheduling. If you want to see her, she told me to tell you to wait till tour is over, then you could stay with her as long as you'd like."

I pinched the bridge of my nose in frustration because I couldn't believe the words I was hearing. I wasn't allowed to go see my own sick sister? If something happened to her before I got a chance to visit, I would never let myself get over it. I was never told how severe it was or if she was expected to make it, but I just wasn't stable at that point to ask those types of questions.

"Okay. Okay. Just please tell her I love her so so much and that I'll be praying for her to get better. If she is allowed with electronics let her know that I will call her sometime soon or try to set up Skype. I miss you guys and you two will be the first I'll see right after tour."

"Okay Patrick, I will let her know. Once again, I'm really sorry I had to keep this from you, she didn't want you worrying. I'll let you know if you more details once we get them."

I thanked Kevin for the call and hung up with the heavy feeling on my chest. I was still in the stage of denial, telling myself that it wasn't possible. I felt like I was stuck in a nightmare that just kept getting worse and worse as the day went on.

I finally just gave up on my thoughts and turned around on the bed and threw my face down onto the pillow. I cried and cried, tears flowing like they never had before. At that point I was actually glad that Pete had left, I didn't want him, or anyone else for that matter, seeing me at that moment. Eventually my eyes became dry, my nose had stopped running, and the pit in my stomach sat a bit heavier than before. Exhaustion finally caught up to me and I dozed off onto my soaking wet pillow.

The soft sound of gravel under the bus wheels pulled me out of sleep somewhere around 1 am. I was confused to find the bed empty next to me, as I was expecting Pete to stumble in next to me at some point while I was asleep.

I pushed myself off of the bed and out into the slim hallway with the bunks. My footsteps were quiet, careful not to wake the snoring Joe and Andy.

When I got out to the living space, I spotted Pete sleeping on the small couch. It confused me as to why he didn't come in the bedroom whenever he got on the bus, but at that moment I assumed that he had just not wanted to wake me.

I decided it wasn't worth anything to wake him up, so I just trotted back to the bedroom and fell asleep again.

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Everyone crowded around the entranceway to the venue as we said goodbye to Erica. The whole crew was there, giving hugs and high-fives to her before she went on her way. It pained my heart to see her go, but I knew she had to catch her flight home with her mom later that night.

"Going to miss you kid," I said as I hugged her tightly. "I really wish you could stay at until after tonight's show, but I know you have places to be. Keep in touch, I want to know how things are going to be with the upcoming school year." She nodded into my chest with a smile and broke away, revealing watery eyes.

She moved on to Pete, giving him and even tighter hug and sniffling a little. Pete laughed slightly, patted her back, and told her not to cry. I could see he was a little shaken up also, as they were good friends and I'm sure they didn't want to see each other go.

"Text me when your flight lands. I want to know when you and your mom make it home safe." Erica nodded again at his words, and broke away. Pete mumbled something inaudible, and she laughed with their head down.

"Well, I guess this is it." Erica through her backpack over her shoulders and her mom took a hold of her suitcase. "I had so much fun these past two weeks and I really wish I didn't have to go so soon. Thank you so much for letting me come along with you guys, it was truly the time of my life. It was really great getting to meet the rest of you guys also." She nodded towards the two other bands and the rest of the stage crew that bonded with her as she came along on the tour.

Erica's mom nudged her slightly, pointing to her watch and signaling that they had to get going. She turned back around to us and said one last goodbye, and gave Andy a high-five with a grin before she left. Everyone waved and said their farewells as she climbed into the car and drove away out of our sight.

After the car disappear down the road, there were a few incoherent mumbles, and everyone seemed to dissipate to go off to do their own thing. I turned to say something to Pete, but I stopped in my tracks as he wasn't where he was standing anymore. I looked around, noticing that I was almost the only one still at the entranceway.

It felt that once Erica was gone, the atmosphere was unsettling once again.