Little Girl Don't Grow Up Too Fast

Oh, Canada

 It was the fourth time her alarm went off, and there was no sign that she was getting up anytime soon. Usually, the comfort of her boyfriend's arms would relax and calm her immediately, but throughout the entire night she lied on her side unable to stop imagining how the next few days would play out. All of the thoughts made her anxious, but after hours of working herself up with Mike's arm snaked around her body from behind, the exhaustion caused her to go to sleep around 6 AM.

"Baby," Carrie heard his husky voice whisper. She groaned as her body turned so that she was on her back. Luckily they had slept on the bus since they were traveling through the night, meaning that the dark tinted windows and closed blinds made it almost pitch black. She couldn't find the strength in her to open her eyes as her head pounded violently. She tried to focus on Mike's hands smoothly rubbing her arms and occasionally threading his fingers through her hair.

"It's been about an hour since your first alarm went off," Mike alerted her as he slightly hovered over her. "I know how much you love a good workout before shows."

Carrie groaned again before lifting her arm to cover her face and pout, "I can't get up. I'm too tired."

"Did you sleep okay?" he wondered.

"No," she sighed as she let her arm fall back down to her side. Her eyes were fluttering open to meet his.

"I'm sorry, baby. Was it me?"

"No," she shook her head, bringing her hand to caress his stubbled face. "Just thinking about a lot of things."

"Is it anything that had to do with-"

"Mike, can we please not talk about it right now," she groaned, wincing as her head began to throb. Tears formed in her eyes at the sensation. "My head hurts so bad. I just want to sleep more."

"Okay. What time is sound check?" he nodded calmly. When she replied that it was at eleven, he reset the alarm on her phone to wake her up in plenty of time for that. He sat up in bed and took hold of her hand, "I'll let you get some more rest."

"Babe, lay with me please," she pleaded, her eyes still closed. While her head did hurt, she was also still nervous and stressed about everything which was probably the cause to all of her pain. Being in Mike's arms was as close to a perfect remedy that she could think of at the moment.

Two hours later, Carrie was dressed and finishing her hair and getting ready for soundcheck. She had taken some medicine, but her head still ached and sleep deprivation was evident in her mood. Mike had left her to be with Charlotte for a while until he came back as Carrie was about to go.

"You feeling any better?"

"Eh," she shrugged. "Not really. I'm just a little stressed but I'll get through it. The show must go on."

"What are you stressed about?" he questioned, feeling anxious.

"Nothing," she sighed, getting flustered. "Can we just talk about this when I get back?"

"Is it because of what we did last night?"

"What? Mike, no," she shut those allegations down immediately. She was starting to get flustered so she drew a deep breath and calmed herself before looking into her boyfriend's loving eyes and finally speaking again. "Last night was everything that I have wanted and been waiting for. It was so special for me because it was with you. Please don't question that. I promise we will talk about this when I get back. I really have to go."

Carrie's eyes pleaded for Mike to understand. He could tell that she meant every word she was saying and he was thankful for that. Lucky for her, he was always patient and willing to give her time to work out her feelings. He nodded, "Okay."