New Beginnings {ACM}

Chapter 54

Song of the chapter: I Will Remember You by Sarah McLachlan

Emily's POV

I heard a car pull up. "That'll be Taylor and Alex." I bent to pick up Lucy as I opened the door and walked outside, Austin right behind me.

"There's my favorite niece!" Taylor exclaimed happily as she slid her sunglasses onto her head of curls. I set Lucy down and she shrieked at the sight of her uncle and auntie. "Come here, sweet cheeks!"

Alex and Austin did their handshake thing before Alex said, "Pumped, dude? I've already got my gorilla onesie ready to go."

"You have a gorilla onesie?" I asked.

"Oh, he's not kidding. It's hideous," Taylor said while she held Lucy, making funny faces at her.

Alex glared. "It is not. It's so cool! It has gorilla feet and it even has a gorilla mask to wear with it! It's all furry and-"

I put up a hand. "Don't even think about wearing that around my daughter."

"Alex, who buys a onesie?" Austin asked.

"I got you a unicorn one."

"Dude, that's awesome!" Austin screamed. "Show me, show me, show me!" He stopped as we stared at him. "I mean...Cool, man, you know, uh, unicorns are alright. Psh, whatever."

I smirked.

"Let's see your ear and your tattoo!" Taylor said to Austin and me. I pulled my hair back to show her while I pushed Austin's shirt up to reveal his left shoulder.

"That looks so pretty," Taylor said in awe at Austin's tattoo. "Your piercing makes you look way more badass then you actually are," she added to me.

"I'll take that as a compliment," I told her.

"When are the buses coming again?" she asked.

"You're the manager. You should know," Austin said.

"No need to worry. There they are," Alex said. He was right; they were all pulling up to the curb of the street. He gasped. "They're so big! They'll be able to fit all of my onesies!"

"How many did you bring?" I asked.

He looked at me seriously. "Not enough, Emily...just not enough."

"That's all he brought for pyjamas. He has like thirty," Taylor told me quietly so that only I could hear.

"What the hell?" I whispered back. She nodded in agreement.

Austin's crew greeted us before they started loading things on the bus. We all helped carry everything except for Taylor; she wanted to watch Lucy. Probably because she didn't want to help.

Every time something new went in the bus, I got even sadder. By the time everything was loaded, I was ready to crumble into a pile of Emily ashes.

"We'll see you in a month, Emily," Taylor said as she threw her arms around me in a tight hug. "I'll text you every day! It will go by really fast."

I smiled. "Sounds good, T."

She waved and peppered Lucy with kisses. "Bye, angel cake. See you soon; I'll buy you a bunch of clothes so your mom can get mad at me."

I rolled my eyes and grinned as she got on the bus. Alex hugged me. "I promised myself I wouldn't cry."

"Did you?"

"No," he said, bursting into tears.

"Awe, Alex, don't cry!" I said. "I'll see you soon, okay?"

He nodded. "Okay. I'll buy you a onesie while we're gone."

"You do that," I smiled.

"One more thing," he said. I nodded for him to continue. "Why does Taylor call Lucy food names?"

I laughed. "I don't know, Alex."

"I mean, Lucy isn't food. She doesn't even look remotely appetizing. That's cannibalism!"

"Okay, Alex, you better get on the bus before you hurt yourself," Austin cut in.

Alex bent to hug Lucy and kiss her on the cheek before climbing on the bus after Taylor.

That left me, Austin, and Lucy.

I took a deep breath. "Well...I guess this is goodbye."

Austin stepped towards me and enveloped me in a big hug, setting his cheek on my head. I threw my arms around him. "I'm going to miss you so much."

"I'll miss you too," I said, my eyes stinging with tears.

Austin pulled back and wiped my eyes. "Don't cry, Ems. It's not that long."

"A month is a long time," I whispered.

"I'll miss seeing your face every day," he said. He bent to pick up Lucy. "And of course I'll miss you, princess."

"Daddy?" Lucy said. "What's wrong, daddy?"

"I'm just a little sad, baby," Austin told her. He closed his eyes as he hugged Lucy close to him and a tear escaped. "Daddy loves you so so so much, Luce," he pulled me into the hug. "I love both of you to death."

"You're going to have a great show tonight," I smiled through my own tears. "I know you will."

"Thanks, Ems." He kissed Lucy's head and both of her cheeks before handing her to me. He wiped his eyes. "I, uh..." He sniffed. "I better go."

I nodded sadly and he bent down to kiss me slowly. It tasted like salty tears. "I'll see you soon," he whispered and broke apart.

I smiled and rubbed his arm as he grabbed his bag and opened the bus door. He glanced back at Lucy and I with his eyes still glistening.

"Daddy!" Lucy said, starting to cry with her arms stretched out towards him.

"Lucy, daddy will see you soon," I told her, trying to calm her down.

"Lucy, stay with mommy, okay? I love you!"

"But daddy!" She was full on wailing now.

"I'm sorry, Emily, I've got to go, I can't see her like this," Austin said, starting to get emotional. We looked at each other for a second before I nodded and he quickly closed the tour bus door. The buses pulled away shortly after and before I knew it, they were gone. I stood there in tears as my daughter cried on my chest and my boyfriend was gone.

"Lucy, it's okay, I'm right here," I soothed, walking up the driveway. "Mommy's here."

So I'm camping and I swear these bugs are disgusting. I had like 3 daddy long leg spiders on my stuff and it's gross. But there's no wifi here so I won't be able to update for like a day or 2. I love you all 😘❤️