Daughter of the Girl

"Scare?" My Uncle nudged me.

"Hmm?" I was pulled from my thought process, three sets of eyes staring at me. "What?"

"Alright, let's try this again. How's the trip going?" A smile sneaked onto Martin's face.

"Oh, sorry. Good. Yeah, it's been fun. Hanging with this guy over here," I yanked a thumb over to Alex.

The boys gave a laugh. But John's faded quickly. "Uh, we're sorry about Gerard. We heard you were with him?"

"Yeah, she was. Why don't we get to her questions?" Alex interrupted. The man was over-protective at best, but I was grateful. Martin and John gave each other a look, so quick I almost missed it, but gave a nod none the less.

"When did you guys tour together?" Start with the simple questions.

"2015. Crazy year. She was seventeen or eighteen-"

"Seventeen, Martin." Alex assured.

"Seventeen, thanks. A time of partying and se-sectionals. That could be lyrics...anyway. She was crazy."

"I woke up one morning," John began, "And she was on the top of our bus. Dancing. Full out spinning and flailing, shouting the lyrics to 'How to be a Heart Breaker'. It took us a few minutes, but after gaping at her for a while I finally climbed up there with her. She didn't want to come down. She wasn't drunk. She wasn't high. Hell, she was so sober it made me even more nervous. But...she just wanted to dance. Your father had really pissed her off or something and she couldn't find the words. Only off beat moves."

Alex made a soft sound. Maybe a laugh, maybe a breath of sadness. But I was too captured within the words these men were allowing volume. A little piece to add to the blurry picture of my mother.

"My favorite story is definably the teddy bear one." Martin grinned.

"Oh my god! I still remember that!" Alex sat forward, matching the guy's facial expressions. Seeing the confusion plastered upon my own, John began to elaborate.

"So, when your mom was sixteen, a huge ass amp fell on her. Broke three ribs, cut her head, and broke her nose. Poor girl was in the hospital for four days."

"I never felt so bad." Alex looked over to me. "I was supposed to be helping her, but I went out with a girl instead." The shame pooled and frothed within his brown eyes.

"Yes, but she forgave you and gave everyone else the sweetest tour story every." John pointed out.

Martin bounced, slightly excited. "Okay, so, your mom's sleeping in the back of All Time Low's bus, completely exhausted and n a lot of pain-"

"She wouldn't take the meds." Alex announced quietly with so much pride, I thought he would burst.

"Yeah, so all of the other bands had a plan. It was Warped. Like one hundred and two bands got together despite schedules. About four to five hundred people. Plus a crew of over a thousand people. Here's the amazing part. We all decided to get her teddy bears. It went around everywhere. If you knew her, you could get a normal size, if not, then a small one was preferred. You got to write your name on the foot." Martin continued.

"She's still sleeping, and we all line up in front of the bus. Hand the bear to Zack, who hands it to Matt, who hands it to Rian, to Vinny, to Jack, to Grecio. He handed it off to Alex, Ronnie, and Max. The ran around placing fifteen hundred teddy bears of all shapes and sizes all around the room. Including the bed." John went on.

Alex continued. "We all sat outside the front of the bus." A smile spread across his face again. "And we sang to her. That Bon Jovi song she loved so much-"

"Hallelujah." I added.

"Yeah, Hallelujah. The window next to the bed was open, so all she had to do was roll over and look. It took all of one minute for her bruised, tear soaked face to peek out the window. She was so happy, struggling to get the smile to work, but still radiating joy. Alex over here went back inside and laid next to her, singing softly." John really seemed to love the memory.

I looked 'round to my Uncle, the soft smile which graced his face. I turned back. "That's beautiful." I whispered. Martin smiled fully at me.

"She was. You look like her, you know? Little different. But the resemblance is definably there."
John blinked a few times, smiling softly at the ground.

A few hours passed. Hugs were given, promises of safe passage and reunion gave, and the
Gaskarth's boarded the bus home. Wheels turned, and another question entered the youngest mind.

"Where to next?"

"Well...have you ever heard of a little band called-"