Roadie

Jaime Preciado -

Her words cut like knives. They sounded so hurt, so afraid, and it pained me.

"Jaime, please, come get me." her voice had cracked, as if she were choking back tears.

She told me her location and we were off in search of her. Before her call we had been tying to find her, but we were looking in all the wrong places. She was in the complete opposite direction in a little town I had never heard of. Luckily, Mike stated he had stopped there once a few years back and remembered where it was. We had also received several pissed off phone calls from Vic, who we had left back in the motel. He stated he was sorry a dozen times, asked if we had found her a few hundred, and questioned why we didn't bring him along just as much. Surely he would be the last person Sutton would want to see after all this.

"This girl is driving me mad today, just so you know, "Mike stated as he trudged alongside me, "She better be glad I like her scrawny ass."

By then I had concluded that Mike really didn't like walking far distances. For the past half hour, all he did was complain about Sutton and how she better be glad he liked her. I knew he was just tired. He wanted to find her just as much as Tony and I did.

"Were almost there, man. It's like two more miles," Tony said, obviously not sure of himself.

"Two more miles? I'm going to die out here," He whined, "Just leave me here to die."

I laughed and rolled my eyes. I thought Vic was the diva, damn was I wrong.

⚓ ⚓ ⚓ ⚓ ⚓

Sutton -

That moment when you feel your sanity slowly sinking back in and you see safety for the first time in a long time, that's the best moment, the greatest feeling. A few feet in front of me stood my sanity, my safety. Jaime, Tony, and Mike had come to my rescue. I was the damsel in distress and they were my princes. I don't think I had ever smiled so big before. In that moment I wanted to laugh and cry all at once. Instead, I choked back tears and ran into Jaime's arms. He was here, finally here, and I was safe. Being in his arms felt like heaven. My sanity and my safety were back. I was okay again. Yeah, me running off over something so small was probably one of the stupidest things I have ever done and I surely regret it. I was so thankful for these boys, who barely knew me, but had chosen to come save my dumb ass.

" Thank you so much, " I turned to face the others, "All of you. Thank you. I'm really sorry about this. I over reacted. It won't happen again!"

Mike scoffed, "Damn right it won't! Do you know how far I had to walk to get here?"

I look questioningly to Tony, who laughed, and then to Jaime who responded just the same.

"Mike, it was like four miles, it's not that bad," Tony said, raising his brow.

Mike took a deep breath and then exhaled, "I just want to be home. Is it tomorrow yet?"

I had completely forgotten about the show tonight and the day off tomorrow. Tomorrow we were set to spend the day at the Fuentes house with Mike and Vic's family. To say the least, I was nervous. I guess I was never good at meeting families.

"Well, if we don't make it to the show tonight, there is going to be hell to pay. We better get walking," I stated, picking up my bags and starting off in the direction I had come.

No one followed in suit like I had expected.

"Guys, let's go. Show tonight, remember?"

Tony laughed, "Uh, Sutton, the motel is that way," He pointed off in the complete opposite direction in which I had been going.

I laughed a little and offered a weak smile, muttering a quick "I knew that" before heading off the right way.

⚓ ⚓ ⚓ ⚓ ⚓

I thought things between Vic and I were awkward before all of this, but they were ten times worse now. First of all, I couldn't gather why Vic didn't come looking for me too. Sure, he said some things, but I had expected him to apologize, to take them back. Nothing. He said nothing to me and I was beyond pissed.

We made it to the venue fashionably late and had to bust ass to make it on time. I felt like I was working in hyper speed trying to set up the merch booth on time, but managed to make it with seconds to spare. Kids had already began pouring into the venue and my nerves racked wondering what was happening backstage. The crowd began to scream and the lights flashed as the opening cords to Hell Above rang out. I could already feel the adrenaline coursing through my veins in anticipation, knowing that I would be up there tonight, singing in front of a sold out crowd. According to the boys, home shows were their absolute favorite. They always seemed to see familiar faces in the crowd. By the time I'm Low On Gas and You Need A Jacket started, I was heading backstage to get ready. Two songs to go and then it was my time to shine. I chose a simple outfit for tonight, nothing special, but still cute. After the day I had, I was exhausted.

"Excuse me, Miss Vega, I need you in holding," one of the stage managers said, peeking in through the door.

I nodded and slipped on my shoes, flats this time after the incident I had a few nights back when I decided to wear heels. I slipped out into the hallway and grabbed my microphone.

"Tonight, I have a very special performance for you all. A dear friend of mine, Miss Sutton Vega, will be joining me on stage for a duet, " The crowd roared and my heart fluttered, " This is Hold On Till May."

Vic began to strum on his acoustic and it brought a smile to my face. Singing with him was more than I could ever ask for. A dream come true. I just hoped that after this he would talk to me again. I miss the nights we shared.

"Good luck out there," Jaime said, patting me on the shoulder. He and the others were lingering backstage waiting for the show to end.

I smiled and nodded, a silent 'thanks', and took a few deep breaths.

"Miss Vega, I need you on the holding ramp," the manager said, pointing to the ramp directly in front of me.

I set myself up at the edge, right behind the taped line and waited for my cue.

"Darling, you'll be okay."

And with that, I stepped out onto the stage. The crowd cheered and clapped as I made it mid stage. I brought the mike to my lips and belted out the lyrics, straight from the heart.

"I'll draw the shades and close the door," I stopped just beside Vic, who looked up at me with a reassuring smile.

"Everything's not alright and I would rather..." I placed a hand on his shoulder as I finished off my part, smiling brightly at the crowd.

We finished the final piece together in perfect harmony. Vic stood and draped an arm over my shoulder. Like always, I waved and blew kisses to the crowd.

"Good night, everybody!" I shouted before turning and running off stage into the typical chaos.

⚓ ⚓ ⚓ ⚓ ⚓

The Fuentes house was a tiny, two floor house on the edge of San Diego. It was cute and felt very home like. I automatically felt welcomed just by the sight of it. Two people, a man and a woman, who I assumed were Mike and Vic's parents, rushed out as soon as we pulled in. The woman, a short stocky figure, engulfed the boys in a tight hug, muttering something in Spanish that I couldn't understand. The man, on the other hand, stood and waited for his boys to approach him. Tony and Jaime were treated just the same and when it was down to just me, the woman stopped to size me up.

"Well who is this sweet girl?" She turned and asked the boys

They hadn't told her about me? Luckily, Vic stepped forward and placed his hand on the small of my back.

"Mom, this is Sutton. Sutton this is my mother, "He stated.

Automatically her eyes lit up, "Oh my! Victor why didn't you tell me you had a girlfriend? And such a pretty one at that!"

The others tried to contain their obvious laughter and Vic's eyes grew wide in shock.

"No, no. Mom, she isn't my girlfriend. Sutton is our merch girl and she does duets with me on stage." He explained

The woman shook her head in disbelief, but offered a smile, "Come on then. Inside you go!"

I could already tell that our stay here was going to be an interesting one.