Upside Down

The next morning, we had a text message from Taylor, explaining that Tawny was doing fine and that she took her out for breakfast. Tony and I had a big sigh of relief before going out for breakfast ourselves.

By the time we returned to the bus, Vic was waiting for us outside. He was on the phone arguing with someone and it seemed to be pretty heated. We waited for him to be finished before questioning him about it.

“That was Kellin.” He breathed. “Apparently there was a mix-up with some mailing addresses and he received a very harsh letter in the mail that was supposed to be for us.”

“So he’s pissed?” I asked.

“No, quite the contrary.” Vic ran a hand through his hair. “He’s worried. He wouldn’t tell me what was in the letter, but he’s now on his way to the next venue and plans to discuss it there.”

Wait, what about the kids?” Tony asked in a worried tone. “Isn’t Katelynne gone for a few weeks?”

“They’re coming with.” Vic sighed. “This will be just fantastic.”

“Hey what’s going on?” Jaime came from the bus. He looked like he had just woken up, which is weird since we stayed in the hotel. I looked at Vic, realizing his hair was a mess.

“Oh gross.” I shuddered. The other three gave me a weird look and I just waved them off.

“Babe, Kellin’s coming to visit, and he’s bringing the boys and Cope.” Vic explained. Jaime nodded while yawning lazily.

“Then let’s get this show on the road and get going to the next city.” Jaime suggested.

“What about Tawny?” Tony added. “She’s still with Taylor.”

“I got that covered.” I pulled my phone from my pocket and punched in a few numbers. The other line rang a few times before Taylor picked up.

“Hey, Mike, we were just finishing up. What’s going on?”

“Change of plans, Taylor. Is it possible for you to bring Tawny to the next show? I guess something happened and Kellin is coming out to see us and it’s urgent.”

“Yeah, sure. We’ll have a girls day and then join you tonight.”

“You’re awesome thank you.”

“Of course.” I hung up after saying goodbye and looked to the guys.

“Let’s go.”

We got the crew ready and our equipment packed and hit the road. We discussed what could have possibly scared Kellin to the point that he was getting a last minute flight to join us in Texas with his three kids in tow. We figured that if we made good time then we would get to Dallas at the same time as him.

The drive to the airport was not as long as we had thought it would be. When we got there, Kellin’s plane was just about to land. We waited for him in the terminal, a little antsy and worried. By the time he got there, I was bouncing on the balls on my feet.

“Kellin!” Vic called out once he spotted the boys carrying Copeland.

“Hey.” He waved and walked right over to us. “Let me grab the luggage and we’ll leave.” He walked over to were the luggage was being unloaded and picked up two bags. Jaime grabbed the other one from him and I took Copeland from his son, leading them to the bus.

We set up the TV in the front lounge and left the remote with the kids. Kellin followed us into the back and closed the door behind us. We all took seats around the room and waited for him to begin.

“Alright, so what the heck is going on with you guys?” Was the first things out of his mouth.

“What do you mean what’s up with us? What’s up with you?” Tony retorted.

“This.” He threw a folded piece of paper onto the table. “This was delivered to my record company the day before yesterday. I got it this morning.” He met my eyes. “It was addressed to you.”

“Me?” I questioned. I grabbed the paper from the table and read it. “What the fuck?” I looked back up to Kellin.

“That’s what I said!” Kellin shouted.

“What does it say?” Vic asked.

“It’s a threat.” Kellin answered. He never moved his eyes from mine. “Whoever send it wants Tawny, and he wants her now.”

“It’s Johnny.” I explained. “He was Bree’s boyfriend.”

“Is he Tawny’s father?” Tony’s voice was shaking.

“No. She never told me about the real father.” I tossed the paper back onto the table. “Johnny’s threatening to take her from us, but why would he send the letter to the wrong company?”

“That’s what I want to know.” Kellin added. “Whatever it is, there’s no way that you can let him get to her. That little girl will not make it with him.”

“Oh we have no intention of letting him have her.” Vic scoffed. “From what I understand, we’re her legal guardians.”

“Then you guys better prepare to fight him.” Kellin leaned back against the door. “This isn’t going to be fun. Where is she now?”

“With Taylor.” Tony answered.

“That girl that you guys kept running last tour?” Kellin looked perplexed.

“Yep.” Jaime laughed.

“Um, isn’t that a little creepy?”

“Not really.” I chuckled. “We’ve been texting for a few months and she knows Austin and Adam so I’m not worried.” Kellin just nodded.

“So you plan on being here for a bit?” Vic stood up and walked over to him.

“Well Katelynne doesn’t come home for another few days, so why not have a mini vacation?”

“You’re more than welcome to come with us.” Vic patted him on the shoulder. They walked out of the room together and said something about making coffee.

“So what’s the plan?” Jaime questioned after a moment.

“We wait it out.” Tony sighed. “Bree was supposed to send us some paperwork and instructions for filing for adoption.”

“Then we won’t have to worry about anything.” I sighed, leaning against the couch and running a hand through my hair.

“Nope,” Jaime laughed. “Just have to worry about raising a little girl. How hard can that be?” I couldn’t help but scoff. That was probably going to be the single most difficult thing we would ever have to do in life.