To Find a Little Piece of Heaven You Must First Go Through Hell

I got sympathetic looks from the guys and Jenni after I had spoken. After closing statements were said, the jury rose. “We find the defendant Mr. James Sullivan not guilty of murder. Both Mr. Sullivan and Ms. Shaddix get $10,000” said the jury. Jimmy and I both smiled and hugged each other tightly. Tobin, Jenni, Brian, Zacky, and Johnny all rose and jumped up and down smiling and screaming. Matt smiled at me. “You did well up there, both of you” he said. “Thanks” I said. I kissed his cheek, as I did Jimmy’s.
*10 minutes later*
We were back on the bus – Jimmy in some regular clothing, as well as Matt and I. “Let’s go celebrate!” yelled Brian. “Booze!” yelled Johnny. “Hell yeah!” said Matt. We all partied it up like no other. We ended up going to bed at 2 AM. It was one of the best nights of my life. I didn’t have to worry about Blake, Zacky and I were doing great, and I had the greatest friends in the world. I was set.
*The next morning*
“Bells” said Tobin. I cracked my eyes open to see him staring down at me. “Hey sweetie, I want to talk to you about something” he said. “Okay. Want to go get Starbuck?” I asked. “Duh” he said. That was our tradition whenever we needed to talk alone and we were on tour. “Let me get dressed and leave a note and then we’ll go” I said. “Fine by me” he said. I rose out of bed, slipped on some clothes, wrote out a note, and the two of us walked off the bus to get some coffee and walk in the park. We got to Starbucks and then walked to a nearby park and sat on a ran-down metal bench. I took a sip and then he put his hand on my shoulder. “Jerry, Tony and I were talking Bells. And there’s something that all of want to ask you. That’s why I came up here; to see you and ask you this question” said Tobin. Curiosity flooded my brain. What could they possibly want to ask me? “Bella, we all know you’ve got pipes. Avenged doesn’t, but P-Roach does” said Tobin. I blushed. I had been told numerous times that I had a good singing voice, but I always denied it. “And now that Coby’s gone, we wanted to carry on the group” said Tobin. Wait a minute. Was he going to ask me what I thought he was going to ask me? “You’re Coby’s sister, Bella. Our leader singer’s pride and joy. We want you to take over” said Tobin. Bingo. I knew it. They wanted me to be the lead singer of Papa Roach. “I don’t know, Tobes. What if the fans don’t like it?” I asked. “The fans voted on a poll – they want you” said Tobin. “It’d be a great honor to Coby, let alone the band if you did” he asked. “I’d only do it if Dave comes back” I said. “Bella…” he said. I sighed. “I won’t do it unless my Dave is on drums” I said. “Can you deal with Jerry for now?” he asked. “Yeah, I guess so” I said so. “So you’ll do it?” he asked. I slowly nodded. He caught me in the famous Tobin bear-hug. “Thank you Bella” he said. “My pleasure” I said. We finished out coffees in silence – him too excited to speak and me too dazed to talk – and then we walked back to the bus. When we walked back on, Matt and Jimmy were up. “Coffee?” Matt asked. We had taken the liberty to get everyone some. “Coffee” I said. I handed him and Jimmy each a coffee and they beamed at me. “So, what were you guys talking about?” Matt asked. “I can’t say. But, Matt, I have a proposal” I said. Tobin saw this out of left field. “Yeah?” Matt asked, kicking his legs up on the table. “Can Papa Roach perform tomorrow night?” I asked. Tobin smirked. “Sure. But, uh, who’s singing?” Matt asked. I looked over at Tobin and smirked back. “You’ll see” I said. Matt and Jimmy gave each other – then Tobin- a questioning look. “Ok” said Jimmy. Zacky then came out of the bathroom. “Hey babe” he said. I kissed him and then gave him a coffee. “Thanks” he said. He held me close for a few seconds and then let go. We both sat down on the couch. “So, I heard Papa Roach is performing tomorrow night?” he asked. Brian and Johnny both yelled “huh?” The rest of us laughed. “Yes, guys, P-Roach is performing tomorrow” I said. “Who’s the lead singer?” Johnny asked inquisitively. “It’s a surprise” said Tobin. They looked at us all weirdly, and then Jenni came out of the back room. They all switched their weird looks to her to confuse her. “What?” she asked, totally creeped out. We all laughed and then she rolled her eyes and sat down next to Matt, grabbing the last coffee. I loved life.