Page 79 of Lies and Lullabies
He pocketed his phone and put his hands on my shoulders. “I wish I weren’t touring right now. It’s not always like this.”
“Isn’t it?” I asked, my heart contracting.
“No, sweetness.”
But even as he said it, the bus’s hydraulic brakes shrieked nearby and voices yelled, “It stopped!”
Beyond the loading dock, the bus doors opened. Ethan appeared, beckoning to Jonas. “Right now, dude. We need to get out of here before…” He pointed toward the alley, where there was the sound of pounding feet.
Jonas gave me the world’s fastest kiss then ran for the bus. A bunch of fans got there at the same time, and Ethan jumped down to put his big frame between their outstretched hands and Jonas. A second later, Jonas disappeared inside. Ethan hopped back in, and the doors swung shut.
Disappointed, the fans dissipated, not sparing me a glance.
The bus pulled away, leaving nothing but a slice of June morning visible through the doors. It was as if Jonas had never been there at all.
* * *
The next weekwasn’t easy.
Connecting with Jonas on the phone proved difficult. When I tried to call, he was usually sleeping, because he kept such late hours on the road. The texts we exchanged were of the sorry-I-missed-you variety.
And then Adam’s surgery was scheduled, and that became my primary focus. We had only a few days to wait, but they were long ones. My usually upbeat brother became quiet and withdrawn.
I didn’t know what to do for him, except to keep my unconvincing smile pasted on. Helpless in all the important ways, I did the only thing I could think of. I baked several dozen cookies.
“These are amazing,” Adam said after eating his fourth one. “But I need you to hide them from me now. I don’t want to get a gut.”
It was supposed to be a joke, I think, because Adam was thin as a rail. Running half marathons was his only hobby.
I put the cookies away and tiptoed through the darkened apartment toward my room. Climbing into bed, the words wouldn’t stop rolling around in my brain.Adam has cancer.
Checking my phone, I saw that Jonas had tried to call me earlier. I listened to the voicemail. “Sweetness—please call me when you can. I should be available after ten. It’s been too many days, and I want to hear your voice.”
I redialed his number and listened to his phone ring. And ring.
I was about to give up when he finally answered. “Kira!” In the background, many voices were talking at once. “Wait—let me find a quiet corner.” A moment later, the roar in the background dulled. “There. How are you?”
“Okay,” I hedged. “It’s been a busy week.”
“Has it?” he asked, his voice concerned.
“Yeah,” I said, although I couldn’t say why. Adam had made me promise.
“Is everything okay with Vivi?”
“Yes—totally fine. She’s all hyped up, actually, because it’s the last week of preschool. They had a birthday party at school for her today. I made strawberry cupcakes with pink frosting.”
Jonas groaned. “Did you save me one?”
“No.” I laughed. “They werepink, Jonas. If Barbie made cupcakes, they would look like these.”
“You’re right,” he joked. “I need manly cupcakes. My birthday is in November. Be ready.”
I stopped smiling. It was awfully depressing that we didn’t even know each other’s birthdays.
He must have felt the change in my mood. “You know I’m joking, right? That sounded bad. Like I was putting in an order.”
“Uh-huh. So you don’twantthe cupcakes?” I knew I should try to lighten up. Not that it was easy this week.
