Later, after my hair is washed and smells good he lifts me from the water and wraps me in a towel. Jesse has a box of Band-Aids with little princesses on it that he knows I like. But there is also a tube of the stingy ointment in his other hand and I shake my head. “No. That hurts.”

Nik is rubbing the towel over my wet body, still trying to be gentle. Some of the gashes are bleeding again and it hurts when the towel rubs across them. When he is done he takes the ointment from me and I move away. “No, Nik.” I whimper. “I don’t want that.”

“I know, Emmie. I know it hurts. But you don’t want them to get infected do you?” He is blinking a lot and I think he is trying not to cry. “If they get infected you will have to go to the doctor and get a shot.”

That is the magic words. I hate shots! I hate doctors! So I sit on the small sink and let him put ointment all over me, trying not to whimper because it hurts. By the time he is done the tube is almost empty. Jesse helps him put the Band-Aids on. After each one they kiss the hurt, and say what they always say. “Get better.”

Jesse puts one of his shirts on me. But it is so big that they have to tie a knot in it so that I don’t trip over it when I walk. When I’m covered Nik lifts me and carries me back into Jesse’s room. They put me into the little bed against the wall and tuck a blanket that smells like Jesse around me.

Shane and Drake come into the room. Shane has a bag from Wal-Mart and he pulls out a box of medicine. They give me a big dose of Tylenol and then feed me. Drake had stopped at McDonalds and got me a chicken nugget happy meal. My stomach growls and I realize I haven’t had anything to eat since the day before.

My stomach hurts after the first bite. I sit and hold my tummy until the pain passes and then I gobble the rest of the nuggets and fries up. I don’t drink the sprite that they got me until after I have eaten. It tastes good. Finally I reach for my toy, a little stuffed animal with crazy hair and a tee shirt. I hold it close to my chest as Nik brushes the tangles from my damp hair. It pulls, because it hasn’t been brushed in a while, but I don’t complain and he tries to be gentle.

As the brush works through my hair my eyes begin to grow heavy. Soon I am asleep…

Chapter 1

I open my eyes the instant the bus stops. Grimacing I push myself up from the sofa and glance outside. The tour bus is sitting in the parking lot of the hotel. Another bus loaded with all the crew and two eighteen wheelers pull in behind, with all of the stage and band equipment. I want a shower and a full night’s sleep so bad, but I still have too many things to do.

Standing I walk to the back of the bus to wake the others. Drake is sprawled out on his stomach in the bottom bunk. He has a bottle of Jack Daniels in his hand, the bottle half empty. Above him Shane is snoring, his bass clutched to his chest. Against the other wall Jesse is talking in his sleep, muttering about some ‘fucker’.

Sighing I shake his shoulder first. “Jess.” I have to get in his ear and yell his name. They are all heavy sleepers, but Jess is always the heaviest. “Jess! Come on. Let’s go sleep in a real bed.”

Jesse yawns then blinks open his eyes. “Em?”

I grin down at him. “Who else?” I kiss his cheek and tug on his arm. “Get up. We’re here.”

When he sits up I move on to Shane. All I have to do is take the bass from him. He tightens his arms around it and sits up. “I’m awake.” He grumbles.

“Drake.” I take the bottle of Jack from his hand and put the cap back on. His back is bare and the Demon’s Wings tattoo across his back flexes as I wake him up. “Ugh. You need a shower so bad.” I nearly gage at the stench of liquor on his breath when he turns over and pulls me down across him. “Get up, you drunk.”

He kisses my cheek before he releases me and I stand, moving toward the end of the bus. “You guys get dressed. After I wake Nik up I’ll handle getting our rooms…Don’t go back to sleep Jesse!” I call, knowing that he was planning on doing just that. “I have a bucket of ice water calling your name if you do.”

He mutters curses after me, but I just grin.

The television was on. I turn it off and drop down on the sofa beside of Nik. He was in nothing but his boxers. I don’t stop to ogle his hard chest and tight abdomen. I’ve done that plenty of times before. Instead I put my hand over his mouth and pinch his nose. It takes a few seconds before he jerks and pushes me away. “Bitch!” He grumbles, but helps me up off the floor where I landed.

Laughing I stand and reach for his Demon’s Wings shirt. “Did you sleep well?”

“I only fell asleep a few hours ago.” He takes the shirt I offer him and slips it over his head. “Got too much on my mind. Songs trying to get out, but locked in my brain.”

“I had a dream.” I confide.

He stiffens, knowing that my dreams are never pleasant. “You okay?” He asks, reaching for my hand and pulling me onto his lap. “Want to talk about it?”

Soothingly he combs his fingers through my hair. I close my eyes and bury my face in his neck. God he smelled so good! “Like always you guys were taking care of me. It was one of the times my mother took a switch to me.”

Strong arms tighten around me. His fingers clenched in my hair pulls but I don’t protest. “Hate that bitch.” He mumbles. “Hope she’s rotting in hell.”

I couldn’t agree more. My mother died of a drug overdose six years ago. To say I had been sorry would be a total overstatement. All I had felt when I had found her cold body when I came home from school that day was an overwhelming relief. I was fifteen, but I was free of the disease that was my mother.

“I need coffee.” Nik stands with me still in his arms.

I squeeze him close for another second then wiggle free. “I’ll make sure you get it.” I call over my shoulder as I head toward the front of the bus.

“It isn’t your job to get it!” He yells after me.

But it was. All my life Nik and the others have taken care of me. Even when they left me after getting signed ten years ago, they had still taken care of me. Sending me money, and presents. Making sure that someone checked on me every day. They had been touring, doing all the things that rockers do, but they had still called me every day. The cell they gave me was my life line to them. I was able to call, text, email, or anything else I wanted or needed so that I could talk to them every day.

Then when my mother had died they had come back, dropping everything as soon as I had called Nik. They took care of the funeral. Then when social services tried to take me away they stepped up and said that I was theirs. They took me away from all the darkness of that trailer in the run down trailer park that we had all grown up in. They bought me a laptop, arranged for me to have online classes so that I could complete my education from the back of a tour bus.