Jon reworked the set list with Trav so we started high and just kept getting higher. When I almost lost it during If You Only Knew, Colton was by my side. He had been my rock for the past thirty-six hours.
After listening to the guys pick apart our entire show while they thought I was sleeping, I opened my eyes. "Hey," I said softly. When I started rubbing my eyes, the guys all started laughing at me. "What?" I snapped.
Colton kissed my forehead as he slid from the bench. "You might want to go take care of your face," he chuckled. "You didn't take off your makeup when you got on the bus. You kinda look like a murderous clown right now."
Maybe it should have upset me that I looked like a two-bit whore the morning after a busy night but I couldn't manage to get worked up over it. They'd seen me looking worse. I pulled myself up from the bench saying goodnight before turning toward the back of the bus. Part of me wanted to stay in my makeup just to hold onto Rain for a few more minutes. Less than eight hours from now, I would say goodbye to myself for a while.
"Hey, Rain?" Colton called after me.
"Yeah?"
Instead of hollering back and forth through the bus, Colton followed me. "Trav and I talked about it. We don't like it, but we're going to respect you not wanting us there." His voice was sincere but his face showed how upset he was to be telling me this. Did they really think I didn't want them there?
Grabbing his shoulder, I turned Colton back to where Trav and Jon were starting to work on lyrics for the next album and pushed him down the aisle. I needed to clear the air. Realizing he'd hit a nerve, Colton didn't resist. He actually sat as soon as we reached the benches, leaving me towering over the three people on the face of the planet who loved me unconditionally.
When they started snickering again, I glared at them. They shut up. "Colton said something and I don't want you guys giving me a line of shit about it," I said in the most authoritative voice I could muster. "Do you guys think I don't want you at my mom's funeral?"
Colton raised an eyebrow to the other two. Travis started to say something and then stopped himself. Jon pulled the long, black curls away from his face like he was going to pull the tresses into a ponytail. It was something he did when he was deep in thought.
"Rain, we don't know what the deal is. We want to be there for you but you've made it clear that isn't what you want." Jon reached for my hand, "It's okay, really."
I took a few breaths to collect my own thoughts and then slid back onto the bench next to Colton. It was time to tell them about my life before the band.
I thought Travis was going to have to see a doctor to have his jaw set back in place when I revealed that I'd been the co-captain of the cheerleading squad. It was only partly because of the shock on his face. The rest was because I may have clocked him a little harder than I meant to when he begged me to bring my cheer uniform back with me.
I broke down bawling as I told them how disappointed my mom was the last time I saw her. Once the initial shock over my appearance wore off, she begged me to enroll in college.
“You have so much potential,” she told me time and again, “It's a shame to see you wasting your life when you could be taking steps to the future you deserve.”
Apparently being happy didn't figure into my mother's idea of what my future should hold. To her, it was all about getting a "sensible degree" and finding a Ken to live happily ever after with my Barbie persona.
To say my family isn't accepting of those who live outside their limited view of what's normal and right is an understatement. If I walked in with my three best friends, Mom would roll over in her grave.
Travis might be passable in their eyes since he can pull off clean-cut with the help of a long sleeved shirt and some hair gel. Jon would turn their stomachs with his hair and abundance of tattoos. Colton would be the one to induce postmortem gymnastics. His