Twenty-nine
Hartford, Connecticut is quite chilly when Mitchie steps off the plane and she still cannot get used to travelling first class everywhere now. Never has she been more relieved that there aren't paparazzi waiting for them outside, she was tired and heading straight to the venue to perform that night to begin the tour.
With Shane, Caitlyn and Nate in tow; they make their way to the awaiting car where Brown is already waiting for them.
Greeting him with a hug, Mitchie gets in the back of the car followed by Nate and Caitlyn. Shane gets in the front with Brown so it doesn't even cross her mind to use Nate's shoulder as a pillow, she just does it.
"Mitchie, love. It's not even a fifteen minute drive to the venue, don't get too comfy." Brown chuckles.
"I didn't get much sleep last night," She protests, "I've just been excited and nervous at the same time." This was true, it was so exciting to be touring again yet she was nervous. It really still somehow felt new to her.
And more than anything she just wants things to go smoothly on stage that night, having her closest friends there she knows will help.
"Well the buses are already there so take a nap for a few hours. You don't have soundcheck until four, but you also need to meet your opening act." Brown reminds her. Ryder Anderson was the newest teen heart-throb, a couple years younger than her but already on the track to be huge.
"Well maybe i'll just have a two hour nap." Mitchie laughs lightly, buries herself deeper into Nate and closes her eyes.
All too soon she is ushered out of the car and she opens her eyes to see they have arrived at the venue. Her band and Carrie flew in the night before and she knows there will be crew as well as her stage manager all backstage already.
Spotting the buses, she doesn't hesitate to head over to them knowing the bus labelled with the number one on it is hers. Stepping on with Shane hot at her heels, there is a small kitchen and living area which looks rather home-like. There's s small hall with bunk beds on either side, enough for four people, with a bathroom and then a main bedroom at the back of the bus.
"I guess the bedroom is technically mine." She yawns collapsing on the bed and closing her eyes.
…
Waking up a couple hours later, she is surprised that she is alone and that Shane is not besides her. She can hear quiet voices down the hall, yawning she gets up and finds the boys and Caitlyn out in the living area eating a pizza.
"Good afternoon, sunshine." Caitlyn teases, "Want some pizza?"
Mitchie shakes her head, she had just woken up and just wanted to sit down for a while. Sitting on the sofa besides Shane, she curls up into his side and reaches for his hand, interlacing their fingers together.
"Where's Carrie? She's supposed to be on this bus too isn't she?"
"She is, I think her and the band are coming from their hotel in around thirty minutes for soundcheck." Caitlyn responds.
After showering and heading into the venue, she is lead to her dressing room where she starts to do her make-up. Shane is watching her rather intently and she keeps messing up her eyeliner, distracted by him.
"What?" She smiles at him, looking into the mirror at him.
"Nothing, i'm just proud of you." He shrugs, gets up to kiss the side of her head affectionately.
"I love you, you know?" She asks.
"I do know."
"Can I show you something?" The words leave her mouth before she can stop herself, she hadn't shown Shane her tattoo yet and now it was healed she didn't have any reason not to. Shane nods and so she stands up and turns around to face him, "I don't want you to freak out or anything, I thought about it a lot and just really wanted to do it."
He looks at her confused and so she reaches for the hem of her shirts, pulls it over her head.
"Right here? Right now?" He grins, leans into kiss her.
Placing her fingers against his lips to stop him, Mitchie laughs, "No, look at my ribs."
He looks down and he sort of has this shocked yet amazed expression on his face, "Wow."
"Yeah, I kind of did it for you but more importantly I did it for me. I've never felt enough and now I finally do."
He kisses her gently, his hands drifting to the back of her bra and staying there.
"Don't think about it." She warns.
"Why not?"
A knock on the door surprises both of them and Brown opens it with Ryder Anderson right behind him. And there she is, standing in just jeans and a bra in front of her boyfriend's uncle and her opening act on tour.
"Maybe I should have waited for a reply." Brown says as Mitchie reaches for her top and hastily throws it back on.
"It's not actually what it looks like." Shane laughs nervously and Mitchie cannot help but let a giggle escape her lips.
"Oh sure." Ryder chuckles, "Are you going to introduce me to your girlfriend, Shane?"
Shane had met Ryder a few times at various events and before she can even let him reply she introduces herself, "I'm Mitchie and I was just showing Shane a tattoo I got on my ribs."
"Ryder." He replies with a smile. He was a cute little thing, still a kid at sixteen although she really wasn't a kid when she was that age. That's when she met Shane.
"You got a tattoo?" Brown interrupts.
"Perhaps." And for some reason she likes the concern in Brown's voice, he cares about her more than just an artist.
"Thank you for bringing me on tour." Ryder says, "This is all so new to me still."
"I know exactly what you mean." Mitchie smiles, she knows Ryder's smile is probably a result of seeing her standing there in her bra.
…
Getting on stage that night for the first night of tour she is so happy to have Caitlyn standing there besides her.
"How are you all doing tonight Hartford?" The deafening screams back at her are more than enough to make her feel slightly off balance but most importantly appreciative, "I am so happy that I get to begin my tour tonight with all of you. This next song is off my new album which is out next week, i'll be playing quite a number of songs off it tonight. This one is called 'So Far, So Great'. I hope you like it."
By the time she is finished for the night, she is on such a high that she high fives her tour manager Justin with such force her hand kind of stings. This is before she literally jumps into Shane's arms, "I'm so sweaty right now." She giggles and kisses the tip of his nose.
Caitlyn is shortly out behind her with Carrie and Nate envelops her in a huge hug, tells her she did great.
Mitchie sees Carrie follow with Andy and Josh and she quickly grabs her to introduce her to Shane.
"Carrie, this is Shane."
"Nice to finally meet you." Carrie holds out her hand and Shane shakes it.
"Likewise, I guess when i'm on tour in two weeks i'm leaving Mitchie in your care."
Mitchie rolls her eyes playfully, "Do you think I can't look after myself?"
All their suitcases are waiting for them when they get back on the bus that night and for some reason Mitchie just wants to go straight to bed but she feels all sweaty and immediately jumps in the shower before the bus begins to move.
Stepping out of the bathroom in a tank top and some pyjama shorts, all the suitcases have been put away and she is so thankful, says goodnight to everyone makes her way into what will be her bedroom for the next few months.
Her cases are aligned up in the corner of the room besides Shane's and she just cannot seem to fall asleep even though she is feeling exhausted.
She hears Shane creep in ten minutes later and she rolls over to let him know she is awake, "Hey." She murmurs softly, puts back the blankets for him to get in besides her.
"You feeling okay?"
"Yeah, i'm just exhausted. I'm honestly fine."
He stares at her for just a moment before kissing her forehead, "How are you going to perform in Pennsylvania tomorrow night?"
"With a big sleep in and perhaps some Red Bull."
He laughs, kisses her jawline and she feels his hands creep under her top. The thought that her friends are just on the other side of the door is kind of unnerving, yet exhilarating at the same time.
"What if someone comes in?"
"I locked the door." Shane murmurs, kisses her collar-bone, his hand resting where her tattoo was.
"What if they hear us?"
"Make sure not to scream."
…
It's in Boston a few days later that she is more than excited, she will be playing on 'Good Morning America' the next day to perform her new single. It's the television that stops her in her tracks however.
"Coming up next, an exclusive interview with Mitchie Torres' father."
Her heart almost sinks into the pit of her stomach and she can feel her breathing pick up.
"Your dad?" Carrie asks confused as Mitchie frantically reaches for the remote and turns up the volume. Hot Tunes was usually good to her and already this sounded horrible.
"Patrick...my biological dad." She explains more bitterly than intended.
Nate, Shane and Caitlyn don't say a word, they know how bad it's going to be as well and Mitchie spends the next two minutes of the ad break trying to remain as calm as possible.
"We all know Mitchie Torres, the small town girl from Dallas who hit the big time last year. She's just released her second album and is currently on her first big headlining tour. Her biggest fan though is her father who we sat down and interviewed here yesterday."
"She's always been a star." Her father appears on screen with the interviewer and Mitchie lets out a heavy breath, "She's always been my star."
"You haven't seen Mitchie in a long time is that correct?"
"It's been a while but I really want to reconnect. I can't change things that have happened in the past but I really want a future with her. I just love her so much and I worry about the industry she has gotten herself into, it's too much pressure for her. I just want to be able to see her again and tell her how much I love her. She's my heart and soul."
Mitchie cannot take it, she stands up and makes her way into her bedroom slamming the door behind her. She breaks down, just really breaks down crying on the floor. She knew why he was doing this, she had not heard from him in years and all of a sudden she had a new album coming out and was on tour and he wanted to be back in her life? He wanted her money, most likely for more alcohol.
She hears the door open and can see Shane standing there through her tear-stricken eyes and he is kind of just taking it in, her laying on the floor bawling her eyes out. He's hesitant for a moment but is soon on the ground besides her holding her close and comforting her.
"I'm sorry."
"You don't have to be sorry." He says after a pause, wipes her tears off her cheeks with the pads of his thumbs.
Sitting upright she cannot help but sob and Shane just lets her, sits upright and lets her bury her face into his shoulder.
"I cannot let him let me down again. I just can't, that's what 'For The Love Of A Daughter' is all about. It's all about our relationship and how he's let me and my mum down all these years."
"I want to say I understand, but I just don't. I don't understand how a father could treat his daughter that way because my father has already been there for me." He kisses the side of her head and tells her he loves her and Mitchie is able to calm down, even if only for a little while.
