Suddenly we felt the bus go off the road. I don't know if any of us were prepared for it tipping over.
"Is everyone okay?" Max asked.
"Yes." Janice and Jessica both answered.
"No." I replied as I pushed a speaker off my arm. I was in a lot of pain and my arm didn't look right. I wasn't a doctor, but I was pretty sure it wasn't good. "I think my arm's broken."
"Well I guess that could be worse." Max commented. I supposed if that was the worst thing that happened in the crash, it would be alright. I could live with a broken arm, even though it would probably suck.
"Oh my god." Janice declared as she walked to the front of the car. That didn't sound very good "The driver appears to be gravely injured. He needs an ambulance."
We waited a few minutes before an ambulance arrived. Both me and the driver were taken into the emergency room. I was given some x-rays to make that there was no major damage and there wasn't, so I was fitted with a bright pink cast. I felt kind of silly being there when all I had was a broken arm when there were other people with much worse conditions. I seemed to be brought in before a bunch of other people. I didn't like getting special treatment because I was famous.
I was released into the waiting room where the others were a few minutes later. I wondered how the driver was since his condition seemed to be a lot worse than mine.
"So how is he?" I asked. I wondered if they had heard any news.
"Not well." Max informed me. "They said there's only about a 25 percent chance that he'll live. So is it just broken?"
"Yeah I have to wear this cast for the next month so I won't be able to play guitar." I explained as I looked the cast over. I probably wouldn't be able to play piano either but I was not sure. "So what are we going to do about the show tomorrow night?"
"I don't know." Max admitted. It probably wasn't the most important thing considering that a man was fighting for his life. "I guess we need to see what happens."
We waited for a few hours before a doctor came out to tell us the news. From the look on his face, it didn't look like good news.
"I'm sorry ladies but your driver has passed away." The German doctor told us. I felt kind of guilty considering he had died because of us. "You should probably go and get some sleep."
So we ended up cancelling our shows for the next week before we finally took the stage. I had to rework my set, since I wasn't able to play guitar. I ended up having Jessica come on stage to play for me. I also wasn't able to play piano, so I had to have a session musician play for me.
Max ended up dedicating the show to our fallen driver. His family was flown out to see the show for free. I was actually appalled with the media reaction. It seemed like they were making a bigger deal out of the fact that I broke my arm than the fact that a man died.
"Hello, Berlin." I declared. "Before we get started, I need to address something. Yes, I broke my arm because our bus crashed, but that seems to be all anyone is talking about. Our driver died in that same accident. This song is for everyone that focuses on the trivial things instead of what's important."
Two packs of cigarettes a day, the strongest whiskey Kentucky can make
That's a recipe to put a vagabond on his hands and knees
I watched it all close, I knew him more than most
The soft side of him can never show.
Full of sympathy for a world that wouldn't let be
There's so many words, have you heard enough?
What a shame What a shame
To judge a life that you can't change
The choir sings, the church bells ring
So won't you give this man his wings?
What a shame to have to beg you to see
We're not all the same
What a shame
God forgive the hands that laid you down
And never knew how much a broken heart could make a sound
And change the seasons
Now the leaves are falling faster, happily ever after
You gave me hope through your endeavors
And now you will live forever.
What a shame What a shame
To judge a life that you can't change
The choir sings, the church bells ring
So won't you give this man his wings?
What a shame to have to beg you to see
We're not all the same
What a shame
I then finished up my set. I knew that fans at the show were not responsible for the way things were portrayed. I just felt like I needed to get that off of my chest. I probably wouldn't ever perform the song again. It was probably the angriest that I had felt in a long time. I was glad that music was therapeutic because I didn't know another way to deal with it.
"Thank you Berlin. JMJ are coming up." I declared as I left the stage.
"Who sings that?" Jessica asked as I walked backstage. They had a little bit of time before they needed to perform, so we could talk for a little bit.
"It's Shinedown." I explained. "I had to do something for him."
"It was smashing that you decided to honor him." Janice stated as the three of them took the stage and began to sing. Once again I stood and listened. Which meant I got to sit back and drink some Pepsi. Pepsi he recently signed me on for a commercial. Unfortunately my broken arm delayed the commercial. I still felt lucky to be in a commercial for them. I would be joining artists like Michael Jackson and Britney Spears who been in commercials for the company. I knew that wasn't exactly the best company to be in, but there were others as well.
For the next seven weeks, we went through all eight countries: Ireland, Spain, Germany, France, Italy, Greece, Portugal, and the United Kingdom. We pretty much stuck to boats and planes for the rest of the trip. It was fun going to the some of the countries that we didn't get to see on the ship. We also got to try the native cuisine of each country. Some countries had better food than others. By the time we got to Greece, my cast was off and I was able to play guitar again.
When the tour was over, we were back at the loft, I had officially moved in with them. Max and I were preparing to go to bed in our room. Well I was living with them for now. The only problem was I felt homesick. I didn't think that I wanted to live in the UK. I didn't want to break up with Max, but I wanted to go back to America. There had to be another way to do this,
"So have you thought about trying to break into the US?" I asked as I finished getting dressed in my sleepwear. Babydolls had become my nightwear of choice. It was definitely something that I didn't expect when I changed into a girl. It was coming on a year since I first changed. It was kind of hard to believe that it had only been a year because it seemed to go by so quickly.
"We've thought about it a little." Max stated. "We're not sure about it. I mean what if we're not accepted in America? What if everyone hates our music?"
"Max, I don't think anyone could hate your music. I think you would actually be really popular there. Who's not going to like a band of three hot girls? If I can do it, so can you guys. But even if you don't, I want you to go a trip there with me. There's someone that I want you to meet." I declared as I got into bed. I knew that I should also bring up my true intentions. "Max, the reason I'm asking is because I want to move back to the US. I miss my family and I think we should see your parents."
"Okay I'll come with you but we should ask the twins if they want to come too." Max replied as she lied down next to me. "You know I'm really not that tired. I think that I might be ready."
I smiled as she began to undress me. Neither one of us got much sleep that night. I hadn't imagined what it would be like, but I was pretty sure that if I had, what happened would have been even better.
We were both naked when we woke up in the morning. Having sex with Max was a little bit weird, but completely enjoyable. It was mostly weird because I had never experienced lesbian sex before. I absentmindedly wondered if Jessica and Janice were able to hear us. Not long after I woke up, Max began to stir as well. She looked so beautiful that I didn't want to wake her up, but I also knew that I should stare at her while she slept because it was kind of creepy. Fortunately, she wasn't asleep for very long. She sat up and smiled at me.
"So how was I?" She asked.
"Well I can't really compare you to James but I thought that you were great for your first time." I stated as I picked my clothing up off the floor. I then noticed the scratches on my back. "Maybe you should trim those nails though."
"Sorry about that." She replied as she laughed and began to get dressed as well.
Four days later, the four of us headed on our way to Rhode Island to visit Cody and Bailey. The two of them had moved into their own house since their dorm wasn't really big enough for a crib. We would be heading to Boston to see my parents and hopefully her parents as well.
"So Cody and Bailey have a babe now." Jessica stated. "That's kind of surprising."
"It actually didn't surprise me at all. If you knew how much those two had sex, you wouldn't be surprised either." I explained with a laugh as Max nodded in agreement. "They live in Rhode Island so they can be close to school."
"What school do they go to?" Janice asked.
"Brown." I answered. I didn't quite see the point in going all the way to Rhode Island for college. Then again, I wasn't exactly sure what Cody wanted to do. He kept changing his career choices. I think the last thing he wanted to do was write a novel about a gang war love story about Mexican and Italian Mafia members. I didn't have the heart to tell him that he was basically rewriting West Side Story. Coincidentally, West Side Story happened to be one of our in-flight movies. I still thought it was as bad as the first time I saw it. I didn't care that it was supposed to be a mastery of cinema, it was a rip-off of Romeo + Juliet, which was also incredibly overrated.
We arrived in Providence at about 7:00 p.m. Eastern time. It meant that it would have been about midnight in England. I was pretty sure that was right. I had been to so many different time zones over the past few months, it was kind of hard to keep track. From the airport, it was about a fifteen-minute drive to Cody and Bailey's house. In Cody's last e-mail it sounded like they would be preparing their wedding. I guess it made sense for the two of them to get married since they had a kid and all but I still thought that the two of them were still too young for marriage. They didn't need to rush into marriage if they were not ready yet but that was just my opinion. Mom and Dad managed to stay married in this reality so I supposed relationships could last. I pulled into Cody and Bailey's driveway and we all stepped out and headed toward the door and I rung the doorbell. Bailey answered the door.
"Hey it's good to see all of you." She greeted as she let us in. She had seemed to lose all of the weight that she had gained from the baby.
"It's good to see you again too." Max declared. I smiled because what I had said to Cody had come true.
"Wow I didn't know that had an accent now." Bailey commented. "The baby's sleeping right now. I'll give you a tour. Cody should be home in a few minutes."
"Where is he?" Jessica asked as she looked around the house and admired it.
"He just finished class. He should be bringing some food back with him. So how long are you guys going to be staying?" Bailey responded.
"Probably about five days." I explained. "Jessica and Janice don't want to spend too much time away from their boyfriends."
"What about you, do you have a boyfriend?" Bailey asked me.
"No I don't." I replied with a smile as I hugged Max close. "I have Max."
"So you two are together now." Bailey declared. "It's about time."
"What do you mean by that?" I asked.
"I always thought that the two of you would be more than friends." Bailey explained. "You just have this chemistry that I've never seen before. I actually made a bet with Cody that the two of you were going to get together."
"What was the bet?" Max asked full of curiosity.
"A foot rub." Bailey answered. That didn't seem like too great of a prize.
"I don't understand the purpose of making a bet that you don't care if you lose." Jessica remarked as she grabbed the remote to see if anything was on tv. She probably had a point. Anyway, it was just some rerun of an old comedy before the show was interrupted.
"This just in!" The news anchor declared. "We have just gotten word that there been a shooting at the Tipton hotel in Boston. At least 5 people have already died."
So there's a bit of a shocking ending. Will everyone in Boston be okay? Also Zoey decided to pay tribute to her driver. Please don't forget to review.