Page 67 of Anything But Lonely

“I haven’t even called her yet,” I chuckle, closing the door and rounding the car to get into the front seat. “Let me text her first, okay?”

“Okay!” Crew is bouncing in his seat as I send off a text.

Crew misses you. Do you have a few minutes for a quick call to say hi?

It’s the first time either of us has made contact since that night in her apartment parking lot. Part of me is still so mad at her for thinking I was the one being dramatic. The other part of me realizes now that I wasn’t even mad to begin with—it was fear.

Just like the fear I experienced when she passed out, and I had to carry her to the tour bus and make her eat something.

Has she been eating?

Has she been taking care of herself?

Or is she still pretending she’s fine?

It’s not my business—she’s not my business. I know that.

But I can’t get myself to stop wondering.

She doesn’t respond at first, but I see the three bubbles on her end. I watch them appear and disappear a few times before she finally responds.

Emerson

I have some time

“Okay, Crew,” I say, sending the call through before putting it on speaker. I turn over my shoulder, handing my phone to him. “It’s ringing.”

Crew takes my phone eagerly, holding it up a few inches from his ear as he waits for Emerson to answer.

“Hello?” Emerson’s voice fills the silence in the car

“Hi,” Crew replies, suddenly shy.

“Hey, champ,” Emerson says, and I can hear the smile in her voice. “What’s going on?”

Crew begins telling Emerson all about what he got for Christmas last week and how he got to help his mom bring Pepper to my house because she’s “living with Daddy” now. I watch as his smile lights up his entire face as she asks him questions and shares her excitement about his presents and his cat.

“What are you doing?” Crew asks Emerson.

“I’m at the fire station with my brother right now,” she tells him, and Crew’s eyes go wide.

“You’re at a real fire station?”

“That’s right,” Emerson says. “My brother is the Lead Firefighter here,” she tells him, and I can’t help but steal the details to keep for myself.

“Your brother is a real-life firefighter?” Crew looks at me like he’s talking to a celebrity, as if his own dad isn’t a world-famous rockstar.

It’s sobering, really. Apparently Crew also picked up Emerson’s habit of keeping me humble.

I’ve been so worried that Crew would look at me differently when this tour and Cross My Heart come to an end, but there’s something about his excitement for Emerson’s brother that reminds me that I don’t have to be larger than life for Crew.

I just have to be part of his life.

“Maybe you can come see the station one of these days we’re all home from tour,” Emerson offers.

“Can we, Daddy?” he asks me. “Can we go now?”

I run a hand through my hair. “I don’t think she meant today, buddy.”