Suddenly a bright light roused her. She woke up with a start and didn't recognize her surroundings at first. She clutched the blanket and looked around wildly with fear in her eyes.
After a few seconds she recognized her room and realized Brian had flipped on the light switch. He stood their bleary eyed and groggy looking
"Come on Erin, Get dressed its time to leave for the tour bus." He said.
To tired to snap or argue with him Erin nodded and got out of the bed. She had been dreaming she was following Erek. She was hiding behind a dumpster. Suddenly he whirled around with a gun pointed straight at her.
Erin shuddered. She had had no choice but to kill Erek. If she hadn't he would have killed her. That fact didn't make the nightmares stop though. She just wished she could stop thinking about the day she killed Erek. Over and over she had gone over it in her head, trying to think if there was any way she could have avoided killing him. She always arrived at the same conclusion. Short of knowing before hand what he was going to do she could not have avoided killing Erek.
Erin glanced at the clock. It was 3 in the morning. No wonder she was sleepy. She took a quick shower and got dressed. Then she tried to drag her suitcase downstairs. It was too big and heavy for her to manage it well though. Brian, passing by, saw her struggle.
"Here, I'll help you with that."
"Thanks." Brian helped her lug the suitcase downstairs. He couldn't believe she had let him help her and actually thanked him.
'But,' he reasoned 'It might just be because she was tired.'
After a few minutes Nick joined them. Suprisingly enough he didn't look tired at all, he actually looked rather hyper. Shortly afterward a white van pulled up to the door. Brian and Nick carried the suitcases to the back of the ban. Erin stood back not knowing if she should get in or if she should wait for Brian.
"Come on Erin, get in." Brian nudged her. Hesitantly she opened the van door and stepped in. There were 3 other guys seated in the van. 1 was sitting in a seat alone. The 2 were sitting together. Erin recognized Kevin. Brian hadn't told her he was in the band! Kevin was sitting next to a man with short dark curly hair. The other man, sitting alone, had hair that was dark with the blond tips. He also sported several tattoos.
"Hello AJ, rise and shine." said Nick loudly and cheerfully. AJ turned a bleary eye toward him.
"Nick, now is a time when I am usually in bed. Don't push me."
"Well pardon me." Nick pretended to sulk in the corner. Erin sat in her corner of the van and started to doze off. 15 minutes later when the van stopped at the tour bus she woke suddenly.
Erin stumbled off the van and lugged her suitcase into the bus. She looked around the bus groggily and tried to decide what to do. Brian came in behind her.
"You can leave your suitcase out and just catch some sleep" he told her "There will be plenty of time later to unpack."
Erin found a bunk in the back of the bus and collapsed n it. She drew the bunks curtain and fell asleep.
After a few hours of sleep Erin woke up to hear soft voices outside her bunk. She strained to hear words, but she couldn't make them out.
"Brian's probably telling them my life history. Wait a minute," She thought smugly "he doesn't know it!"
She smiled to herself. That was the only good thing about this situation. No one knew who she was, where she was from, or what she had done.
Outside her bunk at the other end of the bus Nick and Brian were talking in hushed voices.
"Well at least she didn't snap at me this morning" Brian was saying "perhaps she's getting used to me."
"Either that or she was to exhausted to do anything" remarked Nick "She looked pretty tired"
"Knowing her that's probably it. She's been a perfect little brat the few days she's been with me."
"Maybe she's missing her Mom. Think how you would feel if you woke up one morning and your mom was dead. Have you talked to her about it at all?"
"No, I haven't had a chance. She won't let me talk to her. It's as if she's afraid of me or angry with me or both."
"She acts like she's angry at you, but I think under all that toughness there's a very scared person." Nick told him
"Maybe you're right" Brian conceded "but she sure doesn't show it."
Just then Erin came out of her bunk and stretched.
"Good morning Erin." Brian said smiling.
Erin shot him a poisonous glare and walked into the bathroom.
Brian sighed "Its gonna be a long day."
