“There is sand in places I don’t even want to think about now, thank you very much,” Rebel grumbled as he stood and tried to brush himself off.
He wasn’t wrong. Even with me alternating between helping him and laughing so hard I just got in the way; there was no wiping away all the sand that clung to his hair and clothes.
“I can always do a sand inspection later,” I offered. “Make sure you got it all off in the shower.”
“You’re hell-bent on getting me naked today, aren’t you?”
“Are you complaining?”
“No chance in hell.”
“Didn’t think so.”
Chapter 25
(Rebel)
Days and nights on the road tended to blend together, even when we stayed in hotels instead of our bunks on the bus while it was parked in a campground. My restlessness should have been off the charts by now, but when we’d popped into the hobby shop so Kit could pick up supplies, I’d gotten lost in the section of the store with jewelry-making supplies and found so many pendants I wanted to turn into necklaces that I’d raided the O-ring section, picking up the heaviest gauges I could find.
There were enough YouTube tutorials on chainmail construction that it was easy to find a handful that focused specifically on collars and necklaces. After a great deal of trial, error, and mangled O-rings, I was finally getting the hang of piecing together the strands. Having something to do with my hands kept me from dreaming up other ways to amuse myself and, surprise, surprise, helped me settle my thoughts enough that when I crashed at night, I slept hard for a solid seven hours.
Not waking up with the sun was a welcome change with the late nights we kept, and if I found myself not guzzling as much caffeine before I could function, then I’m sure my jittery nervous system thanked me for not sending it into overload. Kit seated beside me, working on one of his seascape dioramas, was a hugehelp too.
Across from us, Dash was steadily scribbling away on his drawing tablet, working on the cover for our next album. What he’d shown us this afternoon was fucking badass to the core, but he claimed it wasn’t close to being finished. I loved that he’d based it off some of the pictures he’d taken on our trip through the mountains. Taking a train tunnel and turning it into a gaping demon’s maw had been a brilliant twist, as had turning what had originally been a snow-capped mountain into an erupting volcano, complete with flames bursting from the top, the shadow shapes of winged beings appearing in the smoke. He’d drawn the lava flow like a macabre face, adding yet another sinister element to it, but the most badass bit of all was that he’d drawn the train with our logo on the side, sparks shooting from the wheels as it raced towards the tunnel.
Wicked Hellridewas the title we’d decided upon, which I personally loved, but then I was biased because I’d suggested it. The whole vibe on the bus was just chill. Ozzy was parked in a chair, reading a book, while Sully was up front with our driver. The only one missing was Johnny, but he split his time between riding with us and riding with Draven, brainstorming new merchandising ideas while spending time with his Daddy. Sleeping for four was all the bunk space our buses could handle, so him crashing over there worked out for us while Ozzy was still part of the tour.
It was going to be weird to have him gone.
For twenty years he’d been a part of my life. Realistically, I knew he’d constantly be in touch, but not seeing him was going to take some getting used to. As long as he didn’t mind me blowing up his phone in the middle of the night, I’d figure out how to manage, but I was gonna miss the hell out of him.
Three more rings attached. The deep purple ones interspaced with bright silver really resonated with me, though I still hadn’t decided on the pendant I wanted to attach. The castle with a dragon wrapped around it was my top choice, but there was also a reaper that I’d fallen in love with, and its eyes werealmost the same shade of purple as the O-rings.
Decisions, decisions.
I was so focused on connecting two rings together that the sudden bounce barely registered. It was the bang and the resulting fishtail that caught my attention when I was thrown into Kit. O-rings, shells, and sea glass slid across the table; Ozzy’s book fell from his hands as Dash cursed and jerked the stylus away from the tablet.
“Hang on back there!” Sully barked.
“Trying!” Dash called back as the bus spun before finally coming to a stop in the middle of the highway.
“Is everybody okay?” Sully called out as we all tried to get our bearings and retrieve the things that had scattered everywhere.
"I'll let you know after I check my shorts,” Kit muttered, managing to get a bit of a chuckle out of the rest of us.
Fortunately, this stretch of road was fairly empty and our driver was able to turn the bus around and limp it to the shoulder.
“What happened?” I asked as I brushed my hair from my eyes.
“We hit something in the road,” Sully said. “Pretty sure we’ve got a flat. Pat’s going to check it out; you four stay put. I’ll call Draven and see what he wants us to do.”
“Yeah, okay, thanks,” I said, blowing out a long breath to steady my shaking fingers.
“Are you okay?” Kit asked when I sent an O-ring skittering instead of grabbing it.
“Fine. Just had a sudden flashback to the last time I was in a spinning vehicle.”
“With Johnny?”