Chapter 41
Erica
“Come on, Fish! This isn’t funny. Where’s my in-ear monitor? I know it was you!” I’m stomping around trying to find my earpiece I set down so I could go to the bathroom. I learned the hard way not to take them with me after the time I dropped one in the toilet.
Ari comes around the corner, always my savior, with a wicked smile on his face. “He fought me for this. I could have been wounded.”
I laugh at his antics and accept my missing piece.
After the first show I sang all those months ago, their record label asked what I thought of joining the band. At first it was a big, fat, vehement no. But the guys all assured me that they didn’t mind, and no one could argue with the publicity and positive reviews the band got that night.
I told them I’d consider it because, honestly, I wasn’t sure if I wanted to sing full time.
It had never even been on my radar. Ari’s voice came back almost two weeks later.
I sang for the 4 shows he’d missed and by that time, I’d grown to love singing up there with the guys, and that final piece of feeling part of something felt like it had clicked into place.
Now Ari and I get to sing together at every show. People come to the VIP experiences just to see me. There are even people that have said they’d never heard of Atlantica until some viral video went around of me singing at one of the shows, and that made them listen to everything.
The tour is over in a little over a week and it’s strange. I’ve been here for so much of this tour, but only really participated the last half. I’m kind of bummed it’s already over, but Ari and I have talked a lot about what the next step looks like.
We get to choose what he calls our landing spot, where we’ll live when we’re not on tour. What we want to call home, at least for a while. We can always change our minds.
Then, if you can believe this, with the approval of the guys, the label wants us to rerecord all of their albums to include the duet performances that Ari and I have been doing live.
Vann is still in jail awaiting trial. After the stunt he pulled last time, they decided to revoke his bail. There’s a chance we’ll have to testify in the future, but I’m ready for everything Vann to be in the past.
I still text and call Max every chance I get, and she’s so freaking proud of me. She promised to come visit when we get settled after the tour.
Ari promised to have my bug shipped to me.
We spend our nights on the beach, and sometimes, we sneak out on our chill day to spend the day below the sea.
When we settle, we’re going to plan our wedding, but we’re not in a rush. We’re happy and the world finally feels right, and that’s really all that matters.