Page 25 of Too Little Too Soon
“That’s because you were so young, you could hardly keep up,” Ava said. “But yeah, I remember.”
So there had been positive memories from her childhood after all. She’d all but forgotten, as the pressure from their mother to be perfect had eventually blotted everything else out.
“Tomorrow is a travel day, and we aren’t leaving until after lunch. Come meet us for a late breakfast, Ava,” Maria said.
“Who’s us?” she asked suspiciously.
Maria laughed. “Me and Holly, silly.”
Who had she thought Maria would say? All of the band mates? Or one specifically? Which was ridiculous, because neither of her sisters knew about her afternoon with Travis, and as he didn’t seem inclined to mention it to anyone, she certainly wasn’t going to either.
“I’d like that,” she responded.
“Excellent,” Maria said. “I’ll start a group text so we can hash out details.”
“Maria’s a big fan of group text,” Holly said, leaning toward Ava like she was conspiring with her. “She uses them to tell everyone else what to do.”
Ava laughed. She remembered that about her middle sister; Maria had always been good at bossing everyone else around. Probably made her really good at her current job.
“Where do you live?” Maria asked. “We’ll get Teddy to drop you off.”
“Only a few blocks from here, actually.”
Holly embraced them each in turn and then headed toward her bus, while Maria guided Ava toward the other one.
Ava gave her address to the driver, he tapped it into his phone, and then Maria led her to a seating area that wasn’t unlike campers people liked to take summer vacations in.
“We should have ridden Holly’s bus,” Maria said, making herself comfortable on one of the wraparound couches. “Theirs is seriously tricked out. We’ll get there, though.” She nodded for emphasis and patted the seat next to her.
Oz came strutting down the aisle, pausing to kiss Maria and tell her he was going to his bunk to sleep. She laughed and assured him she’d wake him when they reached the hotel. He rubbed his head and muttered something about forgetting they weren’t traveling tonight, and then he wandered toward the back of the bus.
Lacey and Parker came next, telling Ava it was nice to meet her and bidding her good night. Cash was behind them and said basically the same.
Travis walked by with barely a nod of acknowledgment.
Maria shook her head. “That man is so hard to read. He gets upset over the oddest things. Like me and Oz sleeping together.”
“What does you sleeping with Oz have to do with him?”
“Nothing,” Maria said with an eyeroll. “But he was in another band before he joined Demigoddess Revival, and he ended up leaving them due to interpersonal relationships going bad. Specifically, him and the guitarist. This was before my time, but Oz said Demigoddess Revival almost didn’t even happen. When Travis found out Parker and Lacey were together, he wanted them to choose the band over their relationship.”
Maria shook her head. “He’s convinced that anything beyond friendship is bad for the band.”
Ava stared down the narrow hall to where Travis had disappeared from view.
Too bad.
ChapterNine
Ava wasthe one to choose the brunch location—she had lived in the city for more than a decade, after all, so she ought to know the best places to eat.
She walked into the restaurant, spotted her sisters, and came to a stuttering halt. They were both in hoodies and sweatpants. Okay, Holly was in leggings, but still.
Maria threw her slacks and sweater a sympathetic look. “It took me a while to stop dressing like our mother too.”
“I don’t dress like Mom,” Ava protested. She didn’t.
Did she?
