Their Beautiful Broken Queen

Chapter 3

Tulip

The two days flew by in a flurry of getting everything ready for the show. We did all of the last-minute touches to make sure that we were ready. We even had everything in the back where our models would be ready.

Now it was almost showtime, and I was nervous as hell.

I was in my black and red pantsuit, and the girls all said that I looked awesome. Our team that we have that does our models' hair and makeup fixed mine for me. They did the same for the others that are on my team, as well as Avery, Remi, and Lucy.

We would all be walking the runway at the end of the show. This is the first time that Avery has decided to do something like this. And I was both nervous and excited. I practiced last night and this morning walking down the runway so that I don't mess up. The last thing that I wanted to do was to fall on my face in front of a big crowd of people.

When the show started, we stood backstage making sure that the models looked perfect, and that nothing was out of place. We went through all of the girls taking their turns doing the walk.

And at the end of the show, it was our turn to go out. My team went first, and then it was Lucy, Remi, Avery, and then me.

I didn't think that I should be walking last. I thought that it should be Avery since it was her company. But she said that the credit needed to go to the head of the team that put this line together. And since I did most of the work on it and I worked hard on it, I should be the one walking last.

I stood and waited for the girls to take their turns, and when Avery was on her way back down the runway, I headed out. I hit all of the markers like I was supposed to and made my way back down and to the back. After I got to the back, we all went out and made one final walk, and then Avery got up to talk.

She made her speech about the new line and how excited she was to see what her teams come up with next. When the show was over, we made our rounds, talking to everyone that we needed to talk to. And then finally it was time to clean up and go home.

By the time that I got home, I was exhausted, and I was ready to get my prosthetics off. After a shower, I fell into bed and slept soundly until my alarm went off at five in the morning.

I worked the next two days in the office, dealing with orders and contacting the warehouse that makes the clothes. We had already sold out of a few things, and the clothes were only online right now. They wouldn't be in stores for another month or so.

Avery was so happy about how well this line was selling. And by how fast that it was all selling. This had been one of the best lines to come from her company so far. And as she said at the show, she can't wait to see what else we come up with.

At the end of the next two days, I said goodbye to everyone at work and then headed out. I had double-checked that I had everything that I would need over the next month before I left. I would be taking my laptop with me. And I had a Bluetooth thermal printer that I was taking as well. That way, if I had to print something off, then I'd be able to.

I stopped on the way home to grab a burger and fries so that I didn't have to cook. Riley was at work, and I had to finish packing so that I could leave in the morning. When I got home, I grabbed all of my stuff and then headed into the apartment. After I put everything down, I headed to my room to change into shorts.

As I ate my food, I finished packing up everything that I would need for the next month. I ended up with three suitcases of clothes. Plus, I had a special case that had my other prosthetics in it. I had a pair that was for when I went running, a pair that let me wear high heels, and a pair of stubs. I didn't know if I'd need any of them, but I wanted them just in case I needed them. I also had spare parts and stuff in the case.

When I was packing, I also packed up a bookbag and a laptop bag that had two laptops, my tablet, chargers, work papers, my printer, and anything else that I would need work-wise. I also packed up sketch pads, colored pencils, regular pencils, erasers, and markers. And I put my lap desk with that stuff.

When I was done packing, I went through the apartment making sure that I had everything. I double-checked that I had all of my toiletries and clothes. I then set most of my bags by the door so that I could take them all down to the car in a little bit.

I already had my son's urn sitting by my bed so that I could take him with me. I couldn't and wouldn't leave him behind.

And then I grabbed my coolers to take to the kitchen. I went ahead and put the drinks that I got yesterday in one cooler. So, in the morning, all I had to add would be ice. I put pop, water, peach tea, juice, and cans of iced coffee in the cooler. And then set the other cooler on top of it. In the morning, I'd have to add ice to both of them. And then put the food that I made for the trip in the other one.

Yesterday, I got home kind of early. So, I stopped by the grocery store before coming home. I picked up the stuff to make cheese stake puffs, meatballs, and salami treats. I also got some fruits and veggies, as well as little bags of chips, crackers, cookies, lunch cakes, bread, and lunchmeat.

Stopping for food on road trips can get expensive as hell, and I'd rather have my own food anyway. So I always pack coolers. It also means fewer stops for me to make. I know that I'll have to stop every few hours to stretch my legs and go to the bathroom. But a quick stop at truck stops will work for that.

When I was done with everything that I could pack for the night, I took what I could down to my car and then locked it up. My laptop bag, the coolers, my pillow and blanket, and my son would all go to the car in the morning.

When I was finally done for the night, I went and took a shower and then got into bed. After my prosthetics were off, I flipped the TV on low and found something to put on. And then I picked up my phone to call Mom. I wanted to check in.

The phone rang a few times, and when I was about to hang up, someone answered it.

"Hey, my little Pebbles. How are you doing?" my daddy asked me.

"Hey, Daddy, I'm good. How are you doing?" I asked him.

"I'm doing ok. Been busy taking care of the parents. Stone and his old lady are staying with my parents tonight. So I came to the hospital to sit with your mom and her parents. She just went to the bathroom. I saw it was you calling and figured that I'd pick up the phone. Are you still heading out here?" he asked me.

"Yes, sir. I'm officially done with office work. For the next month, it will all be over the computer. We got the show done two days ago, and it was a huge success. When I got home tonight, I got everything packed up and most of it in my car. I still have a few things to load up in the morning, like my coolers, laptops, and stuff. But for the most part, I'm ready," I told him.

"What time will you be heading out? I should have had one of the boys fly up and ride back with you so that you're not driving alone. I can probably get one of them on a flight to meet you at a nearby town. Then you won't be alone," he told me.

"It's ok, daddy. I'll be fine making the trip by myself. Heck, I drove from South Carolina up to here alone. I'll call and check in with you every so often so that you know I'm ok. I'm going to get up around four in the morning and try to get out of here by five. I'll call you around six or seven when I'm on the road. How are the mom and the grandparents doing?" I asked him.

"They're all doing good. As long as everything stays the same, your grandparents should get to come home in the next day or so. Just like us, they can't wait to see you. My parents can't wait either. Your mom and I went and moved some of her parents' clothes and stuff over to our house. And we got the house cleaned up and ready for you. I want you to stop here when you make it to town. I'll give you the keys to the house then. And when you're ready to go over for the night, I'll follow you and help you get all of your stuff in. While you're in town, you and I need to sit down and talk. I know something happened to you that you won't talk to us about. You went from shutting down on us as a kid to opening up when you got with Shadow, to shutting us all out. I want my daughter back. We all love and miss you, Pebbles," he told me.

"There's a lot that I've kept from you guys over the years. And I'm not yet ready to talk about it. But when I am, you'll be the first one to know. I'm going to go. I need to get some sleep before I take off in the morning. I'll call you once I'm on the road so that you know I'm on my way. I love you, Daddy. Tell Mom and all of the grandparents that I love them, too." I told him.

He let out a sigh and then said, "Ok, baby, I'll tell them. And I love you too. Be careful tomorrow, and I'll talk to you in the morning." With that, I got off the phone with him and put my phone on the charging pad. Then I lay down to get some sleep.

The next two days were going to be long.