All is Found - Chapter 58: Chapter 58

The past year has been such an insane rush of emotions. Touring all year is something that I never want to do again. After Pat finalized the plans of his move, Thea and I bought his house. Once his deal was finished Thea and I hired an architect to help us design our new home. Finalizing plans didn't take long because we had a clear vision of what we wanted. Once it was done Thea and I broke the news to Nikki.
At first she was sad but then she understood. She also told us that after we come back from tour she was thinking about moving in with Malia anyway. So in the end it worked out. After the plans were finalized, Thea and I spent the remaining time I had at home to start moving things into storage and back into her house.
We spent the holidays moving into her house and it was definitely strange being back here after being away for so long. I can even see Thea feel it. It didn't feel like home to her anymore. She just looked uncomfortable. We powered through the holidays though and watched as the day finally came when the construction team demolished my old house. I sat in Thea's car with tears flowing as it was reduced to rubble before us.
Pat didn't want to see it but I did. It was the last connection I had with my family and seeing it destroyed left me feeling unsettled. I know it's for the best, but it made me sad.
Leaving home a few days later didn't help either. A few days after New Year's, Nikki and I left for LA for the first leg of the world tour. This tour is going to be a bit different then the last one because Alyssa actually hired me a tour manager. She didn't want to be away for the whole year but is going to come with us to Europe. A.J. is my tour manager for the rest of the legs and he is a really nice guy. A bit stricter then Alyssa and he was able to keep us in line more.
The longer tour went on, I came to really appreciate him. Going to Asia and Australia for the first time was a joy. I've never been before but once I got on stage I had the crowds screaming my songs back to me and I felt at home. It was a nice way to ease into this long stretch on the road. The first two weeks were spent in Asia. I definitely wanted to come back to really get to soak up the culture here. The last two weeks of January were spent down under in Australia.
Luck for us it's summer in Australia when we went. It was nice on our off days to get to sit on the beach and relax. It was something I didn't realize I was looking forward to until our time winded down and we were on a plane back to the states.
Landing in Boston to the snow was disappointing after spending the last two weeks on the beach. I came home with a tan that Thea was very jealous of. We got to have a nice two weeks together before I had to leave again. It was mostly spent picking out different things for the new house. The day after I flew home we drove past the sight and I got to see the frame of the first floor done. The second floor will be built when the weather gets a bit better.
The day after Valentine's day I was on the move again. This time Alyssa came with us as we flew off to Europe for the second leg of the tour. I was nervous to be back here after last time but having her here helped. I also had Fletcher opening for me for the rest of the legs of the tour. It was nice to have another friend out here to make the time not spent on stage less lonely.
This time around in Europe I was noticed more and it made sightseeing harder. With the amount of off days I had I was hoping to get to see some of the countries I was touring. But being spotted made it hard. On this leg of the tour I opened up our sound checks to fans. We capped them at 50 per show and it was nice to have a that time with fans.
Towards the middle of April I was ready to get home. Thea and I have been talking a lot about things for the house because the construction was finally done. We made most of the decisions as to what we wanted the inside to look like but if something came up she always called and asked for my input. It was nice to have this open communication with her while I was away but I kind of felt bad leaving all this extra work for Thea to do.
As we returned to Salem at the end of the Europe leg of the tour I was so happy to see Thea waiting for me at the airport. Malia was in tow and Nikki jumped up and down in surprise. Malia told Nikki that she was working days when our flight would be coming in. It was just to be able to surprise Nikki.
On the drive back to Thea's house we passed the sight of our new home. From the outside the house looked done. The façade was done and the windows were finally put in. The power crew was there when we pulled up to install the solar panels to the roof. Thea told me we could come look at the inside tomorrow when they were done.
Thea actually took the first few days I was home off from work so we could spend some time together. She has been pulling more shifts lately. A new gang settled into Salem and her unit has been working overtime to try and remove their hold on the town. This down time was just as much for her as I. When she went back to work the few days later I buried myself in working on things for the house.
We planned the construction of the house so that my new home studio would be built while I was home. It is on the first floor of the house and I was at the house for a few days with our construction team to tell them explicitly what I wanted. With me there to oversee the process I got everything I wanted and was happy with the outcome.
May was kind to us this year. Early warm weather made its presence known and I spent a lot of days with Pat in his pool. Pat is loving life in the condo. All his friends are around and he has their own private pool and gym. He is happy and that's all I wanted for him. Nicholas and Sydney came up to visit Pat just as I was leaving and they even said the community was nicer than they thought it would be.
My time at home came to an end again and I was off to South America. A.J. was back cracking his whip and Nikki and I found it fun to mess with him. South American fans were wild. A few times I had bra's thrown on stage. I even started a collect of them by the end of tour. The sound check parties still happened and they were really fun. A few fans called me out on my bad dance moves and they became determined to help me get better. I think that was one of my favorite memories of this tour. That and the food.
Getting to have the summer at home was something I missed. This year was a warm one and Thea and I got to spend a week in Martha's Vineyard. Slowly I have been coming to terms with the scar on my stomach. I've worked with Doctor Blake a lot on positive body image and I think it's finally starting to stick in my brain. Being with Thea on the beach as she walked around so openly in her bikini also helped.
Our week together was a blessing. It helped rejuvenate myself before the last long haul of my tour. After we returned from Martha's Vineyard, Thea and I launched ourselves into getting the house in order. The construction is finally all done. We got the final sign off on it the week before I was leaving for tour.
Thea and I spent that last week together moving things back into the house. After everything is moved in, Thea is going to be putting her house up for sale. She thought it's time to finally do it. I supported her decision and told her she doesn't have to if she didn't want too. But she doubled down and said that it was time.
The way I mapped out the US tour was that we would start on the west coast and end here in Boston. I actually had to add two more dates here in Boston because of the demand for tickets was so high. So I'm playing three sold out shows here in Boston to cap off the world tour.
Nikki and I flew back out to LA to meet up with the Diego and Britt before all four of us flew up to Seattle for our first show. We zig-zagged through the west coast to the Midwest. By the time we got to the middle of September we finally crossed the Mississippi River and started to make our way through the south east.
Thea decided that she wasn't going to join me on tour. She wanted to stay at home and buckle down to study for the lieutenants test that was coming up in the beginning of October. I understood and it made me happy that she is following through with her chasing her dream.
By the time we made it to October and the final week of tour I was both happy and sad the tour was ending. This has been the wildest year of my life and I was happy to get to spend time on the road doing what I love but I'm happy that I'm so close to going home. I've learned a lot about myself and the people around me and I couldn't be more thankful to be surrounded by an amazing group of people.
After tour I'm releasing Diego and Britt from their contracts with me. I don't know when the next time I'm going to tour again and I don't want them waiting around for something that might not come. I will be sad to see them go because I do consider them family at this point. We have seen each other at our lowest and highest moments and they both have stood steadfast by my side.
My sweetest Nikita. She knows that once this tour is over I'm not planning on making and putting music out again for a while. Over the past few months I have asked her what she wants to do next with her life but she hasn't given me an answer yet. I do believe that she will stick around Salem to be with Malia but I don't know if she is going to hop on another tour. I know my band will be hired right away if they want to jump on another tour after this one. Apparently my tour has been the most successful tour of 2022.
The final show in Boston was a tearful one. I will definitely miss touring but I'm thankful I'm finally done. I want to be home with Thea and really start our lives together. She doesn't know yet but I've started to apply to a few different colleges to pursue a degree in education. I was going to surprise her after tour is over. I even think I made a decision on where I want to attend school as well.
The last show was full of family and surprises. I had two boxes full of people waiting in the wings to celebrate after the show. I was going to pull Thea on stage to sing Tell Her You Love Her one last time but at the last minute I changed my mind. I walked over to Nikki and Britt to let them in on my plan and walked to the wings to pull Thea on stage with me.
The crowd went nuts as I went and grabbed the microphone. Britt and Nikki started to play the opening beats of the next song as I took a breath.
"This woman has been my rock through everything and I'm so happy to be coming home to you later tonight and I wanted to do something a little different tonight. I hope you don't mind. This next song is called I Don't Dance."
I took Thea's hand in mine and had her put her arms around me like when we dance around our living room. We swayed in beat with each other as I sang the song. I even got to spin her around a few times to coincide with the lyrics. After the song was over I kept her on stage to sing Strong and Tell Her You Love Her before I let her to off to the wings for me to finish my show.
As I started to play my last encore song, which is always My Heart, all of my family and friends came out from the wings and sang it along with me on stage. The fans were screaming and so was everyone on stage and it brought me to tears. Just as I could hear Ashers voice being played for the audience I looked out to the photographer pit and saw my family standing there. My mom, Ashley, Asher, Ed, Allison and Thea's parents. I could help but cry and know they are here in support, telling me it's okay to move on to this next chapter of my life with Thea. I know once I stopped singing the song they would be gone forever and I wished I could have sung all night long to have them stay. But I know it's time.
With the final notes of the song played I took a deep breath and said I love you right to them. I could hear everyone around me cheering and starting to celebrate and I closed my eyes to soak in the moment. When I opened them again I felt Thea's hand in mine and they were gone.
I spent some more time on stage taking pictures with everyone involved before everyone started to clear out. I was able to get one with just Thea and I and the crowd behind us then one of my band and I then it was only me on stage. The crowd was still buzzing and nobody has left yet, waiting to see if anything else was going to happen. I know I needed to get off the stage but I felt rooted in my spot. I didn't want to leave to just yet.
"From the bottom of my heart I just want to thank each and every one of you for believing in me. It will probably be a long time before you hear from me again but just know that I will always be listening. Creating music is something that has become such an important part of my soul and I will always continue to do. But for now I'm going to take a step back to enjoy the life I've been creating over the last few years. I love you all."
I took one finally bow and left the mic on the floor of the stage before walking off to my waiting family. I rented out a Brixx for an after party with everyone and we all had a fun time. But finally it was time to go home. Thea pulled us into the driveway of our new house and handed me the key. I unlocked the door and got to see it for the first time furnished and mostly complete. The only real things left was to move the last of my things in from storage.
Thea took me on a tour and the house came out better then I imagined. I couldn't wait to spend the rest of our lives creating memories here with her and our soon to be family.