Miley P.O.V.
"CUT! AND THAT'S A WRAP FOR TODAY FOLKS, GOOD WORK." The director shouted through his bullhorn. We quickly scattered from our current positions on set, and made a beeline for the snack table. I snatched up a bottle of water and waited for the Jonas Brothers to join me. I unscrewed the lid of my Dasani water bottle and brought the rim to my glossed lips. Tilting my head back, I let the cool water slide down my throat, infinitely cooling me down. I screwed the cap back onto the bottle and sat it on the table, and looked around. My eyes shot from the beautiful scenery of New Mexico, to the quickly darkening sky above me. My heart began to beat at an unusually fast pace, my knees feeling weak, as tears found their way into my eyes. I, Miley Cyrus, am horribly terrified of Thunder Storms. For a perfectly good reason, though. 2 years ago, my parents died in the middle of a thunder storm. They were driving home along a bridge as the rain was beating down and making the road slick. Another car slid into theirs and their Porsche rolled over 3 times before it flipped over the side and into the ocean below. It was the worst thing to ever happen to me-and no one knew about it. Not even my boyfriend, Nick Jonas, of 18 months. I didn't want pity from anybody, I was doing just fine. I'm 20 years old now, I can take care of myself.
"Hey baby!" Nick said, striding up to me and softly kissing me. I smiled into the kiss, extremely happy. Nick was the one thing in my life that truly made me genuinely happy.
He reached down and interlocked our hands, swinging them lightly, as his two brothers approached us.
"Niley Niley Niley!" Joe shouted, making kissy faces. I shot him a glare, which very quickly shut him up.
"So guys, we were thinking….let's all go out to dinner. Like, the whole cast? Jeremy is the best director in the world, too! He said we could take the limo and go wherever we want-his treat! I saw we go pig out people!" Kevin exclaimed, a bright smile adorning his face.
"Yeah man, I'm so in!" Nick said, smiling.
"Of course I am…" Joe stated, matter-of-factly. They were all staring at me, waiting for me to speak up. With one last glance up at the sky, I knew I couldn't go, so I made up the simplest lie I could.
"Err…I'm not feeling so great. I'm gonna go back to our room, Nicky. You guys go and have fun though!!" I said, placing a hand over my stomach for added effect.
"You're sick? No, I wont go, I'll stay with you babe!" Nick exclaimed, concern evident in his voice. I smiled at his kindness, but shook my head.
"Nonsense. Go out with everyone! I'm just going to go home and rest, don't worry about me!" I encouraged, hoping he'd give in.
"Okay…but only if you're sure?" he said, a little warily.
"Positive! Now, get a move on before Joey here goes into withdrawal!" I joked, pulling Nick into a tight hug.
"It looks like its gonna rain! Let's get to the limo before it full on pours!" Kevin said, staring up at the black sky.
"Whoa! Yeah, lets motor!" Joe said.
"I love you. Be safe." I murmured into Nick's ear, as he nestled his face in my hair.
"I love you too, baby. If you need me, just call. I'll come…you know that." He stated, hugging me closer.
"I know, I know. Now go! Have fun!" I said, pulling back, and placing a soft kiss on his lips. He flashed me one last smile, turned on his heel, and trotted off with his brothers.
Once they were out of earshot and out of view, I let all my tears flow freely. Thunder storms not only scared me, but they were an emotional rollercoaster for me. As the salty tears raced down my face, I heard a crack of thunder. My pace picked up until I was full on running. Within minutes I had reached mine and Nick's temporary condo, unlocking the door and slamming it shut behind me. I ran up the stairs to our bedroom, kicking my flipflops off along the way, and bounced onto the bed, burying my head into Nick's pillow. I inhaled, smelling his scent, which calmed me down a bit, but no where near enough. My head was spinning, my heart pounding, as I was painfully reminded of my parents deaths.
I stood up from the bed and jogged over to the closet, pulling back the white doors. I scrambled around on the floor, before finding my suitcase. I unzipped it and rummaged around inside it, my hand grasping a book tightly. I withdrew it from the bag, walked back to the bed, and sat down. I flipped through the pages, seeing pictures of me and my parents, of my parents together and happy, and of huge family gatherings. It only made me cry more. I reached the end of the album, my eyes about to meet with the last page. Tears fell from my eyes at uncontrollable speeds, as my sight fixed on the final page.
In the center was a newspaper clipping, titled: "Tennessee News reports: TISH AND BILLY RAY CYRUS KILLED IN CAR CRASH" It was huge news around Tennessee, but I tried my best to keep it out of the media elsewhere. I slammed the book shut, not able to handle any more, and tossed it in the nightstand beside the bed. The thunder and lightning was becoming more and more frequent, which in turn was scaring me more and more. My crying would not subside, no matter how hard I tried to stop myself. I climbed under the covers, covering myself completely, and sobbed. My whole body shook under the covers, as the scene of my parents funeral played over and over in my head.
Nick P.O.V.
We got to the restaurant and ordered our dinner, and were now patiently waiting for our food. Joe, Kev and I were seated at the head of the table so we could talk amongst ourselves, as the rest of the cast talked about whatever. But something didn't feel right…I couldn't explain it, but something was definitely wrong.
"Guys…It's Miley…I just have this feeling like-"
"-Something's wrong?" Joe said, cutting me off. Sometimes it surprises me, how smart he can be.
"Yeah…" I said, distractedly.
"Did Miley seem off to you guys too, then?" Joe asked, concern clearly written all over his face.
"Yeah, now that you mention it…" Kevin said, taking a sip of his water.
"I'm worried about her. I need to go check on her…" I stated, pushing back my chair and rising to my feet.
"Alright bro. I would do the same if I were you, so go after your girl! Call us if anything is wrong, okay man?" Joe said.
"Will do." I said, heading out of the restaurant.
I ran through the pouring rain, the droplets penetrating my once-dry cloth. My curly hair was sticking to my forehead, and my clothes were now clinging to my body. But I didn't care…all I could think about was getting to Miley.
After 5 minutes of running I was back at the set, and hightailed it to our condo. I unlocked the door, closing it gently behind me, and dashed up the stairs to find a shaking Miley, hidden beneath the bedspread.
"Miles?" I said, softly.
I watched as the blankets slowly peeled back to reveal Miley, her face tear-stained. Seeing this broke my heart, and all I wanted to do was hug her. I rushed to her side, lying down next to her on the bed, and wrapping my arms around her. She cried into my chest, her whole body shaking violently.
About an hour later, the storm was coming to a close, as was Miley's sobbing. The shaking had subsided 20 minutes ago, but the tears were only just beginning to cease. She eventually sat upright, wiping at her cheeks, and shooting me an apologetic glance.
"Baby…what's wrong?" I asked, soothingly, while tucking a strand of her hair behind her ear.
Her gaze shifted down to her hands, as she played with them nervously, the tears starting up again. I rested one of my hands on top of hers, which caused her to look up at me. Her eyes showed so much hurt and pain, and it was destroying me, to see her like that. She just stared at me, her gorgeous blue eyes continuously leaking tears like a broken faucet. I reached up with my other hand, and gently flicked the tears away.
She didn't say anything, she just stood up and disappeared underneath the bed. Seconds later she reappeared, this time clutching a book. She extended it out to me, and I took a hold of it, bringing it into my lap. She climbed back onto the bed, next to me, still saying nothing.
I sat the book in front of me on the bed, and pulled Miley into my lap. I wrapped my arms around her protectively, then brought the book closer to us and began going through it.
The first of it was just family photos, and I couldn't help but grin at how cute little Miley was.
But then, I reached the last page. There was nothing but a newspaper clipping in the center, the title causing me to wince. The article wasn't terribly long, but it was heartwrenching. It caused me to shed a few tears as I read: "Tish Cyrus and Billy Ray Cyrus, parents to Miley Cyrus, passed away early this morning. There was a violent storm, rain making the streets slick. Their car was hit by another, and it rolled multiple times. The couple eventually ended up in the ocean beneath the bridge they were traveling on. They were announced dead once they were found."
I looked at the tiny girl in my arms, as she sobbed. I had no idea she had lost her parents, she had just never mentioned it before.
I carefully closed the book, setting it next to me on the bed, and hugged Miley closer to me.
"I m-m-miss th-them." She sobbed.
"I know baby, but they aren't gone. They are right here." I said, placing my hand over her heart. She nodded her head, the tears slowing only a little.
"i-its j-just so ha-hard." She cried, snuggling her head into my shoulder.
"I know hun. I'm so sorry. You always have me, though, and I'm not going anywhere." I said, kissing her forehead. She smiled at me, slowly nodding her head.
With my arms still wrapped tightly around her, I laid us both down on the bed. Our bodies were pressed tightly together, as one of my hands stroked her back; the other running through her hair.
NEXT MORNING
MILEY P.O.V.
I woke up the next morning feeling a lot better than I was last night. I couldn't help but smile at how wonderful Nick was. I opened my eyes, expecting to see his body lying next to me, but it wasn't. I sat up and pushed my feet over the edge, about to stand up, when a shirtless Nick walked in. He was carrying a tray with food on it, insisting that I get my "cute butt" back in bed.
I giggled, but happily obliged. As I was resting my head on the headboard, something caught my eye. Something that hadn't been there before-a picture of me, my mom and dad, in a beautiful antique frame.
I glanced at it confused, then up at Nick, giving him a warm smile.
"So we never forget what wonderful people they were, and that they're always with us." Nick said, speaking of the photo. My parents got to meet Nick when he and I were best friends (basically from ages 13 until we started dating-6 months after my parents death).
I smiled up at him and watched as he sat the tray down at the foot of the bed. Seeing this opportunity, I reached up and grabbed ahold of his wrist, pulling him down on the bed beside me.
"I love you, so, so, so, so SO much!" I exclaimed, kissing him passionately.
"Well, I. Love. You. More." He spoke, in between kisses.
I pulled back and rested my head on his shoulder, as he wrapped his arms around me.
"How did you know to come find me, last night?" I asked.
"I don't know, I just had a feeling. I knew something was wrong, and nothing was going to stop me from being here for you…" he said, hugging me tighter.
I lifted my head and brought him into a very loving kiss. My arms were wrapped securely around his neck, as his were wrapped protectively around my waist.
We sat there in our embrace, truly understanding the essence of love and happiness.
Here I sat, in the arms of a boy who could take all my pain away, and in replace it with love, warmth, and security.