<3 Thank you all for reading this!
Then we could trace it to a loud salvation.
Church was an important part of being a Jonas. There was no question that the whole family would be participating in every aspect of the service. Nick found it all a bit repetitive, racing from drum set to the choir, but it was the repetition that kept him grounded. The slow Sunday services were his salvation. It was his time to relax and lose himself to the uplifting atmosphere he craved so often.
At times he wondered why he felt compelled to live another life when he had everything he could ever wish for in front of him. He wasn’t unhappy and he didn’t have any kind of mental problems that would cause him to want to escape, he just craved the freedom he had when he could be anyone. The Nick Jonas everyone knew wasn’t the Nick that did things like go to clubs or parties meant for the older teens. But it was that very reason that drew Nick to that scene; it wasn’t him. Or it was, but it was a part of him nobody knew about but himself.
But his thoughts about the two lives he led wasn’t something to be thought about in church, and he put his heart and soul into the song he was singing with the choir. Letting the music and lyrics wash over him, he couldn’t help but feel the warmth and love radiate throughout him. This was his salvation, and he loved it more than words could say.
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Today she was Mary Anne, a southern girl with a heart of gold. There was no break in this business, even on a Sunday. She briefly wondered what life would be like in a normal family. Where Sundays meant dressing up and going to church and then to a family restaurant afterwards or even to a home-cooked meal. Surely it was a lot healthier than the life she currently led. But as the prepared herself for the next meeting; smudging on a bit more eyeliner and making sure she was using the right color contacts, she knew that that life wouldn’t be as interesting as the one she had.
“Are you ready?” A deep voice asked from the entrance of her bedroom. When she was younger that voice used to bring fear into her heart as she knew she was about to be punished. Back then the only time her father ever spoke to her was to punish her or admonish her for a wrongdoing. But now she was used to that voice and the man it belonged to. He wasn’t only her father anymore, he was her boss.
“Give me a minute,” she replied, adjusting the short brown bob she was wearing. She glanced at her shelves of wigs with a smile. The best part about the job was the identity part. Getting to be someone new with every job. It gave her the break from monotony she craved, while letting her lose herself and become another person.
The entire disguise thing was her idea, albeit when she first ran it past her father it wasn’t very well thought out. She’d just started working for him, at thirteen, and the mystique and adrenaline rush had already become an addiction. She felt as if she were a spy; a secret agent delivering packages to other spies so they could solve the case. When she told her father that, he laughed and told her to play with her toys, and she lowered her head in shame at being disregarded. But a few days later, one of their men was captured and they needed to come up with a new way to keep from being caught. Remembering her spy idea, she suggested disguises.
She smiled at the memory, noticing that her smile was buried underneath the practiced smile of Mary Anne. It was wide and polished, as if she’d spent most of her life grinning at passersby strolling past her front yard. She was ready.
“Let’s do this,” she said, a southern accent rolling off her tongue.
Within an hour, the job was completed, and she was back in her home. She nodded at her step-mother, who in turn rolled her eyes and flipped the page of whatever magazine she was reading. She was about to ask her where Lauren was when she heard a shrill squeak from around the corner.
“Ashwee!” a little girl around the age of three said, running towards her with a giggle. Scooping the small girl up in her arms, Ashley smiled. Lauren was her step-sister, and though she and her step-mother didn’t really get along, she and Lauren loved one another. Ashley was sure that if everything collapsed around her and her life fell apart that her close family bond with Lauren would be her salvation.
