FROM THE DAMAGE
by Bailey
.script by Binha.
|story visited times|
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“Right, someone tell me why we're in L.A. again?”
looked between
the three men in front of him as they stood in the entrance of an expensive
restaurant.
“The label's wanting us to meet with a new producer. How is it you can
sit on a plane for that long and still not understand the reason for the trip?”
rolled his eyes at him.
“What I'm not getting is why we flew out here, can't they come to us?
Or better yet, we could have a nice long chat on the phone.” Looking around
for agreement, grunted when he didn’t receive any.
“Would you just enjoy the sun, mate?” told him, giving him
a slap on the back.
stood there in silence, his hands stuffed into the pockets of his jeans.
He was tired from the flight and found himself agreeing with . They were
a big enough name in music, he thought at this point in their career producers
would be making their way to them, not the other way. He let out a long sigh
as an older man with salt and pepper hair and a dark gray suit walked their
way, placing a cell phone in his jacket pocket.
“Alright lads, it should only be a bit now. Seems she wasn't aware of
the lunch meeting being today.” David, a member of their management, informed
them as he walked past them to grab them a table inside.
“She?” asked in a low voice as the group made their way through
the maze of tables to one in the back.
gave him a shrug. “Seems the ladies now have the right to produce
music. I think it's a step forward for equality.”
Shaking his head as they reached the table, slumped down into a chair.
“You know what I mean, we haven't used a girl before.”
“Listen to yourself, you sound like a caveman.” reached out
for the ice water before him, taking a long sip. “I hate you after a long
flight, you take jet lag to a whole new level.”
“I just need a drink.” searched his surroundings, hoping to
find a waiter as soon as possible.
Pulling up to the valet station, looked over at the young woman sitting
next to her in the car. “How did we not know about this? Isn't this your
job and all?” She shook her head as she watched the woman shuffle through
pages on her lap with a frazzled look on her face.
“I have no idea, I must have written the date on another napkin and chucked
it again. I'm so sorry.” she looked up to give her an apologetic look.
“You're lucky I love you, .” quickly exited the car and
tossed the key to a valet without stopping and made her way towards the restaurant.
Her assistant followed, trying to catch up. “Who are we meeting again?”
“Uh...yea, I don't know that. Lost the sheet.” said, now
walking along side of her. “But if I remember correctly I think they are
out of Ireland.”
stopped in her tracks suddenly and turned to her. “Ireland? It's
not...” stopped herself and shook her head. “No, never mind.
It wouldn’t't be them.” she said, continuing towards the hostess
at a small booth.
“It wouldn’t be who?” asked as informed the hostess
they were there for a meeting.
“No one, forget it.” The two were led through the restaurant. As
they were passing a table a chair was pushed out when another customer attempted
to stand up, hitting in the shin. A sharp pain went shooting through her
leg and she let out a yell. “Ow!” The entire room turned to look
at her, including a table of men in the back.
David looked up. “Ah, that's her now.” He stood to greet the two
ladies as they approached, stopping to give her shin a rub.
had his back to the commotion and was uninterested until he learned it
was their ‘lady producer’. He turned just as was looking up
from her leg. They locked eyes and stood up quickly when he saw the familiar
standing in front of them.
's eyes went wide when jumped from his chair and she gave him a glare.
“No! I am not working with him!” she yelled and pointed her finger
at .
“What is she doing here?!” said loudly, almost simultaneously.
“Is this a joke?” fumed now, searching the table for answers
from his friends. Everyone in the party stared at the two, stunned.
was in complete shock, she hadn't looked into the eyes of
in over three years, which to her wasn't nearly long enough. She felt her blood
begin to boil, who on earth would set up a meeting between Westlife and herself?
“A joke? One planned by you?? I thought the last time I saw you I made
it perfectly clear that was it! You know, I knew one day you'd pull some stupid
shit like this just to piss me off!” ranted, the whole restaurant
becoming quiet as they watched the scene.
“Me?? How the hell was I supposed to know you're here now?”
shouted. “And don't flatter yourself, I'd never spent over eight hours
on a plane knowing I'd be in the same room as you!”
Jumping to his feet, 's chair hit the ground behind him as he pushed it
to step in between the two. He held his hands up to both of them. “STOP!
Would you two just calm down?!” he screamed, causing both to become quiet,
continuing to glare past . “Clearly neither of you knew the other
would be here so could we please stop causing a scene?” he said in a lower
voice. Crossing her arms in front of her, shook her head back and forth
and stared out into no where in particular, trying to calm herself down.
turned to now who was clenching his jaw. “Why don't you take a walk
and I'll sort this all out.”
kept his feet planted firmly on the ground. “Why is it I'm the one
who has to take the walk? She's obviously the one better at leaving, so send
her!”
“Oh! Do you really want to start this right now?!” screamed,
throwing her arms up in anger.
motioned for a still stunned to grab who quickly left his seat
and started to lead from the room. “No!” tried pushing
from him. “I have things to say here!”
“No mate, you really don't.” shoved towards the back
who finally allowed himself to be pushed through the door.
“Well isn't this just lovely...” said from his seat, taking
a nervous sip from the beer in front of him.
“!” yelled and gave him a look which instantly silenced
him. He turned, letting out a long breath, to look at . “Okay...”
“!” screeched, giving him a shove. “How could you
bring him here? Have you absolutely lost your mind?!”
“Nice to see you too, !” exclaimed, trying to regain his
balance from the shove. “We didn’t know it was you. You know we
have no clue who we're meeting with half the time. So could you please just
let it go? I would never in my right might place the two of you in a room together,
I don't have a death wish.” said in a calmer voice, pleading with
her to settle down.
Deep down knew was right and she knew one day their paths might cross
paths, she was just hoping it would have been more planned. released a
breath and looked down at the ground. “I'm sorry , I didn’t
mean to take it out on you. It's just...” She clenched a fist, beginning
to feel herself anger again. “That man drives me insane!”
reached and placed a hand on her arm, hoping to calm her down. “I
know, he's gone.” He pulled her towards him for a hug. “By the way,
I really am glad to see you.” he said, trying not to laugh at the whole
situation.
wrapped her arms around him, allowing herself to calm down. She did miss
, it was one of the things she regretted most about the fallout with .
“Glad to see you too.” she mumbled into his chest.
A throat cleared behind them and they both turned to see David with a look in
his eyes. “Sorry to interrupt.” He stood and made his way to ,
extending his hand. “David Owen, I'm the one who set up this unfortunate
encounter.”
Releasing , took the man's hand for a shake. “I suppose you're
the one to blame then.” She saw the fear in his eyes and let out a forced
laugh. “It's okay, you didn’t know. But as you can see I won't be
able to work with this group. I'd love to, I really would but there is no way
in hell I'm spending anymore time with . No way.” She tried
to make it as cordial as possible, but was failing.
“Anyway we can change your mind Ms. ?”
“Unless Mr. suddenly drops from the group, no, I don't see how this
could possibly work.” gave him a stern look, letting him know she
wouldn’t budge. Out of the corner of her eye she could see pacing
back and forth outside, his arms in the air, clearly still venting. “Now
if you'll excuse me, I need to get out of here and get a hard drink.”
Turning on her heel, grabbed and began pulling her towards the
door, before turning back around. “If you'd like, , please give me
a call when His Majesty isn't within 100 feet of you. I'd love to catch up.”
“I will, love.” called out as he watched make her exit.
When he'd seen she'd gone he let out a groan. “Unbelievable.” he
said before making his way outside to continue the damage control with an angry
.
Soon the five men were seated around the table again, gestured towards
the waiter to order his third glass of whiskey. “Well, it seems we might
have a problem here, lads.” David looked around the table, his eyes finally
falling on . “Unfortunately, Ms is the best up and coming
producer out here and...” snorted and was given a look by the man
before he continued. “and...it is in your best interest if you work with
her.”
“Not gonna happen.” stated as the fresh drink was placed in
front of him and he instantly began downing it.
“I'm sorry, David, but I think 's right. It wouldn’t work, they
have too much of a history.” said, giving him a shrug.
“I can see that, but the label feels this is not negotiable. As you probably
know, she has done some excellent work and if you want the album to be the best,
you're going to have to figure out a way to make it work.” David flipped
through a folder in front of him, trying to locate a page.
"No offense, but aren't there any other producers out there? We could work with
pretty much anyone, right?” asked.
“How the hell should we know what excellent work she's done? I didn’t
know the crazy bitch was even producing. We don't exactly keep in contact.”
muttered into his drink, not looking up.
David shook his head, trying to ignore the comment. “You could work with
anyone but you're not going to want to.” He found what he was looking for
and slid the piece of paper across the table, where and looked down
to read it. “In the last two years, Ms. has written five top twenty
hits here in the U.S. and produced three of those. She's worked with most of
the major artists here working on ten top selling albums, as you can see.”
Both men looked over the list of her recent work, surprised to recognize most
of the songs. pointed out a particular song and gave wide eyes.
pushed the paper towards and . looked over it while
refused. “She wrote that? Weren't you just singing that the other day,
?” he asked who reluctantly glanced at where he was pointing.
He tried to hide his amazement by the list in front of him. As much as he hated
to admit it, the work she'd done was all great, some of the best music he's
heard in awhile. He couldn't say he was surprised however, he knew before she
was good, he just didn’t think she'd be working her way up so fast
shrugged and pushed the paper across the table away from him. “Who
cares what she's done? Doesn't mean we'll actually work with her.”
“Which is what I'm afraid of.” David said as he placed the paper
back in the folder, shutting it. “Here's the thing. The record label isn't
going to take no for an answer on this one, it's not up to you. And seeing how
here is the key factor for getting her on board, you're going to need
to have a chat with her, convince her to work with you.” he pointed across
the table at .
“No. I'm not going to do it. I won't work with her and I certainly won't
go and beg her to.” shook his head, looking at David sternly. “And
even if for some crazy reason I did agree, she's so fucking stubborn she wouldn’t
do it anyways. So no. Find another producer.”
“Sorry, , you don't have a choice. Either you go talk to her or you
deal with them, and trust me, you don't want that right now.” David said
as he raised his hand towards the waiter, signaling for the check.
Leaning in towards , whispered to him. “Come on, you know she's
amazing, you saw the list. Just man up and at least try to talk to her. I don't
think you're going to win this one.”
rolled his eyes, he knew was right. When the label set their minds
to something they always got their way. He cursed under his breath when he realized
he'd have to go see again and wondered if either or both of them would
make it out of there alive. picked up the straw from his now empty drink
and flicked it across the table, watching it land right in front of David. He
took a deep breath. “Fine. But I'm not promising anything.”
paced back in forth in her office, still fuming from her encounter with
. She threw a stress ball at the door just as it opened, causing to
duck. “Whoa. Watch it!” stepped into the room on the look
out for anymore flying objects. She walked up to the desk and dropped a file
on it, turning to . “So what the hell was that all about?”
“What? You mean that self centered, rude, asshole I dated for over four
years and now can't figure out for the life of me why?!” yelled,
her voice growing as she spoke.
“That was your ex-boyfriend?” gasped, staring at her. “So
I take it, it wasn't an amicable split?”
“Well, to put it lightly, no!” growled. “I really can't
stand him!” She continued to place, trying breathing exercises to calm
her down. She couldn't believe after so long he'd still have that effect on
her. She spent all this time getting over him and his dirty claws dug into her
and made her skin crawl.
“So, what happened then?” asked, really needing to hear all
the details on their sorted past.
“I don't want to talk about it.” rubbed her head as she finally
came to a stop, leaning against the edge of her desk. “What makes them
think I'd actually work with them? Someone clearly made a mistake with that
one.” She was almost mumbling to herself now.
“So this Westlife...” sat in the chair before the desk, looking
up at . “they're pretty much a big thing in the UK.”
“Yeah, I suppose.” answered, not really wanting to talk about
their success. “What are you getting at?”
“I found that file I was looking for on them.” motioned towards
the file now laying on the desk. “And they've had how many number one's?
I forgot...”
“Fourteen.” said without even hesitating. She picked up the
matching stress ball to the one now across the room and started squeezing it
between her fingers.
“Hmm...” said nodding, appearing as though she was deep in
thought.
“Just say it, , I'm really not in the mood for little mind games.”
She knew her assistant well enough to know when something was on her mind.
“I was just thinking, these guys are obviously very talented, and have
this huge fan base. So, from a professional stand point, it would be a good
idea to work with them.” looked up at her with an innocent look,
waiting for the backlash.
only let out a loud laugh. “That's good. There is no way in hell
I'm stepping within a mile of that man again.” Her nails began to dig
into the stress ball, leaving permanent dents now.
“You should really think about it. You said yourself what a professional
you were. You can't let an ex-boyfriend stop you from an opportunity like this.”
she raised an eyebrow at .
“I don't care what kind of opportunity it is, I really don't need it.”
rose from the desk again, taking a lap around the office. “Let's
put it this way, I'd rather cut off my pinky with a dull knife than to work
with them.”
flinched at the thought. “Okay, I can see this really isn't something
you're willing to consider.” she said as she stood from the chair and
made her way towards the door. “I'm going to let you get back to your
anger-fest.” She made it halfway out the door before turning and poking
her head back in. “You really are stubborn, aren't you?” She didn’t
receive an answer, just closed the door quickly before she was hit by
a second flying stress ball.
Sitting behind her desk, switched on the laptop in front of her and let
out another growl. Why would even suggest she take the job? No matter
how big they were in any country, it wasn't worth seeing day in and day
out. No, she had no intention of ever setting eyes on him again.
Hearing a knock on her door, didn’t remove her eyes from the email
she was reading. “I'm still not in the mood for it, .” she
called out, hoping she would take the hint and leave. She let out a sigh when
the door began to open anyways. “You better have an alcoholic beverage
in your hands, if not turn around and walk right back out.” Her eyes glanced
up to who she thought was her assistant but was surprised to find standing
before her, his hands in his pockets.
“You have got to be kidding me!” exclaimed as she slammed the
laptop shut. “Didn’t think lunch was good enough for you?”
“Oh believe me, if I wasn't forced to be standing in here right now, I
wouldn’t be.” 's fists were clenched inside his pockets, trying
to hold the anger inside.
“Oh well please, don't let me keep you here. Feel free to let the door
hit you on your ass on the way out!” She raised her hand to shoo him away.
shook his head as he made his way farther into the office. “Just
let me get this over with, will you?”
“Fine, make it quick. I do have work to do, you know.” picked
up a pen on the desk and stuck it in her mouth, biting on the end as she looked
at .
Rolling his eyes, remembered how she did that when she was angry, obviously
some things don't change. “Alright. Apparently our record label is set
on us working with you, for God only knows what reason. And to appease them
I've been sent here to plead with you to take us on. So there you go, if you
say yes, good. If not, even better.”
let out an angry laugh and pulled the pen from her mouth. “Is that
supposed to be some kind of plea? You should really work on your social skills,
.”
“You know what? I don't want to work with you just as much as you don't.
But they are set on this because I guess you're good, or something.”
shrugged. “I personally think we are perfectly fine without you, we have
a dozen other producers that would do the same job, if not better with half
the bitching.”
“Oh! I can't believe what an arrogant bastard you still are! It just kills
you that I'm successful now, doesn't it?” She yelled, forcing herself
not to chuck the pen at his face.
didn’t answer, he just threw himself into the chair in front of
her desk, grinding his teeth because he knew he just might have to swallow his
pride here. “Ok.” paused and began shaking his leg as he sat.
held back a laugh, she could tell he was getting really agitated now. “Yes,
I admit the work you've done is...” cleared his throat. “...fantastic.
So I'm not asking you personally for this, I'm asking you professionally. I
think that we...” corrected himself. “..the group and yourself,
could really come up with something pretty decent. Let's push aside this obvious
hatred for one another and try to work this out. You can just ignore me because
I will certainly be ignoring you.” paused again to place a hand
on his leg, trying to stop it from shaking. “Let's be adults about this.”
snorted. “Adults?! Yeah, you should talk!” She pointed the
pen at him now. “You are...” Clenching her jaw she stopped herself.
“I'm sorry, , but I'm just gonna have to pass. I will not, now or
ever, work with you.” she said calmly.
“Fine!” He slapped his legs as he stood in front of her. “That's
bloody fantastic!” turned to leave, but stopped at the door to look
at her. “You know, I was actually willing to try this, as much as it would
drive me fucking crazy. We really did work well together before all this shit
happened. I tried to tell them you were a stubborn bitch, but they didn’t
listen. Can't wait to tell them I was right...again!” exited the
room, letting the door slam behind him.
let out a scream from her desk. She couldn't stand him, he always had to
make it seem like he was the good guy and he was never in the wrong. Even when
they broke up never admitted to anything, he went around like it was her
fault. That was what irritated her the most, the one thing she never really
got over.
Tapping the pen on the desk now, thought over what he had said. She had
to admit they wrote a few good songs while together, and she'd always wanted
to produce for the boys before the split. But the thought of him made her blood
pressure rise, she really couldn't see herself willingly being around him. She
shook her head, not believing she might actually be considering it. The tapping
of the pen became quicker as her mind raced. She couldn't give him the satisfaction
of being the only one mature enough to do this, he'd never let anyone forget
it. Dropping the pen from her hand, she reached for the phone and pressed a
button, raising the receiver to her ear. “Yea, can you get me the hotel
Westlife is staying at?”
“Well this trip was a complete waste of our time.” sighed
as the guys walked through the hotel lobby, making their way to the airport
for their flight home. “We didn’t even get to see the Chinese Theater!”
“You and that Chinese Theater, what is your obsession?” laughed.
“Can't say I didn’t tell you!” yelled out and soon after
received a swift slap on the back of his head. “Ow! Who did that?”
he held his head and looked between and , both of who just shrugged.
“I can't wait to just get back and forget about this whole horrid day.”
grumbled as he stopped, bending down to tie his shoe. As he finished up
he heard a voice above him and looked up from his position near the ground to
see standing above him holding a manila envelope in her hands. kneeled
down for a moment longer than he should, looking up at the woman before him.
For a second he saw the woman he fell in love with, the hotels bright lights
shining against her hair. He almost smiled, but caught himself when he realized
who she was now, his ex and he quickly stood up.
“Can we all chat?” she asked, refusing to look at . To get
her through this she decided to ignore the whole existence of him and move past
it.
“Yea, course, .” gave her a smile, glad to see she hadn't
let them run out of the country just yet.
“Let me buy you guys a drink.” She nodded her head towards the hotel's
bar. walked behind the other three guys and watched as she went into
the bar. Either she was here to give him another good yell or she actually had
changed her mind, and at this point he didn’t exactly know which one he
preferred.
They made it to a round table and placed the envelope on the table as she
pulled herself onto a tall stool as the rest of them joined her. She looked
over the boys, noticing with his head down, studying the napkin in front
of him. She shook her head and took in a deep breath. “First of all, I
would like to apologize for earlier today. It was completely unprofessional
and uncalled for. I was just caught off guard and I never should have let it
get that out of hand.”
tried to hold in a laugh when he felt a hard kick to his leg. He looked
up to see raising an eyebrow at him and nodding his head towards .
He sighed and looked back down at the napkin. “I apologize also, I shouldn't
have said some things I did.” said and added ‘even though
you deserved it.’ to himself.
“Thank you, .” said before continuing. “I've come
to realize that even though there are parties involved that I would rather not
associate with...” her eyes fell on . “I think as far as business
goes, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to work together. It would be absolutely
crazy for me to let an opportunity like this slip through my fingers. With that
said, if it's okay with all of you, I would like to give this a go.”
looked over the guys, passing now completely.
They all looked between each other, shrugging at 's sudden change of heart.
“I think that would be fantastic, .” said, reaching out
to give her hand a squeeze. “Thank you for this.”
watched as held her hand in his and felt his face get hot and jaw
tighten. How he could still remain any form of friends with her was beyond him.
He was his best friend, he should be clearly choosing his side over hers.
“No problem.” She smiled at him but quickly pulled her hand away
when she saw glaring at them. How she wished she could just slap him.
“Right, I brought you some demos I thought might work for you. Give them
a listen and let me know what you think. If none of them work we can always
just write something from scratch.” She handed the envelope filled with
a few cds over to who opened it to give them a look. “I'm clearing
my schedule for a while so we can get through this fairly fast, no offense of
course.”
let out a laugh. “Yea, no offense taken. If I were you I'd run away
from this wanker as soon as possible too.” he said pointing over to
who gave him a hard look.
laughed with him, realizing she had missed and also. In fact,
if it hadn't been such a bad split she probably would have kept in touch with
all of them.
“Alright, I guess that's all I came to say. So, if you'll excuse me, I'm
going to head home and enjoy some Ben 'N Jerry's.” laughed inside,
he knew the ice cream was her way of distressing. pulled herself down from
the stool. , and rose with her to see her off.
made the short walk around the table to give her a hug, whispering in
her ear. “Thank you again, love.” gave him a nod and smiled.
She said her goodbyes to the other two and avoided eye contact with as
she made her way out of the bar.
Giving him a smack, pulled off his stool. “Would you go thank
her?”
“For what??” he snorted and was given a nasty look from and
he sighed. “Whatever.” He jogged up to before she made it through
the door and called out for her.
turned around to see in front of her now. “Listen, thank you
for...” He was cut off by 's hand in the air.
“Stop. We're not doing this.” she said, shaking her head at him.
“Doing what?” he asked, confused.
“You're not going to stand there and pretend I'm not your ex-girlfriend
and I'm not going to act like you're not a selfish, stuck up prick. I'm not doing
this for you. I'm doing this for them.” She pointed a finger towards the
other guys who were now staring at them. “So we're going to go along with
our business, which is what this is...just business. Got it?”
“Yea, I think I got it.” said coldly and leaned in to whisper
to her, so the others wouldn’t hear. “You know what? You are exactly
the same girl who walked away from me three years ago. You still live in your
own angry little world for no fucking reason. Whatever it is, you need to get
over it cause I'm sick of it.”
“For no fucking reason?” hissed. “What are you, stupid?!”
she began to yell but cut herself off. “No, I'm not getting into this
with you. Because if you don't own up to it by now you never will and I'm not
wasting my time on it!” With that she stormed out of the bar leaving
there grinding his teeth, wishing he'd never even gotten onto the plane in the
first place.
strolled into 's hotel room as he hung up his cell phone and stuck
it in his pocket. “Well that was odd.” said as he sat himself
down on the edge of the king size bed.
“What was?” was unpacking his bags for the second time that
day, wondering if he should even bother seeing how would probably only
mess it up in a day or two.
“I just got off the line with ...”
“And how is your lovely girlfriend?” asked with a sarcastic
tone.
“What's that about? What do you have against her?” asked as
he leaned back, awaiting yet another lecture on his choice in a girl.
“Oh nothing, she's absolutely wonderful.” turned to him and
leaned against the dresser. “If you don't mind her blatantly using you
for your status and money. But hey, what do I know, that could be a great foundation
for a lasting relationship.”
“You have just always liked over her, but obviously you were wrong
about that one, so you could be wrong about . And we've made it almost
three years now, so please would you just lay off?” sighed, confused
about his friend's obsessive hatred of his girlfriend.
“I just never liked how she swooped in so fast after left you, kind
of like a vulture. You have to admit it was soon.”
just shrugged. “She just happened to be there when I needed someone.
It's really not that strange.”
“You know, I never really understood what happened with you and her.”
said, returning to the drawers in front of him.
“ and I?” asked.
“No. You and .”
“What's not to get? One day we come back from tour and I find she's up
and moved out for no reason. Then the next time I see her she grabs a hold of
some guy and sticks her tongue down his throat in front of me. If you want an
explanation I think you might need to see her about that, because I still have
no clue. All I can think is she's psycho, which she clearly is.” he let
himself fall backwards on the bed to hold his head. The thought of that day
always gave him a nasty headache, he couldn't stand seeing the image of her
all over a stranger.
took a seat next to him on the bed. “I don't know, mate, something
about it just doesn't make sense. I thought I knew , she wouldn’t
do something like that for no reason.”
“I thought I knew her too, but we didn’t. So please give it a rest.”
covered his eyes with his arm and tried to push the thought of out
of his mind.
Looking over at his friend, knew he should drop it, he'd had enough for
one day. “So, what was odd about the lovely ?” he asked.
“Oh. I told her about everything that happened and she decided to hop
a plane over here.” spoke with his arm still covering his eyes.
“I told her not to bother but she insisted.”
stood again and walked towards the bathroom. “It's . She's not
going to let you around her without being there.”
“That's just ridiculous. If there is anyone in this world she needs to
worry about me with it is not .” sat up now.
came out of the bathroom with a toothbrush in hand. “Of course,
you know that. But with women, ex-girlfriends are always something to be worried
about.”
laughed, even if he ever wanted to he'd never get back with . Not
after the way she just walked out of his life. He didn’t like to admit
it, but he still wasn't over it, everyday he thought about that day and everyday
it angered him. That's why he'd never be able to forgive , he didn’t
understand how someone who said they were so in love could just leave and hurt
him that way. He shook the thoughts from his head and tried to figure out how
he was going to get through all of this without losing his mind.
Sitting in front of the piano, removed the pencil from her mouth and reached
out to make a change on the music sheet in front of her. She looked it over
and began to play again, closing her eyes to imagine the melody with more than
just the piano.
It was the third day the group had started to work with and she was taking
some time for herself to work on a pet project of hers before they met this
morning. She needed a break from and the constant tension. They had barely
said five words to each other, which was fine with her. But the few words they
did speak were always nasty and filled with hate.
was walking down the halls of the L.A. studio, searching for a bathroom
when he heard the music. He forgot about the bathroom and followed the sound
until he found a small room with just a piano and a head of sitting
in front of it. He leaned against the door frame as he listened. He knew the
melody, she had started working on it about a month before their split and he
found it hard to believe she was still toying with it. As he listened to her
it brought him back to the day she had first played it for him. had insisted for
go out for a walk with him because there was a thunderstorm miles away
that night and he liked to watch them, he loved the smell of rain in the distance.
They sat on a small hill under an old willow tree and watched as the lightening
struck far across the Irish countryside, her head on his shoulder. He could
still remember the smell of her hair, it always smelt like grapes from her shampoo.
While they were sitting there it had begun to downpour on them and they ran
laughing the entire way home, completely soaked when they reached it. She always
said the melody reminded her of the thunderstorm, he never really heard it,
but he'd tell her he did anyways. began to smile as he remembered the
way she looked standing there in the rain as he kissed her. And for that split
second he forgot about the fights they had over the past few days, forgot how
much he hated her.
didn’t hear the music stop as he stood there in his memory. He was
pulled from it by 's voice. “Since when did you become a stalker?”
she raised her eyebrow at him, trying to figure out the smile that was just
on his face.
He stood up quickly from the door frame, embarrassed that he'd been caught.
“Uh..I was looking for the loo.” he blurted out.
“Down the hall a little farther, big sign that says ‘Restrooms’.”
She told him and pointed in the direction he needed to go.
“Thanks.” he went to leave but stopped and turned back around. “That's
the thunderstorm?” he asked, not exactly sure why because of course he
knew the answer.
“You remember that?” asked him. She figured it had been so
long, he wouldn’t remember one stupid melody she thought up years ago.
just shrugged and pointed down the hall like she had. “Down there
you said?”
nodded and watched as he left. She sat at the piano staring out the door,
thinking back on the thunderstorm night herself. By far it was her favorite
memory with and as hard as she tried after the years she still couldn't
let it go, and never got the melody down perfect. She'd been trying since that
night, but nothing she tried seemed to fit. She sat there, collecting her thoughts
before standing to meet with the rest of the guys down the hall to begin their
day.
walked into the room and smiled when she saw and fighting over
the last chocolate frosted donut. She shook her head and thought how things
really never change. She walked up to them and grabbed it from 's hand,
taking a bite out of it. “We can get you some more, you know. These aren't
the last donuts in California.” They both let out a whine as she walked
away enjoying the pastry as she poured herself a cup of coffee. She had a seat
at the table next to taking a long sip.
could hear enter the room and chose not to look up, the sight of
their kiss in the rain still fresh in her mind. He sat across the table and
looked at her face, almost seeing a hint of pink in it. “So...are we going
to do this or what?” he asked the room.
“Why in such a hurry?” asked, looking over his friend.
“We're in L.A. Don't really wanna be holed up in a studio the whole time,
you know.” Truth is he didn’t want to be sitting in the room with
, he wanted to hate her right now and he couldn't do that if he sat across
from her seeing the kiss every few minutes. He swiveled the chair he was in
anxiously.
“Well don't let us hold you back.” rolled her eyes. She really
hated his lack of enthusiasm right now. Since when did he want to get out of
the recording process? It used to be his favorite part of the job, if it were
up to him he would have stayed in a studio eight months out of every year creating
music. Maybe he'd changed more than she thought.
didn’t say anything, he just kept his legs moving back and forth
in the chair. “So...” decided to ignore him. “Okay, so
how did we feel about the new demos I gave you?” leaned onto the
table, eager to hear what the guys thought. She really did respect their opinion
and began to get excited about the idea of working with them, with the exception
of of course.
“Phenomenal.” said right away. “Where were you hiding
out on us before?”
blushed a little, happy to hear he had enjoyed it. “I guess I didn’t
really find my niche until after...” She cleared her throat and took another
sip of coffee. “It just took some time. I'm glad you liked them, I really
am.” She caught staring at her and she avoided his gaze.
knew she was going to say she hadn't found her niche until after him and
he could have swore he felt his heart fall in his chest. Did it take leaving
him to make her a better songwriter? He almost said something to provoke her,
but changed his mind, he really did need to try to get through this peacefully.
Out of no where began to laugh to himself and everyone turned to look at
him. let out a laugh as well as he watched try to suppress the giggles.
“What are you laughing at, mate?”
“I just had a thought.” he let out a breath, trying to contain himself.
“Remember that night we went to that pub in Dublin and got so pissed
got up and stole the plastic reindeer from their window and hid it under the
table?”
began to laugh with him now. “Oh yeah! And while they were accusing
her of taking it grabbed it and ran outside to hide it. We couldn't find
him for half an hour cause he passed out in a snow bank spooning the bloody
thing!” , and erupted in laughter as they thought of the
night. While looked down covering her mouth, trying to hide her laughter
when she pictured with the reindeer. She took a sip of her coffee, hoping
to distract herself.
was the only one not laughing and he looked around the table, glaring.
“I still say I got frostbite from that night. I have a spot on my bum.”
he said with a straight face.
couldn't contain her laughter anymore, the coffee came spewing out of her
mouth, covering the table and . He sat there stunned, eyes wide and looked
down at his coffee stained clothing. The room fell silent and covered her
mouth. “Oh , I am so sorry!” She waited for him to let her
have it but was surprised when he began laughing hysterically.
Soon they were all laughing, tears falling down their cheeks. doubled
over, trying to catch his breath. “Oi, it hurts!” his face became
contorted.
“Anyone remember him waking up and calling the reindeer ?!”
yelled, wiping tears from his eyes.
“Stop!” cried, waving her hand around, trying to stop the laughter.
“Oh, but he was so peaceful! I thought to leave him there if I didn’t't
think he'd catch hypothermia!” struggled to get out.
“Wait wait! Wasn't that the same night ran down the street in the
potato sack??” howled and the room erupted in another round of laughter.
Out of the corner of her tear filled eye saw a figure in the doorway. She
wiped her eyes to get a better look and immediately stopped laughing. “?”
The room quieted as they all turned towards the door, finding a very
thin woman covered in designer clothes standing there.
stood up quickly when
he saw his girlfriend standing. “When did you get in?”
“An hour ago, just decided to take a taxi here and surprise you.”
She smiled and walked up to , wrapping her arms around him to give him
a kiss.
's mouth dropped as she watched them. She let out an unexpected gasp and
the room turned to look at her, including and a beaming . “So
you're still with , then?” she asked, trying to hide her shock but
not succeeding.
“Yes he is.” smiled and pulled closer to her. “Our
three year is coming up soon, isn't it, ?” she turned to look at ,
who stayed quiet.
“Well that’s...” 's face became red. “so sweet.
I'm happy for you.” she forced out as she stood slowly. “I'm sorry,
could you excuse me? I need to get someone to clean up the coffee.”
quickly exited the room, stopping a little bit down the hall to lean up against
the wall. Her heart was pounding as she slowly let out a breath she had been
holding in. was the one girl in the world she didn’t want to
to end up with, no matter what. He could go for anyone and she wouldn’t
have cared, she'd even be happy someone had finally taken him. She took a few
minutes to collect herself, trying to convince herself it didn’t matter.
They truly deserved each other because they had both caused her so much pain.
took one more deep breath before pushing herself from the wall to go and
find a roll of paper towels to clean the mess up.
Hours later, the group, including a very clingy , still sat around the
table, discussing all of their song options. They decided on of a few of 's
to begin recording and she pulled out some new ones from a collection she had
started for them to have a listen to. Every now and then would look up
to see with her hand on 's arm or her leaning in to give him a peck.
Her stomach turned each time. The hurt she felt earlier over 's sudden
appearance soon turned to anger and she couldn't bring herself to look at the
couple by the end of the day.
When she just couldn't take it anymore stood up and closed her notes. “I
think we've done enough for today. I'm sure you'd all like to head out of here.”
She glared at as she ran her fingers through 's hair.
downed his seventh cup of coffee and jumped up, obviously in a caffeine
rush. “Let's go out! Show us L.A. !”
“Whoa, calm down there killer.” laughed. “The crazy man has a good idea
though. What do you say? It's your obligation as the local to show us around.”
turned to who stood in front of him now. He gave her his famous '
Pout' and knew she wouldn’t be able to refuse.
's eyes fell on and and back to the pout. She sighed as she
gave in. “Fine. Lucky for you guys there are no snow banks in L.A., but please
try to stay out of dumpsters.”
The boys all began to laugh and looked around the room. “What's so funny?”
“Nothing.” told her between a laugh and gave her cheek a kiss. “Just something
that happened years ago.”
felt her jaw clench and she looked away to . “Want me to meet you
at the hotel in a few hours?”
“Sounds fantastic.” he gave her a wink, sensing the situation was getting
to her.
“Okay guys, dress to impress.” She called out as she made her way towards the
door. “I can't get you into some places on your charm alone. So that means no
potato sack, .” She pointed at him and gave him a look as the guys began
laughing hysterically again.
Once out the door she could hear whining. “What's so funny? Tell me!”
As left the building she couldn't help to think how odd the day was. Her
and had just sat there laughing, not once fighting. She had completely
forgot about everything that had happened three years ago, until showed
up. And even then she found herself forgetting it all. Maybe this arrangement
wouldn’t be so bad after all, she still wouldn’t forgive him but
they just might make it out of this alive, and possibly with a great album.
As soon as stepped into the hotel lobby she saw the lift open and out
stepped by himself. He walked out, not seeing her at first, wearing dark
designer jeans and a black collared shirt with just the cuffs rolled up above
his wrists. smiled, it was always her favorite look.
stopped for a moment when he saw walking towards him in very simple
green strapless dress that fell right above her knees, showing just enough leg
to keep it classy. Half of her hair was loosely pulled up, the rest falling
over her shoulders. covered his mouth in a mock yawn as he tried to hide
his smile. Until then he had forgotten just how stunning she was.
They met up in the middle of the lobby. “Tired ?” asked when they
reached each other.
"No. Still trying to get over the jet lag I guess." he lied. "You look nice
this evening."
"So do you." She gave him a smile.
held out his arms and looked down at himself. “You sure? I couldn't find
anything in burlap.” They both began to laugh, but stopped to look at each other.
“I feel like we should be fighting right now.” said, looking down at the
floor.
“Yeah. Maybe we call a truce? Just for tonight of course.” shrugged at
her, surprisingly happy they weren't at each others throats for once.
“Hmm...a truce. Sounds like a good idea.” She reached out a hand to shake on
it.
He stared at her hand for a second before taking it in his. The hair on his
arms stood on end and he felt a shock as he remembered the feel of her hand
in his, enjoying her touch. felt it too and pulled her hand away quickly
just as the rest of the boys and exited the lift behind them. She ran
up to , wrapping her arms around him from behind and could swear she
gave her a nasty look.
gave a good look over, her short black dress barely came down far
enough to cover her behind and the top was cut so low she really thought she
might be wearing a very large hair band. She struggled to figure out what
saw in her, he never liked that look before her. But then again, apparently
he always did.
placed an arm around and looked her up and down. “Well, you look absolutely
stunning, Ms. . If I had half a mind I might ask you to join me and leave
these fools to their own.” he winked at her.
's head turned to look at them and he thought he saw blush. He felt
his face get hot like it had a few nights ago. He almost felt the need to yell
for to remove his hands but suddenly remembered that wasn't his girlfriend.
He shook it off, why was he getting angry with ? This was his best friend,
a friend who had made it clear he thought he was being too hard on . He
forced a loud cough into his hand, causing the group to look up at him. “So,
should we be off?” They agreed and made their way to the car waiting for them.
brought them to a new club that had just opened but was already the newest
hot spot. When they reached their destination quickly got out and strutted
straight up to the bouncer at the door, bypassing the long line. shook
his head as he walked up behind her, this wasn't London. He knew she wasn't
in the town she ruled and that this wouldn’t be pretty. When she'd made
it up to him she stood there staring at him, waiting for him to lift the rope
so should could pass. The large man gave her a look over and rolled his eyes,
he clearly knew the type and tried to ignore her.
“Excuse me. I'd like to enter.” smiled up at him.
“And so would all these other folks.” he motioned towards the long line in front
of him.
tried to hold in a laugh as he watched the scene. “But I'm not other folks.”
she said, placing her hand on her hips and giving him a look. “I'm here with...”
turned to motion towards and he ran up quickly pulling her away
and apologizing. He really didn’t want her to throw his name into this.
She cursed as brought her to and the lads, who were walking up to
them now. “We are not going in there, that bouncer is rude!” she yelled, making
sure he could hear her.
“You mean Marcus?” asked looking towards the door and giving a questionable
look. waved over to him and strolled up to him, embracing him in a hug.
's mouth dropped as pulled her back to the door, trying not to really
laugh now. For some reason he found being cut down to size completely
hysterical and he couldn't figure out why.
The group was led up to the V.I.P. section where was greeted by pretty
much everyone. The club owner made an appearance to give her a kiss on each
cheek, offering them whatever they would need for the night. As and
settled into a plush couch he watched as socialized. He smiled as she made
her way through a few very familiar faces. He was proud of her, she'd seemed
to do great on her own. He had forgotten in the last few days just how successful
she'd become without him, and while she really was happy for her, he was upset
he wasn't there for it all.
grabbed 's shirt and gave it some quick tugs. “Oh. My . God. Isn't
that Justin Timberlake talking to ?!” she gasped.
“Seems to be.” He shook his head at her reaction.
“Do you mind if...” She looked towards him and back at .
“Fine.” he said and she was quickly to her feet. He thought he saw a look of
disdain on 's face when pounced up to them, but shook it off. He
watched from the comfort of his seat as pulled Justin towards the bar
for what he could only assume would be a shot. laughed when he saw Justin
give a pleading look as he was dragged away.
Turning to look at her surroundings, noticed sitting on the couch
alone now, sipping on a beer. Clutching onto her own cocktail she slowly made
her way over to him.
looked up to see standing before him and smiled as he patted the
seat beside him. “Would you like to have a seat?” She nodded and he watched
as she lowered herself to the couch, crossing her legs away from him as she
sat. He allowed his eyes to fall over her and took a large sip from his beer,
finishing it and placing it on the table in front of them. She did the same
with her own drink, feeling the need to become slightly intoxicated to numb
the awkwardness. As a waitress walked by called out for her and ordered
two more before turning back to . He automatically placed his arm over the
couch, behind her, without thinking. “You seem to be doing pretty good for yourself
out here, .”
“What do you mean?” she asked, trying not to notice the arm placed behind her.
“Look at you, walking around like you own the place. Everyone loves you. I think
I might be jealous.” he looked at her.
“Jealous?” she asked, looking down to play with her nails. She wasn't sure exactly
what he was jealous of.
“You know, of your success. You have Justin Timberlake fawning all over you.”
he motioned towards the bar where was holding up a shot and forcing Justin
to take one with her. They both looked at each other and laughed. “Yeah. She's...well
she's .” he shrugged.
was grateful when their drinks arrived, grabbing it quickly to take a long
sip from the straw. Her skin crawled when she heard her name come from his lips.
Suddenly she remembered why she hated them both so much and became angry. In
order to keep the peace of the truce she made the decision to let the alcohol
help her forget.
“Are you thirsty then?” asked as he watched her suck down the drink.
Realizing she had only eaten the donut in the morning because they had all been
working so hard, felt the second drink go straight to her head, following
the first. “So you and , are you all that serious?”
was caught off guard by the question and paused for a moment. “Uh...I
suppose. I mean, we've been together for a little under three years.”
snorted. “Don't you mean a little OVER three years?” as she took another
long sip, looking up at him
scrunched his eyebrows as he looked at , confused by her question.
“No...you know it's been under.” He didn’t know what she was getting at.
rolled her eyes and decided to let it go as she quickly finished her drink
and called out for another one.
“Don't you think you might pace yourself?” He didn’t understand what was
going on with her now, he'd never seen her down drinks that fast.
“Maybe you're right, I'll sip the next one slower.” She flashed him a smile and
gave him a pat on the knee, feeling all her inhibitions fall away. “So what
about you, Mr. Westlife. You haven't done so bad for yourself. Don't think I
haven't seen the charts.”
laughed and shifted in his seat a little, looking down to see her hand
was still on his knee. “Yeah, I guess we have done pretty well.”
“Don't sell yourself short, you've come a long way. Don't forget, I met you
back when you were still wearing the t-shirt with the sleeves missing.”
laughed as she leaned into him, giving him a nudge with her shoulder.
As came closer to him he caught a whiff of her hair, it still smelled of
grapes. He slowly let himself breath it in and his heart began to beat a bit
faster. He came out of his thoughts with poking him. “Don't pretend you
don't remember the shirts, I have the pictures.”
“Yeah, let's not say that too loudly.” he laughed, looking down at her, letting
his eyes fall over her shiny hair and bare shoulders. Soon he found himself
picturing the two of them in the mist of the thunderstorm and he felt a wave
of warmth come over his body. Suddenly he heard the familiar cry of a happy
and he looked up to see her taking another shot. He looked back down
at and began to feel guilty, trying to figure out what was going on with
him. “You know, how about you and I get good and plastered tonight?” he suggested,
knowing if he was going to make it through tonight he was going to have to be
highly intoxicated.
grinned and raised her glass. “Cheers!”
let out a low groan as a beam of light fell on her face. She opened her
eyes, shielding the light with her hand. Sitting up in bed, she looked around
the room wondering where she was. Her eyes fell on the couch in the corner and
she saw curled up sleeping. Suddenly realizing she wasn't wearing her
dress from the night before she looked down to see a large t-shirt hanging from
her body. When she threw back the covers she saw she was also wearing a pair
of men’s boxers.
heard begin to stir and he slowly opened his eyes, giving her a small
smile as he woke up. “Mornin' he said in a sleepy voice as he sat up and stretched.
Realizing she didn’t remember making it back to his hotel room, let alone
changing, let out a gasp. “Did we...?” she motioned towards the bed.
let out a laugh. “No. If we did don't you think I'd be sleeping there
with ya?” out a relieved sigh. “Hope you don't mind, I changed you. The
dress didn’t seem that comfortable. Promise I didn’t fondle ya
though.”
Suddenly bits of pieces from the night before came back to and she let
out another groan, holding her head. She saw her on top of , kissing him
and then them all in the alley screaming. “Oh god...”
stood and slowly made his way to the bed, sitting down next to her. “So
if you don't mind me asking, what happened last night?”
“Weren't you there?” she asked, giving him a questioning look. He was there,
right?
“Ya, but where did all that come from? The yellin' and all.” He saw her face
flinch and placed a hand over hers. “You were saying he cheated?”
She gave a look over. Of course he didn’t't know about it before,
wasn't the type of guy who'd run around boasting about something like
that, he'd keep his shady deals hidden. “Ya, with .”
“I know ya said that last night. But where did you hear it? I'm always with
the bloke and I never saw anything.”
put her head down and began to play with the end of the sheet, trying not
to look up. “She told me, she sent me the emails he'd sent her.”
“Emails?” asked, wondering if there was actual proof out there of 's
infidelity.
“Yea...they were horrible. He told her how much he needed to see her and...”
paused and took a deep breath. “how he loved her.”
“That doesn't sound like , he adored ya. I don't see him doing that.” He
tried to convince her, and himself. He couldn't stand to think his best friend
would ever hurt a girl like that.
“That night you were in London before you got home, I called him to ask him
about them. I didn’t believe them either, is so...she'd do anything
really. But when I called she answered the phone.” swallowed, trying to
hold back a tear. “I could hear him in the background, laughing and calling
for her. That's when I knew it was true.”
“..” put an arm around her and she leaned in and put her head on his
shoulder, allowing herself to be comforted.
“I packed my stuff up that night and left. I couldn't even stand to see him
when he got back.” A tear fell down her cheek now as she thought about the day
she walked out.
“I can't believe him.” shook his head. “I had no idea, if I'd known I would have
kicked his arse.” He began to grow angry, realizing just what had done.
He took his arm from around and stood “I'm gonna kill him.”
“Please don't, . He obviously doesn't care about it and you know we have
to get through this. It will be better for all of us if we just forget about
it for now and finish these tracks.”” she pleaded with him seeing the look in
his eyes, the angry look of an Irish man.
knew she was right, but he swore to himself, as soon as this was done
he'd have it out with him. He watched as stood and searched the room for
her clothing. He grabbed the dress from the back of a chair and handed it to
her, trying to force a smile. “Thanks. I should get back to my place and get
ready. We're going to have an interesting day a head of us.”
walked her to the door and opened it for her. While standing in the hallway
he embraced her in a hug, “I'm so sorry about ...” he whispered.
shrugged, not wanting to think about it any more and she pulled away to
gave him a smile. “Thanks for the clothes.” she said looking down at her outfit.
“No problem, keep em'” he said and watched as she made her way down the hall
before returning to his room.
Keeping her head down, stared at the floor as she walked down the hall.
She passed a pair of feet, but never looked up and finally found her way to
the lift, making her way down the lobby.
stood her arms crossed, leaning against the door frame of the room she
shared with . She smiled when she saw embrace as she left his
room in his clothing. She quietly returned inside the room, hoping to not wake
a still sleeping .
Looking down at her watch as she entered the recording studio, tried to
balance a coffee cup in one hand and a folder in the other. She suddenly ran
into the chest of a man and struggled to keep a hold of the cup in her hand.
Gasping as she watched it fall, she let out a sigh of relief when she saw the
man's hand barely catch it with only a few drops falling to the floor. She looked
up as he handed it back to her to apologize and thank him when she found herself staring right into 's eyes. “Should watch where ya goin'.” he said
coldly and pushed past her.
felt her heart start pounding as she tried to collect herself. She watched
him walk down the hall and made the rest of the trip into the studio, placing
her coffee and folder on a small table. “Glad to see he's still a morning person.”
snorted from his seat in front of the boards, pushing around the knobs
in front of him carelessly. “Ya, and it's only gotten worse. We try to stay
away till after noon.”
“I'll try to keep that in mind.” she said as she pushed him from her chair,
hoping to undo the damage he may have caused on her dials. She sat in the swivel
chair and looked through the glass before her, laughing when she saw tangled
up in the cord to the headsets. She pressed the speaker button. “How is it you
manage that?”
He looked up when he heard the voice. “Ay, no idea.” stumbled as he finally
freed himself from the cords and gave her a grin.
“So I take it you're ready?” He nodded and wrinkled his nose as he looked down
at the music. She fiddled with some buttons, shaking her head trying to readjust
the mess made. Finally she was set and started to play the track, listening
as sang along to the second chorus.
When he finished she sat back, concentrating, staring on. She leaned forward
and pushed the speaker button. “Try it again and bring it down an octave.”
He gave her a strange look. “You sure?”
She nodded. “Ya.” She started the track again and heard the door behind her
open, keeping her eyes on . She soon felt a pair of eyes piercing through
her and tried to ignore it until had finished. She turned around in her
chair to find sitting on the couch, his arm over the back staring at her.
“Have a good rest of your evening?” he asked, his eyes fixed on her.
“I'm sorry?” asked, tilting her head in confusion.
“Just wanna know if ya enjoyed yourself after I left?” raised an eyebrow
and shrugged. “I'm just curious.” stared on at them from behind the glass,
unable to hear the exchange while shifted in his seat uncomfortable with
the turn of conversation.
“If you're asking if I had fun after you left me crying in an alley way, then
no. I didn’t.” said, pulling her eyes away from as she saw
enter.
“Ah, and here he is now.” he raised an arm towards as he walked in. “, thanks for takin' care of here last night.” He said with sarcasm
dripping from his voice. “Really appreciate it, mate.”
looked down at sitting on the couch and gave him a hard look. “Someone
had to, eh mate? Someone has to pick up the pieces of your mess.”
Jumping up from his seat he stepped up to within inches of him. “When
I said to deal with her, I didn’t mean sleep with her.”
“, we didn’t do anything last night.” stood now, attempting
to get between the two men.
“I'm not talking to you right now, , I'm having a conversation with
here.” he said without turning to her, keeping his eyes fixed on .
“Oh, since we're having a conversation, why don't we talk about how ya cheated
on her? How the hell could ya do that? I thought you were better than that.”
said, his voice raising a little with anger.
let a laugh out in his face. “So she has ya believin' that now? How'd
she convince you?” he leaned in to him. “A good shag, then?” he smirked.
Before he knew what was happening, felt a clenched fist hitting him hard
across the mouth. Shocked at first he looked up to see scream and run in
between them, and as began to lunge towards he was grabbed on the
shoulders by , holding him back. “You little shit!” he shouted across the
room as he was being pushed into a corner. stood in front of , her
arms up trying to calm him down.
pushed away from him. “Get off! I'm good!” he yelled and held a hand
up to his mouth, pulling it away to see the blood on his fingers.
ran from the booth, his arms in the air. “What the fuck?!”
Pushing past both and , made his way to the door. “Talk to my
mate here.” he threw his arms towards where and were standing before
walking out the door, letting it slam behind him.
The four stood in the room in disbelief for a moment. looked down at his
fist, which had a spot of 's blood on it and gave it a shake, trying to
relieve the pain. shook her head at him and pushed the door open, looking
down the hall. She saw storm into the bathroom.
Walking quickly down the hall she threw the door open and went in. stood
in front of the mirror, checking out the damage to his lip. “What the hell was
that?!” screamed at him.
“You're in the men's room! Can't ya read?” he turned to her, glaring.
“I really don't give a shit right now!” walked up to him and gave him a
hard push in the chest.
“Whoa! Why are you coming after me? I have the bloody lip, remember!” he pointed
at his face as he stepped back from her.
“AWhat makes you think we slept together?” she asked, throwing her arms up.
“ saw you leaving his room this morning, decked out in his clothes. Probably
looked pretty cozy.” turned around, unable to even look at her. Every
time he saw her all he could picture was all over her and it made him
sick.
“He practically carried me to the hotel last night.” was talking to his
back as leaned over the sink. “Someone had to because you just left me
there! And not that it's really any of your business, he slept on the couch
all night, he never touched me, !”
gripped the sides of the sink and laughed. “I find it hard to believe
anything you say right now.”
Putting a hand up to her forehead, took a deep breath and let it out slowly,
trying to calm herself. “You're right, you don't believe anything from me, do
you? And that's fine, I really don't care. But if you should believe anyone
it should be . Think about it, you know deep down he'd never do anything
like that.” Shaking his head, 's knuckles became white as he clutched the
sink. His mind raced and he let out a long breath. “He's your best friend, and
to some people that actually means something.” said softer this time. She
stood there, watching him and waiting for him to say something, but he didn’t't.
He remained silent, his eyes fixed on a few drops of water falling from the
faucet. “Fine...” backed out of the restroom and left, leaving him to himself.
Once he heard the door close, looked up at his reflection in the mirror.
He knew she was right, would never do anything like that. When
told him he didn’t even believe it at first until she had convinced him
and the thought of them made him so crazy the anger just took over. As he looked
over the cut on his lip he wondered how things had gotten so out of hand, how
could even say he cheated on her. He took one more deep breath before pushing
himself away from the sink and making his way out the door. He left the studio
to return to the hotel, he knew he couldn't stay there with either of them right
now.
Walking down the hotel halls, stopped in front of 's door, giving
it a knock. He had given her a call about twenty minutes ago asking to see her,
and she had made it there in fifteen. She knew they had to really talk and figure
out how he could work things out with , if that meant her just walking
away from this job with them, she'd do it.
As the door opened she had a smile on her face, expecting her friend, but the
smile soon fell when she saw behind the door. “? Where's ?”
attempted to look past him into the room, hoping to find him.
“I had him ring ya, I knew you wouldn’t come down if it was me.”
told her as he stood there, holding the door open for her. “Come in?”
She quickly ran the options in her head, she could go in and possibly let him
give her another good yell, or she tell him to forget it and leave him standing
there. But something in his eyes when she glanced up to him told her to go in.
She stepped past him and entered the room, standing in the middle, looking around.
followed her in and motioned towards the bed for her to have a seat. She
sat on the edge of the bed while leaned against the dresser directly in
front of her. He reached behind him picking up a few pages of white paper and
handed them over to her, leaning back crossing his arms to watch her as she
read them.
“I didn’t send those.” He told her as she flipped through the pages. He
could see in her face she recognized them immediately.
As read over the emails she had received from three years ago her
heart began to ache, remembering how much they had hurt her before. Her eyes
were removed from the pages to look up at . “Then how'd you get them?”
She always wanted to believe he didn’t but they were clearly from his
own email account to 's. As much as he wanted to believe him deep down
she couldn't.
“She hacked into my email and sent them to herself.” He looked into her eyes
and could tell she still didn’t believe him completely. He walked to the
desk in the corner and grabbed the large chair, pulling it over and placing
it right in front of . He had a seat on it, placing his elbows on his knees
to lean forward, looking directly at her. “She just confessed, it took awhile
but I finally got it out of her. And right after that I kicked her out, she
should be on her way back to Ireland right now to pack her bags.”
placed the emails on to bed to the side of her, putting her head down to
process what he had just told her. She wanted to believe him on this but she'd
spent the last three years living with this as a truth, and the fact that she
was scammed by was hard to accept. Something inside told her he was right
though, it made sense when she thought back on it. She'd always hoped it wasn't
true and would never cheat on her. She let out a long breath and raised
her head to look at him.
He was staring at her now. “How could you think I'd do that?”
“I...I called you the night I got them and she answered, you were in the back
calling her name. I just assumed.” 's heart began to pound, the realization
he hadn't cheated hitting her. She spent three years of her life hating a man
who never hurt her. She didn’t know if she should be happy or crying
right now, knowing the life she knew had been stolen from her.
“I was probably shitfaced, you know how I am at the end of a tour.” She watched
as she nodded, knowing what he was talking about. “I'd never do that. Didn’t
you know you were my entire world? You were...” took a deep breath thinking
back on his feelings for her. “I loved you so much.” He put his head down. “I
was ready to marry you.”
“You were?” asked softly and she received a nod, with his head still down.
's mind raced with thousand of thoughts. What if this hadn't happened? Would
and her be happy right now? Would they be married with the possibility
of children? Then it hit her, she wondered if would want to get back together.
There wasn't the lie there was before looming over them, there was nothing holding
them back now. For the first time in three years she was allowed to love him
again.
“I'm so sorry for what did to you, I can't imagine how hard it was.”
stood as watched him walk around to the back of the chair. He placed
his hands on the back, leaning down as he supported himself to stare at the
floor. Letting out a long breath he finally brought his eyes back to 's.
“What I don't understand is why you didn’t come to me? Why did you just
leave?” His eyes pierced through hers, and she saw the pain he held inside.
“You didn’t even give me a chance, I could have sorted it out. Did you
not trust me enough?”
looked up at the ceiling, feeling tears come to her eyes as she thought
about the day she decided to leave. “It hurt so much, I just couldn't deal with
it then, I didn’t know how.”
Shaking his head, put his head down again, unsure if he could even look
at her. “I thought we were stronger than that.” His fingers dug into the back
of the chair he was gripping. There was a silence in the room, didn’t
know what to say, he was right. She should have gone to him, she saw that now,
all of this could have been saved.
Pushing himself from his leaning position on the chair, turned away from
to face the wall. “I almost wish I still thought you'd left me for some
other bloke. I think I could live with you leaving me because you didn’t
love me anymore...” turned to face her. “Not because you didn’t
love me enough.”
Remaining silent, wanted to say something, anything, that she did love
him. But the look in his eyes stopped her. Instead a small tear fell down her
cheek as she realized was so hurt he just might not forgive her, that
had killed more than just a relationship, she'd killed both of them.
There was another long silence, both unsure of what to do next. Once again
broke that silence. “I think what we should do is get through the rest of this,
we record the tracks and then...” shrugged. “Maybe one day we can try
to be friends, but right now I don't know. I wish I could say I could move past
this, but I'm not sure I can.”
Wiping the tear that has fallen, nodded and began to stand. “Ok.” was all
she could say. She knew there was nothing else she could say, he wouldn’t
be able to forgive her for just walking out and honestly she couldn't blame
him. She hated herself for not sticking around and figuring it out, and never
giving him a chance. She hated herself for not giving him that second chance
she knew she didn’t deserve now.
“No.” stopped her from leaving the room. “You stay, I'll go...” He gave
her one last glance before he made his way out of the room, letting the door
shut softly behind him.
let herself fall back on the bed again, the tears that barely fell moments
ago now flowed freely. After sitting there for what felt like hours she laid
down, curling herself in a ball and closed her eyes. All the memories she'd
had with came flooding back, there she relived every moment and only wished
she could have them back. She slowly cried herself to sleep. never heard
the door open quietly when entered. He gently tucked her in and took his
place on the couch, knowing she might need him in the morning.
The next two weeks went quickly for the group. They recorded as many tracks
as they could, leaving them with a lot of options for the new album. The relationship
between and was strained, they barely spoke and went along with their
business. Every now and then wanted to pull him aside and beg him to forgive
her, but she could never bring herself to do it. Instead she sat back and watched
him, hoping he'd turn to her one day and just kiss her the way he used to.
Their time came and went and saw the guys off at the airport. She was wrapped
up in s arms, squealing as he lifted her off the ground in a bear hug. He
placed her back on the ground and gave her a grin. “Well, , it's been a pleasure.
A bit odd, but always a pleasure.” He gave her a wink as he leaned in to give
her a kiss on the cheek.
gave him a wave as he walked towards the gate where was already waiting
for him after his goodbye with her. “Stay out of trouble you two!” she called
after them.
let out a laugh as he backed into the corridor leading to the plane. “Ay,
I think we should be worried 'bout the trouble you get into! No reindeers,
love!”
laughed as she watched them leave and turned to who was behind her
now. She gave him a sad look as he wrapped his arms around her, pulling her
in for a tight hug. She let out a long sigh with her head resting against his
chest. She was grateful she had him back in her life, he'd been there for her
this whole time and knew he'd be there forever. “So you're really coming back
to Ireland?” he said as he pulled away to look down at her.
“I think it's time I stop running from it, so yeah.” she gave him a smile.
“Fantastic, promise you'll ring me when you get back. I'll take you out and
remind ya how to really have a good time.”
“Can't wait.” As pulled her in for a second hug, her eyes glanced behind
him. Leaning against a post, sent out a message on his phone before returning
it to his jacket pocket. could feel 's eyes fall on him and gave her
a kiss on the forehead. “I think you just need to give him sometime. You both
have a lot to sort through, can't expect him to run back straight away.”
nodded and he gave her another quick kiss. “Take care of yourself.” He smiled
as he released her and made his way towards the plane. She gave him a final
wave and stood there, watching him walk down the corridor.
Feeling a presence, slowly turned to see standing behind her. “Thanks
again , ya did some good work.” He glanced at her for a second, but kept
his eyes on the ground for the most part.
“No, I think we did.” She smiled, wanting him to take her in his arms and to
tell her they were fine and that he loved her again.
“So, I should be off.” he nodded towards the gate. They stood there for another
moment and he held his arms out for her for a hug. stepped in and let him
wrap his arms around her. held her there, allowing himself to rest his
chin on her head, breathing the scent of her grape shampoo in. As much as he
wanted to hold her there forever he couldn't allow himself to, he still couldn't
get the thought of her leaving him out of his head. Pulling away slowly he gave
her a small smile and left without a word. Standing there until she finally
saw the plane lift off, 's heart sank, she realized now that it might never
have back again.
It’s taken time for me to get it
I’m ready and willing to do anything to make it up to you
My arms are hurting so bad from being so empty
My heart weighs like a ton cause it feels so heavy
I’m standing here all alone wishing that I could have known
You just can’t walk away from the damage
‘From the Damage’ O Town
Driving along a small back road, looked through the windshield to see
dark clouds forming in the distance. She'd been in Ireland for a month now and
was glad she'd decided to come back. She was beginning to realize how much she'd
missed it here and its laid back feeling, a contrast to the fast paced, stressful
L.A. , , and had taken up most of her time, bringing her out as
much as possible. wanted to make sure he took her mind off of the fact
that she still hadn't had any contact with . It wasn't that he didn’t
know she was back, not with the other guys around, it was because he just didn’t
want to see her, he had decided.
drove up a small hill and recognized the area, it was just a bit down the
road where and her had shared a place together. She became lost in memories
when a small rain drop landed on the windshield, followed by another, and another.
Soon the rain began to fall and in the distance a flash of lightening cut through
the sky. Realizing where she was, had the sudden urge to pull the car off
to the side of the road. She put it in park and turned the engine off. Sitting
in the car for a moment, she watched another flash of lightening.
Before she knew what she was doing, found herself standing outside the
car in the rain. She held her head up towards the sky and felt the water drip
down her face before turning to walk into the field next to the road. She found
a familiar path and followed it until she found what she was looking for, the
old willow tree. By the time she stood next to the tree her wet hair was clinging
to her face and she could feel the water starting to soak all the way through
her clothing.
Standing there, she was lost in her thoughts as she watched the lightening show
before her. So lost in those thoughts, when she heard a voice behind her she
jumped and held her chest. “You could catch a cold you know.” Her heart still
pounding from the scare, turned. Standing there, just as soaking wet as
herself, was .
“, what are you doing here?” asked, her heart still beating out of
her chest, but now because he was there.
“Apparently the same thing you are.” His eyes were locked on her as he began
to step closer towards her, not stopping until he was inches from her. She looked
right up at him, her breathing becoming a little deeper from his presence. She
searched her head for the perfect thing to say, not wanting him to run from
her with something wrong. Before she could speak both his hands were on either
side of her damp face, pulling her in for a kiss. His lips pressed up against
her, tasting the rain dripping down them as he ran his tongue along her lips,
asking for access. When she realized what was happening, held her arms
out, grabbing a hold of his waist and pulling him closer as she parted her lips,
allowing his tongue to slip inside. She let out a sigh as he tongue found hers
and softly caressed her. They stood there in the rain for what felt like hours
as he held her face kissing her as the rain started to fall harder. They were
pulled from the kiss by the loud crackling sound of thunder, the actual storm
nearing them.
smiled as he looked down at her, pushing the wet hair from her face. “You
don't know how long I've been waiting for a thunderstorm since I found out you
were back.”
Letting out a laugh, gave him a look. “What do you mean?”
“I kept hoping there would be one, because I had a feeling you'd show up here.
And luckily...” wiped a drop of rain which had just fallen on her cheek.
“I was right.”
looked down, trying to hide the smile she couldn't remove from her face.
While her eyes were down she saw stuffing a hand in his pocket, searching
for something. “What are you looking for?”
“Um...” 's hand searched his pocket frantically and let out a nervous laugh
when he switched pants pockets to continue his search. “I guess as much as I
planned this out, I didn’t really anticipate the nerves.” was shaking
her head at him, trying to hold back the laugh she was suppressing. Finally
finding t