Sad_Girl
Blue Crack Supplier
**Disclaimer: Though inspired in part by real people, nothing within the story is intended to represent reality; it’s all a work of the authors imagination.
The Promises we make Chapter 19b
“She seems really nice.” Cat said about Laney as Adam steered the car toward their home in the mountains outside of the city. Adam nodded and hmmed in agreement. “So, Dr. Clayton, when are you going to offer to give me this anatomy lesson you gave her?” She teased, and even in the darkness she could see the cheeky grin which came to his face.
“I don’t think there’s a spot on my body you haven’t memorized.” He laughed. “But I can always give you a test later to see.” She chuckled and took his free hand in her own, turning his wedding band around and around in circles on his finger.
“So, what’s bothering you?” She asked finally. She’d sensed it ever since the meal had drawn to an end. Adam had grown quiet and tense, and Edge had been even more so. Adam started to deny that anything troubled him, but from the look Cat gave him, he knew she wasn’t going to let it go so easily.
“Laney is a sweet girl. We’ve known her since she was maybe five or six years old.” He started, and Cat smiled at the fact that he considered a woman who was five years older than herself a ‘sweet girl’. “And Bono has always been oblivious to the fact that she was pining over him.”
“He didn’t seem so oblivious tonight.” Cat commented off-hand. Her eyes widened as the problem dawned on her. “You don’t want them together?”
“It’s not that, necessarily. Bono lives a hard life. No one has ever been able to keep up with it. It would take a very, very special person to have any chance of staying with him with all that he does.” Adam started. “And, with Laney being Edge’s cousin, on top of my own fondness of her… when they break up, it won’t be difficult just for them. He’ll be miserable, she’ll be miserable. The effects will hit all of us, like ripples on a pond.”
“What if they don’t break up?” Cat asked, squeezing Adam’s hand.
“Well, that would be wonderful then, wouldn’t it? But love, how many relationships do you know of that haven’t broken up?” He asked. Cat considered this for a moment, realizing that they, in fact, had broken up briefly.
“Still. I think they deserve the chance to try. Better to lose at love than never love at all. After all, I gave you a chance and it worked out pretty well.” She told him playfully.
"You gave ME a chance?” Adam laughed. “That’s funny, I seem to remember being pursued relentlessly until I submitted to you.” Cat threw her head back and laughed heartily as Adam pulled the car into the garage and shut the engine off. He smiled before leaning in and kissing her tenderly.
“From now on we’ll take turns chasing each other around.” He remarked, stroking her cheek as he nuzzled her nose with his own.
“I’m not going to be too hard to catch, in this condition.” Cat told him, her hand resting on her belly. The weight had seemed to double by the day, in her mind, and it was becoming fairly obvious to anyone that she was quite pregnant. She had even started to walk with her hand on her back, her legs braced further apart than normal. Adam moved quickly around the car to help her to the house but she waved him off defiantly.
“I’m not that pregnant.” She told him, punching in the code to the security system and entering a dark house. “Did Trine go to bed already?” She wondered aloud, turning back to shoot Adam a bewildered look. Trine was usually up all hours of the night, sleeping the daylight hours away.
“I’ll check on her.” Adam said, moving past Cat and quietly down the hall. Cat moved over toward the lounge, where the flickering lights of the television caught her eye. The volume was nearly all the way down, and a commercial with some animated character jumping around the screen made the room dance with strange shadows.
Then her eyes fell on the blankets spread out on the floor and it took her mind a moment to recognize what her eyes were seeing. Bare skin. A lot of it. Following the bare skin of someone’s legs up along the very masculine back, she gasped out loud as it hit her not only what she was seeing but who.
“Alex!” She hissed, turning away to look over her shoulder to make sure Adam was not returning to see this. Alex’s head raised and turned to look at Cat, his blue eyes almost comically wide. He muttered several obscenities and Cat looked away again. This was both for modesty’s sake for the couple and to watch for Adam’s return.
“Cat, I…” Alex started to speak. Cat heard the sounds of the two rushing to slide back into their clothes.
“Shut up!” She told them quickly as she heard Adam coming back down the hall.
“She’s not in her room.” He told Cat, and Cat desperately tried to think of some way to distract him from his search for his daughter now. It was already too late, though, because of Adam’s long legs, he’d already closed the distance between the hallway and the lounge.
“What…?” He started to ask about the vexation on her face when his eyes fell on the rumpled pair of young people and the blankets scattered around the living room. Cat actually held her breath as she waited for his response. As if the band hadn’t known enough stress already, she thought. Why did Alex have to go and do something so stupid!
Then, shocking each and every one of them, Adam laughed. They all stared in disbelief as he covered his face with his hand for a moment, his shoulders shaking even though he had silenced his laughter.
“Adam?” Cat asked, bewildered by this unorthodox response.
“For all of your complaining about what you consider our immodesty, Trine, I would’ve expected you to keep it behind a locked door yourself.” He said, and Alex let out a slow breath as some color returned to his face. He wasn’t convinced yet that the danger had passed, but it didn’t seem to loom quite so terrifyingly anymore.
“I…” Trine stammered, looking back and forth between Alex and her father. “I’m sorry.” She finally managed to spit out. “You’re not mad?” She asked quietly.
“I don’t think it’s the best thing for you, but it’s your life and your decision Trine.” Adam told her honestly. “I would be a hypocrite to try and tell you to learn from someone elses mistakes. God knows I had to make my own before I learned a damned thing. But if you get pregnant, or if things go bad and ruin the band, it’s a result of your own decisions. There’s nothing I can or will do about it.”
“Fair.. fair enough.” She said, blinking at him in disbelief, running a hand over her short hair awkwardly.
“And Alex?” Adam said, starting to turn away but then turning back on an after thought. “The same goes for you. You’re damn well old enough to be thinking with the head on your shoulders before doing something like this.” He told the young man, who nodded vehemently in acknowledgement.
Adam bid the startled pair a good night and led Cat by the hand to their bedroom. He sat down on the bed, bracing his elbows against his knees and resting his head in the palms of his hands. Cat watched him quietly for a moment, heard him let out a long, slow breath, and then moved to stand directly in front of him.
“That was not easy.” He told her, as if confiding some deep, dark secret.
“You could’ve fooled me.” She said, running her fingers through his handsome silver hair. “You handled it really well.”
“Good God, I’m glad they were dressing by the time I got there.” He laughed bitterly. “Suddenly, my youth is returning to me, and I am dreading the next few years of her life.” He told Cat, and all the humor had left his voice. She wrapped her arms around his shoulders and head, guiding him to rest it against her chest and belly as she stroked his hair.
“You’ll be fine. She’s a girl, girls are smarter than boys.” She teased. “And you’re instincts are better than mine. I was ready to throw Alex out on his naked ass and ground Trine until she was thirty five.”
“She would’ve just run away.” He said, and Cat agreed.
“I know. I wasn’t exactly the picture of youthful innocence myself.” She told him. She released him from her embrace and moved to lay on the bed beside him, guiding him to lie down as well. “You are a good father, Adam. I’m so glad to know that my baby will have a man like you to call daddy.” Adam smiled at her, his hand reaching out to rest on her belly.
“Thank you.” Was all he could think to say. Suddenly he felt a flutter of movement beneath his hand, and sudden bump. Cat laughed out loud at the surprise on his face. The baby had started moving around a bit lately, but it had just gotten to be where someone on the outside could feel it, as well. She had yet to be in Adam’s presence when it happened.
“I think he agrees.” She said, resting her hand over his. She watched as the reality of a baby, a real live child, inside of her, moving about and kicking against her belly, settled in to Adam’s mind. She wasn’t certain she believed it completely yet herself. Adam leaned in and slid several buttons out of the holes on her shirt to expose her belly and kissed it gently. Tears sprung to Cat’s eyes at the gesture, while at the same time, she could not hold back a laugh of purest joy.
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“Where’s Dave this morning?” Simone asked as she realized Larry’s bodyguard was no longer following them on their way to the hospital.
“He’s going home.” Larry informed her. “I don’t usually make him come along for personal things like this.”
“So why did you bring him this time?” She asked, her eyes narrowing in suspicion.
“Just in case.” Larry replied with a shrug. Simone frowned at him.
“You brought him because you were afraid of my family, didn’t you?”
“No.” He told her, a smile threatening to form on his full mouth. “I wasn’t afraid of anyone. I just thought it was a situation in which it would be better for me to have someone around. Just in case.” Simone chuckled out loud, shaking her head at Larry’s reasoning. He was always two steps ahead of her, always prepared and well thought out. That was the source of his confidence.
She admired the way his mind worked, truth be told, and wished she could think the same way. Simone braced herself, just as she did every morning, before she entered the hospital to face her siblings. They had been there for a week now, and things had only gotten worse between them. She had begged Larry to stay at the hotel and take care of Pauley for three of those days, but yesterday, her father, who was already showing some progress with his rehabilitative treatment, had asked her to bring him in. Had anyone else have suggested it, she would’ve refused without a thought.
Her father, on the other hand, she could not refuse. Not just because she was raised to respect him, but also because he had never requested anything of the sort. Even when everyone else had been giving her such a hard time about Pauley, he had never asked a single question about his father. It was unprecedented.
“Remember he can’t speak clearly yet.” Simone was telling Larry as they made their way quickly and quietly through the halls of the hospital. They reached the elevator and she punched the button for the eighth floor. Physical therapy and occupational rehabilitation.
“I speak fluent drunk. He can’t be much worse.” Larry teased her gently, wrapping an arm around her shoulder supportively.
“And don’t forget to speak up, he’s not exactly hard of hearing, but accents throw him off a little…” she continued, and Pauley rolled his eyes dramatically at her, running a little hand over his face and shaking his head emphatically.
“Mom! He knows!” he told her melodramatically. Larry snorted in surprise, covering his mouth and nose with one hand to stifle the laughter.
“Oh does he now?” She replied, laughing at her son. He was really growing under Larry’s guidance. He’d changed a great deal in the recent months. She was proud of the little man he was becoming, and grateful to Larry.
“You’ve told him a million times.” Pauley sighed, and Simone shot a playfully irritated glance up at Larry who was still smirking.
“And what about you? What’ve I told you?” She asked Pauley.
“Don’t talk back to grown ups.” He replied, rolling his eyes again. “But I only get in trouble for what I say to my aunt and uncles.” He added an all too truthful observation.
“Then be extra careful what you say to them.” Simone suggested. She knew that would’ve made her crazy, as a child. She would’ve focused more on irritating those people, rather than backing off. She was thankfully Pauley had not inherited that particular rebellious streak.
The elevator doors slid open and the first thing any of them saw was a fairly tall man with the same color hair as Simone, standing there as if he were waiting for someone. Larry would’ve recognized him the moment he took his sunglasses off, but Simone spoke before his mind had a chance to process all the details.
“Tim?” She gasped, and Pauley sped out of the elevator and wrapped himself around the man’s legs enthusiastically.
“Uncle Tim!” He cried out in a manner which was usually reserved for the boys greetings to Larry. Larry scowled at the scene as Simone rushed to embrace the man as well. His first thought had gone straight to the possibility that this was Pauley’s wayward father. That was quickly dismissed, of course, as the family resemblance reached Larry’s mind. This was the brother they had been looking for, struggling to have brought home. He was also Simone’s twin, and the only relative Pauley had seen recently enough to remember at all.
“You must be Larry.” The man greeted him once Simone and Pauley let him out of their embrace. “I’ve heard a lot about you already.”
“Don’t believe a word of it.” Larry replied, his accent adding to the charm of his remark. Tim laughed heartily, his green eyes reviewing every detail of Larry’s appearance quickly but efficiently.
“So you’re not the greatest drummer in the history of rock and roll?” Tim joked.
“Nowhere near. I’m not even a professional drummer. It’s what I do, but, I’ve never contributed anything new to music.” He informed the man, also sizing him up as he spoke.
“Modesty is not something I’d expect in one of Simone’s lovers.” The man said, and Larry was stunned for a moment by his blunt approach. “I think they may be right about you after all.”
“Right about what, exactly?” Larry asked suspiciously.
“Tim, Larry and I were just going to see Daddy. Can we do this later?” She asked, her eyes moving nervously back and forth between the two.
“Sure, I’ll be here.” He told her pleasantly before strolling off toward the waiting room. Simone looked at Larry nervously, so he forced a smile at her. She showed him the way to her fathers room, went in and retrieved her mother, and left Larry alone for a few minutes. As they were walking off down the hall, Larry heard Pauley proudly informing his grandmother of something which he had recently learned.
“Guess what? I’m gonna be a big brother!” He told her, and Larry stopped in mid step, turning to gaze after them in shock. Simone turned and glared at him and he fought down a smile, shrugging his shoulders at her and retreated into the hospital room. Simone’s face was bright red as she turned back and told her mother that she wasn’t pregnant.
“But you an’ Daddy Larry said I was gonna have a little brother or sister!” He objected.
“We also told you that was supposed to be a secret for awhile.” Simone told Pauley, a hint of genuine irritation in her voice. Mostly, though, she was irritated with herself for letting it slip in the first place. She would’ve been content to tell Pauley that she and Larry were ‘wrestling’ in that awkward moment when he’d entered their room quietly in the middle of the night. Larry on the other hand had argued it would be best to be honest and try to explain it to him simply. Simone cursed him again in her head now as she tried to figure out what to say.
“Simone, I think it’s wonderful.” Her mother said, and Simone’s head snapped up, her attention moving quickly off her son and onto her mother. “I know you think I’ve judged you harshly, Moni… and I guess, it’s true. I just want you to be happy. I didn’t understand, before, that you needed a different life than I did, in order for you to be happy.” Her mother told her, and Simone felt the hot tears spring to her eyes. She had waited for so long to hear her mother say something like that. Now that it had happened, she could hardly believe it.
“I…” She stammered, unable to find the right words. She bit her lip and her mother opened her arms to Simone, who gratefully accepted the embrace. “I love you, mom.” She whispered, tears spilling now, despite her efforts to hold them back.
“I know, sweetie. I love you, too.” Her mother sighed, holding her daughter close.
Larry stepped around the corner to find Sgt. Drake sitting upright in his bed, his functioning arm grasping the remote to the television set and flipping quickly through the channels. He turned and looked at Larry, and for a moment, Larry felt the strangest urge to salute the man. He had a very commanding presence.
“Sss’all crap!” the man muttered, and it took Larry a moment to get past his mumbling and figure out he was referring to the television programming. He smiled awkwardly, standing there with his hands in his pockets, feeling like a teenager who expected to be in trouble.
“Siddowwn.” The man told him, gesturing to the chair at his bedside. Larry sat. “They’uve toll me ‘boowt yoou.” The man continued, and Larry grimaced. He could only imagine what Simone’s siblings had to say about him. “D’you love Moni?” the man asked, and Larry’s eyes widened in surprise. This was an unexpected turn in the conversation. Larry had been prepared for questions about his political beliefs, his loyalty and courage.
“Wha… yes. Of course, sir.” He replied, and although it was difficult to tell, he swore the man was smiling at him.
“They tol’ me you might jus’ be stubborn enough to holdon to’er.” He said, and Larry smiled reflexively. “She doesn’t think she needs anyone… but she does.” He continued. “You need to take care of’er… but doont let her know that you are.” Her father informed Larry, and Larry nodded in agreement.
“I can do that.” He told the man, accepting the handshake he offered as he rose, sensing that he was being dismissed from his company. He turned back, trying to think of something more to say, but he couldn’t imagine what words he could possibly use to thank this man who had just given him his blessing to be with his daughter. Instead, he turned and headed back out and down to the waiting room to face the music for Pauley’s surprise announcement.
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“Laney, just come out and talk to me!” Bono demanded, standing outside the house, peering up to the second floor window to the guest room where Laney was locked up, refusing to speak to him.
“Bono? Why don’t you…” Tessa started to suggest he leave and let the woman cool off a bit, but Bono wasn’t listening.
“It was a stupid, fucked up thing to say, an I’m sorry! It didn’t mean anything!” He bellowed, and Tessa sighed, rubbing her temples with her forefingers, hoping to quell the headache which was threatening. Bono paced the area below the window like a caged animal, wishing she would just open her window and yell at him. Scream at him, call him names, anything! Anything except for this. He couldn’t take her silence.
The door to their left swung open and Edge stepped out into the dewy grass, his feet and chest bare. Tessa had never really seen him irritated or angry, though she was well aware that he was capable of reaching new depths of each, if pushed too hard.
“Bono, you need to go.” He told his mate quietly. Bono ran his hands through his hair and glanced back up at the window longingly.
“I’m not going anywhere until I talk to her. I just need to be able to look her in the eye, make sure she hears what I’m saying!” Bono told him, running a thick hand over his stubbled chin in frustration. Edge took a few more steps toward his friend, his voice dropping to a low growl.
“I said, you need to go home. She want’s to be alone, and she’ll be alone!” he snapped, and Bono looked over at his long time companion, his eyes wide in shock as he realized he was not only serious about what he was saying, but he was downright mad.
“I just…” Bono started to argue, but in less time than it took to blink an eye, Edge’s arm shot out and he caught Bono by the collar, pulling him face to face.
“I don’t care what you want right now.” He informed him, his voice frighteningly, unnaturally calm and even for the situation. “You need to leave.” He reiterated, dragging Bono by his collar toward the driveway, where his Maserati was waiting.
“Hey! Hey, wait a bloody second!” Bono argued, wrestling his way out of Edge’s grip and hurriedly taking several steps back, keeping out of his reach. “I don’t know what you’re thinking I did, but it’s between me and Laney.” He said, not appreciating Edge’s interference.
“Bollix! Last night it was between you and Laney. Last night when you weren’t standing here, on my property, screaming like a banshee at my house. Before you did whatever it is that you did to make Laney weep and cry, and want to go home early. Now? Now it is my business.” Edge retorted, swinging out to try and snatch him by the collar again, but missing as Bono ducked and sprung to the side in a creative dodge.
“She wants to go home?” He asked, directing his question toward Tessa, who could just stand by and watch in horrified fascination. Tessa nodded weakly. “Is she still here?” He asked, and again Tessa nodded. Bono tried to make a break for the door, no doubt planning to race up the stairs and into Laney’s room before Edge could catch him. It didn’t quite work out that way. Edge caught hold of the tail of Bono’s untucked shirt and yanked him backwards, the force of this sending both men to the ground in a moment of pure chaos.
“Oh fer feck’s sake, will you two stop acting like a couple of wee brats? I swear, I will never understand the way a man’s mind works. If it works at all.” Laney told them, opening the window and leaning out to scowl down at the wrestling pair, who were now both wet with dew and covered in dirt and grass stains.
“Laney!” Bono said, struggling to free himself from Edge’s grasp and rise without falling flat on his face. “If you’ll just listen to me…” He tried again and managed to stand upright and stay that way, somehow.
“I’ve been listening, fer the past hour you’ve been screaming up here while I was trying desperately to get some sort o’ sleep!” she replied grumpily.
“It didn’t mean anything, it was stupid…” Bono tried telling her, and Laney rolled her eyes dramatically.
“I really don’t care.” She told him dryly. “In fact, your timing was perfect. A few minutes later, I might’ve had something to regret. Now go home, or go see this ‘Angel’ or go to work, I really don’t bloody care just so long as you just go away!” She told him sharply, slamming the window shut behind herself and drawing the curtains.
All three of the people standing below the window could only stand there and stare for a long moment, held captive by the strength of her words and in her tone. They had all expected her to be hurt and weeping, not irritated and annoyed.
“What the fuck did you do to her?” Edge asked from where he still sat on the ground, accepting the hand up which Bono offered.
“It’s between us.” Bono grumbled, his face pulled into a tight frown as he glanced back up at the window. “I have to fix this.” He said with a sigh.
“Maybe it’s best if you just leave well enough alone.” Tessa suggested, and Edge nodded in agreement. Bono frowned at her and walked away, his shoulders slumped and his head down. They watched him climb into his car and drive off without a word.
“That man has no idea how to leave well enough alone.” Edge told his future wife with a sigh.
The Promises we make Chapter 19b
“She seems really nice.” Cat said about Laney as Adam steered the car toward their home in the mountains outside of the city. Adam nodded and hmmed in agreement. “So, Dr. Clayton, when are you going to offer to give me this anatomy lesson you gave her?” She teased, and even in the darkness she could see the cheeky grin which came to his face.
“I don’t think there’s a spot on my body you haven’t memorized.” He laughed. “But I can always give you a test later to see.” She chuckled and took his free hand in her own, turning his wedding band around and around in circles on his finger.
“So, what’s bothering you?” She asked finally. She’d sensed it ever since the meal had drawn to an end. Adam had grown quiet and tense, and Edge had been even more so. Adam started to deny that anything troubled him, but from the look Cat gave him, he knew she wasn’t going to let it go so easily.
“Laney is a sweet girl. We’ve known her since she was maybe five or six years old.” He started, and Cat smiled at the fact that he considered a woman who was five years older than herself a ‘sweet girl’. “And Bono has always been oblivious to the fact that she was pining over him.”
“He didn’t seem so oblivious tonight.” Cat commented off-hand. Her eyes widened as the problem dawned on her. “You don’t want them together?”
“It’s not that, necessarily. Bono lives a hard life. No one has ever been able to keep up with it. It would take a very, very special person to have any chance of staying with him with all that he does.” Adam started. “And, with Laney being Edge’s cousin, on top of my own fondness of her… when they break up, it won’t be difficult just for them. He’ll be miserable, she’ll be miserable. The effects will hit all of us, like ripples on a pond.”
“What if they don’t break up?” Cat asked, squeezing Adam’s hand.
“Well, that would be wonderful then, wouldn’t it? But love, how many relationships do you know of that haven’t broken up?” He asked. Cat considered this for a moment, realizing that they, in fact, had broken up briefly.
“Still. I think they deserve the chance to try. Better to lose at love than never love at all. After all, I gave you a chance and it worked out pretty well.” She told him playfully.
"You gave ME a chance?” Adam laughed. “That’s funny, I seem to remember being pursued relentlessly until I submitted to you.” Cat threw her head back and laughed heartily as Adam pulled the car into the garage and shut the engine off. He smiled before leaning in and kissing her tenderly.
“From now on we’ll take turns chasing each other around.” He remarked, stroking her cheek as he nuzzled her nose with his own.
“I’m not going to be too hard to catch, in this condition.” Cat told him, her hand resting on her belly. The weight had seemed to double by the day, in her mind, and it was becoming fairly obvious to anyone that she was quite pregnant. She had even started to walk with her hand on her back, her legs braced further apart than normal. Adam moved quickly around the car to help her to the house but she waved him off defiantly.
“I’m not that pregnant.” She told him, punching in the code to the security system and entering a dark house. “Did Trine go to bed already?” She wondered aloud, turning back to shoot Adam a bewildered look. Trine was usually up all hours of the night, sleeping the daylight hours away.
“I’ll check on her.” Adam said, moving past Cat and quietly down the hall. Cat moved over toward the lounge, where the flickering lights of the television caught her eye. The volume was nearly all the way down, and a commercial with some animated character jumping around the screen made the room dance with strange shadows.
Then her eyes fell on the blankets spread out on the floor and it took her mind a moment to recognize what her eyes were seeing. Bare skin. A lot of it. Following the bare skin of someone’s legs up along the very masculine back, she gasped out loud as it hit her not only what she was seeing but who.
“Alex!” She hissed, turning away to look over her shoulder to make sure Adam was not returning to see this. Alex’s head raised and turned to look at Cat, his blue eyes almost comically wide. He muttered several obscenities and Cat looked away again. This was both for modesty’s sake for the couple and to watch for Adam’s return.
“Cat, I…” Alex started to speak. Cat heard the sounds of the two rushing to slide back into their clothes.
“Shut up!” She told them quickly as she heard Adam coming back down the hall.
“She’s not in her room.” He told Cat, and Cat desperately tried to think of some way to distract him from his search for his daughter now. It was already too late, though, because of Adam’s long legs, he’d already closed the distance between the hallway and the lounge.
“What…?” He started to ask about the vexation on her face when his eyes fell on the rumpled pair of young people and the blankets scattered around the living room. Cat actually held her breath as she waited for his response. As if the band hadn’t known enough stress already, she thought. Why did Alex have to go and do something so stupid!
Then, shocking each and every one of them, Adam laughed. They all stared in disbelief as he covered his face with his hand for a moment, his shoulders shaking even though he had silenced his laughter.
“Adam?” Cat asked, bewildered by this unorthodox response.
“For all of your complaining about what you consider our immodesty, Trine, I would’ve expected you to keep it behind a locked door yourself.” He said, and Alex let out a slow breath as some color returned to his face. He wasn’t convinced yet that the danger had passed, but it didn’t seem to loom quite so terrifyingly anymore.
“I…” Trine stammered, looking back and forth between Alex and her father. “I’m sorry.” She finally managed to spit out. “You’re not mad?” She asked quietly.
“I don’t think it’s the best thing for you, but it’s your life and your decision Trine.” Adam told her honestly. “I would be a hypocrite to try and tell you to learn from someone elses mistakes. God knows I had to make my own before I learned a damned thing. But if you get pregnant, or if things go bad and ruin the band, it’s a result of your own decisions. There’s nothing I can or will do about it.”
“Fair.. fair enough.” She said, blinking at him in disbelief, running a hand over her short hair awkwardly.
“And Alex?” Adam said, starting to turn away but then turning back on an after thought. “The same goes for you. You’re damn well old enough to be thinking with the head on your shoulders before doing something like this.” He told the young man, who nodded vehemently in acknowledgement.
Adam bid the startled pair a good night and led Cat by the hand to their bedroom. He sat down on the bed, bracing his elbows against his knees and resting his head in the palms of his hands. Cat watched him quietly for a moment, heard him let out a long, slow breath, and then moved to stand directly in front of him.
“That was not easy.” He told her, as if confiding some deep, dark secret.
“You could’ve fooled me.” She said, running her fingers through his handsome silver hair. “You handled it really well.”
“Good God, I’m glad they were dressing by the time I got there.” He laughed bitterly. “Suddenly, my youth is returning to me, and I am dreading the next few years of her life.” He told Cat, and all the humor had left his voice. She wrapped her arms around his shoulders and head, guiding him to rest it against her chest and belly as she stroked his hair.
“You’ll be fine. She’s a girl, girls are smarter than boys.” She teased. “And you’re instincts are better than mine. I was ready to throw Alex out on his naked ass and ground Trine until she was thirty five.”
“She would’ve just run away.” He said, and Cat agreed.
“I know. I wasn’t exactly the picture of youthful innocence myself.” She told him. She released him from her embrace and moved to lay on the bed beside him, guiding him to lie down as well. “You are a good father, Adam. I’m so glad to know that my baby will have a man like you to call daddy.” Adam smiled at her, his hand reaching out to rest on her belly.
“Thank you.” Was all he could think to say. Suddenly he felt a flutter of movement beneath his hand, and sudden bump. Cat laughed out loud at the surprise on his face. The baby had started moving around a bit lately, but it had just gotten to be where someone on the outside could feel it, as well. She had yet to be in Adam’s presence when it happened.
“I think he agrees.” She said, resting her hand over his. She watched as the reality of a baby, a real live child, inside of her, moving about and kicking against her belly, settled in to Adam’s mind. She wasn’t certain she believed it completely yet herself. Adam leaned in and slid several buttons out of the holes on her shirt to expose her belly and kissed it gently. Tears sprung to Cat’s eyes at the gesture, while at the same time, she could not hold back a laugh of purest joy.
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“Where’s Dave this morning?” Simone asked as she realized Larry’s bodyguard was no longer following them on their way to the hospital.
“He’s going home.” Larry informed her. “I don’t usually make him come along for personal things like this.”
“So why did you bring him this time?” She asked, her eyes narrowing in suspicion.
“Just in case.” Larry replied with a shrug. Simone frowned at him.
“You brought him because you were afraid of my family, didn’t you?”
“No.” He told her, a smile threatening to form on his full mouth. “I wasn’t afraid of anyone. I just thought it was a situation in which it would be better for me to have someone around. Just in case.” Simone chuckled out loud, shaking her head at Larry’s reasoning. He was always two steps ahead of her, always prepared and well thought out. That was the source of his confidence.
She admired the way his mind worked, truth be told, and wished she could think the same way. Simone braced herself, just as she did every morning, before she entered the hospital to face her siblings. They had been there for a week now, and things had only gotten worse between them. She had begged Larry to stay at the hotel and take care of Pauley for three of those days, but yesterday, her father, who was already showing some progress with his rehabilitative treatment, had asked her to bring him in. Had anyone else have suggested it, she would’ve refused without a thought.
Her father, on the other hand, she could not refuse. Not just because she was raised to respect him, but also because he had never requested anything of the sort. Even when everyone else had been giving her such a hard time about Pauley, he had never asked a single question about his father. It was unprecedented.
“Remember he can’t speak clearly yet.” Simone was telling Larry as they made their way quickly and quietly through the halls of the hospital. They reached the elevator and she punched the button for the eighth floor. Physical therapy and occupational rehabilitation.
“I speak fluent drunk. He can’t be much worse.” Larry teased her gently, wrapping an arm around her shoulder supportively.
“And don’t forget to speak up, he’s not exactly hard of hearing, but accents throw him off a little…” she continued, and Pauley rolled his eyes dramatically at her, running a little hand over his face and shaking his head emphatically.
“Mom! He knows!” he told her melodramatically. Larry snorted in surprise, covering his mouth and nose with one hand to stifle the laughter.
“Oh does he now?” She replied, laughing at her son. He was really growing under Larry’s guidance. He’d changed a great deal in the recent months. She was proud of the little man he was becoming, and grateful to Larry.
“You’ve told him a million times.” Pauley sighed, and Simone shot a playfully irritated glance up at Larry who was still smirking.
“And what about you? What’ve I told you?” She asked Pauley.
“Don’t talk back to grown ups.” He replied, rolling his eyes again. “But I only get in trouble for what I say to my aunt and uncles.” He added an all too truthful observation.
“Then be extra careful what you say to them.” Simone suggested. She knew that would’ve made her crazy, as a child. She would’ve focused more on irritating those people, rather than backing off. She was thankfully Pauley had not inherited that particular rebellious streak.
The elevator doors slid open and the first thing any of them saw was a fairly tall man with the same color hair as Simone, standing there as if he were waiting for someone. Larry would’ve recognized him the moment he took his sunglasses off, but Simone spoke before his mind had a chance to process all the details.
“Tim?” She gasped, and Pauley sped out of the elevator and wrapped himself around the man’s legs enthusiastically.
“Uncle Tim!” He cried out in a manner which was usually reserved for the boys greetings to Larry. Larry scowled at the scene as Simone rushed to embrace the man as well. His first thought had gone straight to the possibility that this was Pauley’s wayward father. That was quickly dismissed, of course, as the family resemblance reached Larry’s mind. This was the brother they had been looking for, struggling to have brought home. He was also Simone’s twin, and the only relative Pauley had seen recently enough to remember at all.
“You must be Larry.” The man greeted him once Simone and Pauley let him out of their embrace. “I’ve heard a lot about you already.”
“Don’t believe a word of it.” Larry replied, his accent adding to the charm of his remark. Tim laughed heartily, his green eyes reviewing every detail of Larry’s appearance quickly but efficiently.
“So you’re not the greatest drummer in the history of rock and roll?” Tim joked.
“Nowhere near. I’m not even a professional drummer. It’s what I do, but, I’ve never contributed anything new to music.” He informed the man, also sizing him up as he spoke.
“Modesty is not something I’d expect in one of Simone’s lovers.” The man said, and Larry was stunned for a moment by his blunt approach. “I think they may be right about you after all.”
“Right about what, exactly?” Larry asked suspiciously.
“Tim, Larry and I were just going to see Daddy. Can we do this later?” She asked, her eyes moving nervously back and forth between the two.
“Sure, I’ll be here.” He told her pleasantly before strolling off toward the waiting room. Simone looked at Larry nervously, so he forced a smile at her. She showed him the way to her fathers room, went in and retrieved her mother, and left Larry alone for a few minutes. As they were walking off down the hall, Larry heard Pauley proudly informing his grandmother of something which he had recently learned.
“Guess what? I’m gonna be a big brother!” He told her, and Larry stopped in mid step, turning to gaze after them in shock. Simone turned and glared at him and he fought down a smile, shrugging his shoulders at her and retreated into the hospital room. Simone’s face was bright red as she turned back and told her mother that she wasn’t pregnant.
“But you an’ Daddy Larry said I was gonna have a little brother or sister!” He objected.
“We also told you that was supposed to be a secret for awhile.” Simone told Pauley, a hint of genuine irritation in her voice. Mostly, though, she was irritated with herself for letting it slip in the first place. She would’ve been content to tell Pauley that she and Larry were ‘wrestling’ in that awkward moment when he’d entered their room quietly in the middle of the night. Larry on the other hand had argued it would be best to be honest and try to explain it to him simply. Simone cursed him again in her head now as she tried to figure out what to say.
“Simone, I think it’s wonderful.” Her mother said, and Simone’s head snapped up, her attention moving quickly off her son and onto her mother. “I know you think I’ve judged you harshly, Moni… and I guess, it’s true. I just want you to be happy. I didn’t understand, before, that you needed a different life than I did, in order for you to be happy.” Her mother told her, and Simone felt the hot tears spring to her eyes. She had waited for so long to hear her mother say something like that. Now that it had happened, she could hardly believe it.
“I…” She stammered, unable to find the right words. She bit her lip and her mother opened her arms to Simone, who gratefully accepted the embrace. “I love you, mom.” She whispered, tears spilling now, despite her efforts to hold them back.
“I know, sweetie. I love you, too.” Her mother sighed, holding her daughter close.
Larry stepped around the corner to find Sgt. Drake sitting upright in his bed, his functioning arm grasping the remote to the television set and flipping quickly through the channels. He turned and looked at Larry, and for a moment, Larry felt the strangest urge to salute the man. He had a very commanding presence.
“Sss’all crap!” the man muttered, and it took Larry a moment to get past his mumbling and figure out he was referring to the television programming. He smiled awkwardly, standing there with his hands in his pockets, feeling like a teenager who expected to be in trouble.
“Siddowwn.” The man told him, gesturing to the chair at his bedside. Larry sat. “They’uve toll me ‘boowt yoou.” The man continued, and Larry grimaced. He could only imagine what Simone’s siblings had to say about him. “D’you love Moni?” the man asked, and Larry’s eyes widened in surprise. This was an unexpected turn in the conversation. Larry had been prepared for questions about his political beliefs, his loyalty and courage.
“Wha… yes. Of course, sir.” He replied, and although it was difficult to tell, he swore the man was smiling at him.
“They tol’ me you might jus’ be stubborn enough to holdon to’er.” He said, and Larry smiled reflexively. “She doesn’t think she needs anyone… but she does.” He continued. “You need to take care of’er… but doont let her know that you are.” Her father informed Larry, and Larry nodded in agreement.
“I can do that.” He told the man, accepting the handshake he offered as he rose, sensing that he was being dismissed from his company. He turned back, trying to think of something more to say, but he couldn’t imagine what words he could possibly use to thank this man who had just given him his blessing to be with his daughter. Instead, he turned and headed back out and down to the waiting room to face the music for Pauley’s surprise announcement.
*************************************************************
“Laney, just come out and talk to me!” Bono demanded, standing outside the house, peering up to the second floor window to the guest room where Laney was locked up, refusing to speak to him.
“Bono? Why don’t you…” Tessa started to suggest he leave and let the woman cool off a bit, but Bono wasn’t listening.
“It was a stupid, fucked up thing to say, an I’m sorry! It didn’t mean anything!” He bellowed, and Tessa sighed, rubbing her temples with her forefingers, hoping to quell the headache which was threatening. Bono paced the area below the window like a caged animal, wishing she would just open her window and yell at him. Scream at him, call him names, anything! Anything except for this. He couldn’t take her silence.
The door to their left swung open and Edge stepped out into the dewy grass, his feet and chest bare. Tessa had never really seen him irritated or angry, though she was well aware that he was capable of reaching new depths of each, if pushed too hard.
“Bono, you need to go.” He told his mate quietly. Bono ran his hands through his hair and glanced back up at the window longingly.
“I’m not going anywhere until I talk to her. I just need to be able to look her in the eye, make sure she hears what I’m saying!” Bono told him, running a thick hand over his stubbled chin in frustration. Edge took a few more steps toward his friend, his voice dropping to a low growl.
“I said, you need to go home. She want’s to be alone, and she’ll be alone!” he snapped, and Bono looked over at his long time companion, his eyes wide in shock as he realized he was not only serious about what he was saying, but he was downright mad.
“I just…” Bono started to argue, but in less time than it took to blink an eye, Edge’s arm shot out and he caught Bono by the collar, pulling him face to face.
“I don’t care what you want right now.” He informed him, his voice frighteningly, unnaturally calm and even for the situation. “You need to leave.” He reiterated, dragging Bono by his collar toward the driveway, where his Maserati was waiting.
“Hey! Hey, wait a bloody second!” Bono argued, wrestling his way out of Edge’s grip and hurriedly taking several steps back, keeping out of his reach. “I don’t know what you’re thinking I did, but it’s between me and Laney.” He said, not appreciating Edge’s interference.
“Bollix! Last night it was between you and Laney. Last night when you weren’t standing here, on my property, screaming like a banshee at my house. Before you did whatever it is that you did to make Laney weep and cry, and want to go home early. Now? Now it is my business.” Edge retorted, swinging out to try and snatch him by the collar again, but missing as Bono ducked and sprung to the side in a creative dodge.
“She wants to go home?” He asked, directing his question toward Tessa, who could just stand by and watch in horrified fascination. Tessa nodded weakly. “Is she still here?” He asked, and again Tessa nodded. Bono tried to make a break for the door, no doubt planning to race up the stairs and into Laney’s room before Edge could catch him. It didn’t quite work out that way. Edge caught hold of the tail of Bono’s untucked shirt and yanked him backwards, the force of this sending both men to the ground in a moment of pure chaos.
“Oh fer feck’s sake, will you two stop acting like a couple of wee brats? I swear, I will never understand the way a man’s mind works. If it works at all.” Laney told them, opening the window and leaning out to scowl down at the wrestling pair, who were now both wet with dew and covered in dirt and grass stains.
“Laney!” Bono said, struggling to free himself from Edge’s grasp and rise without falling flat on his face. “If you’ll just listen to me…” He tried again and managed to stand upright and stay that way, somehow.
“I’ve been listening, fer the past hour you’ve been screaming up here while I was trying desperately to get some sort o’ sleep!” she replied grumpily.
“It didn’t mean anything, it was stupid…” Bono tried telling her, and Laney rolled her eyes dramatically.
“I really don’t care.” She told him dryly. “In fact, your timing was perfect. A few minutes later, I might’ve had something to regret. Now go home, or go see this ‘Angel’ or go to work, I really don’t bloody care just so long as you just go away!” She told him sharply, slamming the window shut behind herself and drawing the curtains.
All three of the people standing below the window could only stand there and stare for a long moment, held captive by the strength of her words and in her tone. They had all expected her to be hurt and weeping, not irritated and annoyed.
“What the fuck did you do to her?” Edge asked from where he still sat on the ground, accepting the hand up which Bono offered.
“It’s between us.” Bono grumbled, his face pulled into a tight frown as he glanced back up at the window. “I have to fix this.” He said with a sigh.
“Maybe it’s best if you just leave well enough alone.” Tessa suggested, and Edge nodded in agreement. Bono frowned at her and walked away, his shoulders slumped and his head down. They watched him climb into his car and drive off without a word.
“That man has no idea how to leave well enough alone.” Edge told his future wife with a sigh.
I hope everything works out okay.
