Sad_Girl
Blue Crack Supplier
U2, unfortunately, are not mine. They are real people who I have written about here in a fictional situation that never happened. I don’t have their permission to use their likenesses, but I make no money from the story and it really is just all meant in good fun. Remember, please, that this is just a twisting, turning story out of my imagination which should not reflect upon the band or the individuals within it. It’s only make-believe. There will be some adult themes within this story, and almost undoubtedly a lot of offensive language. Read at your own discretion.
Catalina Chronicles Book 4:
Someone else’s dream
Chapter Nine
She was a friend to me when I needed one
Wasn't for her I don't know what I’d done
She gave me back something that was missing in me
She could have turned out to be almost anyone
Almost anyone--
With the possible exception
Of who I wanted her to be
Running into the midnight
With her clothes whipping in the wind
Reaching into the heart of the darkness
For the tenderness within
Stumblin' into the lights of the city
And then back in the shadows again
Hanging onto the laughter
That each of us hid our unhappiness in
Talk about celestial bodies
And your angels on the wing
She wasn't much good at stickin' around—
But she could sing...
from ‘The girl could sing’ by Jackson Browne
A clap of thunder sounded which shook the house, made the windows rattle and startled Larry and Cat out of their embrace. Larry looked up at the sky, blinking as if he had no clue where he was or how he’d gotten there. For a split second, Cat’s heart ached in fear that he was going to leave. She may have fled Ireland to get away from him, but now that he was here, so close that she could touch him, taste his skin, she couldn’t bear to lose him. She caressed his slightly stubbled cheek and silently willed him to look at her again.
“I shouldn’t be here,” he sighed, still looking to the dark sky. “We’re going to be struck by lightning for even thinking about this.”
“Our chances of being hit by lightning are higher, standing out here in the middle of a storm,” Cat teased with a chuckle, “we should go inside.”
“I don’t think we’ll be any safer in there,” Larry told her softly, looking into her eyes again. Cat’s breath caught in her lungs and made her chest ache, and a surge of energy seemed to start in her belly and sizzle outward into her extremities. This was really happening. As if to emphasize that thought, Larry leaned in and nuzzled his nose against hers in an intimate gesture; she trembled when his hot, moist breath touched her lips.
When his lips met hers again, he was in complete control; taking her mouth with a slow, maddening rhythm that made the desire already rolling around inside her spill over. His hands found her waist, the feeling of his fingers brushing bare skin just above the waistband of her shorts made her whimper and melt against him.
Larry guided her backwards through the door, breaking away to close it behind them. Cat clasped one of his incredibly strong hands in both of hers, lifting it to her face and kissing his palm. He shivered at the surprising sensation, turning back to look at her again with those molten metal eyes.
The desire they shared was tangible, their own little electrical storm. Larry held her face gently in both hands and stared into her eyes for a long moment, both of them holding their breath as if they were about to take a plunge into the depths of an unfamiliar lake and did not know when they would surface, if at all.
That’s when it changed. Like a fever breaking, they could both sense the change. Larry’s eyes turned to the color of a storm cloud, full of sorrow and loss for something he knew could never be real. Cat mirrored his sadness for a moment, but then surprised them both by breaking out into a round of gentle laughter. She ran her fingers through the hair at the nape of his neck with one hand and brushed away her own tears with the other.
“We came awfully close, there,” she told him with a sigh. Larry smiled shyly and nodded, releasing her from his hold and turning to look around the room idly.
“Too close,” he agreed.
“You know how much I want… I mean, if it weren’t for…” she started, but stopped when Larry nodded in understanding.
“I know,” he told her, “but wanting this is one thing, actually going there is a whole different thing.”
“I love Adam,” Cat added to Larry’s line of thought.
“So do I,” Larry said with a smirk, “Though not exactly the same way.”
“If you did we might be able to work this out after all,” she teased, making Larry’s cheeks flush red as he covered his eyes and choked on a shocked laugh.
“You want a drink?” Cat offered, stepping over and around piles of pictures and books, stacks of old magazines and the sorts of things that pile up in a house simply because no one took the time to throw them out. In the kitchen, she found the bottle of White Zinfandel she’d been planning on saving for her last night and reappeared in the doorway, holding it out for him to take. He thanked her and made short work of opening the bottle and filling the two glasses she held out.
They settled onto the couch and sipped silently for a long moment, Cat snuggling into the curve of his arm and resting her head against his shoulder.
“It would’ve been incredible, you know,” she told him, only half playing.
“It would’ve been un-fucking-believable,” he concluded, kissing her chastely on the forehead.
“Damned morals,” Cat murmured, and Larry chuckled softly. “I love you, too, you know,” she told him more seriously.
“I know. Me too,” he replied, and Cat chewed on her lower lip nervously.
“Simone is a lucky woman,” she told him, taking another long drink.
“I don’t know about that,” Larry sighed, “I think I may have ruined things.”
“What? How?” Cat asked, sitting back against the opposite arm of the couch so she could see him, now, to watch his facial expressions and body language. She listened closely as he relayed the events which had led him to come to Memphis, searching for answers where he knew he would probably only find temptation. He was hurt, tired, frustrated and wanted comfort. It meant more to Cat than anything anyone had done for her in a long time.
She shook her head slightly in silent disbelief. Then leaned forward on her knees on the couch, closing the distance she’d put between them and slapped him, hard, on the shoulder.
“What the hell is the matter with you?” She scolded him, and he flashed her his fiercest scowl, grabbing her hand and pushing her away. When she sat back, he rubbed his shoulder to alleviate the stinging and scowled at her some more.
“You left her there with two children to take care of and a manipulative ex-boyfriend trying to take advantage of her generous nature?” Cat scoffed.
“I didn’t…” Larry started to argue, but Cat was not done.
“She might not make her decisions based solely on what you tell her you think is right, but that doesn’t mean she doesn’t want or need you there to help her with this! For God’s sake, she needs you right now more than ever! She’s probably scared to death that she’s losing Pauley, and now she’s all but lost you. You ran off because you were scared of losing Pauley, I understand that. But Simone? Simone has been abandoned too many times, why the hell do you think she doesn’t trust men anymore? You’ll be lucky if she takes you back, at this point.”
“What? But I just… Fuck! I hate it when you’re right,” He told her, leaning his head back against the couch and covering his eyes with one hand. He felt the couch shift as she rose, heard her footsteps as she moved across the room and then returned, dropping the telephone in his lap before walking away again.
“Call her, right now and apologize. I’ll be in the bedroom, packing a bag. We’re going home as soon as we can get a flight out,” she told him. He wanted to tell her that she couldn’t order him around, but he knew she was right. He stared at the phone in his hand for a long moment, the sick twisting in his gut keeping him aware of the fact that he was the one in the wrong this time. He didn’t like the feeling.
“What about all of this stuff? You came back here to pack this up and now you’re just going to leave it?” He asked, delaying the conversation for a moment longer.
“Suddenly, none of it really matters to me,” Cat’s reply came from inside the bedroom. “I just want to be with Adam and Lawry, at home.”
************************************************************
“Cat? Is everything all right?” Simone answered the phone, which had startled her out of sleep by ringing at not quite seven on a Sunday morning and then startled her once more when she saw the caller ID. It would be nearly 2 a.m. in Memphis. The silence of the caller was like an icy wind, sending a shiver through her.
“It’s not Cat, it’s me.”
The sound of Larry’s voice nearly stopped her heart. The skin on the palms of her hands went clammy as she clutched it so hard her knuckles turned white. A million possible explanations ran through her mind for Larry being with Cat. None of them were good. He thought she didn’t know that he had feelings for Cat, and Simone had let him go on thinking that. She’d never expected anything to come of his crush.
Of course, she’d also never expected him to run off on her because they were fighting. Maybe she’d never really known Larry at all.
“Simone?” He asked, wondering if they’d been disconnected or if she had hung up on him. Her heart ached at the sound of him saying her name. She loved it when he said her name; his accent wrapping around it the way it did; and there were so many memories of private moments when he had spoken it in whispers full of love.
“I’m here,” she managed to say, though her throat and mouth had gone dry.
“I’m sorry,” he spit out quickly, “I’m sorry I left, sorry I didn’t tell you where I was going or why.”
He paused, waiting for some word of acknowledgement from her, but she remained silent.
“I’m coming home,” he told her, sounding like a child whose mother has just been told he was in the principal’s office for being naughty. He waited for another long silent moment before asking, “will you be there?”
“Do you want me to be?” She asked softly.
“Of course I want you there!” He snapped, then reminded himself to calm down. His temper had nearly cost him everything dear to him already; he couldn’t let it finish the job now.
“I’ll be here, then,” she told him matter-of-factly. Then she hung up.
*****************************************************
“Laney, what are you doing here?” Tessa asked, sitting straight up in the bed where she had been nodding off to sleep while waiting to be taken into the operating room.
“I’m a doctor, I work here,” she quipped, picking up Tessa’s chart and looking it over carefully.
“I told you all I didn’t want visitors. This is my disease, my body, and I don’t need to have all of you standing around feeling sorry for me!” Tessa told her friend, her voice shaking with anger. Laney pursed her lips as she glanced up at Tessa, and there was no hint of pity in her eyes.
“That shite may work on Edge, but if you really think I’m about to back off that easily, you’re mistaken,” Laney informed her coolly. “You say you don’t want people to feel sorry for you, but you’re doing a fine job of feeling sorry for yourself!”
“Excuse me?” Tessa gasped, her eyes narrowing and her brows drawn together in a scowl of disbelief.
“You’ve spent much of your life alone, I understand that. So maybe you don’t realize that when you married my cousin and became a part of our family, you took on certain responsibilities. You think if you shut us out we won’t have to bear this burden with you, but it doesn’t work that way. For better or for worse isn’t negotiable. We need to be here for you, maybe more than you need us to be here even. You aren’t saving anyone!” Laney scolded her friend, her eyes flashing and her cheeks turning pink with exertion.
Tessa stared at her in open mouthed shock for a long moment. Laney stared right back defiantly. The intensity of her frown did not waver at all as she dropped a thin box on Tessa’s lap.
“Edge said he wanted me to give this to you,” she informed her dryly, “for when the chemo makes your hair thin or fall out.” Tessa considered handing the box back to her, but had a suspicion that she would not be able to get rid of her until the box had been opened, one way or another. Sighing, she stripped the bow off the box and shook the top free. She blinked in surprise at the knitted skull cap which lay in the center of the box; one of the caps Edge was well known for wearing most of the time.
For a moment, the room was as still as they were in a movie and someone had pushed the ‘pause’ button. Laney was taken by surprise when the corner of Tessa’s mouth turned up into a smile, and she doubted her own two eyes until the woman began to laugh out loud. Her shoulders shook, and she clapped a hand over her mouth to keep the inappropriate sound from breaking the somber mood of the surgical ward.
“Is he here?” She asked, her eyes rimmed with tears when she met Laney’s stare. Laney nodded and moved toward the door. “Laney?” Tessa’s voice made her stop and glance back over her shoulder. “Thank you.”
“You’re an Evans, now. You’ll never be alone again,” Laney told her gently, and Simone nodded and flashed a shy smile. Laney stepped out into the hallway, and no sooner had she vanished behind the wall and Edge appeared in the doorway. He must’ve been standing right outside all along, Tessa realized. Love seeped through her body, as if she had been freezing and just settled into a warm bath. She held open her arms and in a flash he was in them, his face buried in the curve of her neck, his strong arms holding her tight. Had she really thought this would be easier without him?
“I missed you,” she sighed, kissing his stubbled cheek.
“I’m right here. I always will be,” he promised, kissing her gently and wiping away the tears that were spilling from her eyes.
Catalina Chronicles Book 4:
Someone else’s dream
Chapter Nine
She was a friend to me when I needed one
Wasn't for her I don't know what I’d done
She gave me back something that was missing in me
She could have turned out to be almost anyone
Almost anyone--
With the possible exception
Of who I wanted her to be
Running into the midnight
With her clothes whipping in the wind
Reaching into the heart of the darkness
For the tenderness within
Stumblin' into the lights of the city
And then back in the shadows again
Hanging onto the laughter
That each of us hid our unhappiness in
Talk about celestial bodies
And your angels on the wing
She wasn't much good at stickin' around—
But she could sing...
from ‘The girl could sing’ by Jackson Browne
A clap of thunder sounded which shook the house, made the windows rattle and startled Larry and Cat out of their embrace. Larry looked up at the sky, blinking as if he had no clue where he was or how he’d gotten there. For a split second, Cat’s heart ached in fear that he was going to leave. She may have fled Ireland to get away from him, but now that he was here, so close that she could touch him, taste his skin, she couldn’t bear to lose him. She caressed his slightly stubbled cheek and silently willed him to look at her again.
“I shouldn’t be here,” he sighed, still looking to the dark sky. “We’re going to be struck by lightning for even thinking about this.”
“Our chances of being hit by lightning are higher, standing out here in the middle of a storm,” Cat teased with a chuckle, “we should go inside.”
“I don’t think we’ll be any safer in there,” Larry told her softly, looking into her eyes again. Cat’s breath caught in her lungs and made her chest ache, and a surge of energy seemed to start in her belly and sizzle outward into her extremities. This was really happening. As if to emphasize that thought, Larry leaned in and nuzzled his nose against hers in an intimate gesture; she trembled when his hot, moist breath touched her lips.
When his lips met hers again, he was in complete control; taking her mouth with a slow, maddening rhythm that made the desire already rolling around inside her spill over. His hands found her waist, the feeling of his fingers brushing bare skin just above the waistband of her shorts made her whimper and melt against him.
Larry guided her backwards through the door, breaking away to close it behind them. Cat clasped one of his incredibly strong hands in both of hers, lifting it to her face and kissing his palm. He shivered at the surprising sensation, turning back to look at her again with those molten metal eyes.
The desire they shared was tangible, their own little electrical storm. Larry held her face gently in both hands and stared into her eyes for a long moment, both of them holding their breath as if they were about to take a plunge into the depths of an unfamiliar lake and did not know when they would surface, if at all.
That’s when it changed. Like a fever breaking, they could both sense the change. Larry’s eyes turned to the color of a storm cloud, full of sorrow and loss for something he knew could never be real. Cat mirrored his sadness for a moment, but then surprised them both by breaking out into a round of gentle laughter. She ran her fingers through the hair at the nape of his neck with one hand and brushed away her own tears with the other.
“We came awfully close, there,” she told him with a sigh. Larry smiled shyly and nodded, releasing her from his hold and turning to look around the room idly.
“Too close,” he agreed.
“You know how much I want… I mean, if it weren’t for…” she started, but stopped when Larry nodded in understanding.
“I know,” he told her, “but wanting this is one thing, actually going there is a whole different thing.”
“I love Adam,” Cat added to Larry’s line of thought.
“So do I,” Larry said with a smirk, “Though not exactly the same way.”
“If you did we might be able to work this out after all,” she teased, making Larry’s cheeks flush red as he covered his eyes and choked on a shocked laugh.
“You want a drink?” Cat offered, stepping over and around piles of pictures and books, stacks of old magazines and the sorts of things that pile up in a house simply because no one took the time to throw them out. In the kitchen, she found the bottle of White Zinfandel she’d been planning on saving for her last night and reappeared in the doorway, holding it out for him to take. He thanked her and made short work of opening the bottle and filling the two glasses she held out.
They settled onto the couch and sipped silently for a long moment, Cat snuggling into the curve of his arm and resting her head against his shoulder.
“It would’ve been incredible, you know,” she told him, only half playing.
“It would’ve been un-fucking-believable,” he concluded, kissing her chastely on the forehead.
“Damned morals,” Cat murmured, and Larry chuckled softly. “I love you, too, you know,” she told him more seriously.
“I know. Me too,” he replied, and Cat chewed on her lower lip nervously.
“Simone is a lucky woman,” she told him, taking another long drink.
“I don’t know about that,” Larry sighed, “I think I may have ruined things.”
“What? How?” Cat asked, sitting back against the opposite arm of the couch so she could see him, now, to watch his facial expressions and body language. She listened closely as he relayed the events which had led him to come to Memphis, searching for answers where he knew he would probably only find temptation. He was hurt, tired, frustrated and wanted comfort. It meant more to Cat than anything anyone had done for her in a long time.
She shook her head slightly in silent disbelief. Then leaned forward on her knees on the couch, closing the distance she’d put between them and slapped him, hard, on the shoulder.
“What the hell is the matter with you?” She scolded him, and he flashed her his fiercest scowl, grabbing her hand and pushing her away. When she sat back, he rubbed his shoulder to alleviate the stinging and scowled at her some more.
“You left her there with two children to take care of and a manipulative ex-boyfriend trying to take advantage of her generous nature?” Cat scoffed.
“I didn’t…” Larry started to argue, but Cat was not done.
“She might not make her decisions based solely on what you tell her you think is right, but that doesn’t mean she doesn’t want or need you there to help her with this! For God’s sake, she needs you right now more than ever! She’s probably scared to death that she’s losing Pauley, and now she’s all but lost you. You ran off because you were scared of losing Pauley, I understand that. But Simone? Simone has been abandoned too many times, why the hell do you think she doesn’t trust men anymore? You’ll be lucky if she takes you back, at this point.”
“What? But I just… Fuck! I hate it when you’re right,” He told her, leaning his head back against the couch and covering his eyes with one hand. He felt the couch shift as she rose, heard her footsteps as she moved across the room and then returned, dropping the telephone in his lap before walking away again.
“Call her, right now and apologize. I’ll be in the bedroom, packing a bag. We’re going home as soon as we can get a flight out,” she told him. He wanted to tell her that she couldn’t order him around, but he knew she was right. He stared at the phone in his hand for a long moment, the sick twisting in his gut keeping him aware of the fact that he was the one in the wrong this time. He didn’t like the feeling.
“What about all of this stuff? You came back here to pack this up and now you’re just going to leave it?” He asked, delaying the conversation for a moment longer.
“Suddenly, none of it really matters to me,” Cat’s reply came from inside the bedroom. “I just want to be with Adam and Lawry, at home.”
************************************************************
“Cat? Is everything all right?” Simone answered the phone, which had startled her out of sleep by ringing at not quite seven on a Sunday morning and then startled her once more when she saw the caller ID. It would be nearly 2 a.m. in Memphis. The silence of the caller was like an icy wind, sending a shiver through her.
“It’s not Cat, it’s me.”
The sound of Larry’s voice nearly stopped her heart. The skin on the palms of her hands went clammy as she clutched it so hard her knuckles turned white. A million possible explanations ran through her mind for Larry being with Cat. None of them were good. He thought she didn’t know that he had feelings for Cat, and Simone had let him go on thinking that. She’d never expected anything to come of his crush.
Of course, she’d also never expected him to run off on her because they were fighting. Maybe she’d never really known Larry at all.
“Simone?” He asked, wondering if they’d been disconnected or if she had hung up on him. Her heart ached at the sound of him saying her name. She loved it when he said her name; his accent wrapping around it the way it did; and there were so many memories of private moments when he had spoken it in whispers full of love.
“I’m here,” she managed to say, though her throat and mouth had gone dry.
“I’m sorry,” he spit out quickly, “I’m sorry I left, sorry I didn’t tell you where I was going or why.”
He paused, waiting for some word of acknowledgement from her, but she remained silent.
“I’m coming home,” he told her, sounding like a child whose mother has just been told he was in the principal’s office for being naughty. He waited for another long silent moment before asking, “will you be there?”
“Do you want me to be?” She asked softly.
“Of course I want you there!” He snapped, then reminded himself to calm down. His temper had nearly cost him everything dear to him already; he couldn’t let it finish the job now.
“I’ll be here, then,” she told him matter-of-factly. Then she hung up.
*****************************************************
“Laney, what are you doing here?” Tessa asked, sitting straight up in the bed where she had been nodding off to sleep while waiting to be taken into the operating room.
“I’m a doctor, I work here,” she quipped, picking up Tessa’s chart and looking it over carefully.
“I told you all I didn’t want visitors. This is my disease, my body, and I don’t need to have all of you standing around feeling sorry for me!” Tessa told her friend, her voice shaking with anger. Laney pursed her lips as she glanced up at Tessa, and there was no hint of pity in her eyes.
“That shite may work on Edge, but if you really think I’m about to back off that easily, you’re mistaken,” Laney informed her coolly. “You say you don’t want people to feel sorry for you, but you’re doing a fine job of feeling sorry for yourself!”
“Excuse me?” Tessa gasped, her eyes narrowing and her brows drawn together in a scowl of disbelief.
“You’ve spent much of your life alone, I understand that. So maybe you don’t realize that when you married my cousin and became a part of our family, you took on certain responsibilities. You think if you shut us out we won’t have to bear this burden with you, but it doesn’t work that way. For better or for worse isn’t negotiable. We need to be here for you, maybe more than you need us to be here even. You aren’t saving anyone!” Laney scolded her friend, her eyes flashing and her cheeks turning pink with exertion.
Tessa stared at her in open mouthed shock for a long moment. Laney stared right back defiantly. The intensity of her frown did not waver at all as she dropped a thin box on Tessa’s lap.
“Edge said he wanted me to give this to you,” she informed her dryly, “for when the chemo makes your hair thin or fall out.” Tessa considered handing the box back to her, but had a suspicion that she would not be able to get rid of her until the box had been opened, one way or another. Sighing, she stripped the bow off the box and shook the top free. She blinked in surprise at the knitted skull cap which lay in the center of the box; one of the caps Edge was well known for wearing most of the time.
For a moment, the room was as still as they were in a movie and someone had pushed the ‘pause’ button. Laney was taken by surprise when the corner of Tessa’s mouth turned up into a smile, and she doubted her own two eyes until the woman began to laugh out loud. Her shoulders shook, and she clapped a hand over her mouth to keep the inappropriate sound from breaking the somber mood of the surgical ward.
“Is he here?” She asked, her eyes rimmed with tears when she met Laney’s stare. Laney nodded and moved toward the door. “Laney?” Tessa’s voice made her stop and glance back over her shoulder. “Thank you.”
“You’re an Evans, now. You’ll never be alone again,” Laney told her gently, and Simone nodded and flashed a shy smile. Laney stepped out into the hallway, and no sooner had she vanished behind the wall and Edge appeared in the doorway. He must’ve been standing right outside all along, Tessa realized. Love seeped through her body, as if she had been freezing and just settled into a warm bath. She held open her arms and in a flash he was in them, his face buried in the curve of her neck, his strong arms holding her tight. Had she really thought this would be easier without him?
“I missed you,” she sighed, kissing his stubbled cheek.
“I’m right here. I always will be,” he promised, kissing her gently and wiping away the tears that were spilling from her eyes.
Wonderful chapter! 
It is too late, but thanks for pointing it out. One of these days I'll smarten up and get someone to proofread BEFORE I post 
wow, I sure didn't expect THAT!
Edge giving Tessa a beanie 
I am wondering with Larry and Cat"will they"?
