by K E Osborn
Waking up the next morning, I feel utterly exhausted and one hundred percent stressed. I’m worried that I might be pregnant. God knows how you can tell these things, but I just hope this morning-after pill will stop that from happening. And what if I’ve caught an STI from Danger. We had unprotected sex for crying out loud - how stupid could I have been? I’m lying in bed stewing over the idiocy of my actions last night when there’s a gentle knock at the hotel door.
“Tell them to fuck off, Ella,” Annie murmurs from under her blanket.
I huff wishing she could be the one to get out of bed and answer the door for a change. I mean, I’m in full-on panic mode right now! I throw off the blanket and walk over to the door as my heart feels like it’s going to burst out of my chest. I’m even sweating slightly from my anxiety.
I open the door and Danger is standing there fully dressed, and the sight of him eases some of my tension.
“Morning, sugar, you okay? You look…worried?” he asks and I try to hold back the tears threatening to fall.
“I just don’t know how to go about what I need to do today,” I say quietly and he smiles and nods.
“I thought as much, that’s why I’m here. I’ve organised everything. I’m going to take you to the doctors—”
I open my eyes wide and inch the door closed so he knows that Annie is still here, he understands my actions immediately and nods.
“Okay, well, I’m going to take you out myself today. So get dressed, I have it all arranged. I didn’t want you going and doing it all by yourself, okay? I’m equally responsible for putting you in this position,” he says and I swallow hard as a wave of relief washes over me and my body slumps. I lunge forward taking him in my arms and embracing him tightly.
“Thank you. I had no idea what to do and, to be honest, I was freaking out.”
He hugs me back and nuzzles into my hair kissing my head. “Go get dressed, the car is waiting for us,” he says.
I nod letting go of him and walk back inside the room to get dressed. Dressing quickly I walk out to a waiting Danger, who’s in the hall. We fly out this afternoon, so I know we only have a few hours to get this done. He grabs my hand and we walk to the elevators.
“Thank you so much for this. I didn’t know what to do, where to go, nothing,” I say and he smiles.
“I know, that’s why I thought I’d arrange it all and come with you. I figured you’d probably be pretty scared right about now, and I wanted to help ease some of your nerves. Especially, considering I’m the one who put them there,” he says and I nod as we enter the elevator.
“How did you find a doctor?” I ask and he smiles.
“I got that big security guard that always follows you everywhere to ask around for me. He seems to want to take care of you, so I thought he could help us. He’s coming with us, and before you say anything don’t worry, he’s not going to tell your dad. I made sure of that,” he says. I smile and think I know who he’s talking about. The security guy who’s always watching over me, and I’m so grateful for that. I’m glad he’s helping me out now too.
“Okay, I won’t need to have any like…exams or anything will I? Like the doctor won’t need to look up my bits will he?” I ask and Danger laughs.
“No, Ella, I don’t think so. He’ll just give you the morning-after pill and ask some questions about your period, and then give you a prescription for the Pill he thinks will suit you best. Should be pretty straight forward really,” he says and I relax and nod.
“Okay, good,” I say and he smiles and pulls me to him as we exit the elevator and head toward the car where my security guard is waiting along with a driver.
“Good morning, Miss Ella,” the security guard says.
“Good morning…umm sorry, I don’t know your name?” I ask and he smiles and nods.
“It’s Mike, Miss.” I put out my hand to shake his.
“Thanks, Mike, thanks for helping me.”
“It’s my job, Miss Ella. I like to help you, whenever you need it,” he says.
I smile and slide into the car and Danger follows in behind me.
“He’s so nice,” I say.
“Yeah, he’s a good guy, found us a doctor close by and got us a private consult without any other patients in the waiting room. We should be able to get away with this with no one knowing,” Danger says.
I relax a little more and nod as I lean into Danger’s side.
“Okay, that sounds good.”
He wraps his arm around my shoulders and pulls me to him kissing my head.
“Danger?” I ask quietly.
“Yeah, sugar,” he replies as the car starts and we drive off down the Turkish streets.
“Do I need to be tested, you know, for STI’s?” I ask cautiously.
He chuckles and shakes his head. “No, sugar, I’m clean, I got tested not that long ago, and I always use a condom,” he tells me and I relax even more in his arms. I feel like maybe this isn’t such a bad thing after all.
The doctor was lovely, and to my surprise it was a woman which made me feel even better. She was nice and understanding. She talked me through everything to do with the morning-after pill and how it worked. She said there was minimal to no chance of me being pregnant because of where I was in my cycle and because I was going to take the pill. She prescribed me with some birth control and gave me enough repeats to last for the entire tour. She was wonderful, and Danger held my hand the whole time and made me feel comfortable about it all. It was great to have his support. Knowing he cared enough about me to arrange all this, made me feel really good about myself and our relationship. Even though we’re not officially a couple, it’s still nice to have a closeness with him.
Once we finished at the doctor’s, Danger took me to a small coffee shop and we had Turkish coffee which was really strong. It was different, but I would have it again. It was kind of like our first official date, it was sweet and we laughed and joked about how my dad would react if he knew where Danger had taken me this morning.
It was great to have a bit of normality in this crazy world of touring and rock and roll. Sitting at a coffee shop and just having some time alone with Danger was really what I needed and I enjoyed it very much. Even though Mike was standing in the corner watching us the entire time in case of any trouble, which luckily there wasn’t. But eventually, we had to head back to the hotel as the time for us to fly out was getting closer and closer.
Danger took me back to the car and we made out all the way back to the hotel where, unfortunately, we had to part ways as he had a separate plane to catch, but we would meet up again in the next country in a few hours.
I tried to find Chad, but I couldn’t seem to find him anywhere. I hoped he got home safely from the club last night. I know we have to be on the jet soon, so I’ll definitely see him then.
I make my way onto the jet with Annie in tow, and I’m going to set aside some flight time to talk with Chad. I have no idea where he’s been all morning, but I know he’ll definitely be on the jet so he won’t be able to avoid me forever. I sit in my usual spot and Mum and Dad walk on and sit opposite me and Annie sits down next to me in the window seat.
“So how are you enjoying the tour so far, Ella?” Mum asks.
“I love it, Mum. Why’s that?”
“Oh, just checking in. I don’t see you much. So I just wanted to make sure you were doing okay,” she says. Then I see Chad walk on with his parents, Sia and Dingo, and his two younger twin brothers, Carter and Carlton. They’re ten-years-old now.
“Things are good. I’ll be back in a minute,” I say and rush up the front to talk with Chad. He looks terribly hungover and extremely pale.
“Hey Chad, can we talk?” I ask and he looks at me and his body slumps as he sits down opposite Caleb and puts his head in his hands.
“Can we do this another time? I’m kinda tired,” he says and I furrow my brows as does Caleb and Chad’s parents.
“It will only take a minute, I promise,”
I say and he stands up and huffs.
“Ella look, I’m really hungover. I just need some space right now, okay? Is that too much to ask?” Then he storms past me down the hall of the jet and toward the back where the bedrooms are located. I bite my bottom lip as Caleb reaches out and grabs my leg.
“Hey, he’s just trying to cope with some stress at the moment, don’t take it too personally, okay?” he says and I nod and wrap my arms around myself for comfort. Sia looks at me and smiles resting her hand on my shoulder and squeezing.
“Sorry, Ella, sweetheart. I don’t know what’s wrong with him, but I’ll go find out. Something’s been bugging him since we started this tour, and I need to be a mother right now and see what’s happening in his world. Just be the good friend you’ve always been and be here for him, sweetheart.”
I nod as she looks at Dingo and then to the twins. Dingo nods ushering the twins to their seats and she walks off to follow Chad. I exhale and move back down to my seat and hope that Chad feels better soon and I really hope that this has nothing to do with me being back on with Danger.
The rest of the flight Chad stayed down in the bedroom and Sia came out about a half hour later. She looked at me strangely but kept on walking. I thought it was odd, but I kept to myself and figure I’ll let Chad have his space and he’ll come to me when he’s ready.
Three months into the tour and it’s going smoothly. Well, in most departments. The tour itself is going great, the bands are working well together, the music is flowing effortlessly and the crowds are loving us. Danger and I are sneaking out whenever we get a chance. Every time Ryan gets a girl, I spend the night in Danger’s room and I’m finally able to sleep overnight with him and cuddle like I wanted. But we don’t get to do that too often because we don’t want to raise suspicions. We’re still trying to keep a low profile.
Dad definitely doesn’t know about us, and Annie you’d think should have figured it out, but she’s so caught up in her own world I’m pretty sure she has no idea. Really the only person who does is Ryan and I’m guessing Chad would have guessed because he’s completely ignoring me. He has been since that night he came to save me in the bar in Turkey. He hasn’t really talked to me since unless it’s in regards to band stuff, and even then it’s short, sharp and to the point conversations. He seems so distant and I miss my friend. I’m still reeling over that weird connection I felt with him in the green room in Turkey. I have no idea what I’m feeling, but I sometimes dream about it, mainly on the nights I sleep over with Danger. Which is weird, right?
I’m so sick of Chad’s avoidance that I’m going to try and put a stop to it tonight. I need my friend back! I walk toward the green room in Austin, Texas. I need to find Chad to check out why he’s been avoiding me. Upon entering the room I notice he’s alone, so I sit down next to him on the lounge suite. He’s playing with his phone, but he looks up, exhales, and then goes back to fiddling around with his phone.
“Chad, what have I done?” I ask and he looks up at me raising an eyebrow.
“Sorry?”
I slide in right next to him so our legs are touching. It doesn’t go unnoticed by me or him the instant feeling of warmth that radiates through us both at our touch.
“Well, over the last two months you’ve been avoiding me like I have the plague or something equally as nasty?”
He shrugs and returns to his phone, so I huff and pull his phone from hands and turn to face him fully. He looks at me and I see the hesitation in his eyes.
“Ella, it is what it is, okay? You have your new…friends now. Annie’s got her issues. Aston’s got Amber and Caleb’s preoccupied, everyone’s fine without me and I’ve got my phone. So if I can have it back, please?” he asks. I shake my head and throw it to the other side of the lounge behind me. He huffs loudly and moves to stand up to retrieve it, but I pull on his arm forcing him sit down.
He groans and glares at me. “Ella, just leave it,” he says and I shake my head.
“Chad, you’re my friend. Hell, really, you’re the only friend I have and right now you suck at it.”
“Maybe I don’t want to be your friend,” I think I hear him murmur.
“Huh?” I ask wanting him to repeat what he’s just said to make sure I’ve heard him correctly.
“Nothing.”
“No, you said you don’t want to be my friend? Why not? What did I do to upset you?” Tears prick at my eyes as I begin to feel distressed because the last thing I ever wanted to do was hurt Chad in any way.
“It’s not like that, Ella, just please leave it. You have Danger, he’s all the friend you need, right?” he says standing up to leave.
“So just because me and Danger have a thing… What? Does that mean I can’t have any guy friends, is that it?” I ask as he looks back over his shoulder his eyes are sad and he’s frowning.
“No Ella, it means the type of friendship I want, I can’t have. Danger’s made that perfectly clear,” he says picking up his phone to leave again.
“What do you mean Danger’s made it clear? Chad?” I call out, but he continues to walk from the room. I stand wondering what the hell Chad meant. So I go to find Danger.
Storming down the halls to the Recoil green room to find Danger, once there I barge in not knocking.
“What the hell did you say to Chad?” I yell looking right at Danger. Ryan, Matt, and Nate all stare at me raising their eyebrows.
“What?” Danger asks.
“Chad said that you made it perfectly clear to him that you’re all the guy friend I need. What the hell does that mean, Danger? Chad can’t be my friend because he’s a guy?” I yell and Ryan, Matt, and Nate all stand up and slowly leave the room.
“Fuck, he’s a little shit for repeating that to you,” he says rubbing the back of his neck.
“Oh my God, so you did say something to Chad? What the hell did you tell him?”
“Sugar, it’s not as simple as that,” he says.
I scoff and place my hands on my hips. “For the last two months while Chad’s been ignoring me, I’ve been telling you how much it hurts me that Chad doesn’t talk to me. And all that time you knew exactly why he hasn’t spoken to me. It’s because you told him not to, you bastard. Why the fuck would you do that, Danger, huh?”
He exhales and places his hands on my shoulders trying to placate me. It doesn’t work.
“Ella, calm down. I simply told Chad to stay away from you because you belong to me,” he says.
I open my eyes wide and scoff. “Excuse me? We haven’t even discussed if we’re using the term ‘girlfriend and boyfriend’ regarding our relationship, and yet you have the misguided perception that I belong to you?” I yell and he shakes his head and tries to pull me to him. I flinch away and push at his chest. “You’re fucking crazy, and why should my friend stay away from me in the first place? Just because he’s a guy, is that it?” I yell and Danger’s face contorts and his body stiffens.
“No, Ella, because Chad’s in love with you, for fuck’s sake,” he yells, I scoff and laugh at him.
“You’re just being an idiot now,” I say and he throws his hands in the air.
“Right, so in Turkey when you two were dancing in the club and there was all that chemistry flying around the room, you’re telling me you didn’t feel it? Or couldn’t at least see it coming from him?” he asks standing right in front of me looking into my eyes. I have to look away from his intense stare because I don’t have an answer.
“No, there was nothing there, Danger. That was just to make you jealous and look at you harbouring all this jealousy since then, that I didn’t even know about. There’s nothing between me and Chad, there never has been.” I turn away from him because I can’t look at him right now.
“Oh right, so you’re telling me that if I weren’t here you wouldn’t go running to Chad then?”
I turn back and face him, glaring. “No Danger, it’s you I want not him. Why is this even a thing? I had no idea you had a problem with Chad, an
d now I find out you’re telling him to keep away from me? I don’t even know how that sits with me at the moment,” I say and he shakes his head.
“Ella, if you feel something for him, tell me.”
I open my eyes wide and groan out loud. “Oh…my…God. Have you not been listening to a word I’ve been saying? He’s a friend, Danger. You’re the one I go to every night, not him. I just can’t believe you went behind my back like this. I also can’t believe you think he’s in love with me. I don’t believe you’re on the right track there either. No wonder he’s avoiding me if you’re spinning this shit to him. He probably thinks I’m a complete idiot. Thanks for going behind my back, who knows what else you’re doing when I’m not around,” I yell as my heart speeds up and my palms sweat. I feel so angry I want to explode.
“What the hell is that supposed to mean?” he says as I turn and head for the door.
“I don’t know, got anything else you need to tell me?”
“No Ella, I’m not keeping anything from you,” he says.
“Good, keep it that way,” I say and walk out.
“Ella, don’t you walk out like this,” he calls out but doesn’t follow me. He knows I’m pissed and as my feet hit the floor, my heart thunders in my chest with the same ferocity as my mood. I need to get out of here. I’m so angry at Danger, but I’m equally as pissed at Chad for not telling me that Danger warned him off and he didn’t tell me. I can’t believe these men are talking about me and making decisions about my life without me.