His arms slip around me and he pushes the towel I have wrapped around me to the floor. “Kip, don’t.”
“You’re going to take a shower with me. I need you to wash my hair for me.” He takes my hand and pulls me back to the shower where he turns the water back on and tugs me inside with him.
Tears start to flow over my cheeks along with the water. I look up at him as he wets his shoulder length, blonde hair. His blue eyes sparkling at me. I pick my hand up and put my fingers on the ring he gave me and twist it.
His eyes dart to what I’m doing and he grabs my hands in his. “What do you think you’re doing, Peyton?”
“I want to give this back to you. We both know I can’t marry you.” I try to pull my hands from his, but he’s too strong.
“First, I told you never to take that ring off. And you will marry me, Peyton. I’m not letting what some dumb asses say about you take you from me.” His hands move up my arms and stroke them gently as he looks into my eyes.
“What do you see in me that others can’t? Not even myself.” I ask and study him intently.
“I see a future with love and happiness. You are beautiful, Peyton. Your beauty is so deep I guess some can’t see it like I do. But I swear to you that I do.” He kisses my forehead. “As a matter of fact I didn’t want to tell you so last night as I didn’t want to hurt your feelings. The make-up and hair that lady did on you took away from your natural beauty. I didn’t like it. I didn’t like it at all. You didn’t look a thing like yourself.”
“Well everyone else thought that stage-me was pretty and the real me is ugly,” I say and find I’m just about to fall apart. “I really need to go back home, Kip. When you’re done with the tour we can see about moving forward, but I can’t right now.”
He grips my shoulders and looks at me with the sternest expression I’ve ever seen. “You aren’t going anywhere except with me. This shit isn’t breaking us up!”
“I’m not saying we’ll break up, but I don’t want to go on tour with you. It’s too embarrassing. When you’re done we can try it again. Don’t worry, I won’t see anyone else while you’re doing that. Shit, I doubt I’ll leave the fucking house.” I look away and wish I was gone already.
His mouth crashes down on mine and he presses me against the warm wall. My breath ceases in my lungs, then he pulls away. “How long can you go without that?”
“I have to…” I say, but he presses his dick into me and pulls my legs up to wrap around his waist. I moan as he slips into me and it feels like heaven.
He thrusts into me as he looks into my eyes. “I don’t want not to be able to do this with you. We can’t if you go home. I don’t even want you to call that place home anymore. I’m your home, Peyton. Wherever we are together, that’s home, baby.”
“But, how can I show my face in public? How can I stand next to you without feeling ugly?” I ask as he moves slowly in and out of me.
“Put that shit out of your mind, love. It’s stupid,” he says as he grinds into me.
His fingers massage my ass as he pushes his hard as hell dick into me and I squirm as he’s making me feel so damn good. “I can’t.” I say then moan a little. “Shit! You make me feel so fucking good.”
He smiles and kisses me hard, taking me away from the damn news and the crappy chicks who said I was ugly. Hell they were ugly in my opinion.
His hard cock pounds me as his tongue twirls around mine. My heart is pounding as in an instant my body grows hot and I have to pull my mouth away to let out a scream as I orgasm hard. His body stiffens as he climaxes at the same time.
The water falls over his back as he leans his head to mine and says, “You are mine, Peyton. You will be my wife and the mother of my children. I never want to see you attempt to pull the ring that shows who you belong to off again. Do you understand me?”
He pulls back and looks at me. His jaw is set and his body tenses as he waits for my answer. The words he said may seem crude and somewhat chauvinistic, but they hit something in me that wants that caveman. He knows what he wants, and it seems to be me, no matter how ugly I am.
I swallow hard and say, “I understand, Kip.”
His expression softens, and he smiles. “Good. It’s you and I, love. No one else’s opinion matters.”
He says it like it’s true, but I’m not so sure.
Kip
Holding tight to Peyton’s waist, we make our way from the hotel room to get on the road to Denver. We have a long drive and she’s not looking forward to the gig after the crap ass media report.
We all seem to be leaving at the same time as I see the rest of the band and Silas in the hallway. I hold her back a bit, afraid of what jack ass Bobby might say if he’s heard any of the negative comments the media is making.
“Hey,” Bobby says as he sees us.
My heart nearly stops as he looks from me to Peyton. She seems to fear his comments too as her arm runs around me and she pulls herself closer to my side. She’s vulnerable and probably won’t be able to take any shit from him without crying.
Bobby stops and waits for us to catch up, which we try hard not to do. “How’s it going, Bobby?” I ask as we near him.
He looks at me briefly. “Not great. Some wankers are talkin’ ‘bout me best mate’s girl and that pisses me off.” In a swift motion he takes Peyton away from me and hugs her. “No one gets to talk about my Yoko. Don’t worry, darlin’ no matter what they say, we all know you’re gorgeous.”
I smile as I watch him and clap him on the back. “Now, there’s my best mate.”
He pulls back and looks down at her. Tears stream down her pink cheeks. “Thanks, Bobby. You have no idea how much your words mean to me.”
He gives her a chaste kiss on the cheek, then a wink. “No worries, Yoko. I got your back, darlin’, you’re a real beauty. Never let them make you up any different than you are again. I got your back.”
“Us too,” the other band members say as they come to us.
Silas walks up and nods. “I’ll issue a press release condemning this awful attack on you. Don’t worry, Peyton.”
Tears flow from her eyes as she lets go of Bobby and clings to me. “I don’t know how to thank you guys for this. I needed it like you’ll never know.”
We part ways as the others go to the bus and Peyton and I go to the car. I fish for the car keys in my pocket. Peyton takes my arm and pulls her keys out. “I’ll drive first, you can take the next shift. I love driving this car.”
Her cell rings and she takes it out of her purse. I look at the screen and the word, ‘Mom’ shines out at me. “Tell her I said hi, love.”
She answers the phone and I open the car door for her. She slides in behind the wheel. “Hi, Mom.”
“Hi, baby. I have some news, are you sitting down?” her mother asks.
As I pull my seatbelt on and listen to her voice a chill runs through me as its clearly shaky. “What’s wrong?” I ask.
Donna’s voice breaks, and she starts to cry. “Your brother, Tyler, he was in an accident this morning on his way to work.”
Peyton’s jaw tenses as she holds tight to the steering wheel. “Is he okay, Mom?”
“He’s in surgery right now. It’s his back, the lower vertebrae have compression fractures. They have to fuse his bones together and put in some bone tissue from his hip bones, and…..” Donna breaks into sobs.
Peyton’s eyes begin to shimmer. “I have to go be with my family, Kip.”
I nod, I know she does. “Get out and let me drive.”
Confusion fills her face. “You can go on the bus. I’ll catch up when my brother gets better.”
“I’m not leaving you to deal with this alone. I’ll call Silas in a minute and tell him what’s happened.” I get out of the car and go around to open her door. She’s hung up the phone and as she gets out I pull her into a hug. “I’m so sorry, love.”
She breaks down and I pick her up and carry her to the passenger side. Gently I place her on
the seat and pull the seatbelt down and buckle her in. “Thank you. I can’t tell you how much this means to me. I’m a wreck.” She runs her hand over my cheek, and I take it and give it a kiss.
“No worries, mate. That’s what couples do for each other.” I close the door and get in the driver’s seat then make the call that’s going to have my band and manager pissed at me.
As I pull out of the parking lot and head back towards Austin, Silas answers his phone. “Yes, sir?”
“I’ve bad news, Silas. Peyton’s brother was in an accident and is going into surgery for his back. I’m taking her back to Austin.”
“No! I mean, no, you can’t. I’ll hire a driver to take her back and you come get on the bus. You have to do the show, Kip.”
My head spins as he thinks I’m actually going to allow that. Peyton touches my hand. “It’s okay. I can drive on my own. Go to the bus, go with your band. It’s your job, Kip.” Tears cascade down her reddened cheeks and I wipe them away.
“No, I’m going to take her. Once he’s out of surgery and we’re sure he’s going to be okay, we’ll catch up. Cancel the show or don’t I don’t care.” Reaching into the glove compartment I find a small package of tissues and hand them to her. Then I make my way to the highway.
“You’ll be in breach of your contract if you don’t do as I’ve said, Kip. Her family is who she should be with anyway. She doesn’t have to have you with her. She’s a big girl, she can take care of herself and her parents will be there. Come and get on the bus. She said she understands.” Silas waits in silence for me to do what he’s said.
“I can’t do it, man. Sorry, I’ll get back with you. If he gets out of surgery and things look alright, maybe I can fly up there in time to do some of the show anyway. The opening band can play longer, give them the heads up about it.” I look at Peyton who’s dabbing at her tears and wiping her nose and being so quiet. “Bye,” I say and hang up.
Her voice shakes as she says, “You really should go with them. I don’t want you to get into trouble over me and my family’s problems.”
“You’re my family, Peyton. My place is with you. If it were the other way around, wouldn’t you go with me?” I ask.
She nods. “I don’t have anywhere else to be though. No one is threating me with a lawsuit if I don’t show up.”
“Silas won’t sue me. He uses that as a threat, but he won’t. They can figure things out for Denver, and Cheyenne is three nights away. I should be able to make Cheyenne. I’m sure your brother will make it out of surgery fine. The man’s strong as a horse.”
She laughs and smiles. “He is. I’m sure you’re right. Thank you for being here for me. I’ve never needed anybody more than I need you right now.”
Her hand I give a quick kiss and smile even though I’ve lied. Silas is notorious for suing performers who break his contracts. His threats are anything but idle. The last guy who broke contract lives in a van on the beach in California.
Part Seven: Star Bursts
Peyton
Sterile air circulates around me and my family as we wait in a small waiting room for the surgeon to come and tell us the details of Tyler’s surgery. We’re packed in here like sardines as Levi brought his wife, Tanya and Blake brought his wife, Abby. Of course Tyler’s girlfriend, Samantha, is here and my parents.
Kip ran out to get me a tea and I assume to call Silas as the man has threatened him with all types of things if he doesn’t make it to Denver tonight for the concert. I’ve told him to go on without me, but he refuses. I have to say I am glad he’s here though. Never did I think I’d actually feel a real need for anyone, other than my family.
A monster sized clock ticks out the seconds on the wall, and I find it moves agonizingly slow. It’s been three hours since we arrived and still no word about Tyler. My stomach hurts as I think about him maybe being paralyzed.
Kip appears and motions for me to come to him outside of the waiting room. I get up and go to him in the hallway. He hands me the cup and I can tell by his drooping mouth he had words with his manager.
“I talked to Silas,” he says and fidgets with the lid of his cup of coffee.
“You should go, Kip,” I say, but hate the fact I don’t really mean it.
I’m not a person who usually says things that are untrue, but I don’t want to cause Kip trouble in his financial life. Although he has tons of money, the blow to his career if he’s taken to court over this would affect him for years to come.
“I don’t want to, but I’m afraid he’s booked a private jet, and I have to be on it in four hours.” He takes my hand and holds it to his heart. “After the concert I’ll get back on the jet and come back to you. I’ve set you and your family up in a hotel, and I’ll be back around five in the morning. Then I don’t have to leave again for a couple of days. I’ll take the jet out to Cheyenne then and right back to you, once the concert is over. It’s the best I can do, love.”
My heart is pounding at the thought of him doing so much flying back and forth for me. “Kip, that’s crazy. Just go on the bus with them. I’ll catch up to you once I know Tyler will be fine.”
The words I’ve said kind of stick in my throat as I think about the fact Tyler may not ever be fine. The fact is he could die on the operating table or come out of there paralyzed.
My knees buckle and I fall back against the wall. Kip’s strong arms go around me, holding me up as I begin to cry into his chest. “God damn it!” he says in a whisper. “I don’t want to leave you like this, baby.”
“Get me away from the waiting room. I don’t want my crying to have a domino effect on the rest of my family,” I say quietly.
Kip runs his arm around my shoulders and takes me down the hall until he sees another small, empty waiting room. “Here, love. Let’s sit down in here.”
He takes the cup from my hand and puts the cups down and sets me on his lap. I bury my face in his neck and throw my arms around him. “He could die, Kip,” I say as I let it all loose. “Or he may never walk again.”
He pats my back and hugs me tight as I cry. “Don’t think like that, love. He’s a tough guy. You have to try to think positive right now.”
“What if I do and it hurts me even more if something horrible happens?” I ask through my sobs.
His silence lets me know he has no answers and I don’t even know why I’m asking him anyway. Quietly he shushes me as he runs his hands over my back. “It’s going to be okay,” he says and then his lips touch the top of my head and I pull back and look at him.
This is too much for how early on we are in this relationship. I’m asking too much from him. I choke back my sobs and try hard to stop crying. “I’m sorry, Kip. I’m so damn sorry. You barely know me and I’ve grabbed onto you like a drowning person, pulling you under with me. This isn’t your problem, and it’s making you have issues with your job. I’ll be fine, I have my family. Go do what you have to and don’t worry about me.” I try to get off his lap, but he holds me tight.
“Peyton, stop,” he says and pulls me back into a hug. “I want to be here for you. I don’t care about anything else. I won’t go.”
The knot in my stomach grows even bigger and I cry a lot harder. This isn’t what I want. Not one bit. I don’t want to be that girl who has to have a man by her through every little thing. I push hard on his chest and I suppose the suddenness of it has him letting me go.
I stand up and run away. Down the hall, away from my family and Kip. I need to be alone. I’ve become too dependent on others. I should be able to stand on my own two feet and deal with this on my own.
I can barely see through the tears and I run into something. A large hand grips my shoulder. A deep voice says, “Aren’t you with the Reed party? Isn’t Tyler someone to you?”
I blink back the tears and try to stop crying as I look up at the blurry man in light green. “He’s my brother.” Just the mere words make me break down again and I feel an arm go around my shoulders.
“Yo
u got her, son?” the man asks.
Kip’s voice I hear. “I do. Do you have news on Tyler?”
“I do,” the man who now I know is the surgeon who was operating on my brother says. “Come with me, I like to only say things once.”
I lean against Kip as he follows the doctor. He hands me some tissues and I blow my nose and wipe my tears away. Back into the waiting room with my family we go.
All eyes go to the doctor. “Hello, I’m Doctor Baker. I was one of the attending surgeons for Tyler. He is in ICU at this moment. He’ll be in there for most likely a week. He had a ruptured spleen which we repaired, a couple of cracked ribs and the compression fractures on the last two vertebrae. We took a bone graft from his left hip and used it to make a spinal fusion.”
My mother gasps and starts to cry. Dad puts his arm around her and says, “That’s a lot of things, isn’t it Doc?”
“It is, but I’ve seen worse. We’ll know in a few hours once the anesthesia wears off if he can move his legs. We know the upper part of his body is working, so that’s something.” The doctor pauses as he searches around the room. “And who is Samantha?”
She raises her hand like a school kid. “That’s me.”
The doctor pulls something out of his pocket and walks over to her. “Before we knocked him out, he asked me to give this to you. He said he’ll do it right once he can ask you in person, but he’d like you to wear this until then.” He hands her a black box.
We all watch as she opens it and pulls out a diamond engagement ring. She bursts into tears and my brother Levi takes her in his arms and hugs her tight. “It’s all going to be okay, Samantha. You’re family now, we got you, kiddo.” He pulls back and his wife, Tanya, hands her some tissue.
Tanya helps her put the ring on her finger and smiles. “Welcome to the family, sis.”
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