by Mandy Bee
I made the guys eat with me, telling them I wouldn’t eat unless they would stopped the fight before it even started. I think my favorite times on the tour, with the whole band together, is when we are eating. There is something so calming about sharing a meal with the people you love. Even as sick as I am, I was able to joke and laugh with them. Afterwards Chris helped me get comfortable on the couch and tucked me in like a child before heading off to do the show. Justin came and gave me a kiss before leaving, and even Dave and Scot hugged me before heading out also.
As I started to fall asleep I couldn’t get over how much I love them all. It is the most wonderful feeling in the world to love and be loved by a true family. I got so used to only having Chris, that now I don’t know what I would do without the others. My brothers and my boyfriend.
It took two full weeks for that cold to finally go away. Chris made me go get an x-ray a few days after it hit but it was clear. The doctor said it was probably a cold that settled in my chest, and where I don’t have strong lungs it would be harder to get rid of. I guess I should be grateful that it only lasted two weeks but I think that guys are more grateful for that. I’m not the nicest person when I’m that sick. And yeah they have seen me worse, but it still was hard on them.
This is the last night on the whole tour. It is finally over. We are in Amsterdam and will be flying home tomorrow. Justin and I have talked about what will happen once we get back. He wants to come stay with us for a while and then take us to his parents house a week or so before Christmas. John moved out about a mouth ago, Rachael called me and told me everything.
John got really drunk and started a fight with his dad. He went off about how his parents supported Justin’s decision to keep him out of the band. I didn’t know that John had been calling Justin begging to come back. Rachael said that she had to step in before Mike lost his temper. I hate that all that happened over me, and how it hurt their family. I know Justin didn’t fire John over me, but I was the last straw and John will always blame me.
We talked for almost three hours about what happened. I tried to tell her how sorry I was but she told me that none of it was my fault. She thinks John just needs to move on and find either another band or find something else to do with his life. They will be there for him and help him in anyway they can, but they won’t ask Justin to bring him back to the band.
To try and cheer her up I told her about how Justin wanted Chris and I to come up a week before Christmas. She was thrilled, she started planning a shopping trip right away. I hate to say it but I’m looking forward to it, but mostly because I’ll get to see her again. I asked if they wanted to fly down for Thanksgiving but they already had plans. She said to make sure Justin did all the dishes. After talking to her I felt happy and sad. I love Justin so much it scares me, and I’m starting to love his family too, which scares me even more.
I’m laying on my bed when Scot knocks on the door and asked to talk to me.
“Flower, I need to ask for a favor.” He starts out “Well you know that my brother Guy is really the only family I have. We are kind of like you and Chris, only we were both in college when our parents died.” He drops his head for a minute and takes a deep breath. I reach over and lay my hand on his shoulder. He looks up at me and smiles and then goes on. “Well Guy is going to Texas to spend Thanksgiving with his girlfriend’s family, and will be leaving the week before because her cousin’s wedding is like four days before Thanksgiving. Anyways I was kind of wondering if you wouldn’t mind if I came to hang with you and Chris for the holidays.” He looks at me with the biggest puppy eyes.
“You are welcome at our house anytime you want. The holidays have never been easy on us because we never had anyone to really share them with. That’s not that case now.” I smile at him. He gives me a hug and then tells me he is going to go talk to Chris about it too. I told him not to worry, that Chris will be thrilled to have him join us.
The last concert is always the hardest I was told. I stood by the stage the whole night, it was magical. The guys wore the necklaces that I bought them in Italy, even Justin caved after the guys told him what a crappy boyfriend he was being.
Since I didn’t get to wear the pink dress I got in Italy while we were there, I wore it tonight. Along with the white sandals Justin bought me, and the pearl earrings Rachael gave me. I wanted to look extra special because I cooked up a little surprise for my boys.
The crew helped with the timing. Right before the last song they are going to cut all power to just the stage area. While the lights are out I’m going to sneak on stage and surprise the guys with a cake that reads This tour was your best ever!
One of the roadies is going to help me walk out there in the dark and then give the signal once I’m in place to turn the lights back on. I can’t wait to see the guys faces! But as the show went on I started getting really nervous about everything. I mean what if they get mad at me for doing it, or what if they yell at me on stage?
When Jake, the roadie who is going to help me, comes to get me I’m starting to think I should back out. But when he hands me the beautiful cake and tells me how cool this all is, I know I just have to do it. We are standing behind one of curtains that is behind Chris’s drum cage. The lights are cut and Jake slowly walks me to the middle of the stage. He gives the signal and hands me a microphone.
When the guys see me they all looked confused. “Hey, everyone!” I say into my mic. The crowd goes nuts. I have to get through my planed speech before one of them stops me. “With tonight being the last stop on the tour I wanted to do something special for the band. These men have been so great to me. They have become my family, and I love them all very much. So I thought that I would surprise them with an end of the tour cake!”
Dave, Scot and Justin have come to stand beside me and I look back at Chris but he still looks confused.
“Who doesn’t love cake?” Dave jokes and then sticks his finger in the icing!
“Dave have some manners!” I joke and the crowd laughs I think but it all sounds like screaming to me, I turn to look at Chris again. “Chris get down here, please.” I watch him walk up to us and I lean over to kiss his cheek. “I have the best big brother in the world! And it is because of him that I now have a wonderful family too.”
Justin takes the cake from me and sets in down on one of the speakers. “Is she great or what?” He asked the crowd, yeah more screaming. “I must say Flower you surprised us tonight.” He takes my hand and moves us to were we are standing face to face but sideways to the crowd. “Miss Flower Marshall you are the most amazing woman I have ever met, and I love you with all my heart.” He kisses me hard and in front of everyone!
I can hear the guys laughing and the crowd screaming. I melt into his kiss and groan when we pull apart. “I love you too.” I say just to him without my mic.
He asked me to stay on stage for the last song like he did in Paris, and I was more then happy too! We danced around the stage together and I even sang the last part of it with him. I know I suck at singing but no one seemed to care.
Dave made sure to grab the cake before we walked off stage. Back in the dressing room they all wanted to know how I pulled it all off. I told them about how I got the crew to help me and how Jake walked me on stage without anyone knowing. Chris said it was too cool, and he loved it. So did everyone else, Justin even said that I now have to do it at the end of every tour.
IT FEELS SO good to be back home. Chris had no problem with Justin staying with us until we go to his place the week before Christmas. And was even more thrilled about Scot coming to visit too. I wish Dave could come down but he has a bigger family then we do. He said he would video chat with us the day of Thanksgiving and would see us all at Justin’s for Christmas.
I sent the boys out to get a few things we will need for the week, but I will have to go food shopping for the big meal myself later on. I was just starting to fix some lunch when the phone rang.
“Hello?” I answer.
> “Flower? It’s Tammy, how are you?” She asks in a sweetheart voice. I knew we would have to deal with her when we got home but after all she did for me I couldn’t help but be grateful for her.
“I’m good, how have you been?”
“Um I’m okay. Listen are you alone?”
This is odd. “Yeah, I sent the guys to the store. Why? What’s wrong?”
“Nothing is wrong. I just wanted to talk to you without Chris around. Look I don’t know if he has told you but we have been texting for a while now and I’m worried about how things will be now that he is home. I’m still in love with him Flower but I don’t want to hurt him or you. I know I’m still having to pay for all that I did but I wanted to know if you would think it would be a good idea to ask to come over?”
She is talking a mile a minute so I know she was nervous about asking me this. “I didn’t know he was texting you, and it really isn’t any of my business. But I wouldn’t mind if you came over, and if he says something we can say you came to see me.”
“Oh thank you! When can I stop by?” She sounds so happy.
“I’m free right now, and they will be gone for a least an hour. So come on over, I was just starting to fix lunch, I’ll fix you some too.”
“I’m on my way!” We hang up and I don’t know why, but I’m smiling.
Tammy did do a lot for me when I was home last time. It was a dark time for me and she helped me by just sitting with me. I will still be watching her but if Chris is talking to her again then I don’t see the problem with her coming over. And I love that she called to ask first. Maybe we can all be friends, even if Chris decides not to date her again. She isn’t as bad as I thought in the beginning, I think she just didn’t know how to go about getting what she wanted. Her slut act didn’t work and got her in deep shit with us. So now maybe the nicer Tammy that I saw a while back will still be here when she gets here.
I didn’t have to wait long to find out. I was plating the chicken salads when the door bell rang. I smoothed my hair with my hands and took a deep breath while walking to the door.
“Hey” She said quietly.
“Hey, come on in.” I smiled at her. It was a big shock to us both when I hugged her after closing the door. “I am glad to see you Tammy. Come on I have lunch all ready.”
We walk into the kitchen to get our plates and she grabs two waters for us out of the fridge. Over lunch she tells me all that she has been up too. She got a new job at a law firm as a file clerk. She has started college and wants to study entertainment law. I told her all about the tour and that she was right about Justin wanting me to stay. I told her about the cabin and that I got sick the next day and how upset I was about it,
“I remember a few times that I watched you when you were sick. Chris said you had been sick your whole life but made me call him at least twice a day with an update report.” She smiled “I don’t know if you remember this but I used to rub Vicks on your chest then sit in bed with you for hours reading to you till you would go to sleep. I loved being able to take care of you.”
I did remember that, I didn’t know it was Tammy but I remember one of my babysitters doing that. I reach over and take her hand in mine. “You really do have a big heart Tammy, but I think you have trouble expressing how you feel sometimes. And in the past it has lead to trouble. I think we all need to start over and get to know each other.”
She starts crying and I stand up to hug her. We were hugging when Chris and Justin walked in. I started laughing when Justin dropped the case of water he was carrying. We told them all what we had talked about and then I asked to talk to Chris for a few minutes, alone.
Once in my room I smack him hard on the arm. “What was that for?” He asked while rubbing his arm.
“Why didn’t you tell me you were talking to Tammy again?” I ask while crossing my arms and staring at him.
“Because I didn’t think you would like it. I thought you would get mad and yell at me.” He hangs his head and won’t look at me.
“Christopher Jacob Marshall how could you think so little of me? I would have been happy for you. I think the Tammy we dealt with a few months ago is gone. The new Tammy seems to have put her life in order and seems happy about it. But what I want to know is if you two are going to get back together, because if you are we need to warn your brothers, especially Scot, because I wouldn’t want him freaking out when she shows up for Thanksgiving dinner.”
He looks up at me with a huge grin on his face. “You are so awesome!” He hugs me. “But we are starting off slow and just being friends right now, but I have to say I do like her.” He blushes.
“I’m very happy for you, however the rules still stand. She must call before coming over, and she has to keep up this new Tammy. Because if old Tammy shows back up I’ll have no problem kicking her out again.”
“Don’t worry, I know she really has changed. Thank you sis.” He kisses my cheek then we head back out to the living room where we left Justin and Tammy.
When I hear them laughing I know that she has won him over too. Everything seems to be falling into place. Chris took Tammy out for a walk while Justin helped me clean up the kitchen a little. Justin told me that Tammy had apologized to him, and he thought she really did mean it. I’m just so glad that everything in my life seems to be going good. There will be no more changing bands, ever again. No more waking up to bimbo’s in the house. And no more feeling lonely.
We all went out to dinner that night and had a great time. We looked like two young couples on a double date. Even though Chris and Tammy aren’t dating right now, I have a feeling that it won’t be long before they are. I made sure to ask her to come to Thanksgiving dinner at our house, which she was more then happy to say yes too.
Justin and I are laying in bed when I hear Chris screaming at someone. I jump up and run down the hall to his room and he is pacing around the room screaming into his phone.
“I don’t care what you think! She has changed damn it!” He screams at someone on the other end. When he sees me he tells whoever it is to hold on, then walks over to me. “Scot is throwing a shit fit on me! I called him to warn him about Tammy, like you said to do and he went off on me!” Chris is so mad he is shaking.
“Give me that phone” I snap and reach for the phone, he didn’t have a problem handing it over. “Scot what is wrong with you?” I growl at him.
“Flower how could you of all people be okay with this?” He is not screaming at me but is very upset.
“Tammy has changed, I promise you. I need you to hear me out on this. When I came home while the tour was still going on, she came and helped me get through it. In my darkest time she was there for me. Even after all the fighting that happened before, she still cared enough to stop by and check on me. She knows now that the way she acted before got her no where with us. Tammy has totally changed, she is no longer stripping and has a job at a law office, and is now in school too.” I take a breath and wait a minute for him to answer me.
“I don’t see how you two could forgive her so easily.” He says.
“We didn’t, it took a lot of time to forgive her. Look this just didn’t happen over night. But she is in our lives and I need you to stop yelling at Chris about it. Be happy for him, we only wanted to warn you because she will be coming to Thanksgiving dinner and I didn’t want you having a heart attack when she walked in.” We both start laughing.
“Okay, I’m sorry. I guess I jumped the gun on this one. But if I hear her say one bad thing about you I’ll not think twice before I hit her.” He jokes and then asked to talk to Chris again.
As I walk back down the hall I hear Chris laughing, well at least that’s over. I climb back into bed and tell Justin everything that happened. He said he didn’t bother to get up because he knew who Chris was yelling at. But he was surprised that I fixed everything. Scot can be a stubborn ass when he wants to be, but he has never been anything but nice to me. I guess it just takes the right person to explain everythi
ng, Chris wasn’t that person.
Most people think that Thanksgiving is just a day to eat and watch football, well yes and no. There is a lot of time and effort that goes into cooking a big dinner like this, and it can’t all be done in one day. I had most of the side dishes done the day before and all I’ll need to do is reheat them. I’m in the kitchen looking over my to do list when the door bell rings. I asked Tammy to come over early to help me out, Chris said he liked that we were getting along so well.
“Chris, let Tammy in please!” I yell into the living room. The guys are glued to the TV, the list of football games for today is ridiculous.
I hear the door open and then Chris scream. “Get the fuck out of here!” This sent me running to the door. Scot was already standing beside Chris.
My face went white when I saw who was standing there. John! What is he doing here? How did he get our address? So may things are going through my mind right now. I feel Justin standing beside me and I look over at him. He looks just as shocked as I am. I take a deep breath, I need to be strong for him, he needs me now.
John and Chris are having a stare down and no one is winning. I take Justin’s hand and walk us over to stand by Chris. A united front, that is what we are.
“John, I think you need to leave.” I say as calmly as I can.
He looks over at me and gives me the creepiest grin. “Well Flower, I guess you think that since everyone else listens to you that I am going to too. Sorry sweetheart but that’s not happening.” He chuckles “I came to talk to my brother.” He turns to look at Justin.
“I have nothing to say to you, now go.” Justin growls.