Repair Me

by Melissa Phillips

One evening after one of his many practices it was a odd night where Scott was with Natalia and we were left in the house alone. Snuggling close together on the couch, Davien began rubbing my shoulders and his fingers tracing down my back. He laid on his side as I laid in front of him, I slowly turned with nervous knots through my body to ask the question I had dreading to ask. “Davien, may I ask you something?”

  “Sure, what's up?” He answered with a casual voice. I sat still, searching for my words, Davien's eyes grew worried with my expressions. “Everything okay?”

  “Yeah, I just wondered what happened to your daughter?”

  He took long, deep breaths before attempting to answer. He looked at the ceiling, his face raced between small smiles as I assumed of memories and his eyes turned from bright blue to a dark navy, almost black. I wished at that moment that I hadn't brought the subject up. “I am so sorry, Davien, forget my question. When the time is right, you will tell me.”

  “No I won't. I won't bring it up, never do. I will only tell people if I am asked. No one asks though.” Small tears filled his eyes. “Avery, the only way I can express my feeling, the only way I can catch my words is the songs. If I didn't sing to my daughter, I would have nothing.”

  He was right. He struggled for words, but when he sang, it was completely clear... always! “How old was she?” I started my questions slowly and watched his expressions each time.

  “Aubrey was born 4 weeks premature. She was actually born at a decent weight for being premature and was able to come home within the first month. We had her home for around 3 more weeks when we noticed a change in her breathing. Her appetite decreased and she was very limp. The doctor didn't seem too worried, thought she may have a cold, but told us to watch for any changes. At many times, she looked lethargic. Her skin was jaundice. We eventually took her to the hospital and they did many tests. When she was around 3 months we received the news that she had hemorrhaging in her brain. The doctor assumed it may have been due to her being premature even though she hadn't shown any previous signs.” Davien placed a kiss on my forehead and smiled. “Avery, she was so beautiful. Oh my God she looked just like her Mom.”

  He stood from the couch and walked to the closet off the bathroom. Pulling a box out, he looked inside and pulled a large plastic container and held it out for me. “What's this?”

  “Pictures of Aubrey.” He smiled as he sat next to me. I opened the container and he immediately began telling me about each one. The race in his voice felt like he had held the emotions in forever, like he was finally being released. He showed me each picture described each one to when it was taken. The day she was born, the day she was brought home, a small picture of the young Davien as he held her. She truly was beautiful, her features were so well defined. “Man I wish I could bring her back.”

  “She is so beautiful, Davien.” Her eyes were nothing like Davien's bright blue ones, but they were an emerald jewel color. From the pictures, you would have never guessed that this child was sick. Even the last few pictures, not only did she look happy and well, but Davien's face was always full of smiles. The one picture that caught my heart was the one that Davien tried to snatch from my hand. I pulled back and his head dropped. “Is this her Mother?” There was a family portrait, a family that looked like it had not a single worry to them.

  “Yes, that is Danielle.” He bit his lip as he fought his tears. “She was an amazing woman, still is. We were actually never a couple, but we stayed close as we cared for Aubrey. It's nothing more and never will be. But we get together at least once a year and have private time at the cemetery. Very regularly we will call each other just to talk about Aubrey”.

  I had a hard time taking this in, but I understood. “She will always be part of you, both of them.” I saw the first tear drop from my bad boy Davien and I immediately placed my hand along his face and with my thumb, I wiped his first tear away. “Sometimes you just need to express your feelings. Singing is your best way.”

  “You were my everything, you were sent from heaven. But now you are gone. Your touch is still in my hand, the feeling will never fade.” Davien began singing with strains in his voice. He fought for words, but I knew this was his medicine. “The memories are there, but I only have dreams. Those beautiful eyes, the smile on your face, the laughter in your voice. But baby the memories that hold me tight is the moments alone. Holding you tight never letting you go. I’ve grown weak and I’ve become a selfish man. You left me but you’ll be in my heart forever. No one will ever replace you.”

  I bent to him and kissed his lips as his last words came from his voice. “Thank you, Avery. I really needed that. I never get to talk about it. Danielle calls me on her bad days and I do the same. But our past is full of good memories that ended too soon.”

  ☼

  “I'll be over at eight... be ready.” It was Friday afternoon and Natalia was making her normal 'Friday call'. My whole life and my way of living had changed, changed for the better, and when Friday mornings rolled in, I woke to an empty bed, but I knew tonight would be fantastic. Any time I had a chance to watch those amazing blue eyes staring at me was a great time. “You so have to wear that new dress.”

  Natalia and I had been shopping the previous weekend and I 'had' to have this dress. It had my name plastered all over it. It wasn't over exposing so Davien was thrilled with it. But it showed off my curves, making him drool. Bright red and black edging. The material reached my knees but on the right side there was a slit that came to my upper thigh. I paired the dress with bright red lipstick and hooker eye make-up as Natalia called it. Lucky little bitch never needed a drop of make-up but she still used it.

  When she arrived,early of course, she ran to the door like we were heading to Disney World. “Girl C'mon, let's go watch these guys. Mmmm I haven't seen Scott since Wednesday... I am so ready.” Her eyes adjusted to me. “Holy crap girl you look gorgeous.” She spun me around in a circle and just like the normal Natalia, she pushed my breasts high up, tucking them in until you could see half of my cleavage. Her rule was there's never too much.

  “Ouch, damn okay I think they can see enough. Anyways I'm not looking for a man.”

  “I rock my body on a daily basis even though I have Scott. I don't do it for a search. I do it to make the other guys jealous of Scott. Anyways.. if you've got it, flaunt it.” She looked at me head to toe. “And you've got it.” She was hilarious. She never held anything back.

  When we arrived at CJ's, the place was already filling up. My bad boy was already getting things together. He was standing at the bar. “Hey beautiful.” He yelled over the crowd. I sent a small wave in his direction and smiled. He looked delicious, mouth-watering just like always. But when I watched Davien at CJ's it was different. He seemed different maybe because I knew he was mine but ever other woman in the building wanted him so badly. He wore the same clothes that he wore at home, he styled his hair the exact same way (well maybe a slight more hair gel), his smile was wild both at home and at CJ's but there was something about seeing him at the bar that drove me insane. Maybe it was his smile, the flirtatious look that won his fans with. His voice was amazing, out of this world amazing, different than any famous musician I had heard, but his looks. His looks alone could steal any heart in the room.

  I remembered the night I met him, as much as I fought myself for even desiring a man like that, I wanted to kill myself. He was everything I didn't want and surely nothing I needed. He was covered in every woman in the place and he was willing to take every woman home and sleep with each. I had no desire to deal with a man that wasn't ready for a commitment and a man with girls dangling off his arms, surely wasn't that kind.

  We sat at our table with Scott who instantly jumped from his seat when he saw Natalia. His eyes brightened each time he watched her. His lips locked onto her neck, pulling her off her feet. He pulled her close against his mouth, surely leaving a mark. Her hands roamed through his hair as she moaned from pleasure. “Missed you, baby.” Scott m
urmured between his lips.

  “Missed you too.”

  “You're coming over tonight?” She nodded her head and I knew she was excited for what she called 'Scott time'.

  I spun around when I felt the tight grip around my ass cheek. “Ouch!”

  “Mmm.. you look edible.” Davien passed drinks around the table. When I reached for mine he whispered into my ear. “I might have to find out how edible you are when we get home.”

  Instantly blushing, “hmm maybe we should both see,” just the thought of stripping his clothes off after a long night on stage, caused me to pull my thighs together.

  “You've gotta quit wearing this shit.” He pulled at my dress “You're at my work and you're making me wild.”

  One of the normal waitresses, Terri, approached our table with a tray of shots. “Two for you, Avery, two for you, Natalia.” She smiled and walked away.

  Squinting my eyes at the crazy man. “No, Davien, don't start that crap.” He winked at me and wrapped his arm around my waist. His smile was full of guilt and evilness.

  “The Pits will be on stage in the next few minutes, so grab your drink and let's get the show started.” The normal voice echoed through the bar. Every time I heard that voice, I noticed that everyone stopped their conversations and focused their eyes to the stage as they waited for The Pits to arrive at their places.

  “Drink up baby. Watch the clock. Make sure they follow my orders. Supposed to be every 15 minutes.” He slapped my butt, causing me to grab at myself and yelp then the guys all ran to the stage.

  “I'm gonna kill those guys.” Natalia screamed over the noise from fans “What a brat.” She looked at me with suspicious eyes.

  “Get us drunk and take advantage of us, what else is new.” We both laughed at the past scenes of going home with the guys and being completely wasted.

  ☼

  The guys were into their third song and Davien looked amazing with a slight glint of sweat on his forehead, his arms poured from his tight cream colored shirt that was pushed to his elbows. His hair was slicked back and spiked up, just the way that made my thighs pull tight together. He looked amazing, he was amazing. He was all mine.

  The bar got quiet when Davien pulled the mic from its stand. “Justin is singing this next one one guys.” Everyone gave each other curious looks, but Davien's smile was wider than I had ever seen. Giving devilish looks through out the crowd his eyes landed on mine causing me to sit straighter in my chair. Just the way he worked his facial expression could change the way I felt inside.

  “I didn't know that Justin could sing.” I said to Natalia.

  She shrugged her shoulder. “Me either.”

  “I've got a very special lady that I would love to have this dance with.” Every female pair of eyes searched the room for his next move, but I knew he was coming my way. He nodded his head to follow his direction as he placed his hand on the edge of the stage and jumped down. My face must have changed 10 shades from pale pink to fire engine red, matching my dress. Every person in the bar watched as I followed Davien to the floor. The audience pushed back enough to let the center man show off his skills with the woman he was truly in love with. Nerves on fire, I walked to Davien, my love, my everything and when we made contact, he slid his arm around my waist. “I love you, beautiful”. My heart was racing with a mixture of laughter and anxiety.

  Justin pulled the mic to his reach. “Baby girl, this one's for you.” He pointed to me as Scott strummed the first notes to the fast song. Justin brought out a voice I had never heard before. His voice wasn't the same as Davien's raspy, unique one. But his sound was very strong and sexy.

  I recognized one of my favorite songs of the present time. Davien knew that I loved the song and I sang it every time it came on the radio. He sang 'Treasure' by Bruno Mars. I was used to Davien's soft love songs that he sang to me at home and the light rock here at CJ's, but Justin rocked the beat to Bruno Mars as Davien and I danced together. Justin's voice started to fade in my head when Davien's lips brushed at my ear. He began with our usual private song. He sang the lyrics as if Bruno Mars had wrote them for us about making wishes coming true and our wishes really were coming true. He was everything I could have ever wished for. When the fast beat chorus picked up I laughed so hard each time he pulled me away, spinning me as he slung our arms around each time the beat grew faster. Davien screamed loud enough for everyone to hear when he sang about a pretty girl to me. My face was on fire from blushing. His grin was wide and guilty and his eyes never left my face. His lips perked up like a teen age girl lip singing to her hair brush. The song was upbeat and the way Davien tossed me around on the floor had everybody watching us. I held my stomach from laughter.

  The man was wild and he was so outgoing, I had never seen him shy in front of a crowd. Even though I found much amusement. I was still self conscious, but being with Davien, made the entire room disappear. He made me feel secure, he brought out my other side, a side I never realized I had.

  Not wanting the song to end, Davien pulled my body towards him and kissed my lips, then stepped from the dance area and sped to the stage. He returned to the center and reached for the mic, trying to catch his breath from out fast dancing “Sorry 'bout that everyone.. but I needed that time with that fine young lady.” He pointed at me, leaving me to blush one last time. “I had to give Justin his moment anyways.” The crowd cheered for Justin and Davien was back singing.

  I returned to my naughty shots and plopped to my chair. “You guys are too cute, I swear.” I blushed at the thought. It was real I felt like it was meant to be. I had left so much because this was it, Davien was it. Everything else was only false hopes, not only false hopes, but dangerous hopes. Davien reminded me every morning that I deserved better and when he had confronted me the day before I was nervous. He asked me if I would meet his Mom. I agreed, unsure of how I would feel. Davien reminded me that even though she never gave him a great life, she gave him love and he believed that was everything he needed.

  “Thanks for comin' out tonight.” He yelled over the crowd then tucked the mic back in it's stand and the guys stepped from the stage .“Hey baby.” Davien gripped my backside as he pulled me closer.

  “Can you give me a minute?” Davien gave me curious eyes with one brow arched, then nodded.

  I walked away to find Justin. He was getting his things together and I tapped him on his shoulder. “Hey, Justin, can we talk?”

  “Sure, what's up, Baby girl?” Justin stood about 6 feet, his body was lean, but pure muscle. He wasn't bulky like Vince and Scott, but he had strength in him. “You okay?”

  “Yeah, I'm fine. It's just that I've never had a chance to tell you how much I've appreciated everything from you. You've been awesome to me.” I looked around the room. “You guys have all been awesome to me. Oh and thanks for the song tonight... you sounded great.”

  He placed his hand on my shoulder. “Any time, Baby girl.” His words were so smooth, he was extremely seductive, but our relationship was purely innocent. But I loved how he said my nick name. It was the only tantalizing thing to our friendship. “Seriously, you're like family now, anytime you need something, I've got your back. Anytime you need me to whoop some ass, I'm gonna be there too.” We both laughed, but truth was he really was serious.

  “Thanks!” I ran my fingers under his eye. He looked down to my pained eyes and left me with a soft smile. The red wound was healing slowly, but the mark was deep and I felt bad every time we came in contact. I knew that he should have been treated with stitches and the sight caused me to feel guilty even though the guys told me that Justin loved his battle wounds. “Sorry about that.” Justin always told me that the scars from stitches were fake, but the scars from fighting showed courage.

  “Ahh, that's nothing.” He winked. “Hey, you gotta come by with Davien next Friday.”

  “I always come on Fridays. Wouldn't miss a show”.

  “No, every 6 weeks or so, we skip a show because of my fights.” M
y eyes widened at the thought of watching Justin being hurt. “You gotta come. You owe me anyways.” He let a devilish grin escape his mouth then pulled me in for a hug. Justin held me tight and even placed a soft kiss to my forehead. I was just placing my head against his lips when I spot Davien watching me. He nodded with approval and smiled. Justin caught those bright blue eyes that were set on us. “Let me know if that bastard ever hurts you. I'll beat his ass too.” I pulled away and shook my head with laughter.

  “Not sure if that's what I really want to watch. I mean coming to your fights is very fierce. I just left one violent man to watch another man. I couldn't stand the thought of watching you get hurt at one of your shows.”

  “Difference is you didn't deserve it and the only time I deserve it is when I'm not winning. It's all mental, Baby girl. Strictly competition, like football or soccer. C'mon, bring Natalia too, she's never been there either.” He smiled and waited for my answer as I stood still. “You don't have to bet... but if you do, make sure you're choosing the right guy. Obviously that would be me.” His finger pointed at his chest. We both laughed.

  “We'll see. I guess I better get going before Davien leaves me behind.” I gave him another soft hug. “Thanks again.”

  Davien was standing at our table waiting patiently for my return. His arm wrapped around my shoulders when I came back. “Everything okay?”

  “Yeah. I just needed to thank him for everything. Oh and I thought I'd mention how amazing his voice is.” Davien shot me wild eyes.

  “Hey don't start that crap or I'll be singing to you all night.”

  “Oh his voice, it's so sexy, it's amazing, the best I've ever heard. Can't stop thinking how wonderful he sounded... oh and how handsome he looked.” My laughter started immediately as we walked hand in hand through the parking lot.

  “That's it, you're not even sleeping tonight, I promise” We stepped on the bike and with the loud roar from the bike, I wrapped my arms around his waist and just like always, he pulled them tighter. I wasn't sure if it was security for me or for him, but he always did it.