“Oh shit, crying women this can’t be good, I'm not good with crying women, that’s Liam’s job.” We both laugh at his awkwardness and the sad tears are replaced with happy ones. Its then I notice he’s in his sweats and trainers, wheres he going.
“I'm going down to the gym for an hour with Johnny, I’ll leave you pair to it.” At the mention of Johnny’s name Karina immediately stiffens in her seat. He comes over to me and gives me a lingering kiss that has Karina scrunching up her nose in disgust. Pulling away from me he strides to the door in all his six foot plus glory.
“See ya both later.” He shouts over his shoulder as he goes through the door.
Taking my eyes away from the door that the god like creature just walked out of I focus my attention back on the conversation I was having with my best friend.
Hating to have to ask but knowing I have to I just blurt it out.
“So when do you leave?” Silence follows. So I push for her answer. “Well?”
She looks at her watch and whispers so quite I think I heard her wrong.
I didn't.
“My flight is in four hours.”
I'm shocked. Four hours? Why so soon? I'm asking myself all these questions when really I should be asking her, but she doesn’t need me interrogating her right now.
“I booked my flight last night when we got back.” She informs me. “Also one more thing, please I'm begging you don’t tell anyone I've left or where I'm going till I've gone because I know I will have to deal with that looney bin trying to make me stay even if I do give him hell.”
I know she means Johnny so I promise to not say anything.
We hug it out both knowing this is the last time we’re going to see each other for a while.
When someone challenges you,
Fight back.
Be brutal.
Be tough.
Connor
I'm just about to walk inside the gym when I hear Johnny shout me. I look over to where his voice was coming from.
I look over my shoulder and see Johnny jogging towards me. When he reaches me we have a man hug, slapping each other on the back, when we break apart Johnny speaks first.
“S’up my man? You seen Karina at all this morning? I haven't seen her since last night.” Jeez she’s proper done a number on him.
“I'm good John and yeah I saw her this morning when she knocked on my hotel room door at stupid o’clock. She and Allie were talking about stuff when I went in the shower and the next thing I know they’re both in tears when I walked back in too tell Allie where I was off to this morning.
“Did you hear anything, did she mention my name at all?”
“To be honest dude I didn’t listen, and even if I wanted to know what they were talking about I wouldn’t care because that’s your shit and I'm sorry to break it to you but I have enough of my own right now.”
“Yeah I know sorry… but.. She came to my room last night when you all come back from the club. It was weird man, she was acting all weird like she wanted to tell me something, yet she couldn't and didn't, she wasn’t the usual confident Karina I know.”
“I can’t help you man, women are all kinds of fucked up, I'm surprised I've managed keep Allie this long.”
Throwing his head back with an almighty belly laugh he manages to get out
“Ain’t that the truth.”
“Look all I know is when she’s ready she’ll come and talk to you just give her some time, don’t forget your probably not her favourite person right now, your intentions might have been for the good of keeping her safe but in her eyes you're the one who forced her to leave her home and come to a foreign country and to top it off it was to tour with a bunch of smelly rockstars.”
“Yeah I guess.” Looking at me with a funny expression his face, I give his arm a slight punch before asking.
“What? Why are you looking at me like that?”
“I'm just wondering when did the legend of all women Connor Blackwood grow up and be so wise where the opposite sex is concerned.”
“Ha… your funny… not. I've just learned a lot by being with Allie it puts things in perspective that’s all, especially with everything that’s going on with the wack job that’s terrorising her.”
“Ok Shakespeare calm down.” He says sarcastically.
“Prick.” I murmur under my breath.
“I heard that.” He states as he opens the door to the gym.
We’ve been working out and spotting each other for the last two hours, we hadn’t even noticed that times gotten away from us. We’re interrupted when my phone rings from the bench over by the water fountain. Picking it up I see that it’s Charlie.
“Hey Charlie, what’s the matter dude? You finally have something decent for me?”
“Hey Blackwood, that’s why I'm calling actually, I just want to ask you, does the name Rebecca Conway ring any bells?” Instantly the sweat dries on my body and my blood runs cold through my veins giving me the chills. Johnny must notice because he’s up and on his feet in seconds. Taking the phone from me where it’s glued to my ear because I'm just standing frozen at the sheer mention of her name, Johnny speaks to Charlie for me, I couldn’t tell you what was said because Johnny’s voice is mumbo jumbo in my ears. All I do hear is the tail end of the conversation on Johnny’s end.
“Right ok Charlie boy, I’ll tell him thank you for letting us know.”
I don’t for the life of me have any idea why I reacted the way I did when Charlie asked me if I knew her, the last time I spoke to her I told her we were never going to happen and that I loved Allie, so my reaction to just hearing her name has thrown me in a tailspin.
Johnny being the friend he is leads me out of the gym and to the hotel bar not saying a single word till we get there and he orders us two neat Jack Daniels. It may only be half eleven in the morning but right now I couldn’t give a flying fuck if it was six thirty in the morning I’d still need this whiskey. Throwing the contents down the back of my throat burns making its presence known, I slam my empty tumbler on to the bar and Johnny orders us two more. When they’ve arrived he keeps his eyes on his fresh glass as he speaks.
“Beck was found in her apartment six days ago, Heroin overdose, she was clutching a picture of you when they found her, she’s still alive but barely, they don’t know if she’s got any long lasting damage yet, she’s in the intensive care unit at The Royal London Hospital.”
Heroin? No? That’s not Beck. Coke yeah I could understand that, but she never touched that vile dirty stuff, she was never that desperate. Until…
Then it hits me like a freight train.
I drove her to it when I pushed her away back in Berlin.
Johnny continues on bringing me back to the now.
“Charlie did some digging he know’s you two were in rehab together and saw each other afterwards, he seems to think all the shit that’s been going on is because you didn’t want a relationship with her. He told me he spoke to her sister earlier and she told him that Beck was obsessed with you, apparently she had a book with pictures of you two in it as a family along with newspaper articles that had been written about you over the years and when she returned back from Berlin she wasn’t the same and that’s when she went completely off the rails and shut everyone out. He sister found her when she went around to her place because she hadn’t heard of her and was worried sick.”
Oh Fuck.
This is all my fault.
I knew she was vulnerable and yet I still threw her out and told her I would never love her.
So not only is it my fault that my Angel had to fight for her life but now Beck is as well. I must’ve been a total bastard in my previous life because I have no clue why I'm getting all the hell I am now, I thought I had it all, the fame the fortune and the girl of my dreams… my Angel and yet I still keep getting screwed royally up the arse.
Seven whiskeys later I still haven’t said a word to Johnny about what he told me about Beck, he’s just sat there
and let me be, then it occurs to me that all the shit is over with and I haven’t told Allie, instead I've been a selfish twat and wallowed in my own guilt, I told her I’d only be an hour when in fact I've been gone for more like five. I need to tell her what’s happened, I need to tell her that she doesn’t have to live in fear anymore.
Pushing my stool away from the bar it scrapes across the wooden floor and I stand on uneven legs, the ground threatening to swallow me up. I place a hand on the bar to steady myself, once I've got control back of my own body I tell the guy behind the bar to put the whiskeys on my room tab.
“Where are you going Blackwood?” Johnny slurs has he places a hand on my arm the whiskeys have clearly gotten to him to.
“I'm going to go and tell Allie everything she deserves to know her life isn’t at risk anymore, then I'm going to sober my drunken arse up and get ready for sound check because I don’t know if it’s escaped your pea sized brain my friend but we have a show to put on tonight. So I suggest you do the same or else Clint will have our arses before we even have the chance to run away.”
With that said I walk away leaving him sitting there and head for the lift.
I need to talk to my girl.
Live for the moment you can’t put into words.
Allie
I said my goodbyes to Karina about an hour ago. Which wasn't pleasant can I just say. We were both a blubbering mess, and my eyes are sore and red raw so god knows what she looks like right now. She will just about be boarding her flight now so I drop her a quick text in hopes she will read it before she turns her phone off.
Hey mofo miss u like crazy already, it will be a lot quieter around ere wivout u even if u were only here for 24hrs. Lol
Remember what u promised me. I'll b waiting for u 2 get in touch. Have a safe flight love ya mofo xx
She replies almost straight away.
Hey mofo I was just txting u lol we're so connected it's unreal. Miss u 2 n yes mum i’ll txt u when I land.
Love ya 2 mofo xx
Now I'm just sat here on the same sofa I was on before when Karina told me she was going her dad's just feeling sorry for myself. I look at the clock on the wall it's almost one o'clock.. Jeez Connors been going at it hard in the gym today. I'm just about to pick my phone backup to call him to see how long he's going to be, when all of a sudden there's an almighty bang against the door.
“What the fuck?” I say out loud even though I'm talking to myself as no ones here. I make my way to the door and just as I'm about to open it i hear..
“Well hello there door, I didn't see you there. Haha. And floor it's nice to meet you too.” It's Connor and what he's on about I have no fucking clue. So I open the door not sure what it is I'm going see on the other side.
I look out seeing no one there, I swear it was Connor's voice I heard. I'm just about to close it again when I hear…
“Hi angel, have you met my new friend floor?” I look down at the ground and find Connor lying face down on it.
“Angel meet floor, floor this is my angel. Haha.” He's full on belly laughing now. It's hysterical to watch really. So I lean against the door frame and do just that. When I don't think it can get any worse I hear Johnny running up the corridor shouting at the top of his voice.
“Con, wait up fuck face.” He's trying his best to run up the corridor but he's getting a bit ahead of himself. He's going faster than his feet can carry him and I can see what's going to happen next before it even happens and I can't wait for it.
He's just about to reach us when he comes tumbling down to the ground and lands on top of Connor. I can't hold it in anymore I burst out laughing, to the point I close my eyes and I'm holding my side, I've got really bad stitch and my ribs hurt. When I open them back up I nearly wet myself there and then.
Connors now face planting the floor again with Johnny lying flat out across his back.
“Johnny.. meet my pal floor, floor meet my wing man Johnny.” Connor says again.
“Nice to meet you floor.” He looks up at me before saying.
“Since when did you have a twin sister Allie?” Oh my god they're killing me. What's gotten into them. I haven't laughed like this for a long time, I just wish Karina was still here to see this.
Max opens his hotel door and looks up and down the corridor then his eyes catch the two idiots rolling round on the floor
“What the fuck is going on? Why are those two plonkers on the floor and laughing like hyenas?” I try to stop myself laughing long enough to give Max some sort of answer.
“I don't know, I haven't got that far yet.”
“Hey Max a million, did you know Rocky had a twin? Because I didn't.” Johnny still hasn't got past that yet, he's looking at me really confused now.
“Fuck… are you two pissed? We have a show in like... five hours.” Max has a point there. And I did wonder that myself, but why get drunk when they knew they had a show to do.
“I wouldn't say pissed... more like… para-fucking-lytic.” That was Johnny. I never knew he could be this funny, he's always so serious. And again Karina’s missing it all. “And it’s all his fault.” His words are slurred but I know he’s directing them at Connor. Who’s now waving his arms about in the air singing.
“We’re freeeeeee, we’re freeeeeee. Oh no wait, I got it.”
We all wonder what he's on about when he starts singing out loud...
We’re free to be whatever we
Whatever we choose
And we’ll sing the blues if we want
We’re free to say whatever we
Whatever we like
If it's wrong or right it's alright
Always seems to us
You only see what people want you to see
How long's it gonna be
Before we get on the bus
And cause no fuss
Get a grip on yourself
It don't cost much
Johnny then joins in with him, and they continue to butcher the amazing work of Noel Gallagher.
Free to be whatever you
Whatever you say
If it comes our way it's alright
You're free to be wherever you
Wherever you please
You can shoot the breeze if you want
It always seems to us
You only see what people want you to see
How long's it gonna be
Before we get on the bus
And cause no fuss
Get a grip on yourself
It don't cost much
we’re free to be whatever we
Whatever we choose
And we’ll sing the blues if we want
Here in our mind
You know you might find
Something that you
You thought you once knew
But now it's all gone
And you know it's no fun
Yeah we know it's no fun
Oh we know it's no fun
we’re free to be whatever we
Whatever we choose
And we’ll sing the blues if we want
we’re free to be whatever we
Whatever we choose
And we’ll sing the blues if we want
Whatever you do
Whatever you say
Yeah we know it's alright
Whatever you do
Whatever you say
Yeah we know it's alright
Me and Max just stand there in amazement as they finish the entire Oasis song, how they remembered all the words is an achievement on it’s own. Then like a ton of of bricks it dawns on me that they changed some of the words and I see Max come to the same conclusion as me.
“Do you have any idea what these two pissed up farts are on about?” I look to Max for any further explanation but he doesn’t give me one, he just shakes his head from side to side as his answer.
“She looks mad Con, I don’t think we impressed her with our singing.” Johnny whisper shouts.
&n
bsp; “Nope I'm well and truly in the dog house now aren’t I?” He aims his question at me but I don’t answer him. Something has made these pair get steaming drunk this early in the day and I want to know what. I step over the drunkards and go knock on Liam’s door, how he’s not heard all the racket out here is beyond me.
When he answers the door he’s wearing just a towel around his waist with water running down his top half, giving me my answer has to why he hasn’t heard anything.
“Oh, hey Allie what can I do for you?” He questions.
Stepping to the side so he can see what’s unfolding on the floor I say.
“I could do with you helping Max get these pair of crazies off the floor and into our room so I can sober them up.”
“Jesus Christ Al, what happened to them pair?”
“I have no idea all I know is that their steaming drunk and you lot have a show in a few hours with thousands of fans depending on you to deliver, so will you please help?”
“Yeah of course just let me go get some clothes on.”
He’s dressed and back out on the corridor in less than a minute.
“Right let’s get these pair of cuntychops sobered up and quick.” Max walks over to the two man pile up and grabs underneath Johnny’s arms and pulls him up onto his feet causing him to stumble with Max still holding onto him.
“Fuck me, you weigh a ton.” Max pants out, straining himself to keep Johnny up right. Eventually he manages to get him to take a few baby steps and they head into mine and Connors suite, Liam drags Connor up in the same way Max did with Johnny. When Connor passes me he stops and looks at me, his eyes are glassy but alive for the first time in a long time, like he’s had a weight lifted off his shoulders and even though he’s drunk his next words floor me completely. “We are free Angel, it’s over. Marry me?” Liam looks at me over Connor's shoulder just has bewildered has me at Connor’s sudden marriage proposal.
“Come on casanova let’s get you some coffee and a shower before you say something else stupid.”
Two hours later we’ve managed to get both of them showered and pumped up on caffeine and they both even managed to get a power nap in. Now they’re both sitting on the sofa with their heads in their hands nursing their bad headaches.
Syren's Heaven & Hell (The Syren Series Book 2) Page 14