Life's A Riot.
Twenty One.
Syn POV.
I smiled as Cait eventually fell asleep next to me. I’d longed to have her in my arms like this for far too long. Sadness that it was only because of Jimmy’s death cut through me. I couldn’t describe the pain that I felt at losing him. Being with Cait, even just being in the same room as her, seemed to soothe the pain. It reminded me that life would still go on, even if he wasn’t there anymore. I could feel sleep starting to claim me as Cait’s gentle breathing slowly calmed me. A knock at the door startled me out of the sleepy haze.
“Syn, have you seen JC, I can’t…” Johnny walked in through the door, his voice trailing off as he noticed Cait in bed next to me. “What the FUCK?!” I slipped out of bed and walked over to her twin brother, dragging him out of the room before he could wake her up.
“Shh, you’ll wake her up.” I hissed as I pulled the door closed quietly behind us. Johnny looked livid.
“What the fuck Syn?! I ask you to keep an eye on her and you … you…” I cut him off.
“Whoa! Do you seriously think that I would take advantage of her after what’s happened?!” I was starting to get angry. “You should know me better than that Johnny!” Johnny slowly began to calm down.
“You’d better start explaining Gates and fast.”
“Look, it’s very simple. She didn’t want to be alone. Neither did I. All that’s going on in there is sleeping Johnny.” He sighed and turned away.
“Sorry, I shouldn’t have just jumped to conclusions.” I leaned back against the doorframe. Man I was fucking tired. It had been over 36 hours since I’d last slept, almost 48.
“Don’t worry about it. I thought that you were at Lacey’s?”
“I just came home to grab some clothes, I’m gunna stay there for a couple of days. I was going to tell JC and make sure that she’s ok.”
“She’s as fine as she can be Johnny. I’ll take care of her, you stay with Lacey for as long as you need.” I glanced at the closed door. “I’ll call you if she needs you.” Johnny nodded and smiled faintly at me.
“Cheers Syn. I’ll catch ya later.” I smiled back at him and headed back into my room, carefully sliding back into bed next to Cait, careful not to wake her up. It wasn’t long before I was asleep next to her.
~*~
JC POV.
I stirred as a noise crept into my subconscious. For a moment I frowned at the unfamiliar surroundings, then my brain caught up and I remembered where I was. Syn’s room. I tensed, sitting up slowly and glancing at the other side of the bed. It was empty. I sighed, exhaling my tension. I don’t know why I was so tense. It had all been fine and made sense last night. I guess that I was scared how easy it was for me to fall asleep in Syn’s arms. As my brain slowly woke up, I realised that the noise that had woken me was voices arguing. I stood up and tiptoed carefully over to the door trying to hear who was arguing.
“It would be best if you just went.” That sounded like Zacky. A female voice replied.
“But I wanted to make sure that you were ok baby.” I froze. It was Michelle.
“Don’t call me that Michelle!” Snapped a voice that was distinctly Syn’s. “I don’t need or want you checking in on me.”
“We were so good together. We had a good thing. I love you.” She wheedled. I tried my best to ignore the way that my heart clenched as she said those three words. Syn growled.
“No we weren’t and we didn’t. The sex was good. That’s it. I never loved you Michelle and I never will. You’re a bitch. You don’t care who you hurt as long as you’re getting what you want. I know that you cheated on me at least once and I would put money on it that you did it more than once.”
“It’s her isn’t it?!” Michelle’s voice changed from wheedly to pure spiteful bitch in an instant. “JC. I knew that you left me for her!” He voice was steadily growing in volume. “Fucking bitch!”
“OI! That’s my best friend that you’re talking shit about Michelle!” Replied Zacky, sounding really pissed off. “She’s asleep and hasn’t slept in two days since she heard the news, if you wake her up I am going to be so pissed.” I froze. Two days?? Had it really been two days ago? Had I really not slept in that long?
“Like I fucking care. She stole my boyfriend.” I could feel myself growing angry. What that fuck? When had I stolen Syn? Since when had we been anything other than bickering kind-of-mates? Yeah, ok, I maybe had a slight crush on him, but nothing had happened!
“For fuck’s sake Michelle! I. Did. Not. Leave. You. For. JC. How many times do I have to tell you this? She is a mate, nothing more. You used to be her friend. You slept with her fucking boyfriend to get back at her for something that never even happened! If either of you is a bitch, it’s you!” Syn’s words stung slightly, but I appreciated him standing up for me. I was this close to storming out there and ripping her extensions out. I heard the front door open as someone walked into the house. I hoped for Michelle’s sake that it wasn’t Ash or Johnny.
“MICHELLE!” I sighed in relief at the sound of Val’s voice. “What the hell are you doing?”
“I wanted to make sure that Brian was alright.”
“Bullshit.” Snapped Syn. “You wanted to cause a scene.” He exhaled frustratedly. “Look, my best friend has just died, I am not in the mood to deal with your shit fit over something that never happened. Get the fuck out!”
“Come on Michelle, just leave it. Go.” Said Val. A moment later the door shut. Obviously Val had managed to get Michelle out of the house. Everything was quiet. All I could hear was the indistinct mumbling of Zacky and Syn as they spoke. I glanced back over at the bed. They hadn’t wanted to wake me up or hear that whole conversation, I should go back to bed and pretend to be asleep or only just wake up. But I really needed to pee. And I was hungry. Before I could decide on a course of action and carry it out, there were footsteps on the stairs. A few seconds later the door opened and Syn walked in. He frowned for a minute at the empty bed, then noticed me stood on the other side of the door. He sighed heavily and shut the door.
“Sorry Cait. We didn’t mean to wake you up.” I shook my head.
“It’s fine.” I glanced at the now shut door. “I just didn’t realise that she hated me so much.” When I looked back at Syn, he was scowling at me.
“Cait. She is a bitch.” He stated walking over to me. “She’s jumped to conclusions. Let her. She’s wrong and we know the truth. If she doesn’t realise what a good friend that she’s loosing then it’s her loss. Ignore her. She’s not worth it.” He spoke the last words into my hair as he pulled me into a hug.
“But you dated her for two years Syn.” I was so confused. Surely if they dated for that long, he’d actually like something about her. He wasn’t an overly bitchy guy, even if we did bicker all of the time, and it was unlike him to suddenly start hating someone for no apparent reason. He sighed again.
“Yeah, well we all make mistakes.” My hormones and brain decided to choose that specific moment to notice that he was still only in boxers and still completely shirtless. This realisation was closely followed by the realisation that I was pressed really close to him. I felt my heartbeat start to increase. “I made a mistake and ended up staying with someone that I could never love for two years.” I froze inside. Was he talking about what I thought he was talking about? He looked down, as if he’d only just realised how close we were and stepped back, out of the hug. He sighed and ran a hand through his hair, as he turned his back on me and grabbed a Guns N Roses t-shirt. “Come on. Gena’s making pancakes for us all.” I followed him wordlessly out of the room, my mind still stuck on one thought: Did he really stay with Michelle for that long because I’d turned him down?
I smiled as Cait eventually fell asleep next to me. I’d longed to have her in my arms like this for far too long. Sadness that it was only because of Jimmy’s death cut through me. I couldn’t describe the pain that I felt at losing him. Being with Cait, even just being in the same room as her, seemed to soothe the pain. It reminded me that life would still go on, even if he wasn’t there anymore. I could feel sleep starting to claim me as Cait’s gentle breathing slowly calmed me. A knock at the door startled me out of the sleepy haze.
“Syn, have you seen JC, I can’t…” Johnny walked in through the door, his voice trailing off as he noticed Cait in bed next to me. “What the FUCK?!” I slipped out of bed and walked over to her twin brother, dragging him out of the room before he could wake her up.
“Shh, you’ll wake her up.” I hissed as I pulled the door closed quietly behind us. Johnny looked livid.
“What the fuck Syn?! I ask you to keep an eye on her and you … you…” I cut him off.
“Whoa! Do you seriously think that I would take advantage of her after what’s happened?!” I was starting to get angry. “You should know me better than that Johnny!” Johnny slowly began to calm down.
“You’d better start explaining Gates and fast.”
“Look, it’s very simple. She didn’t want to be alone. Neither did I. All that’s going on in there is sleeping Johnny.” He sighed and turned away.
“Sorry, I shouldn’t have just jumped to conclusions.” I leaned back against the doorframe. Man I was fucking tired. It had been over 36 hours since I’d last slept, almost 48.
“Don’t worry about it. I thought that you were at Lacey’s?”
“I just came home to grab some clothes, I’m gunna stay there for a couple of days. I was going to tell JC and make sure that she’s ok.”
“She’s as fine as she can be Johnny. I’ll take care of her, you stay with Lacey for as long as you need.” I glanced at the closed door. “I’ll call you if she needs you.” Johnny nodded and smiled faintly at me.
“Cheers Syn. I’ll catch ya later.” I smiled back at him and headed back into my room, carefully sliding back into bed next to Cait, careful not to wake her up. It wasn’t long before I was asleep next to her.
~*~
JC POV.
I stirred as a noise crept into my subconscious. For a moment I frowned at the unfamiliar surroundings, then my brain caught up and I remembered where I was. Syn’s room. I tensed, sitting up slowly and glancing at the other side of the bed. It was empty. I sighed, exhaling my tension. I don’t know why I was so tense. It had all been fine and made sense last night. I guess that I was scared how easy it was for me to fall asleep in Syn’s arms. As my brain slowly woke up, I realised that the noise that had woken me was voices arguing. I stood up and tiptoed carefully over to the door trying to hear who was arguing.
“It would be best if you just went.” That sounded like Zacky. A female voice replied.
“But I wanted to make sure that you were ok baby.” I froze. It was Michelle.
“Don’t call me that Michelle!” Snapped a voice that was distinctly Syn’s. “I don’t need or want you checking in on me.”
“We were so good together. We had a good thing. I love you.” She wheedled. I tried my best to ignore the way that my heart clenched as she said those three words. Syn growled.
“No we weren’t and we didn’t. The sex was good. That’s it. I never loved you Michelle and I never will. You’re a bitch. You don’t care who you hurt as long as you’re getting what you want. I know that you cheated on me at least once and I would put money on it that you did it more than once.”
“It’s her isn’t it?!” Michelle’s voice changed from wheedly to pure spiteful bitch in an instant. “JC. I knew that you left me for her!” He voice was steadily growing in volume. “Fucking bitch!”
“OI! That’s my best friend that you’re talking shit about Michelle!” Replied Zacky, sounding really pissed off. “She’s asleep and hasn’t slept in two days since she heard the news, if you wake her up I am going to be so pissed.” I froze. Two days?? Had it really been two days ago? Had I really not slept in that long?
“Like I fucking care. She stole my boyfriend.” I could feel myself growing angry. What that fuck? When had I stolen Syn? Since when had we been anything other than bickering kind-of-mates? Yeah, ok, I maybe had a slight crush on him, but nothing had happened!
“For fuck’s sake Michelle! I. Did. Not. Leave. You. For. JC. How many times do I have to tell you this? She is a mate, nothing more. You used to be her friend. You slept with her fucking boyfriend to get back at her for something that never even happened! If either of you is a bitch, it’s you!” Syn’s words stung slightly, but I appreciated him standing up for me. I was this close to storming out there and ripping her extensions out. I heard the front door open as someone walked into the house. I hoped for Michelle’s sake that it wasn’t Ash or Johnny.
“MICHELLE!” I sighed in relief at the sound of Val’s voice. “What the hell are you doing?”
“I wanted to make sure that Brian was alright.”
“Bullshit.” Snapped Syn. “You wanted to cause a scene.” He exhaled frustratedly. “Look, my best friend has just died, I am not in the mood to deal with your shit fit over something that never happened. Get the fuck out!”
“Come on Michelle, just leave it. Go.” Said Val. A moment later the door shut. Obviously Val had managed to get Michelle out of the house. Everything was quiet. All I could hear was the indistinct mumbling of Zacky and Syn as they spoke. I glanced back over at the bed. They hadn’t wanted to wake me up or hear that whole conversation, I should go back to bed and pretend to be asleep or only just wake up. But I really needed to pee. And I was hungry. Before I could decide on a course of action and carry it out, there were footsteps on the stairs. A few seconds later the door opened and Syn walked in. He frowned for a minute at the empty bed, then noticed me stood on the other side of the door. He sighed heavily and shut the door.
“Sorry Cait. We didn’t mean to wake you up.” I shook my head.
“It’s fine.” I glanced at the now shut door. “I just didn’t realise that she hated me so much.” When I looked back at Syn, he was scowling at me.
“Cait. She is a bitch.” He stated walking over to me. “She’s jumped to conclusions. Let her. She’s wrong and we know the truth. If she doesn’t realise what a good friend that she’s loosing then it’s her loss. Ignore her. She’s not worth it.” He spoke the last words into my hair as he pulled me into a hug.
“But you dated her for two years Syn.” I was so confused. Surely if they dated for that long, he’d actually like something about her. He wasn’t an overly bitchy guy, even if we did bicker all of the time, and it was unlike him to suddenly start hating someone for no apparent reason. He sighed again.
“Yeah, well we all make mistakes.” My hormones and brain decided to choose that specific moment to notice that he was still only in boxers and still completely shirtless. This realisation was closely followed by the realisation that I was pressed really close to him. I felt my heartbeat start to increase. “I made a mistake and ended up staying with someone that I could never love for two years.” I froze inside. Was he talking about what I thought he was talking about? He looked down, as if he’d only just realised how close we were and stepped back, out of the hug. He sighed and ran a hand through his hair, as he turned his back on me and grabbed a Guns N Roses t-shirt. “Come on. Gena’s making pancakes for us all.” I followed him wordlessly out of the room, my mind still stuck on one thought: Did he really stay with Michelle for that long because I’d turned him down?
7/16/13