Come Back to Me
I
"Oh, come on, Dami," my brother groaned as I kissed his cheek – or tried to. A foot difference and him pulling away made it damn near impossible.
"Shut up, Jim-bone. If you think this is bad, wait till Mom gets home. She's been miserable without you. I was the reason she let you go. I begged her. So you owe me."
"I played a part in that."
"Not much. Now shush and go. I wanna talk to the others without brotherly protection. Or brotherly interruption. Got it?"
"Damn. You're only nineteen, and I'm still taking orders from you."
"It's 'cause you love me. Now go."
He turned and went upstairs, grumbling. I faced the others with a smile on my face. It was then that I took a moment to examine them. It had been almost five months since I’d last seen them; not much had changed, minus the slight overgrowth of facial hair that they hadn’t taken the time to shave before coming over. Johnny grinned up at me, and I plopped down on his lap.
“How’s the life of our dear gnome?”
“It’s going alright. I’m just glad we’re back. I missed you. I had no one to pick on while we were gone.”
“I missed you, too, Shorty.”
“Besides, we all could have really used you on this tour.”
I raised an eyebrow. “And why is that?”
Even a blind person would have been unable to miss the glare that Brian shot at the bassist; he hesitated, shifted in the chair, and pushed the hair out of his face. "Well, uh, I'm single again."
"Hannah not your cup o' tea?"
He grimaced. "Far from it."
"What happened?"
"We weren't compatible." The tone of his voice let me know he would eventually explain it all to me. I was still slightly taken aback by the dark distaste on his face. "So, Miss Plague, what about you? How've you been?"
"Without my boys? Hell, I've been lost. Literally. Lost my job, lost my car, lost my boyfriend, lost my house."
"Hence, why you're back at home.”
“Pretty much,” I shrugged.
"Why'd you and Carter split?" Zacky asked, words muffled by the huge bite of ice cream sandwich in his mouth.
"First off, stay out of my ice cream sammiches. Second, stay out of my business. Third, who said you could eat my ice cream sammiches?"
"First, sorry. Second, fine, be mean. Third, I said I could."
"What do you mean 'without my boys, I was lost?'" Matt questioned, and I averted my gaze to him almost uncomfortably.
"Well, when you were here, Jims made me go to work, Carter knew how to treat me because you all intimidated the Hell out of him, and you would remind me when to pay my bills. Also, I was sure of everything I did. When y'all left, I was sure of only one thing I did, and that was fuck up. No matter what, I always did something wrong."
I knew my explanation made me seem like an immature, irresponsible little brat, but I had a horrible memory. I could barely remember my phone number, let alone a week’s worth of work shifts. Due dates for bills were normally tacked to the wall by my fridge in my apartment – like that ever helped me to remember to actually look at the calendar. I’d told the truth about Carter. He was genuinely terrified of the guys, knowing if he even so much as said something to upset me, my brother would be the first in line to rectify the situation. And he'd taken less than a week to take advantage of the fact that they were all gone: The breakup still rang clear in my mind; it certainly wasn't the smoothest or least painful anyone had ever gone through. Johnny’s sudden announcement jolted me from my thoughts.
"I say we go party. Get Ms. Pessimist back to the optimistic side."
"For a pessimist, I'm quite the optimist."
Everybody laughed, and I headed up to my room to change into something more appropriate for a night out. The guys were apparently going to take turns in the bathroom, shaving off their beards and freshening up. I pulled out a red corset with a black, lacy design all over the front; black, lacy ruffles on the hems; and silver clasps up the front, that tied at the top with black ribbons. Once I set that on my bed, I grabbed my favourite pair of black skinny jeans that bore rips in the knees and a black, leather cropped jacket. I quickly dressed before sliding my feet into red strappy heels. I gazed into the mirror as I finished up my makeup. My silver Snoopy necklace that Jimmy had gotten me for my birthday a few years back nestled itself soothingly against my chest, and I grinned. A knock sounded at my bedroom door, and my older brother poked his head inside.
“Ready?”
“Of course!”
Johnny and Brian slid into my car, and I started it up while waiting for Jimmy’s SUV to pull out of the driveway. The ride to the 18-and-up club took little to no time, especially with the guys playing air instruments along to Iron Maiden and me belting out the lyrics as loud as I could. The bouncer at the door glanced at my ID and nodded his head toward the door. I smiled widely at the knowledge that I was going to be able to drink tonight if I so chose. Though I was underage, being with a group of so-called responsible adults had its benefits. Most of the staff knew that my brother and friends would keep my drinking to a minimum and would be responsible for me.
The loud music immediately began throbbing against my ears, and I followed Matt to a table in the back. I knew Johnny and Jimmy had gone to the bar to pick up the drinks, but where the other two had disappeared to was a mystery. Matt pulled me in for a one-armed hug after we’d sat down.
“It’s great to see you, Dami.”
“I really missed you all. It’s been so hectic and crazy and lonesome with you guys gone.”
He nodded and squeezed me gently. “So when are you going to drag my ass out onto the dance floor?”
“As soon as I’ve had my first drink.”
We were still laughing when our drinks arrived at the table. Jimmy barely managed a confused look before he’d swallowed his shot and smiled an infectious grin at us. I knew then that the party had just begun.
"Shut up, Jim-bone. If you think this is bad, wait till Mom gets home. She's been miserable without you. I was the reason she let you go. I begged her. So you owe me."
"I played a part in that."
"Not much. Now shush and go. I wanna talk to the others without brotherly protection. Or brotherly interruption. Got it?"
"Damn. You're only nineteen, and I'm still taking orders from you."
"It's 'cause you love me. Now go."
He turned and went upstairs, grumbling. I faced the others with a smile on my face. It was then that I took a moment to examine them. It had been almost five months since I’d last seen them; not much had changed, minus the slight overgrowth of facial hair that they hadn’t taken the time to shave before coming over. Johnny grinned up at me, and I plopped down on his lap.
“How’s the life of our dear gnome?”
“It’s going alright. I’m just glad we’re back. I missed you. I had no one to pick on while we were gone.”
“I missed you, too, Shorty.”
“Besides, we all could have really used you on this tour.”
I raised an eyebrow. “And why is that?”
Even a blind person would have been unable to miss the glare that Brian shot at the bassist; he hesitated, shifted in the chair, and pushed the hair out of his face. "Well, uh, I'm single again."
"Hannah not your cup o' tea?"
He grimaced. "Far from it."
"What happened?"
"We weren't compatible." The tone of his voice let me know he would eventually explain it all to me. I was still slightly taken aback by the dark distaste on his face. "So, Miss Plague, what about you? How've you been?"
"Without my boys? Hell, I've been lost. Literally. Lost my job, lost my car, lost my boyfriend, lost my house."
"Hence, why you're back at home.”
“Pretty much,” I shrugged.
"Why'd you and Carter split?" Zacky asked, words muffled by the huge bite of ice cream sandwich in his mouth.
"First off, stay out of my ice cream sammiches. Second, stay out of my business. Third, who said you could eat my ice cream sammiches?"
"First, sorry. Second, fine, be mean. Third, I said I could."
"What do you mean 'without my boys, I was lost?'" Matt questioned, and I averted my gaze to him almost uncomfortably.
"Well, when you were here, Jims made me go to work, Carter knew how to treat me because you all intimidated the Hell out of him, and you would remind me when to pay my bills. Also, I was sure of everything I did. When y'all left, I was sure of only one thing I did, and that was fuck up. No matter what, I always did something wrong."
I knew my explanation made me seem like an immature, irresponsible little brat, but I had a horrible memory. I could barely remember my phone number, let alone a week’s worth of work shifts. Due dates for bills were normally tacked to the wall by my fridge in my apartment – like that ever helped me to remember to actually look at the calendar. I’d told the truth about Carter. He was genuinely terrified of the guys, knowing if he even so much as said something to upset me, my brother would be the first in line to rectify the situation. And he'd taken less than a week to take advantage of the fact that they were all gone: The breakup still rang clear in my mind; it certainly wasn't the smoothest or least painful anyone had ever gone through. Johnny’s sudden announcement jolted me from my thoughts.
"I say we go party. Get Ms. Pessimist back to the optimistic side."
"For a pessimist, I'm quite the optimist."
Everybody laughed, and I headed up to my room to change into something more appropriate for a night out. The guys were apparently going to take turns in the bathroom, shaving off their beards and freshening up. I pulled out a red corset with a black, lacy design all over the front; black, lacy ruffles on the hems; and silver clasps up the front, that tied at the top with black ribbons. Once I set that on my bed, I grabbed my favourite pair of black skinny jeans that bore rips in the knees and a black, leather cropped jacket. I quickly dressed before sliding my feet into red strappy heels. I gazed into the mirror as I finished up my makeup. My silver Snoopy necklace that Jimmy had gotten me for my birthday a few years back nestled itself soothingly against my chest, and I grinned. A knock sounded at my bedroom door, and my older brother poked his head inside.
“Ready?”
“Of course!”
Johnny and Brian slid into my car, and I started it up while waiting for Jimmy’s SUV to pull out of the driveway. The ride to the 18-and-up club took little to no time, especially with the guys playing air instruments along to Iron Maiden and me belting out the lyrics as loud as I could. The bouncer at the door glanced at my ID and nodded his head toward the door. I smiled widely at the knowledge that I was going to be able to drink tonight if I so chose. Though I was underage, being with a group of so-called responsible adults had its benefits. Most of the staff knew that my brother and friends would keep my drinking to a minimum and would be responsible for me.
The loud music immediately began throbbing against my ears, and I followed Matt to a table in the back. I knew Johnny and Jimmy had gone to the bar to pick up the drinks, but where the other two had disappeared to was a mystery. Matt pulled me in for a one-armed hug after we’d sat down.
“It’s great to see you, Dami.”
“I really missed you all. It’s been so hectic and crazy and lonesome with you guys gone.”
He nodded and squeezed me gently. “So when are you going to drag my ass out onto the dance floor?”
“As soon as I’ve had my first drink.”
We were still laughing when our drinks arrived at the table. Jimmy barely managed a confused look before he’d swallowed his shot and smiled an infectious grin at us. I knew then that the party had just begun.
4/7/13