Perfectly Reckless
Chapter 36
Atlanta, Halestorm’s tour bus, 2013
God knows how nervous I am right now. She didn’t tell her band mates about us yet, and to be honest I’m a little pissed about it. But knowing that it could be a complicated matter for her, I totally understand. In fact, I suggested that I’m going to take her to their bus and confront the guys about this. Especially Joe.
And now here I am, standing in front of their bus with Lzzy and Joanna in her arms waiting for their bus driver to open the door.
“RJ’s not around, so I guess you’re gonna be seeing only Josh and Joe. Well the two J’s in my band. Both are like living in the opposite world. Josh is a little bit like Brian but only he plays bass. And Joe is sweet like Johnny. That’s why I feel comfortable being around them.”
“And you? You’re like who?” I teased, brushing my lips on her cheeks. She rubbed Joanna’s back nervously and I felt her cheeks blushed.
“I’m like the female you.”
Ahh, that’s an answer I would like to hear. The door opened seconds after with their driver apologized to her repeatedly. She smiled at him and told him there’s no big deal. Yeah man, no big deal. It gave me time to relax a little anyway.
As soon as I stepped in, I noticed that their bus was smaller than us. Only five medium sized bunks and the back room was diverted into a TV and instruments room. The first person to greet me was; their tour manager.
“Hey, Shepherd of Fire!” she squealed and both Lzzy and I blushed awkwardly.
“Um, Wesley…his name is Matt.”
“Oh..yeah. Sorry I tend to forget the names if I get too distracted with their looks. Who’s this kid?”
“Joanna. RJ’s daughter. You haven’t met her yet, right?”
“No I haven’t. Aww..she’s so cute..she looks just like you Lzzy.”
“You mean, she looks like RJ?”
“Either way. Here, let me put her into your bunk.”
“Oh, nevermind. We’re going to have breakfast anyway. Where’s Joe? And Josh?”
“At the back.”
I stood there listening to their conversation without having the intention to breach in but after Wesley pointed towards the back room, Josh emerged from it. Grinning widely when he saw Joanna but then his face changed when my tall height caught his gaze.
“Matt? Wow, it’s been a while! What brings you here to our humble bus?”
I shook his hand and bro-hugged him. “We parked nearby. The guys are coming to say hi. But they are still groggy so I guess in another 20 minutes they’ll come knocking.”
“Hey, welcome aboard! We’re actually set to have some breakfast. You wanna come?”
“We’re planning on it anyway. But sure.”
Josh nodded but then he gave me the stare. The ‘in-laws’ stare. He narrowed his eyes to me while Lzzy chuckled and went past him to get into the bathroom with Joanna.
“Why was she with you?”
“Who?”
“Lzzy. Why did she come with you?”
Oh shit. THE QUESTIONS are coming, I can feel it. This is so dejavu, so like when I was meeting Val’s family when I asked for her hand in marriage.
“We..met at the airport. She didn’t have a ride back so I offered her.”
Josh raised his eyebrows and felt satisfied with my answer. I was letting out a relieved sigh when I suddenly saw Joe stood right behind Josh with his arms crossed over his chest.
“You’re fucking Lzzy, aren’t you?” his eyes glared at me like he was about to breathe fire.
“Hey, man. I NEVER look at it that way. We-”
“How long have you been fucking her?”
I shut my eyes tightly as the tension in this room rose up to a maximum level. The four of us including their tour manager stood in silence as Joe and I was having a glaring contest. Lzzy came out of the bathroom with Joanna, both freshly showered. She blinked at us awkwardly.
“Whaaa….what’s going on guys?”
I took a deep breath and said what I needed to say ever since I dated Lzzy. “Joe, we need to talk.”
~*.*~
Joe lit up his cigarette when we’re both outside of their bus and I was itching to ask for a stick. But I quit smoking long time ago, after River was born.
“You said you needed to talk. So talk.”
I took a deep breath as he exhaled the smoke from his nostrils.
“Look, Joe. Lzzy is an amazing woman. I knew that from the first time I’ve known her. But the Matt 10 years ago was an asshole. I shouldn’t have hurt her like that-”
“Damn right you shouldn’t. So what gives? You wanna say sorry and take her back?”
I couldn’t help but suppressed a smile. “Actually, I’m already dating her.”
“What?”
“We’re dating now.”
“Since when?”
“Since…after Rock on The Range.”
He looked so shocked that his cigarette fell from his mouth to the ground.
“Right after we broke up?”
“Yeah. Man, I’m sorry if you ever feel bad. But believe me. I’m gonna treat her right from now on. To me she’s always the one. It’s only a matter of time I realized that.”
Suddenly Joe took a hasty step closer and grabbed my collar. I’m way bigger than him but he managed to get me flinched and a little intimidated by his action.
“Listen here, Shadows. If you hurt her even by a hair strand, again, I swear I’m going to kill you.”
I blinked at him and opened my mouth to say something. But we were interrupted all of a sudden.
“Joe, stop it you asshole!”
Lzzy broke us apart and stood in front of me, trying to protect but failed at it since I was taller and bigger than her.
“You’re already with Wesley. Why do you need to complicate this?”
Joe looked surprised and ran his eyes from both Lzzy and me.
“Wesley told me your date went well. You even kissed her. What’s with the fighting now?”
“Hey, babe. Um, we didn’t fight. It’s just…” I looked at Joe. He was waiting for my words. “..a manly way to discuss things. Ain’t that right, dude?” I nudged him with my fist and he chuckled nervously.
“Yeah Lzzy. I was just telling him to make you happy. You guys finally found each other.”
Lzzy narrowed her eyes at us. “Hmm…really?”
“Yeah, babe. Really. Come on, let us all get breakfast together.”
~*.*~
I can’t help but notice that Joanna is the cutest baby girl I’ve ever seen. She reminded me so much of my son back home. I wonder how is he doing in Huntington with Val. Did she ever get drunk in front of him again? During long tours like these he would occasionally being taken care of by my parents instead of just Val. Besides, Val is too busy being an outgoing woman than a single mother. Shit, if only I could take him on tour like I used to.
I smiled at Joanna who was now drinking her smoothie and stared at me with her two adorable round eyes. Both Avenged Sevenfold and Halestorm were now out having a breakfast in the nearest restaurant. We caught up with some old stories and new ones as Lzzy sat next to me, her legs rested on top of mine but under the table. My hand rubbed on her thigh softly as she talked animatedly about their encounter with the founder of Megadeth and how Josh came to be their bassist.
“See Johnny, bass player doesn’t need to show off. Even when he is 3 feet taller than you. Did you guys know, our stage caught fire one time, Johnny burned his leg and we had to cut him off. So he went from 6 foot 9 to 4 foot 2.”
The table exploded with laughter as Brian mocked Johnny with his favorite choice of topic ever; his height.
“Yeah yeah, fuck you Gates. Speak for yourself. I don’t see Joe showing off his guitar skill.”
“Ha! No offense Joe, but that’s cause he doesn’t have these fingers…” Brian wiggled both of his hands and made everyone at the table laughed again. Even Joe. He was wrapping one arm around their tour manager who stared at us with her exciting blue eyes.
“Oh but you shouldn’t give that much credit to Josh. He shows off, oh yeah he does. Only in front of you guys, he’s being..well shy.” Lzzy said from next to me, leaning forward until her hair rustled against my face. God she smelled so good.
“Well, there goes my dignity.” Josh mumbled and we laughed again. Yeah, he totally reminded me of Brian.
“Hey baby.” When the table roared with groans and more laughter after Arin spilled his drink, I turned to Lzzy and brushed my lips on her cheek.
“Yeah?” she giggled.
“Come with me?”
“Where to?”
I chuckled and kissed her ear. “Grocery shopping, remember? For my bus.”
“Oh yeah. Okay. Can we bring Joanna?”
“Of course. How long do you have to babysit her?”
“Until my brother gets back.”
“Ha. Something tells me it’s gonna be a long time.”
God knows how nervous I am right now. She didn’t tell her band mates about us yet, and to be honest I’m a little pissed about it. But knowing that it could be a complicated matter for her, I totally understand. In fact, I suggested that I’m going to take her to their bus and confront the guys about this. Especially Joe.
And now here I am, standing in front of their bus with Lzzy and Joanna in her arms waiting for their bus driver to open the door.
“RJ’s not around, so I guess you’re gonna be seeing only Josh and Joe. Well the two J’s in my band. Both are like living in the opposite world. Josh is a little bit like Brian but only he plays bass. And Joe is sweet like Johnny. That’s why I feel comfortable being around them.”
“And you? You’re like who?” I teased, brushing my lips on her cheeks. She rubbed Joanna’s back nervously and I felt her cheeks blushed.
“I’m like the female you.”
Ahh, that’s an answer I would like to hear. The door opened seconds after with their driver apologized to her repeatedly. She smiled at him and told him there’s no big deal. Yeah man, no big deal. It gave me time to relax a little anyway.
As soon as I stepped in, I noticed that their bus was smaller than us. Only five medium sized bunks and the back room was diverted into a TV and instruments room. The first person to greet me was; their tour manager.
“Hey, Shepherd of Fire!” she squealed and both Lzzy and I blushed awkwardly.
“Um, Wesley…his name is Matt.”
“Oh..yeah. Sorry I tend to forget the names if I get too distracted with their looks. Who’s this kid?”
“Joanna. RJ’s daughter. You haven’t met her yet, right?”
“No I haven’t. Aww..she’s so cute..she looks just like you Lzzy.”
“You mean, she looks like RJ?”
“Either way. Here, let me put her into your bunk.”
“Oh, nevermind. We’re going to have breakfast anyway. Where’s Joe? And Josh?”
“At the back.”
I stood there listening to their conversation without having the intention to breach in but after Wesley pointed towards the back room, Josh emerged from it. Grinning widely when he saw Joanna but then his face changed when my tall height caught his gaze.
“Matt? Wow, it’s been a while! What brings you here to our humble bus?”
I shook his hand and bro-hugged him. “We parked nearby. The guys are coming to say hi. But they are still groggy so I guess in another 20 minutes they’ll come knocking.”
“Hey, welcome aboard! We’re actually set to have some breakfast. You wanna come?”
“We’re planning on it anyway. But sure.”
Josh nodded but then he gave me the stare. The ‘in-laws’ stare. He narrowed his eyes to me while Lzzy chuckled and went past him to get into the bathroom with Joanna.
“Why was she with you?”
“Who?”
“Lzzy. Why did she come with you?”
Oh shit. THE QUESTIONS are coming, I can feel it. This is so dejavu, so like when I was meeting Val’s family when I asked for her hand in marriage.
“We..met at the airport. She didn’t have a ride back so I offered her.”
Josh raised his eyebrows and felt satisfied with my answer. I was letting out a relieved sigh when I suddenly saw Joe stood right behind Josh with his arms crossed over his chest.
“You’re fucking Lzzy, aren’t you?” his eyes glared at me like he was about to breathe fire.
“Hey, man. I NEVER look at it that way. We-”
“How long have you been fucking her?”
I shut my eyes tightly as the tension in this room rose up to a maximum level. The four of us including their tour manager stood in silence as Joe and I was having a glaring contest. Lzzy came out of the bathroom with Joanna, both freshly showered. She blinked at us awkwardly.
“Whaaa….what’s going on guys?”
I took a deep breath and said what I needed to say ever since I dated Lzzy. “Joe, we need to talk.”
~*.*~
Joe lit up his cigarette when we’re both outside of their bus and I was itching to ask for a stick. But I quit smoking long time ago, after River was born.
“You said you needed to talk. So talk.”
I took a deep breath as he exhaled the smoke from his nostrils.
“Look, Joe. Lzzy is an amazing woman. I knew that from the first time I’ve known her. But the Matt 10 years ago was an asshole. I shouldn’t have hurt her like that-”
“Damn right you shouldn’t. So what gives? You wanna say sorry and take her back?”
I couldn’t help but suppressed a smile. “Actually, I’m already dating her.”
“What?”
“We’re dating now.”
“Since when?”
“Since…after Rock on The Range.”
He looked so shocked that his cigarette fell from his mouth to the ground.
“Right after we broke up?”
“Yeah. Man, I’m sorry if you ever feel bad. But believe me. I’m gonna treat her right from now on. To me she’s always the one. It’s only a matter of time I realized that.”
Suddenly Joe took a hasty step closer and grabbed my collar. I’m way bigger than him but he managed to get me flinched and a little intimidated by his action.
“Listen here, Shadows. If you hurt her even by a hair strand, again, I swear I’m going to kill you.”
I blinked at him and opened my mouth to say something. But we were interrupted all of a sudden.
“Joe, stop it you asshole!”
Lzzy broke us apart and stood in front of me, trying to protect but failed at it since I was taller and bigger than her.
“You’re already with Wesley. Why do you need to complicate this?”
Joe looked surprised and ran his eyes from both Lzzy and me.
“Wesley told me your date went well. You even kissed her. What’s with the fighting now?”
“Hey, babe. Um, we didn’t fight. It’s just…” I looked at Joe. He was waiting for my words. “..a manly way to discuss things. Ain’t that right, dude?” I nudged him with my fist and he chuckled nervously.
“Yeah Lzzy. I was just telling him to make you happy. You guys finally found each other.”
Lzzy narrowed her eyes at us. “Hmm…really?”
“Yeah, babe. Really. Come on, let us all get breakfast together.”
~*.*~
I can’t help but notice that Joanna is the cutest baby girl I’ve ever seen. She reminded me so much of my son back home. I wonder how is he doing in Huntington with Val. Did she ever get drunk in front of him again? During long tours like these he would occasionally being taken care of by my parents instead of just Val. Besides, Val is too busy being an outgoing woman than a single mother. Shit, if only I could take him on tour like I used to.
I smiled at Joanna who was now drinking her smoothie and stared at me with her two adorable round eyes. Both Avenged Sevenfold and Halestorm were now out having a breakfast in the nearest restaurant. We caught up with some old stories and new ones as Lzzy sat next to me, her legs rested on top of mine but under the table. My hand rubbed on her thigh softly as she talked animatedly about their encounter with the founder of Megadeth and how Josh came to be their bassist.
“See Johnny, bass player doesn’t need to show off. Even when he is 3 feet taller than you. Did you guys know, our stage caught fire one time, Johnny burned his leg and we had to cut him off. So he went from 6 foot 9 to 4 foot 2.”
The table exploded with laughter as Brian mocked Johnny with his favorite choice of topic ever; his height.
“Yeah yeah, fuck you Gates. Speak for yourself. I don’t see Joe showing off his guitar skill.”
“Ha! No offense Joe, but that’s cause he doesn’t have these fingers…” Brian wiggled both of his hands and made everyone at the table laughed again. Even Joe. He was wrapping one arm around their tour manager who stared at us with her exciting blue eyes.
“Oh but you shouldn’t give that much credit to Josh. He shows off, oh yeah he does. Only in front of you guys, he’s being..well shy.” Lzzy said from next to me, leaning forward until her hair rustled against my face. God she smelled so good.
“Well, there goes my dignity.” Josh mumbled and we laughed again. Yeah, he totally reminded me of Brian.
“Hey baby.” When the table roared with groans and more laughter after Arin spilled his drink, I turned to Lzzy and brushed my lips on her cheek.
“Yeah?” she giggled.
“Come with me?”
“Where to?”
I chuckled and kissed her ear. “Grocery shopping, remember? For my bus.”
“Oh yeah. Okay. Can we bring Joanna?”
“Of course. How long do you have to babysit her?”
“Until my brother gets back.”
“Ha. Something tells me it’s gonna be a long time.”
Notes
A/N: the picture of that adorable kid is Copeland Quinn, daughter of Kellin Quinn of Sleeping With Sirens...
i just love that kid! <3
@RyeBellamy
You're very welcome
7/29/18