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Runaway

The Fight


***Z’s POV****

This had to be in top 5 biggest “oh shit” moments of my life. She didn’t deserve this.

Instinctively, I stepped between the two women. My eyes darted between Brian and Michelle as they both furrowed their brows at me. My palms were sweating, my heart racing. What could I say? This isn’t what it looks like? But it was exactly what it looked like.

Michelle climbed in the SUV with Nicci and slammed the door. Syn gave a long sigh and looked flatly at me...and my...girlfriend? What the hell was she?

“What the fuck is she doing here?” He hissed.
“Hey! This may not have been the best idea, but don't talk about her like she’s not here,” I angrily stood my ground.
His eyes drifted over to her, hands on his hips, “That’s not what I meant, Violet.” Brian turned back to me, “Like I don’t have enough shit to deal with right now. Jesus.” He scraped a hand down his face dramatically, “I will do my best to calm her down on the way home, but both of you,” He pointed to each of us, “Should follow us home and explain yourselves. Maybe, maybe, we can talk her into keeping this between us.”

Brian didn’t wait for an answer, just stormed off into the vehicle. Hesitantly, I turned my gaze to the woman taking the brunt of this entire debacle. Yep, she had tears in her eyes and I felt like such an asshole. For bringing her here, for fucking up her life.

“Vi, I don’t know what to say. I’m so sorry…” I sighed defeatedly.
She squared her shoulders and took a deep breath, steeling herself, “I’m fine, Zack.”

We held hands during the completely silent drive. I hadn’t realized it until then, but I’d been taking for granted that this would all perfectly work itself out. I could have just waited--waited until this blew over, waited until my divorce was final, waited until Meaghan would be okay with this, but no. I had to push her, I had to continually show up at her doorstep. I couldn’t stay away, and she was going to be the one hated in this situation. The girls would never look at her the same way, she’d lose all the friends she’d just made. Fuck, I had to find a way to fix this and fast.

When we parked in front of Brian’s house, I squeezed her hand as our eyes met, “I’ll fix this, Violet. Don’t worry.”
Her eyes narrowed, “I fucked up, too, Zack. We fix this.”
I nodded with a faint smile. Tenacity had to be her middle name, and I loved it.

The moment we walked in, Brian took Ness out of my arms, “Hey, little guy. Wanna play over here? Look, here’s some of your favorite animals…”
We stood awkwardly around the living room, able to see where Tennessee played near us as we waited for Michelle to put their new baby down.

“She is now also pissed at me, thank you very much,” Brian folded his arms and glared at me.
“You? Why you?”
“Because I knew and didn’t tell her. She has every right to be mad at each and every one of us, so I have no idea what the fuck you’re going to say. All I can do is apparently make her more angry,” Syn was pretty mad, unlike I’d seen him in a long time.

“I’m sorry I put you in this position, Bri--”
“What the fuck are they doing here?!” Michelle reappeared and stormed towards us, face contorted in anger, turning to Gates, “Did you tell them they could be here??”

“Mich!! Just listen to me, please, hon--” I walked towards her and got her finger in my chest.
“Don’t honey me, Zack! You cheated on your wife, with her!!” She pointed at my lover before firing her eyes towards her, “And you, Violet. You’ve got alotta nerve. How long has this been going on, hm?” Now she was getting sassy, hands at her hips as she looked in between us. As Violet tried to step up, I shielded her and did my best to speak first. I raised my voice enough to hopefully make her listen without sounding unjustly angry.

“Just listen, Mich!! Don’t judge me until you have the whole story, and don’t judge her at all!!” My brows pulled down as she calmed barely and folded her arms, indicating she would at least listen, “Our marriage was over awhile ago--”
“I saw you two in Europe!! Don’t tell me that was just the baby!!” She fired.
“Well it was! That, and being in some of the most romantic places on earth! The second she miscarried, we fell apart. She shut me out. Maybe I overreacted by going to Violet, but it’s probably all for the best. That baby would have been born into an unhealthy, failing marriage and Ness would just have to grow up even more watching one fail. I’m not justifying what I did--”
“Sure sounds like it! Was that the first time?”

I tried to answer right away, but I couldn’t, any words freezing in my throat--which partly answered her question in itself. In my pause, Violet started before I could stop her.

“We met before any of you guys met me. It was fully meant to be a one time thing, two lost souls comforting one another. We both made it clear this couldn’t turn into an affair, couldn’t be anything. Zack told me he wanted to make it work with Meaghan, and for weeks and weeks--he stayed true to that...and I met the rest of you.” Her eyes fell as I watched her regretfully. But she was strong and raised them again, “I didn’t mean for it to get so complicated, so many lies. But I didn’t want to turn away Meaghan’s friendship, and I figured at the time what Zack and I had done would always stay just what it had been and there was no reason to say anything about just one night. So I did my best to move on. Megs asked me to model, you guys kept inviting me to stuff--I didn’t want to be ru--”

“I can’t listen to this.” Michelle’s voice wasn’t as loud, but was just as angry as she chided her, “We invited you into our homes, Violet. You know intimate details about each and every one of us. Is that what this is to you? Some groupie’s dream come true?”

“Michelle!!” I bellowed at her as I stepped between the two women again. Violet’s mouth dropped in shock as Chelle’s eyes stayed narrowed. Before I could go on, Ness started crying at our outbursts. When I turned my head towards him, he had half-crawled, half-walked towards us and stood there with little outstretched hands--towards Violet.

She scooped him up and held him close, seemingly trying to soothe herself as much as my kid. I took a deep breath and patted his back before kissing each of them and turning back around. I was so angry I couldn’t see straight. I seriously feared I’d say something I couldn’t take back, but fuck if I gave a shit.

Pointing a finger at my best friend’s wife, also one of my best friends, I seethed, “Don’t you dare, Michelle. I feel something for Violet unlike anything I’ve felt before. It’s nothing like what I felt for my past wives, and it’s been there since the moment I laid eyes on her--and only gotten stronger the more I get to know her. We fucked up, but I don’t believe it’s a fuckup that everyone has to know about. Don’t forget that you were once traipsing around the country, hoping a young guitarist would fall for you.”

Violet stepped up next to me, much calmer than I would have been in her shoes, “Michelle…” Her eyes moved to Syn, who was now standing beside his wife, “Brian...I know this might be hard to believe, but...I really do like Zack for who he is, not because he’s famous, or a guitarist. Before I moved here...I didn’t have a thing for Zack. I thought he was cute, but all of you guys are cute. I respect all of you as artists, but I didn’t fall for Zack...well, until that first drink we had together, that first conversation, that first time in bed. Michelle, I respect the fuck out of you and I don’t blame you for being mad, but I didn’t deserve that.”

She stood her ground and I turned my head to lift a brow at her, impressed. Well, damn.

When I looked back at Michelle, the twin had her eyes narrowed, but also had her tongue in her cheek, “....maybe not.” As she sized Vi up with her eyes, Brian stepped a tad closer.

The threatening, questioning look in his eyes gave me serious pause.

“You think she knows you? Likes you for who you ‘really are’?” His crossed arms tensed as he sneered.
My first reaction was to laugh at him and reassure him that yes, she did. Then my heart stopped as I realized what he was getting at. He wouldn’t. There was no way he was this mean, this callous.

“Brian--don’t.” I stepped closer, my folded arms also tensing now as my eyes flashed in warning up into his.
“Why not? Afraid she’ll never accept you?” His voice began to raise. Unfolding his arms, he pointed at me, pointed at the metaphorical “me” she undoubtedly would not be able to accept.

My eyes watered and I shoved two hands at his chest, “Bri, I swear to fuck if you don’t shut the fuck up right--”
“Does she know that you never loved Gena? That you never loved Meaghan? That you can’t love anyone?"
My fist connected with his perfect jawline and the second he hit the floor, I was straddling his chest, balling my fists into his shirt as my world went red with pure rage and panic, “How fucking dare you? We’re supposed to be brothers!”

Unfortunately, Brian’s decently bigger than I am, so it wasn’t long before I was the one on the floor, both my wrists held tight in his hands as I struggled. It was useless, though, and soon I was just glaring at him, sadder and angrier than I’d been possibly ever in my life--not wanting to lose the woman I cared so deeply for. Loved, no. But what did that matter, if she never wanted to be tied down anyway?

Synyster yanked me to my feet and pointed me towards her so we’d have to look at each other. I’m sure I looked like the sheep I felt like. I swallowed hard. The look in her beautiful eyes made my stomach fall through the floor. They were wide, scared. Dammit, I was supposed to fix this, not make is worse.

“I saw the thing between the two of you the second he introduced me to you that night at the bar. The second you walked off, I asked about you because I know my best friend pretty fucking well. Then over the following couple of months I’ve had to watch this shit unfold--what you do to him, what he does to you,” He kept his long fingers on my shoulders as he spoke to Violet, Ness still on her hip. Then he let go and stood next to me, “You claim she’s pretty special, and based on who you two are around one another, I gather you’re right. You wanna try and tell me she doesn’t deserve to know?” He was folding his arms again now. I think he may have been enjoying himself, the fucker.

The other two melted away as I met Violet’s eyes again and stepped closer to her, “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you, Vi. That was selfish of me. I guess I told myself you didn’t want commitment, so it didn’t matter.” I wanted to take her in my arms and kiss her until she felt better, but I knew for once that wouldn’t work.
Her eyes searched mine, “You...you don’t love? Anyone?”

Brian hadn’t moved and helped me out. Again.
“As far as we’ve been able to tell, he loves us. His band members. And that’s it. Although it’s most likely a woman thing. We’re not sure why. Took a long time to figure out, but that’s the real reason him and Gena broke up. Now Meaghan,” He drummed his fingers against his mouth thoughtfully, “Now that I think about it, kind of explains your experimentation with Matt, honestly.” He shrugged and backed off and I rolled my eyes. As I opened my mouth to continue, Syn yammered on, once again helping me out as he pulled his wife into his arms--both of them facing us, “What do you say, honey? Give them a chance to work this out on their own?”

A small smile ghosted the edge of Michelle’s mouth and eventually she pulled away from Brian and came up next to us, “What you guys did was wrong, and all that, but I do see what Syn’s talking about. If this blows up in your face, though, I had no idea, got it?” We all laughed lightly and nodded.

I kissed the blonde’s cheek, “Thanks for understanding, Mich.” Giving her a quick hug, I turned to Violet, “Let me take you home, so we can talk?”

*****Vi’s POV****

To say I was confused would be the understatement of the century. I was completely numb--silent the entire drive back to my place. Anytime I tried to stretch my mind enough to understand any of what I was feeling, I felt like a rubber band that was snapped back in place after being pulled too far.

I should be livid, right? If for no other reason than the fact that he kept this from me? But...on the other hand...was he right? Did it really matter? Is that why I wasn’t yelling his head off right now?

We skulked into my place and I sighed, “Zack, my place isn’t exactly baby-proofed.”

He smiled sadly, “Don’t worry, Violet, I’ll watch out for him. He does need to eat something, though. Can he sit in your lap while I feed him?”

I couldn’t help but smile genuinely at that thought, “Sure.” Zacky handed over Ness and started getting all kinds of things out of his bag--a bib, food, utensils, a cup. How people did this baby stuff I’d never know.

I watched the guitarist closely as he fed Tennessee. Good thing I wasn’t really mad at him, because it would have been downright impossible to stay that way. He was transfixed by his son--falling into the odd world that was feeding a young toddler. Full of imagination and phrases that don’t make sense. The beautiful green eyes lit up along with his cherub cheeks that were only slightly hidden by the short-cropped, heavenly beard.

Eventually he refused to eat anymore and Zacky moved him to the small space in front of my tv and gave him some toys to play with. When he sat next to me on the couch, he slumped back into it, just like I was. I nervously stared down at my hands until he was hooking a finger under my chin and forcing me to stare down those viridian abysses.

“Tell me what you’re thinking, Vi.”

I tried to swallow the lump in my throat, “You must’ve told them hundreds of times you loved them…”
“Yeah…”
“And you never meant it?”
“To be fair...for a long time I thought I meant it with Gena. It wasn’t until a drug-induced haze of a conversation with Gates that we had any idea I didn’t. They always thought I didn’t treat Gena good enough, so Brian finally asked about it while we were high and he got a brutally honest answer. That I cared for Gena, but at the end of the day, if she left me...I wouldn’t really care.”

“Did...you think Meaghan would be different…?” Her mentioning how distant he was during sex flitted through my mind. And that’s what didn’t add up. The sex. Our sex. Before he could answer my first question, I locked eyes with him, “You made love to me, Zack. More than once.”

We both froze for a moment, his green eyes searching mine.

“Violet…” My name was barely a whisper on his lips. My pulse quickened when he sat a little closer, his tongue flicking out across his bottom lip, “I, uh, didn’t really think Meaghan would be different,” He lowered his eyes, seemingly a little embarrassed of his admission, “I just thought...it would be enough, I guess. Especially after Ness. But it wasn’t…”
I wasn’t ready for the hard core, serious look in his eyes when they raised again, a completely different, much more resolute look in them, “When I make love to you, Violet, I fucking mean it. Maybe not in the true sense of the L word, but you have parts of me that no one ever has. You stir something in me that’s never been touched. I might not be able to love you, but I want you to know this isn’t something to be taken lightly.”



My eyes widened as a sweat burst across my skin. Polar opposite emotions from the ones I’d been having for the last half hour surged through me and stole my breath. Godfuckingdammit. I had no idea what to feel or think.

I staggered in a deep breath, my gaze falling from those heavenly green orbs, “Zacky…” My cheeks flush and he mistook it for lust, leaning in for the kiss.
Before I could think better of it, I reached for him just as his pillowy lips pressed against mine. They parted into a deep kiss and we both moaned into it. Pressing my hand to his chest, I knew we should stop since we couldn't do anything anyway.

Zacky backed off, but only a little. He was leaning slightly over me as I leaned back into the couch. I fought desperately for a way to say this and not sound like I was rejecting him, “Zacky…” I threaded my fingers into his hair, tracing his lips with my finger, “I know what you mean...when we’re...together. I want you to know I’ll be here when you get back...but...I think it might be a good idea while you’re on tour to just...chill for awhile? Is that okay? I just need some time to process this.”

Vengeance cleared his throat and leaned away from me. His handsome brow furrowed as his eyes darted away from mine. His plump mouth sneered partly into a sarcastic grin on one side, “Yeah. Whatever you need, Violet.” The words were dripping with bitterness, not sweet at all like they so easily could have been. Shit.

Zack hurriedly picked up Tennessee and his things and I followed him to the door. Before he could just whisk himself away without a word, I grabbed one of his belt-loops.

“Hey.”

When he turned, his eyes melted from upset to maybe understanding how ridiculous he was being--it was hard to tell. The deep green eyes swam with a million emotions to match mine. I kissed Ness on his cute little cheek and paused a hair’s breadth away from Zack’s lips, my head tilted in question to let him make the next move.
Pausing long enough to try and read my gaze, he finally leaned in and brushed my lips with his in a quick goodbye before stepping out into the evening air.

****

Notes

What now? Why can't Z love? Will she be okay with that?
The next chapter is gonna be jampacked with drama you guys!

Thank you to Larisa for helping me with the fight. She helped me with some key ideas, including the fact that the girls let Vi into their lives. Obvious, but I had totally missed it! Ha.

Pleasssseeee comment guys! I love hearing from all of you, good or bad! Thanks for reading!

Comments

@rizanicole
Thanks for appreciating that little tidbit!! I can't wait to get some one day, I bet it is really fun! Hope you like yours!
@overneaththepathofmisery
RIGHT?!? hahaha

FINALLY! *praise the lord, motherfucker!*

Yaaaaay!! So glad to see them back together, and in a (potentially) more stable situation! I really love the detail of her taking out her contacts for this conversation, it makes the whole thing feel very real and vulnerable. (I wore colored contacts for the first time a couple weeks ago, and dang, they can really make you feel like a different person, lol!)

rizanicole rizanicole
6/1/19

@overneaththepathofmisery
Bahaha right?!? Well, here ya go!

violetvictoria violetvictoria
5/27/19

Bitches (and I use that term AFFECTIONATELY) better be figuring their shit out *shakes fist in a completely non threatening, entirely laughable manner*