Chapter Thirty, But
Posted by DiF on Sunday, February 26, 2012
Title: Don't Look Away: Chapter Thirty, But
Rating: PG-13 [nudity, language]
Summary: Cady and Pete go out for lunch, now that they're re-settled back in London. Cady requests to meet Pete's parents finally.
Lying naked in their bed, a golden ray of light drawing a white line just left of her spine, Cady listened as Pete worked on a song in the next room. He had purposefully left the door open so that she could hear him. His voice melded with his guitar, beckoning her from their bed. Not one to ignore his musical call, Cady slowly stretched and crawled out of bed. Grabbing a short satin robe, she slipped it over her curves, tied it loosely closed, and headed into the next room.
“Beautiful,” Cady commented once Pete stopped playing. “But I don’t think you need to keep playing it.”
Pete glanced over his shoulder at her, “Hello, beautiful.”
She smiled, leaning on the doorframe, “Isn’t the album about done?”
“It is,” he set his guitar down. “We’re just working on mastering, which I think we will focus more on during the next tour.”
“That’s right. It’s about time to start touring again.”
“Cady, you know it’s the only way the band makes money,” he stated, getting to his feet.
She stared at him for a moment, “I’m sorry… but what?”
“It’s the only way the band makes any money,” he repeated.
“You’re saying that like I care that we’re about to go on tour again,” she responded.
“Don’t you?”
Cady surrounded his face with her hands and kissed him softly, “Of course I don’t care. I did crash the last tour.”
“You mean you don’t want to stay here and do normal couple things?”
She kissed him again, “Pete, you’re a rockstar, a brilliant musician. I knew what I was getting into when I started dating you. And we just spent two weeks doing normal couple things.”
“We went to some parties, hung out at the studio with the band, and…”
“Made love a lot,” Cady grinned before kissing him and pulling away. “We did plenty of normal things, Pete. I know that this is part of your life, part of my life. I have no problems going on tour at all.”
His eyes left hers, “Kit is going to be there…”
Cady rolled her eyes, “Like that was even a problem last time. It won’t be this time either.”
“He will ban you again.”
She scoffed, “And that won’t stop me. He can’t stop me from being with you.”
“But—”
“Pete, relax,” Cady declared. “Should we go get some lunch?”
“Um…”
She kissed his nose, “I’ll get dressed and we’ll go have lunch.”
Stepping into a café an hour later, Cady followed the hostess over to a booth. Pete sat across from her, picking up the menu. Glancing over the options and then the prices, he frowned. Cady’s eyes flicked to him, noticing his disposition. Shaking her head, she snatched the menu from his hands.
“Cady, what are you—”
“Nope. I’m not letting you get upset over the cost of our lunch.”
“But—”
“Pete,” she warned.
He sighed, rubbing his temples, “Cady—”
“I thought we were done having this conversation, Pete,” she declared, glancing up as their waitress approached.
Waiting until Cady placed their orders and the waitress left them alone, Pete softly spoke, “I know that John knows.”
“Knows what?” she sipped her glass of water.
“About your financial status…”
She set the glass down, “Of course he does. I told him when he was with me in Paris two weeks ago. Besides the fact, I think it was kinda obvious.”
“I… uh…”
“What, Pete?”
“I don’t like it,” he admitted softly.
She reached across the table and grabbed his hands, “I know you don’t. But it is nothing to be ashamed of. John does not think any worse of you. And he is not about to go blabbing it to everyone else.”
“But—”
“Relax, Pete,” she squeezed his hands. “Relax.”
“But—”
“Relax,” she repeated.
Sighing, he pulled his hands free and sipped his soda, “Cady, I want—”
“Are you going to have your brothers over again this week?” Cady interrupted, glancing up as the waitress brought their food. “They seemed so happy when you brought them over to play in the studio the other day.”
He smiled slightly, “They did, didn’t they?”
“Invite them over again,” she picked the red onions out of her salad, “before we head out on tour.”
“Don’t like onions?” his blue eyes focused on her plate.
“Planning on kissing you,” she winked. “So are you going to have them over?”
“Yeah, I guess I will,” he smiled slightly.
Cady smiled, “Good. When do I get to meet your parents?”
Pete dropped his salad fork, coughing on the bit of lettuce in his mouth, “Um, excuse me?”
“I’ve spent time with your brothers now. When do I get to meet your parents?”
He stared across the table at her. It was not like he was keeping her from his parents. But he really did not want them meeting. His parents were abrasive and usually soused. Cady did not need to be around that, at all. The longer he could put off putting them in the same room, the better.
“When do I get to meet yours?” Pete countered.
Blinking, Cady carefully swallowed her mouthful of salad, “Preferably never.”
“Well, now you know how I feel.”
“Oh I am certain your parents are not nearly as bad as mine,” she responded, continuing eating.
“They’re usually drunk and mean,” he declared.
“I bet they would attempt to temper it with me around.”
Pete snorted, “Not likely.”
“Oh, come on, Pete. Invite them over for dinner.”
He stared at her, “So we can have takeout with them?”
She rolled her eyes, “Then invite us over for dinner at their house. They’ve got to want to meet me.”
“Um… well…”
“What?”
“They kinda don’t even know you exist.”
Zipping the side zipper of her powder blue sheath dress, Cady turned and looked at her reflection in the mirror. It was probably the most conservative dress she owned. The bottom hem approached her knee, not just barely covering her ass like most of the mini-skirts. A simple scoop neckline was inches above her cleavage, a simple strand of champagne pearls about her throat. She debated about wearing her hair pulled up in a neat chignon, but eventually decided against it.
“You’re beautiful.”
She turned around, her eyes going to his, “I really hope they’ll like me.”
“Why wouldn’t they?” Pete approached her, his lips touching hers.
Her thumb rubbed the lipstick from his mouth, “You tell me. You’re the one who has been keeping us from meeting.”
He frowned slightly, “Cady, that’s because… they can be really horrible.”
“So can most people, Pete. I’ll be fine.”
“But—”
“Trust me. I can handle assholes, Pete. I grew up surrounded by them.”
“But—”
“Enough. Let’s go already,” she pulled away from him and slipped her feet into a pair of pumps.
Sighing, Pete nodded and trailed her out of the bedroom. Even though Cady seemed to think everything was going to go okay, he really could not believe it. He only hoped they were not too drunk by the time he and Cady arrived. He did not want his mother insulting everything about Cady, though she tended to be pleasant with Karen. Maybe things would not go as horribly as he expected. Who was he kidding? It was going to blow up in a horrible inferno and—
“Pete, are you going to drive or should I call a car?”
His eyes flashed to hers as she sat expectantly in the passenger seat of the convertible, “Oh right, yes, of course.”
Starting the car, Pete merged into traffic. His fingers tightened around the steering wheel as he headed towards his parents’ house. Cady turned on the radio, but he did not seem to notice at all. She did not understand why he was so worried. Granted, she hated her family more than most and did not want him to meet them, not like they would ever wish to meet him, but this anxiety seemed overblown.
Her hand reached over, resting on his thigh, “Pete, everything is going to be fine.”
Lost in his thoughts, he did not notice her touch. All he could keep thinking about was all the insults his mother and father threw in his face. How would they insult Cady? She was perfect, had the body and face of an angel. Maybe they would think her too perfect? Certainly they would find her too perfect for him. Ah, that was how they would insult her. He was certain.
“PETE!” Cady screamed, her hand gripping his thigh.
Suddenly snapping to attention, he swerved the car, trying to avoid the oncoming car. However, his reaction time was a few seconds too slow and the black Lincoln slammed head-on with the other vehicle. Cady slammed forward with the impact, her forehead narrowly avoiding the windshield. Pete, who had not snapped his seatbelt on, collided with the steering wheel. The glass cracked in dozen rays, surrounding where his head hit it. He slumped against the steering wheel, causing the horn to blast.
“Pete? Pete!” Cady shouted, reaching over and moving him back.
A trickle of blood ran from a gash in his forehead. His face was completely slack, his eyes closed. Panic instantly filled her soul. Not paying any attention to the other car or driver, Cady unbuckled her seatbelt and turned towards her boyfriend.
“No no no no,” she quickly kissed his cheek. “Pete, wake up. Pete… please. Wake up.”
He did not respond at first. Cady began to worry even more, not even noticing that someone pulled open the passenger door. Instead, she kissed him again, worriedly begging him to wake up. As a hand touched her, she froze and glanced over her shoulder. A moment later, she was pulled from the car as the driver’s door opened.
“No, don’t take me—”
“Ma’am, we’re taking care of your husband. He will be okay,” a strong voice declared, moving her away from the car.
Her blue eyes turned, watching emergency personnel load Pete into an ambulance. She ignored their efforts to check her over, instead moved to join him in the emergency vehicle. Rather than allow that, Cady was escorted to a different vehicle, softly convinced she would be taken to join him at the hospital.
“But he’ll—”
“He’ll be fine, ma’am. We are following his car to the hospital,” the police officer declared.
“But—”
“He’ll be fine.”
Sitting in a waiting room, having already given a statement to the police, Cady waited impatiently for new about Pete. She had a few scratches and bruises herself, especially where the seatbelt dug into her abdomen, but nothing troublesome at all. No one would give her any update on her boyfriend, but she did not know if that was because they were not actually married or if they did not know. She was very close to attempting to bribe someone to get her information.
“Cady?” a soft voice interrupted her worried thoughts.
Glancing up, a relieved smile filled her face, “John.”
He embraced her as she stood, “Pete?”
“I don’t know. They haven’t told me anything.”
“What… what happened?”
Quickly telling him what she knew of the accident, her worried eyes kept flicking towards the swinging doors. He embraced her again, assuring her that Pete surely was fine. She bit her lip and sat back down, not entirely believing him at all. His hand folded over hers, squeezing gently.
“Why won’t they tell me anything?” she asked softly.
“I don’t,” he paused, his eyes focused on something behind her, “know.”
Noticing his attention leave her briefly, Cady pivoted in her seat. Her eyes instantly narrowed and she turned back around. She looked to John for an explanation. He shrugged and excused himself. Without pause, he headed over to intersect the new arrival.
“Kit, you need to remember that Cady is—”
“I don’t care about that slag. Where is Pete?”
John’s eyes narrowed, “Take that ba—”
“I don’t bloody care about her. Where is Pete?”
He shifted to keep Kit from approaching the nurse’s station, “You need to apologize—”
Kit laughed, “She didn’t hear me. I don’t need to apologize for anything.”
John folded his arms across his chest and stared at the manager. For a few long moments, the two men remained in a standing lockdown. Cady’s eyes watched them carefully, though she could not hear their conversation. She knew without being told that John was defending her. Part of her wanted to get up and interject, but the rest of her just did not care in the moment.
Suddenly the swinging doors burst open and an irate Pete stalked out. With gauze wrapped around his head and a hospital gown fluttering about, he headed directly towards the nurse’s station. His hand slapped on the counter, making the blonde nurse jump. He quickly demanded to know where his girlfriend was and what they were going to do about releasing him.
“Pete,” Cady softly spoke, standing a couple of feet behind him.
He quickly spun around, his eyes on her, “Cady? Are you okay?”
She nodded, stepping forward, and gently embraced him, “I am. I’m not the one who just showed my arse to everyone.”
Rating: PG-13 [nudity, language]
Summary: Cady and Pete go out for lunch, now that they're re-settled back in London. Cady requests to meet Pete's parents finally.
Lying naked in their bed, a golden ray of light drawing a white line just left of her spine, Cady listened as Pete worked on a song in the next room. He had purposefully left the door open so that she could hear him. His voice melded with his guitar, beckoning her from their bed. Not one to ignore his musical call, Cady slowly stretched and crawled out of bed. Grabbing a short satin robe, she slipped it over her curves, tied it loosely closed, and headed into the next room.
“Beautiful,” Cady commented once Pete stopped playing. “But I don’t think you need to keep playing it.”
Pete glanced over his shoulder at her, “Hello, beautiful.”
She smiled, leaning on the doorframe, “Isn’t the album about done?”
“It is,” he set his guitar down. “We’re just working on mastering, which I think we will focus more on during the next tour.”
“That’s right. It’s about time to start touring again.”
“Cady, you know it’s the only way the band makes money,” he stated, getting to his feet.
She stared at him for a moment, “I’m sorry… but what?”
“It’s the only way the band makes any money,” he repeated.
“You’re saying that like I care that we’re about to go on tour again,” she responded.
“Don’t you?”
Cady surrounded his face with her hands and kissed him softly, “Of course I don’t care. I did crash the last tour.”
“You mean you don’t want to stay here and do normal couple things?”
She kissed him again, “Pete, you’re a rockstar, a brilliant musician. I knew what I was getting into when I started dating you. And we just spent two weeks doing normal couple things.”
“We went to some parties, hung out at the studio with the band, and…”
“Made love a lot,” Cady grinned before kissing him and pulling away. “We did plenty of normal things, Pete. I know that this is part of your life, part of my life. I have no problems going on tour at all.”
His eyes left hers, “Kit is going to be there…”
Cady rolled her eyes, “Like that was even a problem last time. It won’t be this time either.”
“He will ban you again.”
She scoffed, “And that won’t stop me. He can’t stop me from being with you.”
“But—”
“Pete, relax,” Cady declared. “Should we go get some lunch?”
“Um…”
She kissed his nose, “I’ll get dressed and we’ll go have lunch.”
Stepping into a café an hour later, Cady followed the hostess over to a booth. Pete sat across from her, picking up the menu. Glancing over the options and then the prices, he frowned. Cady’s eyes flicked to him, noticing his disposition. Shaking her head, she snatched the menu from his hands.
“Cady, what are you—”
“Nope. I’m not letting you get upset over the cost of our lunch.”
“But—”
“Pete,” she warned.
He sighed, rubbing his temples, “Cady—”
“I thought we were done having this conversation, Pete,” she declared, glancing up as their waitress approached.
Waiting until Cady placed their orders and the waitress left them alone, Pete softly spoke, “I know that John knows.”
“Knows what?” she sipped her glass of water.
“About your financial status…”
She set the glass down, “Of course he does. I told him when he was with me in Paris two weeks ago. Besides the fact, I think it was kinda obvious.”
“I… uh…”
“What, Pete?”
“I don’t like it,” he admitted softly.
She reached across the table and grabbed his hands, “I know you don’t. But it is nothing to be ashamed of. John does not think any worse of you. And he is not about to go blabbing it to everyone else.”
“But—”
“Relax, Pete,” she squeezed his hands. “Relax.”
“But—”
“Relax,” she repeated.
Sighing, he pulled his hands free and sipped his soda, “Cady, I want—”
“Are you going to have your brothers over again this week?” Cady interrupted, glancing up as the waitress brought their food. “They seemed so happy when you brought them over to play in the studio the other day.”
He smiled slightly, “They did, didn’t they?”
“Invite them over again,” she picked the red onions out of her salad, “before we head out on tour.”
“Don’t like onions?” his blue eyes focused on her plate.
“Planning on kissing you,” she winked. “So are you going to have them over?”
“Yeah, I guess I will,” he smiled slightly.
Cady smiled, “Good. When do I get to meet your parents?”
Pete dropped his salad fork, coughing on the bit of lettuce in his mouth, “Um, excuse me?”
“I’ve spent time with your brothers now. When do I get to meet your parents?”
He stared across the table at her. It was not like he was keeping her from his parents. But he really did not want them meeting. His parents were abrasive and usually soused. Cady did not need to be around that, at all. The longer he could put off putting them in the same room, the better.
“When do I get to meet yours?” Pete countered.
Blinking, Cady carefully swallowed her mouthful of salad, “Preferably never.”
“Well, now you know how I feel.”
“Oh I am certain your parents are not nearly as bad as mine,” she responded, continuing eating.
“They’re usually drunk and mean,” he declared.
“I bet they would attempt to temper it with me around.”
Pete snorted, “Not likely.”
“Oh, come on, Pete. Invite them over for dinner.”
He stared at her, “So we can have takeout with them?”
She rolled her eyes, “Then invite us over for dinner at their house. They’ve got to want to meet me.”
“Um… well…”
“What?”
“They kinda don’t even know you exist.”
Zipping the side zipper of her powder blue sheath dress, Cady turned and looked at her reflection in the mirror. It was probably the most conservative dress she owned. The bottom hem approached her knee, not just barely covering her ass like most of the mini-skirts. A simple scoop neckline was inches above her cleavage, a simple strand of champagne pearls about her throat. She debated about wearing her hair pulled up in a neat chignon, but eventually decided against it.
“You’re beautiful.”
She turned around, her eyes going to his, “I really hope they’ll like me.”
“Why wouldn’t they?” Pete approached her, his lips touching hers.
Her thumb rubbed the lipstick from his mouth, “You tell me. You’re the one who has been keeping us from meeting.”
He frowned slightly, “Cady, that’s because… they can be really horrible.”
“So can most people, Pete. I’ll be fine.”
“But—”
“Trust me. I can handle assholes, Pete. I grew up surrounded by them.”
“But—”
“Enough. Let’s go already,” she pulled away from him and slipped her feet into a pair of pumps.
Sighing, Pete nodded and trailed her out of the bedroom. Even though Cady seemed to think everything was going to go okay, he really could not believe it. He only hoped they were not too drunk by the time he and Cady arrived. He did not want his mother insulting everything about Cady, though she tended to be pleasant with Karen. Maybe things would not go as horribly as he expected. Who was he kidding? It was going to blow up in a horrible inferno and—
“Pete, are you going to drive or should I call a car?”
His eyes flashed to hers as she sat expectantly in the passenger seat of the convertible, “Oh right, yes, of course.”
Starting the car, Pete merged into traffic. His fingers tightened around the steering wheel as he headed towards his parents’ house. Cady turned on the radio, but he did not seem to notice at all. She did not understand why he was so worried. Granted, she hated her family more than most and did not want him to meet them, not like they would ever wish to meet him, but this anxiety seemed overblown.
Her hand reached over, resting on his thigh, “Pete, everything is going to be fine.”
Lost in his thoughts, he did not notice her touch. All he could keep thinking about was all the insults his mother and father threw in his face. How would they insult Cady? She was perfect, had the body and face of an angel. Maybe they would think her too perfect? Certainly they would find her too perfect for him. Ah, that was how they would insult her. He was certain.
“PETE!” Cady screamed, her hand gripping his thigh.
Suddenly snapping to attention, he swerved the car, trying to avoid the oncoming car. However, his reaction time was a few seconds too slow and the black Lincoln slammed head-on with the other vehicle. Cady slammed forward with the impact, her forehead narrowly avoiding the windshield. Pete, who had not snapped his seatbelt on, collided with the steering wheel. The glass cracked in dozen rays, surrounding where his head hit it. He slumped against the steering wheel, causing the horn to blast.
“Pete? Pete!” Cady shouted, reaching over and moving him back.
A trickle of blood ran from a gash in his forehead. His face was completely slack, his eyes closed. Panic instantly filled her soul. Not paying any attention to the other car or driver, Cady unbuckled her seatbelt and turned towards her boyfriend.
“No no no no,” she quickly kissed his cheek. “Pete, wake up. Pete… please. Wake up.”
He did not respond at first. Cady began to worry even more, not even noticing that someone pulled open the passenger door. Instead, she kissed him again, worriedly begging him to wake up. As a hand touched her, she froze and glanced over her shoulder. A moment later, she was pulled from the car as the driver’s door opened.
“No, don’t take me—”
“Ma’am, we’re taking care of your husband. He will be okay,” a strong voice declared, moving her away from the car.
Her blue eyes turned, watching emergency personnel load Pete into an ambulance. She ignored their efforts to check her over, instead moved to join him in the emergency vehicle. Rather than allow that, Cady was escorted to a different vehicle, softly convinced she would be taken to join him at the hospital.
“But he’ll—”
“He’ll be fine, ma’am. We are following his car to the hospital,” the police officer declared.
“But—”
“He’ll be fine.”
Sitting in a waiting room, having already given a statement to the police, Cady waited impatiently for new about Pete. She had a few scratches and bruises herself, especially where the seatbelt dug into her abdomen, but nothing troublesome at all. No one would give her any update on her boyfriend, but she did not know if that was because they were not actually married or if they did not know. She was very close to attempting to bribe someone to get her information.
“Cady?” a soft voice interrupted her worried thoughts.
Glancing up, a relieved smile filled her face, “John.”
He embraced her as she stood, “Pete?”
“I don’t know. They haven’t told me anything.”
“What… what happened?”
Quickly telling him what she knew of the accident, her worried eyes kept flicking towards the swinging doors. He embraced her again, assuring her that Pete surely was fine. She bit her lip and sat back down, not entirely believing him at all. His hand folded over hers, squeezing gently.
“Why won’t they tell me anything?” she asked softly.
“I don’t,” he paused, his eyes focused on something behind her, “know.”
Noticing his attention leave her briefly, Cady pivoted in her seat. Her eyes instantly narrowed and she turned back around. She looked to John for an explanation. He shrugged and excused himself. Without pause, he headed over to intersect the new arrival.
“Kit, you need to remember that Cady is—”
“I don’t care about that slag. Where is Pete?”
John’s eyes narrowed, “Take that ba—”
“I don’t bloody care about her. Where is Pete?”
He shifted to keep Kit from approaching the nurse’s station, “You need to apologize—”
Kit laughed, “She didn’t hear me. I don’t need to apologize for anything.”
John folded his arms across his chest and stared at the manager. For a few long moments, the two men remained in a standing lockdown. Cady’s eyes watched them carefully, though she could not hear their conversation. She knew without being told that John was defending her. Part of her wanted to get up and interject, but the rest of her just did not care in the moment.
Suddenly the swinging doors burst open and an irate Pete stalked out. With gauze wrapped around his head and a hospital gown fluttering about, he headed directly towards the nurse’s station. His hand slapped on the counter, making the blonde nurse jump. He quickly demanded to know where his girlfriend was and what they were going to do about releasing him.
“Pete,” Cady softly spoke, standing a couple of feet behind him.
He quickly spun around, his eyes on her, “Cady? Are you okay?”
She nodded, stepping forward, and gently embraced him, “I am. I’m not the one who just showed my arse to everyone.”
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