Chapter Twenty, Protecting Sleeping Beauty
Posted by DiF on Saturday, August 13, 2011
Title: Don’t Look Away: Chapter Twenty, Protecting Sleeping Beauty
Rating: PG-13 [language, violence]
Summary: Cady is recovering and Pete is worrying. A worried Pete takes it out on others...
Lying next to Cady in bed, Pete gently touched the side of her face, tracing around the outer edges of her butterfly bandages. He frowned as she flinched slightly and settled his hand on her hip instead. Regardless of her actually remembering, they both knew she needed to stay awake for the next day. Even if Cady had been up to it, sex would not have been the answer. Instead, they picked up food and lounged in the apartment. Pete told Cady stories about the day, regaling her with little vignettes on daily recording life with The Who. However, once those stories reached conclusion, he did not know how to keep her entertained or in the very least awake.
“I… punched a girl today,” Cady admitted softly.
Pete’s eyes brightened and he struggled to not laugh, “Why is that, baby?”
“Well…” she softly explained the situation on the street to Pete.
“I’m grateful John happened upon you then,” he commented once her tale completed. “As pretty as you are, I don’t think the law would look kindly on you beating a pregnant woman – no matter how much she deserved it.”
“I know. I just… Pete, she said such rude and offensive things… and… she had that coming since…”
He searched her eyes, “Who is this Alicia?”
She sighed, “She was my roommate during my short tenure at art school.”
“And?”
“Despite being a horrible roommate all by herself, she is the one who spread rumors that I was in art school and doing well because I spread my legs,” she explained.
“Cady, you know you are massively talented and that’s why you were at that school. Not because you’re beautiful and sexy,” Pete declared.
“I know… but that doesn’t really correlate with how I feel about it,” Cady admitted. “I never fit in at high school because… well you know. And then to get to art school and think it’s all behind me, only to once more have sexuality thrown in my face like that… it’s really hard to get over.”
“I understand that, sweetheart. I really do,” he commented.
She sighed, “Today was just one disaster after another, Pete.”
He caressed her cheek again before kissing her lightly, “Tomorrow will be better.”
“But you’re going to be in the studio all day again.”
“I… well you should come too.”
Cady stared at him, “Yeah, see how well that worked out for us today.”
“But, baby, you shouldn’t be alone for awhile. You know… your head and all.”
“Then I’ll hang out with James.”
Pete’s heart stopped, thinking for a moment that she meant Page until realizing an ocean separated them, “Um… I saw him this morning. And I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
“What? Why not?”
“There is something… not right about that… guy.”
She chuckled, “Okay, tell me the whole story.”
After Pete explained his run-in with the colorful man, Cady giggled again and responded, “Of course that’s how he would respond.”
“What do you mean?”
“When James gets into character, he pretty much doesn’t deviate from it. Or at least tries not to.”
“So he is really your cousin right?”
She nodded, “And you probably did talk to one of his… characters on the phone, Pete. Like I said then, all he told you was lies, so that alone says it’s one of his characters.”
Pete remained silent for a moment, “So when do I know to believe him or not?”
“I would go with never,” she responded.
“But I don’t know anyone else from your family…”
“I don’t know anyone from your family either,” Cady pointed out.
He remained silent for a minute, “Well when we get back to England, we will change that.”
“Really?”
He nodded, leaned forward and kissed her, “My mum has wanted to meet you, so we should definitely spend some time with my family.”
She smiled, “I would like that. A lot.”
“Then we’ll make it so.”
A knock on the door woke Pete with a start. His eyes went wide, casting around for Cady, fearing that his falling asleep had endangered her. She was nowhere to be seen in the open apartment – and someone kept knocking on the door. Throwing the blanket off his legs, Pete rolled out of the bed and headed to the door. Turning the deadbolt, he pulled it open, rubbing his eyes.
“Morning, mate,” John greeted before stepping into the apartment. “Where’s Cade?”
“I… have no idea,” he groaned. “I fell asleep. Oh god… what if she–”
“Morning, John!” she chirped happily behind Pete as she headed pass them to the kitchen, pausing to kiss the bassist on the cheek.
Pete looked at his girlfriend, completely confused, “Were you hiding under the bed?”
“No room under there. I was however, peeing. Is that okay with you?”
He blinked staring at her.
John closed the door to the apartment finally, “Feeling better, Cade?”
Her fingers went to the bandages on her head, “Still sore. But I feel pretty normal for the most part. Coffee?”
“Please,” he smiled. “No… memory loss?”
“Not in the least. But we’re not letting Keith know that.”
“Ah,” his eyes brightened. “Good idea.”
“Cady, why did you let me sleep?” Pete asked.
“Because you needed your rest,” she declared, pausing while fixing the coffee pot. “I’m fine, Pete. I read a little and watched the city come awake. I didn’t sleep. I promise.”
“Why can’t you sleep?” John piped in.
“Because she might not wake up,” Pete interjected.
“I’m fine, Pete.”
The bassist looked between the couple before accepting an offered cup of coffee, “She looks okay to me, mate.”
“Sure she does. But her brain could be bleeding and we wo–”
“Pete, I’m fine,” Cady interjected. “Just fine.”
“But–”
She pressed a cup of coffee into his hands, “Just fine. So fine that I think you should go to the studio.”
“No,” he quickly answered. “I am not leaving you here alone. What if you–”
“I can stay with Cade,” John offered before sipping his cup.
“Who is going to play bass then?” she asked.
“I don’t need to be there for that until this afternoon. Pete needs to go in earlier for vocals and guitar melodies,” he explained simply.
“Oh, okay,” Cady’s eyes went back to Pete’s. “That sounds reasonable to me. You can get some work in and then I’ll come to the studio with John later this afternoon so you know I’m okay.”
“No. I don’t want you coming to the studio at all. Keith could–”
“We can’t punish him with my memory loss if I’m never around him,” she pointed out.
He remained silent.
“She’ll be fine with me, Pete. I promise,” John spoke up. “Then we’ll mess with Keith a bit and finish up the track with plenty of time to enjoy a day’s rest before getting back on tour.”
“I’ll be fine, Pete. No sleeping and John will make sure nothing else happens to me.”
He sighed, “I don’t know…”
“Mate, come on. She’ll be perfectly safe with me. Who else could you trust better than your best mate?” John asked.
He set down his coffee on the counter, “Okay. But I want you both at the studio no later than two.”
Handing a lyric sheet to Roger, Pete headed to the stool in the corner and picked up his guitar. Quickly tuning it, he glanced to see if the singer had any questions about the lyrics. Seeing no confusion on Roger’s face, he nodded once and began to play the melody. He played it through the entire song twice before adding the vocals. Roger sang along with Pete on the second round. By the fifth playing of the song, he sang alone, only accompanied by Pete’s guitar.
Two hours later the men stepped out of the studio to smoke, feeling good about the track so far. All that was needed was drums and the bassline. Keith was due to arrive any moment, John in a couple of hours. Though having half the band come in later was not entirely abnormal, Pete would certainly admit to being a bit nervous about the prospect. In part because he worried that New York City would seduce Keith, but mostly because of the reason John was late. It was completely approved, nothing that was unexpected. But he still worried. He should call her during this break, make sure everything was okay.
“‘a is your bird doin’?”
Pete’s eyes flashed to the singer, “Uh… John’s with her now.”
“I kna that. I asked ‘a Cady is, not ‘oo she is wif.”
“Oh, right, well… she seemed to be doing all right when I left. I wouldn’t have left her alone with him if I had thought differently…”
“Ya need ter ring ‘er, Pete. Go ring ‘er on the bloomin’ phone and clock ‘a she is doin’.”
“I suppose you’re right…”
“I am totally wite. call Cady. Check in wif 'er. Then we can get back ter werk.”
Nodding Pete ground out his cigarette in the ashtray and headed over to the receptionist’s desk, asking her to call Cady’s flat for him. Each nervous ring increased his blood pressure slightly. What if she had passed out? What if John had taken her to the hospital? What if–
“Hello?”
He sighed in happy relief, “Cady.”
“Hi, love,” she chirped. “How is the recording going?”
“It’s okay. How are you? How does your head feel? Any dizziness?” he quickly asked.
“Pete, I’m fine. Really. Even my headache is gone.”
“Really? Are you sure? Let me talk to John.”
She sighed and handed over the phone.
“Mate?”
“How is she? I mean, really, how is she? I don’t want the sugar-coated version of the truth,” Pete declared.
John sighed, “She’s fine, Pete. Really. She’s tired, but she’s fine. I think it might be a good idea if she took a nap before we come to the st–”
“No. The doctor said no sleeping for the first twenty-four hours.”
“Mate, really. It’s been nearly that long and she’s exhausted. It won’t hurt anyone.”
“It could very well kill her. Let me talk to Cady again.”
“Pete, she’ll be fine. Trust me,” John claimed before handing the phone over.
“A brief nap won’t hurt me at all, Pete. And John will be right here to wake me and everything. Please, baby, I’m so tired.”
“The doctor said–”
“Fuck the doctor, Pete. I’m fine. I just need some fucking sleep.”
“Cady, love, I don’t want–”
“Fuck you, Pete,” she hissed before hanging up.
Sighing he dropped the phone on the base and stepped away.
“Is everythin’ okay?” Roger asked.
Pete merely glared at him and stalked back towards the studio. He certainly did not want to talk about it with Roger.
Watching her slam the phone down, John remained impassive. He sipped his drink and watched the woman pace to the other side of her flat. She pulled open the closet door, yanking a random dress off the hanger. His eyes quickly widened and he turned around as she removed her clothes to pull the dress on. Focusing on the wall, he tried to wipe the brief sighting of her bare back clean from his mind. He did not need to be connecting it to the fact she wore no bra, meaning her breasts had been completely free for a moment. Nor did he need to think about those same milky mounds flattening against his chest as they hugged. He did not need to be thinking about his best friend’s girl like that.
Of course he completely was.
“John, can you help me?” Cady’s innocent question interrupted his sordid thoughts.
A bit afraid of what she needed assistance with, he turned slowly, “Sure, Cade. With what?”
“Will you open the window?”
“Um… why?” he asked as she knelt beside the bed.
“So I can throw something out it.”
“Um… why?” he repeated.
“Do you question Pete when he smashes up his guitars?”
He considered the implications in her question first before the actual answer, “Actually, yes, I do.”
“Well that doesn’t matter. Just open the window, please.”
Setting down his drink, John slowly approached the wall of windows. Pulling one of the sheer curtains to the side, he reached for the latch and pulled the window open. His blue eyes went down to the street, an occasional car passing by the building. Whatever Cady planned to toss out the window would likely land on the sidewalk or the street. This was not going to go well.
“Cade, are you sure about this?” he turned to glance at her and froze. “No. There is no way I am letting you throw that out the window.”
“Why not?” her eyes met his, challenging him.
“Look, Cade, love, I know that you’re exhausted. I know you’re upset with Pete. But tossing a rather large painting out the window is not a solution to either of those,” he declared.
“Oh I disagree. I think it’s a perfect solution.”
He held out his hand for the painting, “Let me see it.”
Stepping over to him, she offered the large canvas to him. John picked it up and turned it around to see the composition. His eyes glanced over the painting twice, before looking up to meet her eyes.
“Did you paint this?”
Cady nodded.
“When?”
“Um… when Pete and I spent those first few weeks together here,” she replied.
“He sat for you?”
“No,” she shook her head. “I painted it while he was out… getting lost.”
“So you did it all from memory?”
She nodded.
“Cade… this is… you are very talented. There is no bloody way I’m letting you toss this out the window,” John declared.
“But–”
“No,” he stepped back and closed the window, still holding onto the painting. “You’re not chucking it out the window just because you’re bloody upset with Pete. He’s not here. He won’t know that you took a nap. And then we’ll grab a bite before going to the studio.”
“But–”
“Go take a nap,” he instructed, pointing at the bed.
Cady sighed and nodded. Turning away, she returned to the closet, stripped off her dress, pulled on one of Pete’s tee shirts, and crawled into the bed. Waiting a moment to make certain she was settled and as covered as possible, John leaned the painting against the back of the couch and approached the bed. Sitting on the edge of the bed, he reached over and brushed hair from her forehead. Cady smiled slightly, her hand reaching up to cover his.
“You promise to wake me up soon?”
“Promise.”
Still holding his hand, she closed her eyes. Within moments, her body relaxed fully and her hand dropped from his. Smirking, John carefully got to his feet and moved away from the bed. His eyes glanced at the clock, noting the time. With a mental note made, he headed back to the window, pushed it open slightly and sat on the large windowsill. Eyes focused on the sleeping beauty, he flicked his lighter and lit up a cigarette. With another half-smirk, he leaned back on the window frame and looked out at the city. Being Cady’s protector was not a bad gig at all.
“IF YOU CANNOT BLOODY KEEP TIME WHY THE FUCK ARE YOU A DRUMMER!?” Pete yelled.
Keith stared at him for a moment, “LOOK. I’M SORRY ABOUT CADY. I DIDN’T MEAN TO HURT HER!”
Before anyone could step in the way, Pete launched at the drummer. He managed to land three punches before he was pulled off Keith and shoved out of the studio. Angrily Kit ordered Pete into an empty studio. The guitarist stomped around, grumbling about all of Keith’s inadequacies and kicking a chair across the room. The manager waited until Pete blew off enough steam before he pointed to a pair of chairs, expecting the guitarist to sit.
“Look, I understand that what Keith did to your… girl was bad, but you need to stop punishing him, mate. He said he was sorry and–”
“BLOODY HELL, KIT. CADY COULD HAVE DIED!” he shouted.
“But she didn’t. She clearly is doing all right or you would not be here, working. Give Keith a–”
“I AM ONLY HERE BECAUSE JOHN IS WITH HER.”
“Pete, take a breath. You don’t need to shout at me.”
He took a deep breath, grimaced, and got back to his feet. Pacing about the room a few times, Pete grumbled softly. He kicked another random object before glancing out the picture window to the hallway. Immediately freezing upon spying a feminine form that he would recognize kilometers away, Pete hurried over to the window. Knocking on the window, he waved and smiled when Cady and John turned and met his eyes. Ignoring his manager, who likely still wanted to discuss what happened in the studio fifteen minutes prior, the guitarist hurried out into the hallway. His arms quickly circled Cady’s waist and he kissed her, spinning her about.
Setting her down, he kissed her quickly again, “Are you feeling okay?”
“A bit dizzy,” she stated.
His eyes widened, “Oh god. Do you want to go to the hospital?”
“Mate, you just spun her around,” John pointed out.
“Oh, right,” he smirked.
She kissed his cheek quickly, “I’m doing just fine. Slight headache, but that could be from withdrawals.”
“Withdrawals? From what?”
“Your kisses,” Cady declared before kissing him lovingly.
John cleared his throat, causing the couple to end their embrace.
“I… I hit Keith again,” Pete admitted softly.
She kissed him quickly, “So do we play the memory loss game or no?”
“I… I suppose not.”
“I thought it was kinda funny,” John interjected.
Cady’s eyes flicked to his and she smiled slightly, “Did you?”
“Well yeah.”
“Let’s go se–”
“OH MY GOD, CADY. YOU ARE ALL RIGHT!” Keith exclaimed as he stepped out of the studio.
Her blue eyes met his brown eyes and all emotion quickly drained from her face, “I’m sorry, do I know you?”
The drummer stared at her silently.
“I do believe this is the first time I have ever seen you with a loss of words,” John commented wryly.
Keith shot a glare to the bassist before returning his attention to Cady, “Love, we’re mates. We play games, have fun, you know, things like that. You don’t know who I am?”
Her eyes left the drummer, going to the bassist on her left, “Who is he? Why is he talking to me?”
Pete touched Cady’s shoulder, “Baby, do you want to sit down?”
She turned to the guitarist on her right, “Do I know you?”
John leaned over and whispered loudly, “That’s Pete, your boyfriend. I explained that on the car ride over here.”
She searched his eyes for a moment and looked back to Pete. Tentatively, she leaned forward and kissed him awkwardly on the mouth. He reached up and touched her cheek softly.
Her eyes held his, “Who are you?”
“The man who loves you,” Pete declared.
“I… I don’t know who you are,” she commented meekly.
“Your memories will come back. I promise.”
Nodding, Cady kept her eyes downcast, but turned to face Keith, “I’m sorry… I don’t… I don’t…”
“OH BLOODY HELL. THIS IS ALL MY FAULT!” the drummer exclaimed.
Her eyes flashed up, “What?”
“I WAS JUST PLAYING. I DIDN’T MEAN FOR YOUR HEAD TO HIT THE DOOR!”
Cady blinked but said nothing.
Keith looked to Pete, “Tell her! Explain to her what happened and that I’m sorry.”
“She’s not deaf, Keith. You can tell her yourself,” Pete responded.
“Cady, love,” the drummer reached for her hands, “I am so, so, so sorry that I did this to you. I promise that there will be no more tomfoolery. I will protect your head better than my own.”
She looked at him with confusion in her eyes, “Who are you?”
“ARGH! I CAN’T DO THIS ANY MORE!” he threw his hands up and hurried down the hallway, disappearing around the corner.
Once Keith was gone, John smirked, “Good job, love.”
Pete met his best friend’s eyes, “Nice detail on the car ride.”
“How long do you think we can keep this up?” Cady asked.
“It’s up to you, love,” John answered.
She considered it for a moment, before smiling slightly, “Let’s play it for all it’s worth then.”
Rating: PG-13 [language, violence]
Summary: Cady is recovering and Pete is worrying. A worried Pete takes it out on others...
Lying next to Cady in bed, Pete gently touched the side of her face, tracing around the outer edges of her butterfly bandages. He frowned as she flinched slightly and settled his hand on her hip instead. Regardless of her actually remembering, they both knew she needed to stay awake for the next day. Even if Cady had been up to it, sex would not have been the answer. Instead, they picked up food and lounged in the apartment. Pete told Cady stories about the day, regaling her with little vignettes on daily recording life with The Who. However, once those stories reached conclusion, he did not know how to keep her entertained or in the very least awake.
“I… punched a girl today,” Cady admitted softly.
Pete’s eyes brightened and he struggled to not laugh, “Why is that, baby?”
“Well…” she softly explained the situation on the street to Pete.
“I’m grateful John happened upon you then,” he commented once her tale completed. “As pretty as you are, I don’t think the law would look kindly on you beating a pregnant woman – no matter how much she deserved it.”
“I know. I just… Pete, she said such rude and offensive things… and… she had that coming since…”
He searched her eyes, “Who is this Alicia?”
She sighed, “She was my roommate during my short tenure at art school.”
“And?”
“Despite being a horrible roommate all by herself, she is the one who spread rumors that I was in art school and doing well because I spread my legs,” she explained.
“Cady, you know you are massively talented and that’s why you were at that school. Not because you’re beautiful and sexy,” Pete declared.
“I know… but that doesn’t really correlate with how I feel about it,” Cady admitted. “I never fit in at high school because… well you know. And then to get to art school and think it’s all behind me, only to once more have sexuality thrown in my face like that… it’s really hard to get over.”
“I understand that, sweetheart. I really do,” he commented.
She sighed, “Today was just one disaster after another, Pete.”
He caressed her cheek again before kissing her lightly, “Tomorrow will be better.”
“But you’re going to be in the studio all day again.”
“I… well you should come too.”
Cady stared at him, “Yeah, see how well that worked out for us today.”
“But, baby, you shouldn’t be alone for awhile. You know… your head and all.”
“Then I’ll hang out with James.”
Pete’s heart stopped, thinking for a moment that she meant Page until realizing an ocean separated them, “Um… I saw him this morning. And I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
“What? Why not?”
“There is something… not right about that… guy.”
She chuckled, “Okay, tell me the whole story.”
After Pete explained his run-in with the colorful man, Cady giggled again and responded, “Of course that’s how he would respond.”
“What do you mean?”
“When James gets into character, he pretty much doesn’t deviate from it. Or at least tries not to.”
“So he is really your cousin right?”
She nodded, “And you probably did talk to one of his… characters on the phone, Pete. Like I said then, all he told you was lies, so that alone says it’s one of his characters.”
Pete remained silent for a moment, “So when do I know to believe him or not?”
“I would go with never,” she responded.
“But I don’t know anyone else from your family…”
“I don’t know anyone from your family either,” Cady pointed out.
He remained silent for a minute, “Well when we get back to England, we will change that.”
“Really?”
He nodded, leaned forward and kissed her, “My mum has wanted to meet you, so we should definitely spend some time with my family.”
She smiled, “I would like that. A lot.”
“Then we’ll make it so.”
A knock on the door woke Pete with a start. His eyes went wide, casting around for Cady, fearing that his falling asleep had endangered her. She was nowhere to be seen in the open apartment – and someone kept knocking on the door. Throwing the blanket off his legs, Pete rolled out of the bed and headed to the door. Turning the deadbolt, he pulled it open, rubbing his eyes.
“Morning, mate,” John greeted before stepping into the apartment. “Where’s Cade?”
“I… have no idea,” he groaned. “I fell asleep. Oh god… what if she–”
“Morning, John!” she chirped happily behind Pete as she headed pass them to the kitchen, pausing to kiss the bassist on the cheek.
Pete looked at his girlfriend, completely confused, “Were you hiding under the bed?”
“No room under there. I was however, peeing. Is that okay with you?”
He blinked staring at her.
John closed the door to the apartment finally, “Feeling better, Cade?”
Her fingers went to the bandages on her head, “Still sore. But I feel pretty normal for the most part. Coffee?”
“Please,” he smiled. “No… memory loss?”
“Not in the least. But we’re not letting Keith know that.”
“Ah,” his eyes brightened. “Good idea.”
“Cady, why did you let me sleep?” Pete asked.
“Because you needed your rest,” she declared, pausing while fixing the coffee pot. “I’m fine, Pete. I read a little and watched the city come awake. I didn’t sleep. I promise.”
“Why can’t you sleep?” John piped in.
“Because she might not wake up,” Pete interjected.
“I’m fine, Pete.”
The bassist looked between the couple before accepting an offered cup of coffee, “She looks okay to me, mate.”
“Sure she does. But her brain could be bleeding and we wo–”
“Pete, I’m fine,” Cady interjected. “Just fine.”
“But–”
She pressed a cup of coffee into his hands, “Just fine. So fine that I think you should go to the studio.”
“No,” he quickly answered. “I am not leaving you here alone. What if you–”
“I can stay with Cade,” John offered before sipping his cup.
“Who is going to play bass then?” she asked.
“I don’t need to be there for that until this afternoon. Pete needs to go in earlier for vocals and guitar melodies,” he explained simply.
“Oh, okay,” Cady’s eyes went back to Pete’s. “That sounds reasonable to me. You can get some work in and then I’ll come to the studio with John later this afternoon so you know I’m okay.”
“No. I don’t want you coming to the studio at all. Keith could–”
“We can’t punish him with my memory loss if I’m never around him,” she pointed out.
He remained silent.
“She’ll be fine with me, Pete. I promise,” John spoke up. “Then we’ll mess with Keith a bit and finish up the track with plenty of time to enjoy a day’s rest before getting back on tour.”
“I’ll be fine, Pete. No sleeping and John will make sure nothing else happens to me.”
He sighed, “I don’t know…”
“Mate, come on. She’ll be perfectly safe with me. Who else could you trust better than your best mate?” John asked.
He set down his coffee on the counter, “Okay. But I want you both at the studio no later than two.”
Handing a lyric sheet to Roger, Pete headed to the stool in the corner and picked up his guitar. Quickly tuning it, he glanced to see if the singer had any questions about the lyrics. Seeing no confusion on Roger’s face, he nodded once and began to play the melody. He played it through the entire song twice before adding the vocals. Roger sang along with Pete on the second round. By the fifth playing of the song, he sang alone, only accompanied by Pete’s guitar.
Two hours later the men stepped out of the studio to smoke, feeling good about the track so far. All that was needed was drums and the bassline. Keith was due to arrive any moment, John in a couple of hours. Though having half the band come in later was not entirely abnormal, Pete would certainly admit to being a bit nervous about the prospect. In part because he worried that New York City would seduce Keith, but mostly because of the reason John was late. It was completely approved, nothing that was unexpected. But he still worried. He should call her during this break, make sure everything was okay.
“‘a is your bird doin’?”
Pete’s eyes flashed to the singer, “Uh… John’s with her now.”
“I kna that. I asked ‘a Cady is, not ‘oo she is wif.”
“Oh, right, well… she seemed to be doing all right when I left. I wouldn’t have left her alone with him if I had thought differently…”
“Ya need ter ring ‘er, Pete. Go ring ‘er on the bloomin’ phone and clock ‘a she is doin’.”
“I suppose you’re right…”
“I am totally wite. call Cady. Check in wif 'er. Then we can get back ter werk.”
Nodding Pete ground out his cigarette in the ashtray and headed over to the receptionist’s desk, asking her to call Cady’s flat for him. Each nervous ring increased his blood pressure slightly. What if she had passed out? What if John had taken her to the hospital? What if–
“Hello?”
He sighed in happy relief, “Cady.”
“Hi, love,” she chirped. “How is the recording going?”
“It’s okay. How are you? How does your head feel? Any dizziness?” he quickly asked.
“Pete, I’m fine. Really. Even my headache is gone.”
“Really? Are you sure? Let me talk to John.”
She sighed and handed over the phone.
“Mate?”
“How is she? I mean, really, how is she? I don’t want the sugar-coated version of the truth,” Pete declared.
John sighed, “She’s fine, Pete. Really. She’s tired, but she’s fine. I think it might be a good idea if she took a nap before we come to the st–”
“No. The doctor said no sleeping for the first twenty-four hours.”
“Mate, really. It’s been nearly that long and she’s exhausted. It won’t hurt anyone.”
“It could very well kill her. Let me talk to Cady again.”
“Pete, she’ll be fine. Trust me,” John claimed before handing the phone over.
“A brief nap won’t hurt me at all, Pete. And John will be right here to wake me and everything. Please, baby, I’m so tired.”
“The doctor said–”
“Fuck the doctor, Pete. I’m fine. I just need some fucking sleep.”
“Cady, love, I don’t want–”
“Fuck you, Pete,” she hissed before hanging up.
Sighing he dropped the phone on the base and stepped away.
“Is everythin’ okay?” Roger asked.
Pete merely glared at him and stalked back towards the studio. He certainly did not want to talk about it with Roger.
Watching her slam the phone down, John remained impassive. He sipped his drink and watched the woman pace to the other side of her flat. She pulled open the closet door, yanking a random dress off the hanger. His eyes quickly widened and he turned around as she removed her clothes to pull the dress on. Focusing on the wall, he tried to wipe the brief sighting of her bare back clean from his mind. He did not need to be connecting it to the fact she wore no bra, meaning her breasts had been completely free for a moment. Nor did he need to think about those same milky mounds flattening against his chest as they hugged. He did not need to be thinking about his best friend’s girl like that.
Of course he completely was.
“John, can you help me?” Cady’s innocent question interrupted his sordid thoughts.
A bit afraid of what she needed assistance with, he turned slowly, “Sure, Cade. With what?”
“Will you open the window?”
“Um… why?” he asked as she knelt beside the bed.
“So I can throw something out it.”
“Um… why?” he repeated.
“Do you question Pete when he smashes up his guitars?”
He considered the implications in her question first before the actual answer, “Actually, yes, I do.”
“Well that doesn’t matter. Just open the window, please.”
Setting down his drink, John slowly approached the wall of windows. Pulling one of the sheer curtains to the side, he reached for the latch and pulled the window open. His blue eyes went down to the street, an occasional car passing by the building. Whatever Cady planned to toss out the window would likely land on the sidewalk or the street. This was not going to go well.
“Cade, are you sure about this?” he turned to glance at her and froze. “No. There is no way I am letting you throw that out the window.”
“Why not?” her eyes met his, challenging him.
“Look, Cade, love, I know that you’re exhausted. I know you’re upset with Pete. But tossing a rather large painting out the window is not a solution to either of those,” he declared.
“Oh I disagree. I think it’s a perfect solution.”
He held out his hand for the painting, “Let me see it.”
Stepping over to him, she offered the large canvas to him. John picked it up and turned it around to see the composition. His eyes glanced over the painting twice, before looking up to meet her eyes.
“Did you paint this?”
Cady nodded.
“When?”
“Um… when Pete and I spent those first few weeks together here,” she replied.
“He sat for you?”
“No,” she shook her head. “I painted it while he was out… getting lost.”
“So you did it all from memory?”
She nodded.
“Cade… this is… you are very talented. There is no bloody way I’m letting you toss this out the window,” John declared.
“But–”
“No,” he stepped back and closed the window, still holding onto the painting. “You’re not chucking it out the window just because you’re bloody upset with Pete. He’s not here. He won’t know that you took a nap. And then we’ll grab a bite before going to the studio.”
“But–”
“Go take a nap,” he instructed, pointing at the bed.
Cady sighed and nodded. Turning away, she returned to the closet, stripped off her dress, pulled on one of Pete’s tee shirts, and crawled into the bed. Waiting a moment to make certain she was settled and as covered as possible, John leaned the painting against the back of the couch and approached the bed. Sitting on the edge of the bed, he reached over and brushed hair from her forehead. Cady smiled slightly, her hand reaching up to cover his.
“You promise to wake me up soon?”
“Promise.”
Still holding his hand, she closed her eyes. Within moments, her body relaxed fully and her hand dropped from his. Smirking, John carefully got to his feet and moved away from the bed. His eyes glanced at the clock, noting the time. With a mental note made, he headed back to the window, pushed it open slightly and sat on the large windowsill. Eyes focused on the sleeping beauty, he flicked his lighter and lit up a cigarette. With another half-smirk, he leaned back on the window frame and looked out at the city. Being Cady’s protector was not a bad gig at all.
“IF YOU CANNOT BLOODY KEEP TIME WHY THE FUCK ARE YOU A DRUMMER!?” Pete yelled.
Keith stared at him for a moment, “LOOK. I’M SORRY ABOUT CADY. I DIDN’T MEAN TO HURT HER!”
Before anyone could step in the way, Pete launched at the drummer. He managed to land three punches before he was pulled off Keith and shoved out of the studio. Angrily Kit ordered Pete into an empty studio. The guitarist stomped around, grumbling about all of Keith’s inadequacies and kicking a chair across the room. The manager waited until Pete blew off enough steam before he pointed to a pair of chairs, expecting the guitarist to sit.
“Look, I understand that what Keith did to your… girl was bad, but you need to stop punishing him, mate. He said he was sorry and–”
“BLOODY HELL, KIT. CADY COULD HAVE DIED!” he shouted.
“But she didn’t. She clearly is doing all right or you would not be here, working. Give Keith a–”
“I AM ONLY HERE BECAUSE JOHN IS WITH HER.”
“Pete, take a breath. You don’t need to shout at me.”
He took a deep breath, grimaced, and got back to his feet. Pacing about the room a few times, Pete grumbled softly. He kicked another random object before glancing out the picture window to the hallway. Immediately freezing upon spying a feminine form that he would recognize kilometers away, Pete hurried over to the window. Knocking on the window, he waved and smiled when Cady and John turned and met his eyes. Ignoring his manager, who likely still wanted to discuss what happened in the studio fifteen minutes prior, the guitarist hurried out into the hallway. His arms quickly circled Cady’s waist and he kissed her, spinning her about.
Setting her down, he kissed her quickly again, “Are you feeling okay?”
“A bit dizzy,” she stated.
His eyes widened, “Oh god. Do you want to go to the hospital?”
“Mate, you just spun her around,” John pointed out.
“Oh, right,” he smirked.
She kissed his cheek quickly, “I’m doing just fine. Slight headache, but that could be from withdrawals.”
“Withdrawals? From what?”
“Your kisses,” Cady declared before kissing him lovingly.
John cleared his throat, causing the couple to end their embrace.
“I… I hit Keith again,” Pete admitted softly.
She kissed him quickly, “So do we play the memory loss game or no?”
“I… I suppose not.”
“I thought it was kinda funny,” John interjected.
Cady’s eyes flicked to his and she smiled slightly, “Did you?”
“Well yeah.”
“Let’s go se–”
“OH MY GOD, CADY. YOU ARE ALL RIGHT!” Keith exclaimed as he stepped out of the studio.
Her blue eyes met his brown eyes and all emotion quickly drained from her face, “I’m sorry, do I know you?”
The drummer stared at her silently.
“I do believe this is the first time I have ever seen you with a loss of words,” John commented wryly.
Keith shot a glare to the bassist before returning his attention to Cady, “Love, we’re mates. We play games, have fun, you know, things like that. You don’t know who I am?”
Her eyes left the drummer, going to the bassist on her left, “Who is he? Why is he talking to me?”
Pete touched Cady’s shoulder, “Baby, do you want to sit down?”
She turned to the guitarist on her right, “Do I know you?”
John leaned over and whispered loudly, “That’s Pete, your boyfriend. I explained that on the car ride over here.”
She searched his eyes for a moment and looked back to Pete. Tentatively, she leaned forward and kissed him awkwardly on the mouth. He reached up and touched her cheek softly.
Her eyes held his, “Who are you?”
“The man who loves you,” Pete declared.
“I… I don’t know who you are,” she commented meekly.
“Your memories will come back. I promise.”
Nodding, Cady kept her eyes downcast, but turned to face Keith, “I’m sorry… I don’t… I don’t…”
“OH BLOODY HELL. THIS IS ALL MY FAULT!” the drummer exclaimed.
Her eyes flashed up, “What?”
“I WAS JUST PLAYING. I DIDN’T MEAN FOR YOUR HEAD TO HIT THE DOOR!”
Cady blinked but said nothing.
Keith looked to Pete, “Tell her! Explain to her what happened and that I’m sorry.”
“She’s not deaf, Keith. You can tell her yourself,” Pete responded.
“Cady, love,” the drummer reached for her hands, “I am so, so, so sorry that I did this to you. I promise that there will be no more tomfoolery. I will protect your head better than my own.”
She looked at him with confusion in her eyes, “Who are you?”
“ARGH! I CAN’T DO THIS ANY MORE!” he threw his hands up and hurried down the hallway, disappearing around the corner.
Once Keith was gone, John smirked, “Good job, love.”
Pete met his best friend’s eyes, “Nice detail on the car ride.”
“How long do you think we can keep this up?” Cady asked.
“It’s up to you, love,” John answered.
She considered it for a moment, before smiling slightly, “Let’s play it for all it’s worth then.”
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