I am brought out of thought when someone grabs my wrists and pulls me behind them.
When I look at him face I see Beau has me in a protected stance.
"What is going on?" I have managed to come back to the present just as everything seems to turn to chaos.
As everyone's eyes fall on me I look down at my shoes and lick my bottom lip, still swollen from the kiss.
"You are deaf! I said this is not happening!" Beau yells in my face making me cringe slightly.
"Don't you yell at her!" James yells while pointing his finger accusingly at Beau.
Beau glares at him and then starts to pull me out of the room. Something I wasn't going to do. I stopped in my tracks and although he tried he wouldn't be able to get me out of my stubborn state.
"Let's go now!" I huff and yank my wrist from his grasp, rubbing it slightly to get rid of the redness.
"Okay firstly what is going on here? And secondly there are way to many fucking guys in my daughters room!" Oh no.
My dad walked in eyeing the situation, guess Trump lost his interest. Before I can answer Beau beats me to it.
"We were just leaving mate. Came to get James for a video." He clasps my dad on the back and walks out of the room.
James turns to follow him when I grab his bicep and plead with my eyes for him to stay and leave me alone. He signs and turns to me.
"I'll see you later?" His words come out more as a question then a parting.
I nod, feeling my dads glare on him the entire time. He nods at him as he leaves the room and with a bang of the door. I am alone with my dad.
******
Five minutes.
Of nothing.
It's as if I have a really interesting pimple on my forehead that my dad seems to be interested in.
Clearing my throat I break the silence.
"Dad?"
He grunts and looks me in the eye while crossing his arms and leaning against my bed frame.
"Do I have a pimple? You keep staring at me and if it's that bad I would like to know"
He chuckles and shakes his head, sitting on my bed besides me he wraps me in his arms and holds me tight.
"Baby girl, why was that idiot yelling?" He mumbles into my hair.
"Dad, can't breathe..and it was nothing."
He releases me and cocks an eyebrow in my direction.
"Okay, fine.. James is a nice guy right? I mean it's just he kissed m-"
My fathers eyebrows shoot up as he stand up and starts to pace.
"He did what?!" His fist are now clenching and unclenching.
My dad has always been there for me. He knew basically everything about me, my dad was my best friend. Don't get me wrong, mums great and all but my dad was always the fun one. The one who you could paint his nails when you were six and he would wear it until it chipped to make you happy. He was the dad everyone should dream of but now I felt as though, my dad, the one who I spent most of my time with, was going to burst.
"Please don't explode. After I'll get radiation and I don't want to get that it apparently is not a happy deat-"
He laughs and then goes into the hallway and does something I never thong he would do. He lost it. He punched the friggin wall.
I grab his arm and pull him back into the room and onto the bed.
"Daddy it's okay it wasn't a big deal"
He listened and then sighs. " I wasn't there for you the first time and I don't even know if you're going to let me this time.. But sometimes I wish you were 4 again" he smiles and that's when I know he's okay.
***
Next morning, after pulling an all nighter watching Harry Potter with dad, school called me up and said were closed.
Well, something like that anyway. School was closed because apparently teachers need to talk to each other to determine how they will torture us next. Oh we'll help me today.
Walking downstairs, I could already smell the pancakes being made as I stepped into the kitchen. A smile on my face.
"Hey pumpkin"
Every time he addressed me it was a different name so I think my actual name jumped out he window.
"Hi dad, no school today, sooooooo..........."
"Soooooooo.......... What? You want me to give you money and watch you spend it somewhere besides the mall where you probably should be like normal people on their day off."
I shrug and then grab a pancake and dumping syrup on them.
"I'm not giving you money. I am going to take you to work with me again"
He smirks, oh that sly... Perfect man who gave me life.
He knew what he was doing and he knew I would say no and he knew it was going to be awkward, but yet here I was ten minutes later being shoved out the door.
"No I won't go!" I scream holding onto the door post, my dad trying to shove me out of the door.
He sighs.
"Who's easy for Boston the whole day?!!!!!" Boston exclaims as she walks closer and then eyeing the situation raises an eyebrow.
Due to her announcement I was distracted and my dad took the opportunity to push me out of the house. Grunting and trying to find my footing again, but Boston latches onto my other arm and pulls me until she asks the million dollar question.
"Um.. Why are we pushing you out of the house?"
I face palm myself and laugh so loud I doubled over, clutching my stomach.
"I am taking you guys to work with me"
She eyes my father before dashing to the door, only reaching the door post when he yanks her back.
"I won't go!!!"
"If you girls come with me, I'll buy you ice cream and pizza for lunch"
Boston face lit up and my interest was peeked.
*********
"Why do I regret doing this?" My dad groaned as he clutched the steering wheel tighter.
For the past ten minutes Boston has been jumping up and down singing to the radio in a horrible tone, sounding like a dying chicken.
I laugh and kiss him on the cheek as he parts in front of the studio. I take a shaky breath. I guess it's too late now, whatever I'm going to face I might as well face it, and get it over with.
I hope out of the car, Boston hot on my heels still singing Electric Love by BORNS. I take another shaky breath, waiting for my dad, I can already feel the anxiety moving through my finger legs and the urge to shake becoming more and more prominent.
Grabbing my arms Boston gives me a reassuring smile, since last night I texted her everything that happened. She tugs me lightly to the door and I step through awaiting something to happen but it is dead quiet in the studio. Strange. Very strange.
Then in a distance I started to here yelling and knew that the boys were indeed alive.
I follow my dad to the recording room where Beau and James are at it again except there is papers all over the floor, and Jai and Luke are betting quietly in the background while Daniel is trying to get in between them and stop the ongoing yelling match.
Anger bubble in me and I take a step forward pulling them apart.
"Why the fuck are you at it now?! STOP FUCKING ACTING LIKE IMMATURE FIVE YEAR OLDS!!" Silence filled the room as my rant echoed throughout the sound proof room, everyone looking at me in horror.
I look at James and move towards him and step in front of him.
"Beau what is your fucking problem?!"
"Ooooooooo" Boston instigates.
He laughs without humor. "My problem?! My problem?! You're the one with the fucking problem!"
"Ouch!" She continues.
"What?" James answers from behind me in a tone that could make a squirrel shit his pants.
"That's right! What were you thinking trying to screw your manager's kid?!DO YOU EVEN THINK? Sometimes I fucking wonder where your brain is and you're supposed to be the smart one!" He scoffs and cracks his knuckles.
"I don't care where you from that's got to hurt" Boston says quoting Ramon from happy feet.
"I am not screwing her?!"
I stand in the middle but can't come up with words.
"Remember what happened to Claire?! THIS IS THE SAME SHIT JAMES THE SAME SHIT YOU DON'T FUCKING LEARN!"
I turn towards James and look him in the eyes.
"Who's Claire?" I practically whisper.
He groans and runs a hand down his face. "Nobody, I promise it was a long time ago"
He reaches for me but I back up into Beau and allow him to wrap his arms around my shoulders and turn me to face him.
"She was someone we knew, they dated a while back. She killed herself because she couldn't deal with the media's shit. They dug up dirt on her, things no one knew and then the whole world did-"
"Don't you dare continue!" James yells as he makes a move towards Beau, but I stop him.
" no, I want to hear this...but not from you Beau although I appreciate your concern" I smile warmly at him, "James I want to hear this from you"
He glares at Beau but his eyes widen with surprise as he grabs my hand and makes me turn to face him.
"Listen to me, you don't want to know.." I open my mouth to answer but he raises a hand and continues to speak. "But..as hard as it is I'll tell you"
He pauses and sighs. "Claire was the love of my life and she got pregnant. One day the media bombarded her with questions at the cafe and she got hurt trying to escape them." He sighs again and clears his throat. The air in the room intense as he speaks and I can see everyone paying close attention.
"She lost the baby and that night got drunk, got in her car and drove down the highway heading to Sidney when she rammed into another car. She does and I don't know what happened to the other passenger." A tear falls stray from his eye. He wipes it away angrily and reaches for me.
I take a step back and shake my head, bumping into Beau in the process.
"Claire Hastings, you dated her?!" Boston's voice comes out cracked and small, I have never seen her look weak and for the first time I saw Boston for who she truly was. Not a robot without feelings or a machine but a kid who was messed up but fought her way through life. She didn't live, she survived.
She grabs the music stand next to it and swings it towards James, he gets hit in the shoulder before dad interrupts and grabs the stand taking it from Boston. She lunges but he catches her and holds her firmly by the waist as she screams.
"She the reason she's in a fucking coma!"
"What are you talking about?!" He yells towards her hugging his shoulder.
"Your late bitch rammed into my sister! Your bitch put my sister into a coma!" He body sagged as she fell to her knees, my father clutching her for support.
As much as I would like to comfort her I couldn't. Boston was different from most people and I couldn't comfort her I didn't know how, not with all this new information swirling in my head.
Walking to my best friend I kneel down and envelope her in my arms. " will you be okay?" I whisper.
She nods and I release her, as the tears fall down her eyes.
I stand and step towards my father."I need to go"
I say and he know what I mean, he gives me a hug and then the keys to his car.
"Take care of her" I say and turn to leave when James tries to stop me.
I clear my throat but no words escape my mouth as I lick my dry lips.
"I'm coming hold up" Boston's voice fills the room but it is no longer weak and frail but strong as if nothing happened in the last five minutes.
I nod and let her steer me towards the door. The information from the past few minutes starting to sink in and I can feel my head starting to spin slightly.
"What happened to her?" I ask Boston quietly and cause her steps to falter.
"She was put into an induced coma, they couldn't stop the brain from swelling and she's been out for a while" her words rip me to shred but when I see her facade slip and a tear roll down her face I reach out to catch her, in spite of fear that she may collapse again.
She stops me and gets into the passenger seat and closes the door behind her.
I round the car and open the drivers side hearing my name being called I stop mid-step, turning towards the studio.
I catch a glimpse of James running towards me but I quickly shut the door and start the engine, driving off down the street and releasing a breathe I didn't realize I was holding.
