Losing My Life

Chapter 9

He lets go of her hands. In shock, the room sways and steps away to find a place to lean on in case he faints. The haunting memory of what happened on his last tour, his ex-wife and Layla, comes back, like history repeating itself. He should be excited about the news, but he's afraid of what's going to happen again, slipping back into his bad habits and spiralling out of control. It was like a curse whenever he would go on tour. The bitter taste of the substance he would use to calm his nerves, he craved for and saw his past flashed before his eyes.

'Rory?' she gently walks towards him and touches his shoulder.

'I need a drink.' He backs away quickly into the venue, and she watches him go.

The reaction he displayed only made her fear the worst of their relationship, not being one anymore. The gamble she took to be here is all going to disappear in a blink of an eye. Ryleigh's hand goes over her mouth, hiding the noise and falls into the nearest chair, with tears falling down her face. The person she wanted to talk to ran away, and the pain in her chest hurts. Rory is the most important person to her, and the fear of losing him begins to disturb her more.

In clear sight, he reaches for the bar and walks past Kelsie and Josh, and she can sense that something is not right. He sits on the closest stool and calls the bartender for a shot of whisky.

'I take it you heard.' She says, and he shots down the drink, and he raised his hand, asking for another.

'How long have you known?' He says after he swallows the harsh taste hitting his throat.

'Since yesterday...when she found out too.' He scoffs and drinks again, '...Rory, this isn't the right way to respond.' The glass clinks loudly to the bar surface, and it made her jump.

'You don't understand... I need her! I need Ryleigh on this tour.' He said and almost thought of asking for another, but he refused, saying her name had pulled him to reality.

She sighs and thinks of how Ryleigh is feeling right now after his reaction. 'I'm going to go and see her.'

Kelsie goes to Josh and asks to talk to him since Rory didn't take the news well. He never listened to him when he was Rory's PA for the show, so it makes him worry about whether he will listen to Josh now. However, Josh is a trier, and throughout the show with Rory, it started to get better.

'Hey, mate. What are you worried about? You have an amazing daughter that adores you. You've got this parenting thing all figured out.'

'You knew too?... Why am I the last to know?'

'It was a bit of a shock to her-'

'And what about me?' Rory cuts him off, 'This fucks up everything I had, and I can't be making the same mistake again.'

'What mistake?'

Rory rubs his eyes in distress, considering telling his story, as it will not change anything from what has happened five minutes ago.