Ohne Dich (Sequel to Stirb Nicht Vor Mir)

Chapter 110

September 12, 2006

"Bam?" I spoke into the phone. 

"Hello?" He asked. 

"Hey, I'm really sorry about yesterday-I wasn't in the mood and-"

"It's fine. So, how have you been?"

"Fine. What about you?"

"Um, fuck off! Fuck-" He chuckled. "I'm on the fucking phone. No, fuck you!"

"Wow."

"Sorry, Novak is-Can I call you back later?"

"Sure."

I set the phone down on the seat and got out of the car. I knocked on Neil's door and smiled as the door opened. 

Ashton was crying, so the smile faded away. 

"What happened?" I asked him. 

"He was misbehaving!" Neil shouted. 

"No need to shout, Neil. Ashton, go get into the car. Mommy will be right there."

He hopped into my car, so I asked Neil what his problem was. 

"My problem?!" He shouted. "No, no. That little fucker-"

"Excuse me?! That is your fucking son! What is your fucking problem!"

"He shoved my clothes into the fucking toilet!"

I couldn't help but giggle. "I'm sorry."

"Yeah, I'd like to see you with your clothes shoved down the fucking toilet."

"Stop it, Neil. I'll talk to him."

"No need to. I already did."

"Did you talk to him or did you yell at him?"

"I yelled at him. I also spanked him."

"Neil, I don't like spanking."

"I'm not spanking you, am I?"

"I don't think that it's an effective way of discipline."

"It worked on him. He started crying and he told me he wouldn't do it ever again! I'm so fucking glad he learned his lesson because he WON'T BE DOING THAT SHIT ANYMORE!"

I jumped at the sudden rise in his voice. "Neil, what is your fucking problem?"

And that's when I smelt it-alcohol. I barged into his house and saw a couple of empty bottles of beer on the kitchen counter. 

My eyes widened in horror as I feared the worst. 

"You're not allowed Ashton anymore," I stormed out of the house, got into the car, and drove away. "Ashton, did Daddy hurt you?"

"He hurt my butt," He cried. 

"Did he do anything else?"

"He hurt my arm, too."

"He hurt your arm?"

"Mhm. Yeah."

"How?"

"He grabbed it like this-Like this, Mommy!"

"Ashton, I can't look, I'm driving."

"He grabbed it and shaked it."

"I'm sorry, Ash."

----------------------------------------------

"He hurt him, Corey!" I shouted. 

"Are you sure he was drunk?"

"I could smell it. That fucking-"

"Hey, hey, relax."

"Relax?! Don't tell me to fucking relax, Corey Todd Taylor."

He chuckled. "Oh, we're going to use our full names, now?"

"Stop it. I'm not happy."

"Would you like me to talk to him?"

"No, no, that's not necessary. I don't think you understand how fucking angry I am. There was a mark on his arm."

"Ashton's?"

"Yeah."

"That little-" He grabbed his keys and stormed into the garage. 

"Fuck-no!" I tried to quickly get up, but I wasn't able to. 

I called my mom and asked her to quickly come over to my house. 

I was worried as to what Corey was about to do. He was scary and intimidating and I wouldn't have ever messed with him. 

When my mom finally arrived, I quickly drove to Neil's house-not sure of what Corey was about to unleash. 

"FUCK YOU!" Corey yelled as I got out of the car. "I don't care if he's not my fucking son, you do not touch him like that! Fuck you!"

Corey went to slap Neil, but retrieved his hand back, and turned around to look at me. 

I was in shock. 

Ashton wasn't even Corey's son, yet he still stood up for him. 

Right in that moment, I knew I would love Corey forever. 

He was the one. 

------------------------------------------

"I don't know," I ran my fingers through my hair. 

"How he treated Ash is not alright," My mom stated yet again. 

"I'll fucking do something about it," Corey said. 

We had to be quiet since all the kids were sleeping. 

"Corey, I've been meaning to ask you about something," My mom admitted. 

I knew that she was going to ask him about his suicide attempt. 

"Yes?" Corey looked straight into her eyes. 

"I heard over the news that you tried killing yourself," She gulped and paused. "I don't know what to say."

"Don't say anything. I don't really know what to say, either."

"I'm back!" Keanu shouted, emerging from the bathroom. 

Him and my mother were inseparable. Everywhere one was, the other was, too. 

"We're talking about the incident," My mom explained to Keanu as he sat down next to her. 

"Oh."

"There's nothing to say," Corey continued. "I don't want to talk about it, okay?"

"You don't have to," I reminded him. "Talk about it when you're ready, alright?"

I rubbed his leg to assure him that I was there for him. 

"Do you guys know the gender?" My mom asked. 

"Yeah," I replied. 

"WHAT?!" 

"Mom, shh!"

"Why didn't you say anything?!"

"I was gone on tour," Corey said. "We didn't want to do anything without the other."

"Well, what is it?" Keanu urged us to tell him. 

"It's a girl," Corey and I said in unison. 

"I'M HAVING A GRANDDAUGHTER!" My mom squeezed me and started crying. 

I didn't even bother to tell her to be quiet. She was happy, I was happy, Keanu was happy, but most importantly, Corey was happy. 

I needed Corey to be happy. I needed him to stay with me. I needed to know that I could count on him and in that moment, I knew I could count on him. I just needed to feel that way forever.