Song - Please Don't Leave Me by P!nk
Their remaining days passed in a love-filled, blissful haze, alternating between those magical moments in the studio when the drummer would scoop his girls into his lap between recording takes and their wholesome home life. The huge apartment Roger had once faced the storm of his darkest moments in soon became the source of his deepest happiness, constantly filled with the musical laughter of his little family. They did everything together, never a cross word or thought between them. He spent every second of every day with them, morning, noon, and night. He had become so used to their presence he began to fear how empty his apartment would feel when they eventually had to leave.
Those magical days had much the same effect on Victoria, though she were less likely to voice those thoughts aloud. She had began to forget just how it felt to wake up without Roger's arms around her, her body radiating his body heat, as the couples slumber was gently broken by their daughter rushing into the room and joining them for a peaceful morning cuddle. She had began to forget just how lonely it could be to do everything by yourself, used to Roger's comforting presence, helping hand and pleasant conversation as she attended to Lola, cleaning up and cooking for the small child. She hadn't realised how much she had come to rely on Roger those past few days, just how much their family had come to rely on Roger's presence.
The couple had tried to ignore the inevitable departure. They hadn't brought up the subject since Victoria had tentatively explained to Roger that she was indeed planning on returning home in a few days time that fateful day in the studio when Deaky had inadvertently brought the subject up. Ever since then, the subject had been avoided as the couple tried to stay in their little bubble, ignoring the fragility of their situation. How fragile it really was. How much harder they were making it by sharing a bed every night and acting like a couple in almost every sense of the word whilst refusing to be defined as one.
But now, the subject couldn't be ignored, not anymore. They had to confront it head on. She was leaving in the morning. Taking their daughter with them.
The evening had been blissful, the young couple surrounded by the band - including Brian - as they had drinks to celebrate the completion of their first week on the studio, as well as to wish farewell to Victoria. Despite Victoria's initial reluctance to be in close proximity to Brian in her and Roger's shared apartment, the evening had been carried off without a hitch, the estranged friends managing to avoid conversation with each other without making it awkward for the other guests. The band had spent hours reminiscing over multiple bottles of wine, sharing laughs, smiles and occasionally tears as they mulled over the shared events of their life's, how far they had all come. Roger's arm had been slung around Victoria's shoulder the whole evening as he leant back on the plush leather couch, but nobody had commented, merely smiled at the sight of them looking so happy. Even Brian.
Eventually, the band had filed out, leaving the couple alone to put their child to bed. Victoria, sensing Roger's sudden emotion at the thought that they were leaving in the morning, had tactfully left Roger to tend to Lola alone, giving her daughter an affectionate peck on the cheek and her beloved a comforting hand squeeze before she exited the room. Roger had completed the arduous task of settling Lola in bed and reading her bedtime story with tears in his eyes, hugging the child longer than necessary when it finally came time to say goodnight. As he left her room, switching off her light as he turned to gaze at the angelic face of the already sleeping child, it took all his energy not to let his tears fall.
Don't leave, Tori, he wanted to beg. Don't leave me alone here without my family. Don't make me revert to the shell of the man I once was. I need you. I need Lola. I need my family.
She was already in bed when he got there, her hair still damp from the shower. Whereas she would normally be sat upright in the bed when Roger entered the room, a book firmly in her grasp as she waited for him to come join her, she was laying on her side, already tucked under the covers, her eyes gazing lifelessly at the wall. Roger sighed softly, his heart breaking into tiny shards, as he clicked the light off and stumbled into bed beside her. For once, his first move wasn't to pull her into his arms and hold her close before his mouth attached to hers. Instead, he lay on his back, staring blankly at the ceiling as he bit back the tears.
