SEQUAL TO "ISSUES"
[ ↬ central cee x fem. oc ↫ ]
"But be patient it'll take some time"
𝘰𝘳
in which Oakley and Michaela find their way back to eachother.
[ a/n: so i've been gone a while. my deepest apologies, i really struggle with motivation for this book these days but i'm pushing to get it finished soon i promise! ]
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
Oakley had been on stage when the phone on the vanity in the green room had started to buzz and ring wildly in its place, no one to hear or ignore its presence. The room had been clear of people for a while, what with sound checks and his last-minute decision to grab some food before performing because his stomach felt like his throat had been cut and there was no way he'd have the energy to perform without at least a nibble — and so his phone had been abandoned for so long he forgot the thing even existed.
If his team was shocked about it, they didn't say a word.
He hadn't gone a single second without his pink-cased phone in his hand or his pocket since finding out about Michaela's pregnancy, insistent on being at her beck & call every hour of the day even if it meant losing sleep and dodging meetings for her; he hadn't caught a break ever since. Not that he wanted one actually: he wanted nothing more than to be by Kayla's side, helping her in every simple task and taking care of her like the good man he'd grown to be. Tour meant he was torn away from that and the love of his life — being with his phone, his only communication with said girl was almost verbatim with the feeling.
The fact he'd gone anywhere, even on stage without it, was flabbergasting, to say the least. His team, his brothers even, had all agreed he needed to take at least some time away from his phone at some point because he was so attached to it that they were worried he was spiralling again. Wyge and Jaylen both knew how paranoid he was though, rightfully so too, and they sympathised; but there was a line. Especially when he was late to his set at every single show because he couldn't go one without Michaela assuring him she was safe and sound at least twice, double checking with his mother too that she'd seen her alive and healthy in the morning. Time zones obviously made it difficult, so the woman had set alarms for when Oakley was performing just so she could speak to him beforehand and stop him worrying.
Though today differed.
Everything else went as it always did: Oakley touched down on the landing strip in the early morning, headed for breakfast with his manager to go over his schedule for the hundredth time then took off to the venue to prep and chill before performing his carefully curated setlist. He'd been texting back and forth with his girlfriend throughout everything else he'd done - just somehow, some way, it slipped his mind when Andy (the DJ he brought on tour with him) had beckoned him for a dress rehearsal. Had he taken his phone with him, slipped it into the back pocket of his Amiri jeans with his entry pass like ritual, he would've known of the distress Kayla was in the whole afternoon.
The girl had started her morning earlier than usual to stay in line with her boyfriend throughout the day – he was only over in Sweden and an hour out, so it didn't make much difference to her – still, it was early. She'd been out for lunch with his mother as they did most days of the week, per Oakley's orders, and come home to do some of the housework. Since he'd left to go perform across the globe the girl had been slacking in that sector; she told herself it was just the baby drawing all her energy out like she was in debt with it, but she couldn't deny the guilty pleasure that was letting the washing build up a bit in the bathroom hamper or not putting the dishes away until the next evening. The man was such a neat freak and he truly tried to calm down on it recently but he just seemed to malfunction whenever something wasn't in order. So who wouldn't indulge in a bit of laziness when he was gone?
Michaela was heavily pregnant now so she was taking it easy as it was, but the piercing ache that was coming over her in waves all day meant she was going extra slow and extra easy. It didn't occur to her what this pain was for far longer than was reasonable really, she just assumed she'd overworked herself over the week or slept funny. That was until the afternoon had morphed into the evening and the sky had gone dark, the stars all displayed prettily surrounding a full moon; trust her to have this happen on a full fucking moon. The pain in her back had gotten worse and had travelled so now it not only affected her back but her legs, stomach, hips and pelvis. Kayla didn't even have the words to describe how bad it was, and still, she remained oblivious somehow. After all those classes Oakley had made her take for parenting, pregnancy and labour you'd think she'd be quick on her feet with the conclusion — it seemed not.
When an overwhelming gush of liquid formed a puddle beneath her whilst she was unloading the dishwasher, it hit her all at once. As if on instinct she immediately started trying to call her boyfriend, frantically might I add, and the more times it rang the more panicked she got. The woman knew she was probably worse off if she was stressing and overwhelmed, but she truly couldn't control it; Oakley wasn't picking up at all and she'd called like, a hundred times — she gave up then. Her mind was foggy and practically fucking blank with the level of pain and panic pulsing through her veins, and through it all the only contact her fingers reached to click was Marvin's.
