What She's Doing Now (Sequel to The Great Pretenders)

Hide Your Love Away

By The Beatles

How can I even try
I can never win
Hearing them, seeing them
In the state I'm in

How could she say to me
Love will find a way
Gather round all you clowns
Let me hear you say

Hey you've got to hide your love away

Matt wasn't surprised to see Charlie standing outside of his door when he opened it to make his way downstairs. But he was surprised that she seemed like a hound that had been kicked.

"Hey Charlie," he said immediately feeling guilty that he'd spent the evening in bed with Lucy instead of trying to patch things up with his daughter . "Are you okay?"

"Yeah I'm fine," she looked up at him with her hazel eyes. "We were down at breakfast with everyone...and the guys sent me up here to see what was keeping you and..."
He gave her a dimples smile "Well let's not keep them waiting then."
She returned the grin tentatively as they began to walk down the hall "I wanted the chance to talk to you....to tell you...that I'm sorry, I was a real jerk yesterday." He seemed surprised so she continued "For that guy. I mean, I know you were just trying to...be, like, my dad and I completely overreacted."
"I overreacted," he admitted "it's going to take a bit for me to get a handle on having a teenage daughter."
"You did overreact," she replied "you've got to trust me. Trust me that I know what I'm doing. Right from wrong. You know?"
"And you've got to trust me when I say that not every guy has your best interests at heart. I know...I mean I was 15 once."
"Aeons ago," she joked.
"Guys haven't changed much size then," he offered
She acknowledged that he might be right with a slight nod but continued. "I'm sorry for what I said...about my mom having bad judgment...like about you. I didn't mean it,"she twisted her mouth in a frown "I just hope you aren't too mad at me and want to send me home. But I'd totally understand if you did."
His eyes widened "Why would you think that I want to send you home?"
"I don't know,"she shrugged as she looked down, shuffling her feet "I guess maybe because I've been more trouble than I'm worth."
"Charlie," he said inhaling a sharp breath. He wanted to put his arms around her and give her a hug but he wasn't sure if she was ready for that. She wasn't a three year old and she may not feel comfortable yet. Instead he motioned for her to follow him and they began to walk "That's not true. These last couple of days...just getting to know you..."
"They've been great," she chimed in "This has all been great. But it's not real life."
"What do you mean?" he asked as he pressed the down button to call the elevator.
"I mean, this is life on the road...but it's not the way things will be when we go home. So if I'm a hassle on the road, who's to say that you're going to want to deal with me on a permanent basis. You know?" She asked a bit of pleading in her voice.
Matt shook his head "No I don't know. Because that will never happen."
"You can't be sure," she said as the elevator door opened "What happens when everyone finds out? Your family? I mean you're in the middle of a crappy situation with your wife."
"Which has nothing to do with you," he offered as he pressed the button for the bottom floor. "And as for my family, I already told my sister...and my parents...who wouldn't want such a cool ass grandkid?"
She smiled and mumbled "I guess."
"I'm sorry I didn't try to work this out last night," he continued "that you had these thoughts that I'd want to send you away. You're my family now. You're part of me. Part of your mom. You've got excellent taste in music and talent mixed with your mom's beauty. Why would I ever want to give that up? You must be pretty crazy, kid."
"I guess it runs in our family," she replied absently. She couldn't help but notice the grin that grew on her fathers face when he talked about her mom. Maybe there was some truth to Kate's idea. She'd have to keep an eye out on them.
=======================
Lucy managed to down two cups of coffee and ate the bacon from all the guy's plates. Arin was even kind enough to give her a piece of toast covered in blackberry jam. Her favorite. Kate didn't seem to notice her rapacious appetite as she shared her music and conversation with Johnny as Brian and Zacky argued over the merit of her music selections.
She should be worried that her daughter hadn't returned yet. Maybe she and Matt were arguing. Maybe they were going to be at odds permanently since Matt had little experience dealing with a teenager. Maybe it wouldn't work out as Charlie would be heartbroken. Why the hell were all these doom and gloom thoughts entering her head? Because things seemed to be going too well and that's when things always screwed up.
She exhaled when she saw them enter the restaurant together. She was anxious to hear their conversation but her cellphone rang.
Zoey Haner's name popped up on the screen. Automatically she looked at Brian, but he wasn't paying attention to her.
"Hello?" She said tentatively as she rose from the table, Matt and Charlie's eyes following her as she walked away.
"Don't say my name," Zoey said in a whisper as if the table could hear her"Is Brian around you?"
"Yes, but I just walked away from the table," Lucy said.
"Charlie around?"
"At the table with Matt."
"So you can talk then?"
Lucy frowned "Duh. What's wrong? You and Brian fighting?"
"Hm no we didn't fight," she said "but we did have an interesting discussion about my potential feelings for Brendon Urie."
"So you admit it. You got it bad for him."Lucy chuckled