My Piece of the Action

Abuse Rehab

Raven sat with Erin in the same café and the same table a fortnight later. She had a pram beside her chair, Renan napping in it. Today was Saturday, and water lashed against the streets outside relentlessly in a rare L.A. storm. The café was cosy and smelled of coffee and cakes. Erin looked much better then a fortnight ago.
"How's Axl?" Raven asked. Erin knew what she meant immediately.
"He's- good. Much better. He hasn't hit me at all lately. Not since- since you talked to him. It's such a drastic change. There's a punching bag in the basement, and I know when I piss him off because he goes down there and lays into the punch bag."
"Good!" Raven smiled, "you tell me if he does hit you, and I'll make him stop." She added,
"Okay, yeah." Erin smiled back, "thankyou! He's- scary. Hard to stand up to." She frowned slightly, gently nodding her head.
"So... how are you doing?" Raven changed the subject,
"I'm so great. Axl's an absolute sweetheart lately, buying me flowers and all sorts of things. He wrote a song about the harder times with us, you know? He wants me to re-marry him because our first time was so rushed and had such bad vibes. He even bought a new engagement ring for me." She explained, holding out her hand to Raven, revealing a gorgeous ring, "and he wants to have our new marriage on film and make it part of the video for the song he wrote." She added, grinning happily. Raven raised her eyebrows. She knew what music video Erin was talking about. November Rain.
"That's really good of him!" Raven smiled gently. So she'd changed that much, she wondered what more could be turned around. Maybe Axl could renounce his old ways and get the family he'd always wanted.
After coffee, Raven went home and Renan woke up around five,
"Mommy." She heard his small, tired voice call out from the pram which she had beside her as she cooked. She looked down,
"Hey buddy! Good evening." She smiled,
"Mom- food pease!" He frowned.
"Okay buddy, I'm cooking it, see?"
"Okay mommy!" He smiled cutely. She left the stir fry in the pan for a second and got Renan out, placing him into his highchair. She got the apple juice out and grabbed a random sippee cup out of the cupboard, which just happened to be one Slash got him. It had a plain black lid, a clear plastic cup section, and it had the Jack Daniels no.7 print on the side. She didn't even know where he picked it up. It was very Slash of him.
Raven put the apple juice in it and sealed the lid, giving it to Renan.
"Tank, mommy." The tired toddler muttered.
"All good cutie." She turned back to the stir fry and moved it around in the pan some more. Suddenly the phone rang. She once again left it cooking, this time answering the phone.
"Hello?" She said,
"Raven-" she could hear Erin sobbing,
"Erin, what happened!?" Raven's insides tightened in worry.
"Axl- he- he hit me. Only once though- and then got in the car and drove away. I dunno where he went- he looked so sorry- like he felt like a monster and was scared of himself and what he'd done." Erin was crying, "I'm worried about him- and my-" *sob* "-arm has a big bruise already."
"Okay Erin, thankyou for calling me about this. Do you need me to come over?" Raven asked,
"No. It's fine Raven- you just told me to- tell you."
"Alright, thankyou. Deep breaths, honey. Have a glass of water and a warm shower, and just relax. The way you explained it, Axl didn't mean to hit you so if he comes back he shouldn't hurt you again. In fact I'd be surprised if he doesn't apologise." Raven told her, "just relax honey. I'll deal with him." Raven was about to hang up when Erin suddenly said,
"Don't hurt him!" To which Raven made no reply, but simply hung up. It was not she who would be dealing blows.

The next day...
Raven walked into the band's recording studio alone. Renan was with his grandfather at home. As she stepped over the threshold the band stopped playing. They all gazed at her, waiting.
"Hi Rae!" Slash waved from the corner where he was playing guitar.
"Hello Slash, hi everyone." She looked at Axl dead in the eye and she could visibly see him swallow hard. He looked afraid. "Axl." She said,
"Hi." His voice was a little shaky. He knew what was going to happen, his band mates looked at him, confused.
"So Axl. Hit Erin again did you?" Raven got straight to the point,
"I- I'm sorry!" Axl looked around the room frantically, walking backwards to the wall on the right, knowing his band mates well enough to know that they certainly wouldn't let him get away with that. "Is that right Axl?" Slash sounded shell-shocked, Duff looked like he was personally offended. There was a bang and odd ringing noise as Izzy threw his white semi acoustic onto the floor.
"You hit your girl, Ax? I thought you were better then that!" Izzy yelled. This was the angriest she'd ever seen Izzy. It scared her.
"Izzy- Izzy man! Don't okay?" Axl had his hands up, palms toward the fuming rhythm guitarist storming towards him. Izzy threw a mean right hook into Axl's cheekbone, causing Axl's head to flick sideways, his hair now messy. He raised a hand to his now sore face. "Does that hurt Bill Bailey?!" Izzy snapped, "see how she feels?" He shouted, taking a few steps back, Izzy then glared at his childhood friend. "I thought you were better then that." Axl looked very angry at his friend's words. He advanced towards Izzy, who looked very much ready for round two. Just as Axl got within arms reach of the guitarist, opening his mouth;
"How dare you-" his words were cut short as the one and only Matt Sorum slogged him in the face. Axl fell onto his arse, he looked as shocked as Raven felt.
"I don't like woman- beaters." Matt said simply, and then he and Izzy both left the room followed by the rest of the band, each of them leaving their instruments where they were. Raven hadn't expected Matt to step up. He was 'the new guy.'
All the same, she went towards the heavily bleeding singer, still seated on his arse near the wall where he'd fallen.
"I thought I told not to touch her." Raven spat on the floor near him, then she went the same way as his bandmates; out the door. She jogged down the street, where she could see them walking together.
"-He does have bi polar." She could hear a clippit of their conversation as she got closer.
"Listen guys, he's getting better. He's not been hitting her much at all lately." Raven told them, falling into step beside Slash.
"Yeah well I always sorta knew I guess. I just didn't know for sure." Izzy frowned.
"Don't worry Raven, as long as he will stop hitting her, we'll help him to stop- the band's not about to break up." Slash assured her, almost as though he read her mind. She breathed a sigh of relief.
"Good punch you've got there, Sorum." Duff chuckled.
"Did you see his face!" Slash laughed,
"Yeah I don't think he expected that from me." Matt nodded, smiling gently, "Izzy started it," he added, nudging Izzy's side in a friendly manner.
"I don't think I've ever seen you that angry, man!" Slash chuckled.
"Yeah I know! Fucking jesus." Duff laughed, sticking a cigarette between his lips and lighting it up. Izzy smirked in return.
Raven smiled, knowing Axl had learned a valuable lesson.

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