Family Values

Chapter 5

After a few minutes of hugging, Corey pulls away and mumbles, "We should probably go tell the others..."
I nod, mentally cringing at the possible reactions the guys might have.
I stand up and Corey does the same, walking out of my room, and calling out, "Band meeting in the living room, right now!"
I hear the guys stirring in their rooms and Mick, Craig and Shawn join us. We walk downstairs, while the others follow. Everyone takes a seat in the living room, excluding Corey and I, who stay standing.
I think Chris knew what this meeting was about, because he was looking rather irritable, and sat slumped on the couch with his arms crossed. The others, sitting in various places, looked wary and confused.
Corey begins. "All right. The reason I've called this meeting is because Chris received a call from the lead singer of the new band, Five Finger Death Punch, Ivan Moody. Apparently, Mr. Moody wants Colleen to join him and his band to sing a few songs with them, and to also make a music video with them." Disapproving murmurs erupt from the guys.
Sid asks, "When would she have to go?"
Chris answers, "In two days." He glares at me. "That is, if she actually decides to go or not." He makes a face, along with Sid and Jay.
"How long would she be gone?" Shawn asks Chris.
"About two weeks, maybe longer." Chris grumbles.
Shocked gasps sound from everyone, and I felt my heart leap to my throat. Two weeks? Away from the guys?
Shawn stands up suddenly. Walking to me, he grabs my shoulders and demands, "Col, please tell me you're not considering this."
I look down at the floor, ashamed. Shawn sighs and drops his hands. "Great," he growls. He returns to the couch, sits, and crosses his arms.
I shut my eyes. I knew this would happen.
"She's agreed to go," Corey says softly. Right then, the room fell silent.
I lift my eyes and immediately blush in embarrassment. Everyone's eyes were on me, and I swore the temperature in the room dropped.
"Well," Alex says, his voice chilly, "Hope you have fun. Glad to know that we're not good enough for you. Come on, Jay." He stands and storms out of the room, Jay following behind.
My throat closes up, and I quickly return my eyes to the floor. Embarrassment, hurt and anger roll through me and tears start to build in the corners of my eyes.
Corey runs after Alex and Jay, yelling angrily.
A soft sigh comes from somewhere to the left. I hear someone stand up and walk to me. Arms appear around my shoulders and I lean into the person's chest. I smell laundry detergent; it was Sid.
I wrap my arms around Sid and silently cry into his shirt.
He gently strokes my hair and murmurs to me, "Just give them some time. I'm not happy about it either, but I will support you, although I'll miss you like hell."
I look up at him, and a small smile tugs at the corners of his lips.
"Thank you, Sid," I whisper. I look down again and I hear someone else get up. A finger slides under my chin and then I was looking into Craig's eyes.
He gives me a small smile and leans in. He lightly presses his lips to my forehead for a second, then moves away after patting my head. He exits the room, heading after Corey, Jay and Alex, who were arguing upstairs.
Sid lets me go and heads after him.
I was now with Chris, Shawn, Mick and Jim.
Chris and Shawn were avoiding my gaze, but Mick moves to the edge of the couch and holds his arms out to me. I go to him and sit on his left knee.
Pulling me into his arms, he rests his chin on top of my head and sighs. "Just promise you won't let them do something you don't want them to," he says. "We won't be there to protect you." I sigh. "I know," I mumble.
Mick continues: "And like Sid said, don't worry about Jay and Alex. They'll come around."
I pull away and smile up at him. "Thanks, Mickey," I murmur.
He smiles down at me and ruffles my hair.
I get off his knee and he gets up, grabbing his jacket and heading to the door.
"Where ya headed to?" Jim calls after him.
"The liquor store. I think everyone's gonna need a drink after this." Mick yells back before shutting the door.
I sigh quietly and move to exit the living room, but Chris calls me back. "Col? Could you come back, please? I want to talk to you."
I wince, then walk back into the living room. "Y-yeah, Chris?" I ask nervously. His attitude had changed to apologetic, and he pats the space next to him. I sit next to him and he puts an arm around my shoulders.
I rest my head on his shoulder as he begins. "Col, I really don't like the sound of this Ivan Moody guy. I'm afraid he'll want to keep you for longer than he said, or change something. Point is, I just want you to do what you were called to do as best you can, so you can get out of there as fast as you can."
He looks to me. "I just want you to be safe," he whispers, brushing a lock of hair off my face. "I know Corey's your dad, but I consider you as a daughter, too. I want to be sure you'll be okay."
He then smiles gently at me. "Sorry I was so pissed before. I just didn't like the thought of you not being around."
I return the smile and reply, "It's okay. I understand."
He squeezes my shoulders, then looks over at Shawn and Jim. "Guys? Anything you want to add?" he asks.
Neither of them answer for a minute. Then Shawn gives a huge sigh, turns, and sheepishly smiles at me. "What can I say? I can never stay mad at you." he says.
I giggle, and Chris drops his arm so that I could scoot over to Shawn to let him hug me.
Jim smirks. "I second that," he says, reaching over Shawn's head to muss up my hair. "As Sid would say, 'You're just too cute!'"
I laugh openly, because that would totally be something Sid would say. Shawn pulls away, and we all stand.
"So we're okay now?" I ask.
"Yeah," "Yup," "I guess," were the answers.
I smile at all of them, then pause, listening for the arguing upstairs. It seemed to have calmed down. I hear someone walking down the stairs.
I quickly walk to the bottom of the stairs and look up. There was Corey, Sid, Craig and Jay, but Alex wasn't with them.
Corey looked tired, Jay looked like a whipped dog, and Sid and Craig had grim faces.
The minute Jay reaches the bottom of the stairs, he takes my hand and pulls me into a hug. "I'm so sorry, Col," he whispers. "I didn't know- Alex, he just- He didn't mean to-"
I hug him back and say, "It's all right, Jay, he's just angry. I understand."
Jay sighs in relief and lets me go. I give him a smile, which he gratefully returns.
Then he looks around and asks, "Where's Mick?"
"Liquor store," Shawn answers. "Said everybody might need a drink after this."
Corey chuckles weakly. "Good man," he murmurs. He walks over to me and puts an arm around my shoulders. Kissing my hair, he lets go and heads to the living room.
I start to follow him, but Sid grabs my hand and brings me back, shaking his head when I give a questioning look. "He's really tired, Col," he says softly. "He needs some time to himself."
I nod. "I'm just gonna, uh, go to my room," I say quietly. He nods and releases my hand. I head up the stairs and into my room.
I also needed some alone time, to think.