Uproar

Chapter 14

Chester

"Under a sky of..." I stop and chew on the end of my pen. Mike is sitting next to me, but at a pretty good distance. "Grey. Or maybe something grey."

Writing lyrics with the person that despises you the most sucks. Especially when you barely talk to each other. That had been the case for the entire year and a half I had been here. Brad and Dave helped me find a job. I was working at a cafe, serving people coffee all day. Everyday. Coffee is great, but when your smelling it all day it can get sickening. And I finally had my own apartment. Not a very good one, but it was affordable. Now I was able to manage on my own.

Nothing changed with Mike though. We avoided each other mainly. The only time we spoke to each other was when we had band meetings or when we had to write lyrics. And right now, that's not what I felt like doing. Alone. The others had already gone home, tired from all the writing process. Dave had offered to bring food in about an hour.

"Dirt--No dust." He nodded and write it down. 

"Well this one's done," he closed the notebook and tossed it onto the desk. He stretched his back, clashing his hands together and raising his arms high above his head. I yawned and grabbed my backpack. I knew Don didn't mind if I drank in here, so I pulled out a beer. It was warm from sitting in my bag all day, but I didn't care at the moment. I just craved a drink.

I felt Mike's burning eyes beside me. I used my teeth to pop open the bottle, an art that has been practiced for years. I take a sip and my mouth feels refreshed. I downed the whole bottle in a few chugs and feel a buzz begun to wash over me, making my head a bit foggy.

"You never stop, don't you."

"I don't plan on it," I tell Mike as I place the empty bottle by me on the hard wood floor. "Thought you didn't care Mikey."

I see him tense up at the corner of my vision. I turned and he's glaring at me through his black frame glasses. "Don't get your panties in a bunch. It's just a name."

"Yeah but don't call me Mikey!" I rolled my eyes. 

"You're acting like a five year old Mikey. Super mature." I grab my bag again and he stands up.

"Shut up! You're fucking stupid. You don't know how to fucking listen!"

I glared back at him and stood up too, dropping my backpack back onto the couch. "Well excuse me princess. I don't see you lending an ear to the guys."

He makes the gap between us shorter, grabbing my hair. My breathing stopped. "I fucking hate you, you worthless piece of shit." I whimpered as his pull on my hair got stronger. Then he threw me. My neck jerked to the side and I toppled over, hitting the floor hard. My shoulder collided with the floor and I winced. Then a kick. I cried out as his old worn out Chuck Taylor's hit my side repeatedly. He kicked my hip forcefully, pain shooting through out my entire leg.

"M-ike," I wheezed out. I tried to turn and look up at him, but he grabs me and hits my jaw. I whimper again and feel tears prick at my eyes. He throws another punch, this time his fist connects with my cheek. I felt the space under my right eye swell immediately. I choke out a lungful of air, the pain suddenly becoming too much to handle. "Mike...st-op," I said just as his knee kicked into my stomach.

He's hitting my face again, and his knuckles hit my nose. I cried out and looked at him with pleading eyes. "Mikey..." I whimpered out, sounding like the seventeen year old that pleaded for his help all those years ago. His expression softens and his fist comes to a stop. Just as his grip on my shirt loosens, the door was opened.

Dave stood there, frozen and holding a bag of fast food at his side. He dropped the bag and pushed Mike away from me. "You asshole!" He screeched as he grabbed me. My body felt to tousled to even have someone hug me. His protective hug made my body ache and I winced.

"What the hell were you thinking?!" Mike stayed silent, just staring at Dave. "Tell me!" His arms confined to hold me firmly. Then in the light of what just happened, it hit me. The weight of everything that has been going on finally dropped onto me. I found myself crying against Dave's shoulder. My body felt weak from all the hits, it even hurt my chest to cry.

I finally understood I wasn't wanted anywhere. I wasn't gonna be accepted by Mike. And a little part of me was telling me he wasn't gonna be the only one after a while.

"How could you Mike?" Dave asked quietly, still holding me close. I hung onto him, my hands gripping his oversized grey hoodie. I was shaking with quiet sobs and I could feel Mike's gaze on my back. "Mike--I'm sorry."

"Wait, Dave-- you can't," Mike tried. 

"I gave you enough chances! You had the option to leave him alone and not hurt him or do this!"

"Dave-"

"No Mike. I'm done. Go find another bass player." I gasped as he let go of me and stormed out of the room. 

"Dave wait!" Mike ran after him. I just stood there, a sobbing mess, not knowing what to think.

Mike

I'm so stupid. I knew my anger would get the best of me. Stupid. Stupid. Stupid. Stupid. Stupid.

I jogged towards Dave, who was opening his car door. "Phi we only have a month left! We're almost done!" He ignored me and got into his car.

"Dave please! You know how difficult it is to find someone new!"

"If you knew that maybe you shouldn't have done that," he snarled and slammed the car shut. He drove out of the parking lot and left me standing there. I cried out and stormed to my car. I can't believe this. I yank the door open and then stop. Chester's face flashes in my mind.

"'Mikey...I c-can't," Chester whimpered as he held onto me. His face was pale and his small frame was trembling. "Yes you can baby. I know you can." He nodded and buried his head in my chest. I knew he was going to over come his addiction. He was doing so well.

I knuckled away some stray tears. Yeah I missed him from time to time. And it hurt that he lied to me. He faked it all. This...this is his fault. I huff and sit in the car, shivering as I turn the heater up. A month left. That's all we have left and this is what happens.

***

"Hello?"

"Brad."

"Yeah Mike?" I grip the phone and bite my lip. I feel every ounce of guilt leak into my stomach. I couldn't do it, but the guys had to know.

"Dave left." It's quiet on the other line and I can tell he's thinking about it. 

"But he's here?"

"The band Brad. H-he left." It quiet again. 

Then Brad spoke up. "Is this..? Isn't it because--because of his other band?"

"I-I don't know. But Brad I-"I stopped and collected myself, falling onto the couch and rubbing my eyes. "I fucked up Brad."

"Mike what are you-" He stopped, maybe finally knowing what I did wrong. The whole band heard Dave's threat to leave the band if I did anything to Chester. He was quiet for quite a while. It scared me, knowing everything could fall apart all because of me.

"Mike...you--Nevermind." He hung up and I knew I finally fucked everything up. And the sad part is, I'm only upset because Dave left. I don't regret laying a hand on Chester.