Pen Pals

Chapter 51

"Thanks, Chance." Adam said over his shoulder.

"It's no problem. We're family, remember. Families look after one another." The baritone winked.

"Damn, girl. You are all sorts of messed up." Austin gushed as he and Rob made it to Adam's dressing room.

"Eh. I'll be ok. Bruised and sore is about all." She chuckled before wincing in pain.

"Sorry, babe." Adam stated.

Celestia shrugged. Fighting hurt and she was expecting this. Luke entered the room and said that the label had been informed of what had transpired.

"They agree with her firing and want to welcome you aboard, Celestia." Luke told the group, "I'm going to go check on Tim."

"Glad to hear it." She chuckled, "Although this isn't what I had expected when I was released on parole."

"You're gonna be a great tour mom. We all know it." Rob stroked his beard with a smile.

"I sure hope so." She retorted, "I'm a little nervous about this since I have no experience."

The group left the Rupp couple alone. He made sure she was completely cleaned up from all the blood and saliva. Her face was bruised already and it killed him. He pulled her onto his lap and buried his face in her neck. She closed her eyes and just enjoyed the solitude with her husband knowing that the blond harpy wasn't going to be bothering them anymore. Now perhaps people could relax and not feel the need to walk on eggshells anymore!

"Tim? You ok buddy?" Luke peeked his head inside Tim's dressing room.

The bass man shrugged as he scrolled through photos on his phone.

"Talk to me." Luke urged.

"I loved this woman. I don't know what it was about Celestia that changed her."

"Tim, I don't think Celestia changed Jenika. I think Celestia brought out the real Jenika. She had us all fooled, so don't feel bad." Luke gave the Texan's shoulder a squeeze.

"What do I do know?" Tim was fighting tears now.

"What you were planning on doing before. Go through with the divorce. Rid yourself of Jenika. There's a woman out there, Tim, that will appreciate how amazing you are. A woman who will treat you like a King instead of a stepping stone to what she wants." Luke told him.

Pippa's face immediately popped into Tim's head.

"I'm not sure I can go through with another relationship." Tim countered.

"Quit lying to me and yourself, Tim. I know this break-up is still raw and everything still hurts. When that woman comes along, you'll know it. You'll be able to tell her everything. She'll cheer you up, go to bat for you, she'll listen without judgements. You'll be friends first. I think that's what went wrong with Jen, to be honest." Luke shrugged.

Once more, Pippa's face came to Tim's mind. Luke figured he'd given the bass man enough to think about it so he left the dressing room to make a few more phone calls. Tim sat back and thought about everything. How his wife had acted, the crazed lunatic she'd turned into, how Celestia's family had treated him like family from the get-go, the fight he'd witnessed between his friend's wife and his own. The words Luke had said hit him deeply.

Chance, Austin, and Rob were in Austin's dressing room to give the Rupp's time alone and to give Tim some space. It had been a rough day for all involved.

"Do you think Tim will recover from this?" Austin questioned.

"He's a strong man, Austin. It'll take some time to heal the wounds but I think he'll come out stronger for the experience." Chance stated.

"Yeah, me too. I mean, the things Jenika said and did to him isn't easily forgotten or gotten over. But ultimately, I think he'll be fine." Rob stroked his beard.

"Think this will be the end of Jenika causing drama with Tim and Celestia?" Austin inquired.

"Knowing Jenika's undeserved hatred of Celestia...no. She'll try something stupid, I'm sure of it." Chance shrugged.

"I feel so bad for all of them. Tim taking so much bs from Jenika. Celestia being the object of her rage for no damned reason. Adam having to constantly defend his wife. It just..." Austin sighed, "...hopefully with Jenika gone, things can go back to normal again."

"Were things ever normal with us?" Rob laughed making the other two laugh as well.

Some of the crew were gathered around the light/sound station talking about what had transpired. Some were relieved Jenika had been fired and others thought she just needed some mental health help. They were split on whether she deserved to go to jail. Chris brought up the fact that she had attacked Tim on more than one occasion. To him, she deserved her time in jail. It was agreed on by everyone that she did, in fact, need some psychiatric help, however.

The tension was gone. They no longer had to worry about Jenika coming up ranting and raving. There was no more listening to the blond woman making wild accusations that everyone knew were utter bull. No more having to watch what they said around Jenika, afraid of setting her off. Now, perhaps, they could focus on their jobs and make each Home Free show the best it could be. The band didn't have that extra stress on them either. That night's show was the first with Celestia as tour manager.

The entire band were much more playful on stage. More jokes, more joking around with one another. The immediate change in the band now that Jenika was no longer there was astounding. Tim had committed to going through with the divorce and hoped he could get it done quickly while she was in jail. Celestia stood by the side of the stage as she had done so many times before and watched as the boys did what they did best. This time, they seemed to be really giving it their all. After all this time, they were all happy and relaxed.

A/N: I think I'm going to end this book here. I hope y'all enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed writing it :) Thanks for your patience! Much love XoXoX