The Silenced Drummer

Chapter 8: Preparing

Paul was laying down on his bed, staring up at the plain white ceiling. John was in the shower and George and Ringo were comforting each other in the other bed. His mind was blank, not wanting to think about the current situation. 

George looked over at his friend, seeing how focused his gaze was on the ceiling. Ringo was once again snuggled up against his chest.

"Ay Paul?" The guitarist's voice broke the silence.

"What?" Paul answered, sounding tired. 

"W-who should tell em'?" George asked.

"Tell who?"

"The fans... everyone. Who should tell them about..." His voice trailed off when he noticed that Ringo raised his head to look at him.

Paul knew what he was talking about.

"Well... I-I don't think I w-want to... I d-don't think John w-wants too either..."

"I thought you'd say that..." Paul shifted, uncomfortable with George's response.

"W-well, w-we know t-that you don't w-wanna tell them either..." He said, trying to clarify his statement.

"I know..." George sighed," but I f-figured that I w-would have to d-do it..." His tone was somber. His grip on Ringo tightened.

"G-George..." Paul didn't know what to say. He didn't want George to feel any worse, but he didn't know what to do.

The bathroom door opened and John walked out, wearing a suit and black pants.

"George, it's yer turn," He said, looking at the guitarist. 

Sighing, George got up from the bed and began to pick out his clothes. 

Ringo turned over on the bed and looked at the uncovered window, gazing at the blue sky that matched his eyes. He did not turn away when he heard a door close. 

John laid down on his bed, next to Paul.

"So... who-"

"George. He's the one that will tell them," Paul interrupted, answering John's question before he was able to ask it.

"O-oh. Well, anyways... how is he?" John said, pointing at the drummer's back.

"I don't know... How can I know when h-he can't talk?"

"D-do we h-have any paper?"

"No," Paul answered. John sighed.

"Well.. want to go over to him? I'm sure that he needs some comfort while George isn't here..." Paul looked at the older man and nodded. They both turned their heads to look at the drummer.

"Ringo?" Paul asked.

Ringo did not move as he continued to stare out of the window. He heard Paul ,but he did not bother to look behind him.

"Ringo," Paul said once again. His tone more serious this time.

Ringo turned his head so that he could see his friends. His stare was cold and emotionless and it sent shivers down the bassist's spine. John and Paul looked at each other and sighed. John stood up first.

"Ringo... I... we're sorry for what happened to you yesterday..." He walked closer to the other bed and Ringo went onto his back. Paul stood up as well.

"Listen... we just want to comfort you while George is in the shower. C-can we do that? You can nod," Paul said.

Ringo did nod, but he didn't look at John, who was now standing at the edge of his bed. Slowly, he let himself onto the bed and sat next to Ringo. The older man sat up as well. John put a hand on the drummer's shoulder.

"I j-just want to say that... even after what happened... we all still consider you our bandmate, and our friend," John said softly, looking at Ringo. The drummer was looking down.

Paul got on the bed as well and sat down.

Ringo wanted to tell them to go away, but he knew that he couldn't. He just wanted to be left alone right now. 

To him, it did not matter that John had said that he still mattered to the band, despite his injury. 

And the thought of what was going to be happening soon made Ringo shudder. 

He finally raised his head so that his face was visible. 

The three Beatles all stared at each other, not knowing what to say.

Eventually, Paul got the nerve to speak.

"Look, Ringo, w-we just wanted t-to make sure t-that you w-were okay... I j-just hope that we didn't make you uncomfortable," Paul said. His own statement gave the bassist a question to ask.

"W-we didn't, d-did we?"

Ringo shook his head, not wanting to ostracize himself from the two Beatles. In truth, they had made him uncomfortable, but he did not have the heart to tell them so. He knew that they were only trying to help.

The bathroom door opened and the three Beatles all looked over, seeing George walk out in casual looking clothes.

Upon seeing the sight on the bed, his eyes widened in surprised. He did not say anything as he walked over to the group.

Paul moved over to allow space for the guitarist to sit down.

They were all silent, not knowing what to talk about.

Ringo glanced around, surveying the room. He tried to find something to focus on. When he met George's face, he tensed.

He did not know why he tensed, but he was glad that none of the other Beatles noticed. 

He began to remember all the times they had together.

The time that he had first met George in Hamburg. The time he had fought off a fan after his first public concert with them. The fun they had while filming A Hard Day's Night.

Ringo knew that he would not be able to live moments like those again. He wouldn't be able to talk to George, or to anyone for that matter, and he didn't know how they would make another movie about them if he wasn't able to talk.

The drummer exhaled, looking away from George. He instead focused his gaze on the clock that was hanging on the wall.

9:45

Less than three hours from now, they would all have to face the world and tell everyone that a Beatle had lost his voice.

Ringo closed his eyes and wondered what Brian was going to do when he came back.