Patience (d.m)

2.2: Effort

Lonely Heart by 5 Seconds Of Summer

Duff's P.O.V

I take another swig of my bottle of vodka as I watch Henley laugh with Nikki. It's been a week since I hurt my love once again. She's avoided me so much to the point where I think she's forgotten I even exist. Maybe it's best if she forgets about me. All I seem to do is hurt her.

It's after a show and everyone is backstage hanging out for a bit. We probably won't leave until well after midnight. Steven is talking to Madeline. It seems like an intense conversation that neither of them want to be having. Axl is making out with some chick on the couch, Slash and Izzy are snorting blow. Mick is drinking heavier than I am on the stool next to me, Vince and Tommy are talking to some hookers. Henley's band are all sitting together having a conversation. And Nikki and Henley are flirting right in front of me.

I hear Steven yell "Fine!"

I turn to look at what the commotion is about. Stevie stomps away from Madeline, going to snort blow with Slash and Izzy. My eyes are immediately drawn over to Nikki and Henley again. I can't help but feel the raging jealousy inside of me. That should be me laughing and smiling with her. Not some drugged up asshole who can barely walk straight without her helping him.

"Well, seems like you're a jealous fucker," Mick says from beside me.

I jump a bit, not expecting him to speak to me. He hasn't said a word to me the entire tour. To be fair, he's either with his girlfriend, Emi, or just keeps to himself. He's the least problematic one of Motley Crue.

I laugh at his words, taking a swig of my vodka. "How can you tell?"

"I can see the way you look at Henley and Nikki. You look like you want to murder Nikki."

I sigh. "What does it matter at this point? I really think that she'd be better off without me. She seems really happy with Nikki."

Mick smiles sadly. "That might be true for now, but as soon as Nikki gets away from her grip and gets his hands on some smack, he'll be a huge jackass to her. Abusive, even. You saw what happened that day that Tommy took Nikki from the hotel room. He hadn't even gotten it into his system and he hit her."

I furrow my eyebrows, confused. "How did you know about that? You weren't in the room when it happened."

"After Nikki fell asleep that night, she came to my room. She was crying and needed someone to talk to. She also told me that you were drunk, trying to pick a fight with her out in the hallway." Mick shifts in his seat. He takes a swig of his Jack Daniels bottle. "Let me tell you something, Duff. Henley is the sweetest girl you'll ever meet. Emotional at times, and even irrational, but sweet. She'll protect you till the end. She'll defend you, fight for you, and stand by your side at all times. No matter how or how much you fuck her over, she will love you with every fiber of her being." Mick turns to me, getting really into his speech. He narrows his eyes at me. "Henley's heart is so big. She loves so much and so hard that at times it might be suffocating. She will never give up on you. Nikki is a prime example of Henley's love. She took him through the grieving process when his girlfriend died. Angel was the only person he had ever dared to love. Henley was the one that gave him hope. She didn't leave his side, even though at that time she was still trying to heal from you." Mick looks over at Henley. "But, she never did really heal from what you did to her. She never took that necklace off. She kept pictures and often I'd find her crying and holding them." He looks back to me. "You have to understand that you were her first love. She didn't know how to deal with the heartbreak. It's not like you guys mutually decided to break up, oh no. You cheated on her. That made her think that she wasn't good enough. That she didn't deserve to be loved. It was because of you that she broke."

"Alright, alright, I get it. I know I'm an awful person for what I did to her. I don't need to hear it from yo-."

He cuts me off. "Let me finish, goddammit! You hurt someone I think of as my own daughter and you're going to listen to me and listen to me close." I'm very shocked at his harsh and quick words. He really wants me to listen to him. I feel like I'm getting the intimidating talk from a girl's father. "You're the only one that can fix her. You're the only one that she'll let fix her. I'm gonna tell you exactly what you need to do to fix your relationship. Put in the effort. Do everything you can to be in the same room as her. Put in the effort to talk to her. Be as sweet as fucking possible. Even if she pushes you away, send her flowers, write her a note, anything!" Mick leans in close when he says his last sentence. "Show her how much you fucking love her." He leans back again. "Think you can do that?"

I nod, still a bit in shock. "You've been around Henley for a long time, haven't you?"

He nods. "I knew her before she moved to Seattle and I've been around her for a shit ton since. I just want to see her happy again."

I take a swig of the vodka, understanding his words. At this moment I sit all of my jealousy, anger, and my huge ego aside. I need to get Henley back. I miss her like hell. She was the only thing that made me truly happy, other than music. Seeing how close she was with my own best friend made me feel warm. Knowing that she could get along with the closest person to me set my mind at ease. My girlfriends before never really liked Stevie. I don't understand why. He's just a huge ball of sunshine.

Anyways, Henley is just completely different from every other girl I've been with. She is what I believe to be my soulmate. I guess it took me way too long to realize that.

I'm going to get Henley back.

I'm going to fix her.