Patience (d.m)

2.4: Helpful

Of The Night by Bastille

Duff's P.O.V

I carry Henley to my hotel room, Tommy beside me with her things. He hasn't said anything since he explained what happened. I wanted to go kick Nikki's ass for what he did, but by the state of Tommy's bloody knuckles, I figured he already took care of that. Besides, Henley needs me more than ever right now.

I look down at her beat up face. It hurts to see how much her lip is swelling up and her eye isn't looking good either. Her cheek is the least worrisome. It's not as dark as her black eye. I swear, when she's healed I'm going to kick the shit out of him.

"Did you know this was happening?" I ask Tommy as we arrive at my hotel room. Tommy pulls the key out of my pocket.

He shakes his head, opening the door. He looks ashamed. We walk in and I lay Henley down on the bed. "No. I should've guessed it, though. I haven't seen her in a while, and Nikki was being very possessive." He sighs, looking up at the ceiling. "None of this would have happened if Angel hadn't died."

I frown. I think I've heard that name before. Maybe Henley said something about her once? "Who's Angel?"

"Nikki's ex." Tommy laughs sadly, meeting my eyes. "That girl wasn't scared of Nikki at all. If he tried to hurt her she'd probably beat the shit out him. She kept him in line." The smile he had on his face fades. "When we got into the harder drugs, she got hooked just like the rest of us. Only, she took it too far. She overdosed a year after Henley returned to Los Angeles. Nikki was a wreck, but Henley helped him through it. I guess that's why he relied on her to get him clean." He looks down at Henley. He gently moves some hair from in front of her face. "I'm sure she thought that she could handle it. But, she's not as strong as Angel. She loves too much, too hard, and too easily."

I smile, thinking back to Mick and I's conversation. "Mick said something like that to me not too long ago."

"Mick told me about that speech he gave you. I hope you take what he said seriously."

I sigh, thinking about the last month. I wasn't purposely avoiding Henley. I've been busy writing her a song. Izzy's been helping me a lot with it, and it's almost finished. Just a few more days and I'm sure it'll be done. "I haven't had the time to see her. Maybe if I had, I would've noticed what was happening."

"We can't blame ourselves. I don't think anyone noticed what was happening. What matters is that we stopped it before it could get any worse." Tommy looks up to me. His eyes are tired. "I'm gonna head out, dude. I'll see you at the show tonight."

I nod, looking back down at Henley. When the door shuts, I walk over to Henley's side. I sit down. She looks so peaceful while she's sleeping. I really doubt anything could wake her at this point. She's been through so much. We're gonna need someone to take her place.

A few hours pass. I sat on the couch that was in the room, working on her song. I'm really happy that the sound of my guitar didn't wake her. I hope she's having a nice dream. She's going to love this song. I just know she will.

After I got tired of doing that, I took a shower. I listened closely to hear if Henley woke up. When I got done with that, I laid down in the bed next to her. It was only 4:15 p.m. We didn't need to be at the stadium until 8:30. It wouldn't hurt to take a nap.

I close my eyes and immediately drifted off into sleep. I didn't dream of anything. I think today just wore me out too much.

When I wake up, Henley's sitting up. Her fingers play with my hair, gently. Her face looks worse. I should've put an icepack on her face to help with the swelling. God, I'm so stupid.

I sit up, facing her. "Do you feel okay? Want me to go see if Izzy has any pain meds he could sell me?"

She frowns, wincing. "Why would Izzy sell you pain meds?"

I shrug, smiling a bit. "He's a drug dealer."

"You have a drug dealer in your band?" She asks, not looking very surprised.

I laugh. "How else do you think we get our hands on the blow so easily?" She attempts to roll her eyes, but winces again. Her eye must be really hurting her. "But seriously, want me to go score some meds for you? Maybe your manager has some?"

"Why would Damon have meds?"

"I don't know," I laugh. "Do you want me to go grab some or not?"

She sighs, looking sad. "Not right now."

"Aren't you hurting?"

"Of course I'm hurting, Duff!" Henley snaps. "But I'm hurting more emotionally right now, rather than physically." She breathes out shakily. "I couldn't help him," She chokes out. "I tried so hard, Duff. I just want him to be healthy again. I don't want him to end up like Angel."

I'm quiet for a few moments, observing her. She looks so upset. I guess Mick and Tommy were right about how she loves. She just wanted her friend to be okay. "Were you close with Angel?"

Henley shrugs. "I met her before I left for Seattle. She was Vince's cousin. You couldn't even tell that they were related, other than the blonde hair. But she was a natural blonde. She was gorgeous like a supermodel. She was a true hippy. She loved Fleetwood Mac and practiced healing with herbs. She believed that Stevie Nicks was a real witch." She laughs at that for a second. "Anyways, her and Nik were an unlikely pair, but they worked so well together. Unlike me, she knew how to put up walls to protect herself. I never saw her cry but once. Her and Nik had a huge fight and they'd broken up. Nikki apologized a week later and they were back together." She breathes in shakily. "I didn't let anyone see it, but I was torn up when she passed. I thought of her as an older sister. I miss her a lot."

"Hey," I say. She looks at me, tears running down her cheeks. "You are strong. You're so strong, Henley. How else could you deal with getting cheated on twice?" She laughs, causing my heart to warm. I really thought that she was going to get mad at me for saying that. "You love so deeply. Anyone that gets to feel that love should feel blessed. You're an angel on Earth, Hennie. I love you so fucking much. I never stopped. You are my one and only true love. I hope you take that to heart and don't ever doubt my love for you."

She tries to smile, but once again winces. I guess she keeps forgetting that she has a split lip. "Is that what you were planning when you were ignoring me?"

I laugh, shaking my head. I scoot closer to her. I wrap my arms around her shoulders, brining her as close as I can to me. She rests her head on my chest, her arms encircling me in a warm embrace. It feels so good to have her in my arms again. "No, silly. I have something else planned. I wasn't ignoring you, I was trying to finish your surprise."

"Oooh, is it ready yet?" She asks excitedly.

"Nope, you're gonna have to wait a few more months."

"Goddammit!" She exclaims, causing me to laugh.

God, I missed her so much.