KISS: In The Band

Ch 29: We Need to Talk (Gene)

Shannon gave me a kiss, holding Nick in her arms. "Good luck at your show tonight," she murmured. "You'll be home right after, right?" I nodded, giving her a hug and running a hand through her hair. "I will, I will, as soon as I can. I'm sorry we have so many shows now. It's just some smaller shows to promote our new album and stuff," I said sadly.

She shook her head, hugging Nick a little tighter. "It's okay. He's doing fine now, it'll be okay." I forced a weak smile. "He's a good kid. A strong one, too," I mumbled, taking Nick from her arms and giving him a kiss on the forehead. "Now you be good for your mom, alright? And make sure you get to bed on time." He gave me a smile, letting out a yawn and leaning against me. "Okay! Bye Dada! Can I come to a show?"

"Not tonight. When you're feeling better, I promise. Alright, I love you and I'll see you tomorrow!" I said, handing him back to Shannon and giving my wife one last kiss. "I'll see you tonight," I said softly, and she grinned. "Looking forward to it."

I walked into the dressing room with a sigh, setting down my makeup kit and starting to tie up my hair. Paul, already in his makeup, looked up from fixing his hair, giving me a grin. "Hey Gene. How's Nick?" I smiled, shrugging. "He's fine. He's doing a lot better, honestly. I didn't get a chance to tell you but uh...thanks for coming over a few days ago. Means a lot to me." He gave me a smile. "Gene, you're my brother. I care about you, I'm going to do everything I can to help you."

Before I could even respond, loud shouting echoed down the hall.

"You motherfucking bastard! What did I tell you?! What did I tell you?!"

Paul jumped, dropping his boots in surprise as I reached for a towel to clean up the makeup I had just ruined by flinching. The door flew open as Peter stormed in, walking over to the counter and slamming his makeup box down, not saying anything to us. We just watched in a stunned silence as he threw open his kit, grabbing a brush and aggressively continuing to apply his makeup.

There was a really uncomfortable silence as Paul and I looked at each other before the door was flung open again and Ace stamped in, pointing at Peter with a shaking finger. "I told you not to! That was our fucking deal!" Peter jumped to his feet, whirling around and pointing right back at Ace. "Shut up! Your deal is fucking stupid, just like you! I'm an adult, I'm 27! I can do whatever the hell I want!"

"Bitch, you're a husband! We have to know and respect each other's boundaries! I told you to stop doing this shit, not just for my sake but for yours! For everyone's!" Ace shouted. "If that's what being married to you means, then maybe I don't want to be!" "Well then fine, let's get a divorce!" "Fine, let's go!"

"Wait maybe you should--" I started, before falling silent as Peter gave me a furious glare. "Stay out of this, Simmons! This is between me and him!" he roared, before turning back to his husband. "If you want a divorce, then we'll get a damn divorce!" he cried before storming out of the room again, slamming the door so hard behind him my makeup kit jumped to the ground, scattering everywhere.

There was a long, uncomfortable pause before Ace, chest heaving, followed Peter, muttering angrily under his breath. The instant the door closed behind him I leaned back in my chair, letting out a sigh. "Holyyy fuck," I said under my breath. "That was...incredibly uncomfortable to sit through." "Yeah, seriously," Paul muttered. "What do you think he was doing? Peter, I mean."

I grimaced, going back to fixing my makeup. "My guess? Cocaine." "Dammit," Paul said, slipping on his costume. "We'll need to talk with him if that's the case. Because now he's rich and famous and he's gonna have way more access to cocaine and he's just going to tank, man." "Well, Ace is already tanking himself with alcohol. Again. So we might need to sit down and talk with both of them."

"Ugh, they never listen." "Because they're addicts, man! And they're just enabling each other and then lashing out at each other then retaliating by doing more drugs and alcohol. And it's a mess and we're all gonna be dragged down with them if we can't get them help," I said crossly.

The show was a fucking disaster. Peter was off tempo the entire time, playing too fast due to the fact he was high on cocaine. Paul and I exchanged pointed glances and did our best to salvage the show, while Ace just looked pissed.

Peter left right after we took our final bows, shouting vindictively to Ace he was going to go find more cocaine. Paul grabbed my arm before I could head home. "Gene. We need to talk about Peter." Ace nodded, scowling. "Look curly, I love my husband, but he needs to stop." I nodded, running a hand through my hair. "Alright, I say we kick him out of the band. Not permanently, obviously. Just until he gets help and gets himself together."

Ace gave me a surprised look before letting out a sigh. "You think so?" "Yeah. I'm sorry man, but he needs help, and being in the band isn't helping," Paul said gently. "Alright. Tomorrow after practice we'll talk to him."

I got home to find Shannon in bed waiting for me, reading a book. "Hey love, how was the show?" I laid next to her, slipping an arm around her waist with a sigh. "Ah...a mess. Peter was high again and was off-tempo the whole show. And I'm not really sure what to do about it."

A sad expression spread across Shannon's face and she gave me a kiss, leaning against my chest. "You're a wonderful man and I love you from the bottom of my heart. It's going to be fine. You and Paul are both responsible and you both know what you're doing. Peter...well, I don't know. Talk to him. Sit down and have a conversation and lay out your terms. Either he gets his shit together, or he gets out."

"I think that's what we might do. But it's hard, because he was always a part of the band and he's my friend. Plus we'd need to find a new drummer." Shannon nodded, closing her eyes. "I know. I know love, I know. But I don't want to see your dream die because he can't get over his drug addictions. You know other friends. Eric's a drummer! And Peter really does need help. I love him, but shit babe he's a mess."

"Yeah. He really is."