The Road Gets Tough (Synyster Gates Series: Book 2)

One Too Many Drinks

"Brian, stop!" I shouted, running out of the saloon after him. To me, it seemed as if he was out to kill her. Then again, he did mention it.

He grabbed her by the arm and spun her around, "If anyone is worthless in this whole fucking ordeal between us, it's you." I heard him yell as it echoed against the walls of the parking lot.

She made a disgusted face, "Let go of me, Brian!" I noticed his grip on her wrist. 

Brian is a pretty strong guy. Even if you were to look at him, you'd see his muscles. Imagine  him grabbing you by the wrist when he's mad.

I ran to her aid and tried to push Brian away, "Let her go. Stop. You're causing a God damned scene!"

He wasn't paying any attention to me. His eyes were looking at Jackie with anger and fury.

The last time I had seen Brian like this, was when a guy spit in Matt's face at a signing. He defended Matt by slamming the guy's head on the table. I'd be damned if he did that to Jackie.

"You're hurting me!" She said, struggling to get her arm away from his grip. "Stop. You're stopping my circulation!"

"Brian, stop now!" I grabbed his hand and pushed him back. "I fucking said let go of her. Don't you fucking know what that means? You could have fucking hurt her."

He scoffed and tried getting past me, "How can you defend her after the stunts she pulled months ago?!"

"Because she's my cousin and I am going to defend her even if she's stupid sometimes. Stop. Cool the fuck down before someone gets hurt. If you want to hurt anyone, it'll be me. But don't you dare lay another hand on her or you'll regret it!"

He cocked his head back as the area went quite. Matt and Johnny were behind him, still a couple feet away, watching everything go down. Brian began to remove his jacket and threw it on the floor, "Well what's stopping you?"

"Stopping me? What are you tal-- What are you doing?" I asked, confused at what his intentions were. He started to walk up to me, "Relax dude." I pushed him back but he walked to me again, this time with full speed.

"Oh my god, Brian, don't even thi-"

"Shut the fuck up. Zacky wants to fight me, then he can!" He said, interrupting Jackie. He seemed even more pissed off and it scared me. I've never had to phsyically fight a drunk Brian. Actually I've never had to fight Brian like this at all.

I shook my head and took Jackie by the arm, "C'mon. Let's go." With Marlene and Jackie by my side, I started to walk them to Jackie's truck. Walking away was the only solution. I didn't want to hurt my best friend.

"Zacky! Watch out!" I heard Matt yell. I turned around only to see a fist flying in my face. I dodged it and manged to stop it from coming into contact with my face. With his other fist, Brian managed to sock my jaw. I began to taste blood coming out from one of my teeth in the back of my mouth.

"Stop!" I said pushing him back with all the force I could get in my body at that moment. "What's gotten into you?!"

Matt got a hold of Brian, restraining him. "Relax, man. Relax." He told him. Brian started to calm down, eventually being calm enough to be released. "Are you good?" He just nodded then rubbed his face.

"I'm sorry." He told me, "Fuck... I gotta go." I could tell he was full of regret. I would be too if I almost physically hurt the girl I loved and one of my best friends at the sametime. 

I was about to let him leave, when I remembered that he was way too drunk to drive. "Hey!" He turned around, waiting for me to finish what I had to say, "I got you. Go wait at my car. Give me a second."

Jackie started to walk over to her truck, with her head lowered. I didn't know what to do. I was just as confused as everyone else.

"What the hell just happened?" Johnny asked.

I pulled out my wallet and gave them a hundred dollar bill, "Tell Gena I'll be back for her. Pay my beers off for me. I gotta assess this situation." I turned around, making my way to my cousin. "Jacks." I shouted. She stopped at the door of her car, turning around. Her eyes were now leaking with tears. I pulled her into a hug, letting her know that everything was going to be okay. "What's wrong?"

"I just wanted to talk to him about us and everything cause..." She wasn't holding back any tears. She let them fall down her cheeks, "I wanna work things out and he just... I don't even want to try anymore."

"Give it time. Today wasn't his best day to do this. It's Jimmy's birthday. You came out of no where. Just give him some space. Let me talk to him, okay?"

She nodded then gave me another hug, "I love you Zack."

"I love you too Jackie." I pulled away from the hug and helped her in the car, "Get home safe girls. No picking up boys on the way!"

Marlene found it funny, but Jackie's lips formed a straight line. I knew she wasn't happy, but someone had to liven up the moment.

I watched as they drove away, out of the parking lot. I pulled out my keys and walked myself to my car. Brian stood there, leaning against the trunk with his head in his hands.

"C'mon." I said opening the car with the remote control door opener. Even if we had just fought, he's still my best friend and I'll do just about anything for him.

Half way to his house, we drove in silence. I wasn't going to force him to speak. He had a rough night, maybe a conversation would only makes things worse.

"I'm sorry for viciously attacking you tonight. I don't know what got into me..."

I shook my head, "Dude, it's okay. You're drunk. A lot of shit happened tonight. Let's just drop it. This fight is the last thing we need to worry about."

"I don't think we should tour to be honest..." I took my eyes off the road for a second and looked at him. He was being serious, "It's just we don't even have a drummer. And I got a lot of shit on my plate right now."

"Like what?" I asked, annoyed.

"Like your cousin! She's back just to torture me."

I let out a laugh, keeping my eyes on the road, "She's back for you, you fucking dumb ass. She just told me. She actually wants to work things out."

He quickly turned his head to me, "Are you serious? I thought she just wanted to mess with my feelin-"

"Well you're wrong. That's why she's back. You've made a terrible mistake, Mr. Gates." I pulled up to his house.

"Fuck!" He shouted, getting out of the car, "I should have known! Why did you let me act like that?!"

I shrugged and chuckled, "You jumped to a conclusion faster than you actually let her explain things. What did you even say to her that made her throw Everclear in your face?"

He banged his head against the door, "I just asked if she got engaged again, but it was a joke. It's not like I actually meant it."

"See what happens when you act stupid?" I had always known Brian was the type to say stupid things whenever he got a chance. I just never knew he'd do it to Jackie, but it was bound to happen one day.

"Does she hate me?" He asked. He seemed regretful.

"I don't know. But you sure did make it seem like you hate her. You left a pretty little red ring around her wrist." I informed him about the mark he left on her arm.

"Shit. I feel horrible," He slurred, "I don't know my strength." 

"That's not good, Brian. Please watch out next time..." 

"I need to talk to her or something."

"Give it like two weeks. For now we need to focus on the band."

He let out a sigh, "Fine. I'll see you tomorrow then. Night." He said closing the door.

The band was everyone's main priority at the time. We're about to do our first tour with out Jimmy and we had a lot of stress on us.

I'm not saying Jackie would cause more stress on the bad, but she would definitely cause more stress on Brian and we need him more than ever.