~ Can't You Help Me As I'm Starting To Burn? ~

Part 28

I stretched my body, my back hitting against something hard. 

I rolled over quickly and almost screamed as I saw Matt's face not more than an inch from my face. 

I calmed my breathing as I laid my hand softly against his cheek. 

I rubbed my hand up and down, feeling the slight stubble that was starting to grow. 

I smiled at him when his eyes slowly opened. 

"Hey sleepy head." I said. 

"How did you sleep Bella?" Matt asked. 

"Good. Thank you for letting me sleep here last night." I told him gratefully. 

"Anytime Bells. Did you have a nightmare again?" Matt asked. 

I nodded. 

"I'm sorry. You can sleep in here as long as you want." He told me. 

"Thank you Matt." I told him. 

He pulled me in for a hug and kissed my temple. 

"You don't have to thank me for anything babe. I love you." Matt said simply. 

I smiled and rested my head against his chest again, happy to just lay here with him all day. 

"What do you want to do today?" Matt asked me. 

"I want all the guys to come over. I have something I want to talk to you all about." I told him. 

He looked at me wearily. 

Probably wondering what I was going to talk to them about. 

"Okay. I'll give them a call. What did you want to talk about?" He asked me. 

I smiled. 

"You're gonna have to wait till they all get here." I told him with a smirk. 

He chuckled and laid his arm behind his head. 

"Alright fine." He said. 

I rolled over and pressed my lips to his. 

"Call them. I'm gonna take a shower." I told him softly. 

He nodded and pressed his lips to mine once more before I rolled out of bed. 

I made my way to my room, picking out my clothes and laying them across my bed. 

I grabbed my vanilla and strawberry shampoo and condition, with my razor, loofa and body wash and made my way to bathroom down the hall. 

I closed the door and turned the water on, letting it heat up and steam the room. 

I took my clothes off, letting them drop to the floor, and then stepped into the tub. 

I let the hot water run down my body, soothing my muscles and washing away the bad dreams of yesterday. 

I took a shower quickly, not knowing how long it would take the guys to get here. 

I looked around the bathroom, rummaging through the drawers, trying to find a towel that would fit me. 

"Crap." I muttered. 

I opened the door slightly, peeking my head out in to the hall. 

"Matt." I called out. 

No answer. 

No way am I walking out into the hallway with nothing on. 

There's a draft and I'll freeze to death. 

"Matt." I called louder. 

"Yeah babe." He answered. 

"Can you bring me a towel?" I asked. 

There was a few minutes of silence before I heard the pounding of feet. 

Matt came from around the corner with a big, fluffy towel in his hand. 

I opened the door wider and Matt's eyes practically bugged out of his head. 

"Thank you." I murmured as I took the towel from his hands. 

Matt stepped forward and his hands went around my bare waist. 

His hands ran up and down my sides, coming up my back to my shoulder blades. 

My breath came in short gasps and my hands ran up Matt's forearms. 

His hands caressed my bare breasts and a deep moan escaped my throat. 

I ran my fingers up his chest, raking my nails down to his waist band. 

I moved forward and pressed my lips to his neck. 

Matt groaned and pulled me against his body. 

His head was leaning closer and closer towards mine, and I could almost feel his lips when the doorbell rang. 

I groaned as Matt pulled away and I couldn't feel his body heat anymore. 

Matt leaned down and pressed a kiss to my lips before wrapping the towel around me. 

"That's the guys." Matt said. 

"We can finish this later." I whispered to him. 

He stared at me for a moment before pressing a kiss to my forehead and turning towards the door. 

I quickly got dressed and made my way downstairs. 

The guys had all made themselves comfortable on the couches and turned to look at me when I walked in. 

I grinned at them and gave them each hugs, lingering next to Jimmy. 

I sat on the couch next to him and leaned my head on shoulder. 

He wrapped his arm around my shoulder and leaned his head against mine. 

"So what did you want to talk to us about?" Zacky asked. 

I looked around at all of them, able to predict how they were going to react to what I had to tell them. 

"I'm really sorry you guys." I told them. 

"What?!" They all yelled at the same time. 

"You guys have been so busy trying to take care of me and watch over me, that the album never got finished. I know you guys are behind schedule and that is my fault. I take full responsibility." I said. 

"It is not your fault!" Brian yelled. 

"Taking care of family is more important." Johnny added. 

"We need to make sure you're all settled before we can even think about going back into the studio." Jimmy said. 

"I'm not going back till I know you're okay. That's the end of that." Matt said. 

"I'm going back with you guys. There's no way I'm gonna let you finish this album without me. We still have to finalize the tracks and if I remember correctly, you still have one track left to lay down. Did you guys decide which one you wanted?" I asked them. 

They all just sat there looking at me with crazy eyes. 

"Be--," Matt tried. 

"I can't get back to a normal life without work. I don't want everyone to see me as the battered woman that got kicked down and crawled into a hole. I want them to see the strong person I've become. I don't want pity, and I don't need it. Especially from you guys." I told them firmly. 

They all looked at me, contemplating. 

It was a few minutes of silence before Jimmy stood up. 

"So when do you want to start?" He asked.