Cacophony (PAUSED FOR EDITING AND UPDATES)

20: k e e p e r

***

The next two weeks passed in a haze for Sydney. Her surgery had been terrifying, but Chris had stayed by her side through it all. He took meticulous care of her after they returned home, and they were growing closer than ever. Liz came by every day, sometimes accompanied by Mitch who Chris actually seemed to like. Soundgarden needed a new bassist, and they all seemed to agree on who they needed to ask. Ben Shepard had auditioned before, and had been a friend of Andy and his brother. He was the only natural fit.
The guys had been happy to see her back, though shocked and saddened to learn why she left and what she had done in order to come home. They hugged her for a long while, Kim letting her know that they couldn't ever tour without her again.
Susan had become an unexpected friend and ally of Sydney. She advocated for her to go on tour despite her recovery, pointing out that she could train the temporary tech they'd hired for the last tour and he could do her heavy lifting until she was back to normal. She also helped her find a lawyer down in California, and they had planned the tour through Santa Monica to match up with Adam's court date. Sydney had been able to issue her statement over the phone. It was all so surreal to think about, so she kept herself as busy as possible.
Sydney was used to being independent, working hard and staying really active. Now she couldn't even put her hair up by herself, let alone wash it. However, that did have its perks. As Sydney's bruises faded and Chris's shyness wore away his hands began to roam further after he finished shampooing her hair. Always gentle, always waiting for permission, always live-wired with love. His fingers caressed the smooth skin of her back before eventually and timidly exploring the flat, toned muscles of her abdomen. They took their time, not rushing and savoring each moment as long as they could. Sydney wasn't ashamed of her body, especially not in front of Chris. If there was anyone in the whole world who she could trust with intimacy like that, it was him. It always had been him.
One particular morning, as the couple were sharing in one of those romantic baths, the doorbell rang. Chris sighed, kissing the top of Sydney's head as he reached for a towel and helped her up out of the tub. Wrapping up her body, he told her to go ahead and get dressed while he answered the door. He made his way to the living room as the doorbell rang again and again.
"I'm coming! Holy shit." He hollered, thinking it was one of their friends.
When he opened the door ready to chew out whoever it was on the other side, he stopped short when he saw a middle aged woman he'd never met standing on his front steps and looking flustered. She wore expensive clothes and had her hair done up nicely, a fat diamond ring on her left hand. She narrowed her eyes at Chris immediately, looking his shirtless and still wet body up and down as she openly calculated her judgements about him in her head.
"Hi." He said when she finished her evaluation and looked up into his eyes again.
"Hello. I assume you're Christopher Cornell."
"Yep. And you are?"
"My name is Carole Jacobsen. I'm Adam's mother."
The hint of a smirk on his lips disappeared as he understood who she was and who she wanted to see.
"I've come here looking for Ms. Lee. I know she's staying here."
"How do you know that?" He challenged.
"My husband is a powerful man, Mr. Cornell. A man with many connections."
"Is that supposed to scare me?"
"It is simply a fact that you would do well to remember. Now I'd appreciate it if you invited me in so that I could speak with the girl."
"Hmm...well... I don't think it's a good idea for you to come in today."
"Oh? And why is that?" She demanded, looking affronted.
"Because it's my house and I don't want you to." He said.
  Her indignation spiked, and he could see where Adam got his sense of entitlement.
"I don't have the patience for childish behavior, Mr. Cornell, but I insist on speaking to her."
"And I insist that you go back to your fancy house and wait on your asshole of a husband to come home and tell him that Sydney is unavailable right now."
"This is ridiculous. That girl is not going to ruin my son's life-"
"Sydney. Her name is Sydney. The least you could do is say it."
"Don't you dare talk to me that way! You really have some nerve speaking to a lady like that."
"And you really have some nerve showing up on my doorstep at 9am making demands of a young woman who's name you won't even bother to say."
Mrs. Jacobsen opened her mouth to retort but was cut off by a small voice.
"Chris? Is everything alright?"
The woman's eyes got wide as Chris turned to Sydney.
"Everything is fine, baby. Go wait in the back and I'll be right there-"
"No! I need to talk to her!" The woman shrieked.
Chris sighed when Sydney's body stiffened, recognizing the voice. He stepped aside, letting the door fall open as he went to Sydney's side.
"You don't have to do this." He spoke to her softly. "I asked her to leave."
"He insulted me is what happened. This is really the boy you chose over my son?"
Sydney looked between the two of them, feeling conflicted. She didn't want to speak to Adam's mother. Yet she also felt stronger now. Chris was here, and he wouldn't let anything bad happen to her.
"Would you like a cup of coffee?" Sydney finally asked with a heavy sigh, gesturing toward the kitchen.
"That would be fine. Thank you."
She led the way to the kitchen with Mrs. Jacobsen on her heels and Chris following them. He fumed silently, unable to understand why Sydney was entertaining this awful woman. Yet, he trusted her. She was smart, and strong, even though she didn't always realize it. There was no doubt in his mind that she could handle this, but he flat out did not like this lady.
"Do you take milk or sugar?" Sydney asked the woman, digging an extra mug from a halfway packed box on the floor.
"Just a little bit of both please." She answered, looking around the room with her nose held high. "Are you moving?"
"Yes." Syd replied simply, stirring the contents of the dark liquid.
Chris carried Sydney's coffee to the table for her while she set one down in front of their unwelcome guest and took a seat. Chris then grabbed his own coffee, taking a sip and leaning against the counter. There were a few moments of silence as the three of them swallowed the awkwardness that thickened the air.
"My husband does not know I'm here." Mrs. Jacobsen finally spoke. "He would not be happy with me if he knew that I was, so I'll thank you to keep that between us."
Chris scoffed, but Sydney ignored him. She simply nodded, waiting for the woman to continue. Mrs. Jacobsen's eyes trailed down over the sling that still cradled the cast on Sydney's arm, up over the nearly healed bruises on her face and the thin yet deep scar that framed her eye.
"Right. Well... I don't know exactly what happened between you and my son. What I do know is that he has a promising future ahead of him."
"He certainly did." Sydney agreed, seeing Chris shake his head from the corner of her eye. "Unfortunately he made decisions that might compromise that future."
"Oh, Sydney... cut the crap, okay? We all know that you baited him. You slept around with this boy and then used it against him in a moment of weakness."
"With all do respect Mrs. Jacobsen, while Chris and I have slept together many times... whether it be in a bed, on an airplane, on a bus, in a truck, or on the floor of a shitty motel room.... we haven't ever had sex. Not that it's any of your business. Your son created that scenario in his own mind in order to feel better about the women he was with while I was on tour."
"Well do you blame him?"
"Yes. I do."
"How do you think it made him feel to have his girlfriend out on the road with a bunch of men? How could he trust that you wouldn't sleep around to earn your stay?"
This time it was Chris that spoke up.
"Because if Adam had taken any time to really get to know Sydney, he would have realized that sleeping with any of us was unnecessary because she is so damn good at what she does that we forgot how to function without her. She is smart, capable, hard working. We are lucky to have her and maybe if Adam had seen any of that, he would have felt the same way."
The woman made to retort, but Bill ambled his way into the kitchen just then. He was beginning to grow grey around his face, which he pressed into Sydney's hand as she reached out to him. Scratching him behind the ears for a moment, Sydney finally looked up into her eyes.
"Does your husband hit you, Mrs. Jacobsen?"
Adam's mother looked as if she had just been slapped. She scoffed, momentarily unable to formulate an answer to Sydney's audacity. Sydney, however, noticed the darkness that clouded the woman's eyes just then. A darkness that she had come to know too well.
"Do not sit there and pretend to know what a marriage takes, Ms. Lee."
"I won't. But don't sit there and pretend like you don't wish your life had been different. I don't know anything about marriage other than it usually ends in divorce. What I do know is that I love Chris for many reasons and one of them is that he would never lay a hand on me. I know that. It's not too late for you either, Carole."
"You have no idea what you're talking about. My husband hasn't laid a hand on me in years."
"That's because he's got you trained to never step out of line... but you're here aren't you? Would he hurt you if he found out you were here?"
Sydney saw it in her eyes just then: fear. In that moment, they were suddenly equals. No longer did Sydney feel intimidated by this woman... on the contrary, she felt sad for her. If she hadn't escaped Adam when she did, she would have ended up just like her. It was a terrifying thought. They were two survivors who had chosen very different paths to safety.
"I encourage you to seek help. It's not too late to really be happy."
Wiping the tears in her eyes, the woman stood.
"I never should have come here. I must ask that you please drop the charges against my son."
"I'm sorry, but I won't do that." Sydney said, sitting up in her chair and putting her coffee mug down.
There was a moment of silence as they looked at one another. Chris looked between the two of them, feeling pride swell up in his chest. Watching Sydney stand her ground in such a dignified manner filled him with admiration.
"Very well. I wish you the best, Sydney."
Sydney could tell that she almost meant it as she walked out of the kitchen and out the front door. Neither of them bothered to walk her out. Chris then crossed the room to where Syd sat and knelt before her, letting her lean into his arms with a deep sigh.
"Are you okay?" He asked.
"Yeah. I'm fine."
"I am so proud of you, Sydney Lee."
She smiled gratefully up at him.
"Do you think she will ever leave him?"
"I don't know."
"Looking at her was like looking at my future if I had stayed with him. I don't ever want to be like that."
"We won't be."
"I know. Thank you."
"For what?"
"For being you."