Spicy Music Love ;)

Chapter 8

My heart is pounding in my chest and I feel like I can't breathe as I turn to face him. Mac Rebennack or better known by his stage name Dr. John, is standing a few feet down the hall from me with an unsettling grin turning up the corners of his mouth. "Mac..." My voice comes out sounding a lot more steady than I thought it would and I'm extremely grateful. "It's like you're trying to hide from me, Reagan." He shakes his head like he's disappointed as he steps closer to me. "You've been avoiding me since our discussion last night." He twists his cane in his hand absently as he waits for my response and I know he's trying to intimidate me. "That wasn't a discussion. Discussions don't normally end in one person being pinned to a wall and threatened." My voice comes out cold and I'm impressed with how I'm handling this. He looks taken aback by my response and his grin fills with malice as he steps closer to me again. "Don't forget who you're talking to Reagan. Remember what I can do to you." His grip on his cane tightens and his cold eyes cut into me. Involuntarily images of him standing beside my best friend from high school holding a knife to her throat flash through my mind. I try to shake the cold feeling the image brought on but it's useless and he seems to notice my confidence starting to waver. His smile widens, "Good girl, now come here." My eyes widen, he doesn't actually expect me to listen to him. The impatient look on his face tells me he does expect me to listen. Instead of stepping towards him I take a step back putting more distance between us. "Reagan, don't do this. You know I don't like it when I have to hurt you. Now come here," His voice becomes demanding. As he steps closer his cane hits the ground forcefully and I flinch at the subtle reminder of our last encounter. I can still feel the ache in my side where his cane hit me last time. Despite the fear growing in my chest I step away from him again not giving him the satisfaction of having control over me. "You never learn..." His voice drops to a deep, cold tone and I feel chills race up my spine. He steps toward me starting to lift his cane when Mia and Tab's door swings open and Tab steps out. His eyes widen when he sees me then his eyes land on Mac and they narrow. "Is everything alright here?" His voice is low and intimidating and if I didn't know him I would've been afraid. "Everything's fine." Mac responds before I can, sounding annoyed at the interruption. "I wasn't asking you." Tab says coldly glaring at him before turning towards me, his voice softening, "Are you okay Reagan? Is he bothering you?" I glance over at Mac, noticing his threatening gaze before responding, "Everything's fine Tab, we were just talking." Tab looks at me skeptically and I know I messed up. I can't lie to Tab. He knows me too well. "Alright. Seems like you're still here. Would you come help me? Mia asked me to grab something for her and she wanted you to make sure I got the right thing." "Of course," I replied hastily, grateful for the excuse to get away from Mac. Tab turns to look at Mac, a coldness in his expression that wasn't there when he looked at me. "Don't you have somewhere else to be?" Mac's eyes narrow and I start to worry that maybe Tab is pushing his luck. "Come on, Tab. Let's go get that stuff for Mia." I say grabbing Tab's arm and pulling him away from Mac. "Bye, Mac." Mac glares at me before saying coolly, "This conversation isn't over, Reagan."

The elevator door closes behind us and we stand in silence for a minute before I ask, "Mia didn't actually want me to help you did she?" Tab is quiet for a moment before he responds, "I thought it was obvious. I figured you would appreciate me giving you a way out of that situation." I smile at him, "I did. Thanks Tab." "You're welcome." Tab returns my smile before becoming serious again, "I didn't realize he was still bothering you. You should have told me. I could have done something about it." "I wouldn't feel right asking you to do something about it. It's not your job. You don't have to take care of me anymore." Tab shakes his head letting out a frustrated sigh, dragging his hand down his face, "Reagan, just because we are no longer together doesn't mean I'm just going to stop caring about you. I still care about your well being. I know what he used to do to you when we were together and if he's doing it to you again I'm going to kill that sick bastard." I look over at Tab but he's staring at the elevator doors so I look straight ahead again. "I appreciate your concern Tab but I'm fine." He doesn't respond as the doors open up onto the floor where my room is. We walk side by side down the hallway in silence only speaking when we reach my hotel room door. "Thanks." Tab gives me a small smile that doesn't quite reach his eyes, "You're welcome. If you're ever in a situation like that again you can come to me, I'll help you." I smile softly at him, "You don't have anything to worry about. It's nothing I can't handle by myself." I unlock the door and am about to step into the room when Tab says, "You don't have to do everything alone Reagan. You have people who care about you and want to help you." I stop and turn to look at him. He has a serious look on his face, his words taking me slightly off guard, "I know that." "And I know you. I know you don't like to burden people with your problems but I'm letting you know that I'm here for you. If you need help you can come to me or even Mia. I know she would be more than willing to help you." Emotion wells up in me at his words but I shove it back down to where it came from. "Thank you, Tab. I promise if I have any other issues with him I'll come to you, okay?" Tab's face softens and a small smile forms on his lips, "Good." After saying bye to Tab I close the door behind me and let out a shaky breath. I wipe away the single tear that slipped out of my eye and walk further into the room. Ellie is sitting on her bed reading a fashion magazine that I know features the both of us. "You should see what they did to me in this one picture. It's ridiculous they made me look fat." Ellie sits up and throws the offending magazine down onto the bed. I glance down at the magazine not really wanting to look through it. I've been trying to avoid any reminders of work on this trip and I've done a good job so far. I'm not about to ruin it. "I'm sure it doesn't look that bad," I comment as I lay down on my bed, grabbing my book off the nightstand. "Are you okay?" Ellie asks and I swear I hear genuine concern in her voice. "Yeah I'm fine, why?" "I don't know, you just look like you've been crying." Ellie sits up on her bed and turns to look at me. "I'm just tired, that's all. I didn't sleep much last night." She gives me a criticizing look, "And whose fault is that. You shouldn't have stayed up all night texting your weird little piano man." I roll my eyes and glare over at Ellie, "He's not a weird little piano man." "From what I've been told he's weird so..." She trails off as she stands up from her bed and walks into the bathroom. I set my book down on the nightstand and follow her, interested in what she's heard. "What have you heard about him and who have you heard it from?" Ellie just shrugs her shoulders in response as she brushes her strawberry blonde hair in the bathroom mirror. "I've just heard stuff. Not from anyone in particular." She sets her brush down and looks over at me, "You know, I don't understand how you went from being obsessed with Tab, the sexy, buff cajun guy, to Gabe, the awkward little piano man." "Looks aren't everything Ellie, you of all people should know that seems like I caught you flirting with that scary, old guy in the lobby." Ellie looks away and lets out an offended huff, "Delbert isn't scary and he isn't old." I know my disbelief is written all over my face when I respond, "You can't be serious. He looks old enough to be your dad." Ellie rolls her eyes at me before walking past me back into the rest of the hotel room, "He doesn't look that old. Besides, he's probably around the same age as Gabe so he definitely couldn't be my dad." Her irritation is evident in her voice when she responds and when she sits back down on the edge of her bed to pull a pair of white tennis shoes on she glares at me. "Where are you going?" I ask, watching as she ties the laces on her shoes and stands up, grabbing her room key and phone off the nightstand. "Delbert and I have plans. Don't you need to get ready for the show? It starts in an hour." I glance over at the clock and am shocked when I realize how late it's gotten. "Shit," I rush over to my bag and pull out my clothes before rushing into the bathroom and turning on the shower. "See you later, Reagan." Ellie says with a small wave and an edge of annoyance in her voice. "Bye Ellie." The door slams shut behind her and I rush to get ready, my anticipation building again as I realize that I'm going to see Gabe in less than an hour.