Cant Wait Another Day || M.C.

Part 18

"Alright man, let's go." I say, trying my best to imply that nothing is wrong. I'm sure they don't believe me, but they don't follow as Johnny and I go outside.

Once we are outside, Johnny lights his cigarette and takes a drag, not saying anything. I groan in frustration.

"What are we doing out here, Johnny?" I ask, not really interested in being outside with him if there's not point. He sighs.

"You don't like me much, do you?" He inquires, taking another drag from his cigarette.

"Nope." I tell him and he laughs lightly as he exhales.

"Being frank, I like that. You want to, elaborate? Although, I'm sure I can guess." He says and I decide to let it all out.

"I just don't think you deserve someone as awesome as Sheena." I tell him and he laughs.

"Mate, you don't have to tell me I don't deserve her. I know it." He says and I look at him confused. I was sure he was going to get angry with me after I said that. He laughs again at my expression.

"There's not a man in the world who deserves Sheena. Not me. Not Lou. Not you, either." He says and I'm taken aback from his comment.

"What? You don't think I notice those things? If there's anything in this world that I notice it's guys who look at Sheena. I mean, look at Lou. I've watched him for years, but he knows there's no point. I know you don't believe me, but I love that woman more than the air I breathe. If she asked me tomorrow to walk away, I would. It would kill me, but I'd do it. We're together because she wants to be. She's not an idiot. She knows there are other guys in the world that could make her happy, but if she wants that guy to be me, I'll make it my life's mission to do so." He finishes, throwing his finished cigarette on the ground and taking out another one to light.

"I think that if you're aware of the fact that there are other guys in the world who can make her happier, you should let them. Clearly, you don't do the best job." I tell him, and he sighs again running his free hand through his hair.

"I tried, mate. I broke up with her after the... incident." He says. I could hear the pain in his voice on the last word. I scoff at him.

"You hit her. Just say it." I tell him, making sure he's not belittling the 'incident'.

"I didn't hit her. I grabbed her too tight. If I had hit her, I wouldn't be here to tell the tale. I'd have killed myself long before this." He says and I shake my head at him.

"Grabbing her too tight. Like that's any better. She's still got bruises on her wrists from you." I tell him, knowing I'm pushing my limits and I can see anger in his eyes now, but he calms himself down which honestly surprises me.

"It's besides the point. You saw how she reacted when I tried breaking up with her a few days ago." He tells me and I feel the liquid courage coursing through my veins.

"Because she's afraid of you! She's afraid of losing you! You've got her so convinced that you're the greatest thing that will ever happen to her that she doesn't even realize there are other guys out there who could treat her better! You don't love her, Johnny. You possess her. You don't see her as a person. You see her as a thing that is yours to keep." I tell him and Johnny rubs his forehead in frustration. I can see he's about to break when Lou pops his head outside of the bus door.

"Everything ok out here?" Lou asks, causing Johnny's head to snap in his direction.

"We're fine, Lou. Go back inside." Johnny orders him and Lou looks between the two of us for a second.

"Alright, well... don't do anything stupid Johnny." Lou warns him before disappearing back into the bus. A long silent pause occurs between the two of us before he continues.

"Listen, Michael. I don't claim to be perfect. I'm fully aware of the fact that I get possessive, but that's around other people. You would too if you had a girl like Sheena in your life. The idea of losing her... I can't think about that. I have known Sheena since she was 16 years old. I've loved her since the moment I laid eyes on her. You don't know me, and you don't know her. So please don't belittle the feelings I have for that woman. I know you're not going to believe me, but I know what love is. I'm not marrying her because I want other guys to back off or some bullshit. I'm marrying her because I know it will make her happy. Because I know she wants it. I want it too. I want to have stupid babies and live a stupid, boring, long, life with her and I know she wants it too. I asked you to come out here so I could convince you of that, but I know it's not possible. I wont... try to stop you... if you want to convince her otherwise. I can clearly see you want to. If you can convince her that she deserves better than me, all power to you. But I can also clearly see that marrying me is what will make her happy, so I'm going to give her that, because I love her and that's what love is. Making the person you love the happiest they possibly can be, regardless of whether or not it's a good idea." He finishes and I look at him, not totally sure what to say next.

"I'm going to go back inside now." He says after a long moment of silence between the two of us. "Good talk, Michael." And with that he vanished onto the bus. I stand outside for a while. Trying to absorb all of the information I just received. Part of me thought he was right, but another part of me knew deep down that he wasn't a good guy. Either way, I wasn't completely sure of what to do next.

"Michael?" I hear from a figure in the distance that pulled me out of my thoughts. I turn my attention to the figure in the dark and notice it's Sheena, back from picking out her wedding dress. "What are you doing outside?" She asks and I think about it for a moment.

"Oh just... needed to get some air." I tell her, smiling softly.

"Okay, are the rest of the guys inside?" She asks, a little confused by my answer.

"Yeah, they're probably really drunk. The night has turned into a bit of a bachelor party for Johnny." I tell her and watch her eyes roll.

"Oh god... are there strippers?" She asks and I laugh.

"No, no strippers." I say and she sighs in relief.

"It's a valid question! Lou's in there!" She laughs and I smile, shaking my head at her.

"Well, do you want to go back inside?" She asks and I nod, stretching my arm out for her to lead the way. She seemed happy and I knew better than to mess with that.