The Hook-up

Chapter 145

"Lauren...stop...calm down. What is going on?" he asked raising his hand to tell Jeff and Emile that he would be right back at the same time he rolled his eyes. He heard her breathing heavily and the sound of music in the background. "Where are you?"

"I'm in the car with Cait. We're driving after the appointment. She put me on bed rest." She told him.

"Caitlin put you on bed rest?" Bruno asked confused.

"No! What the fuck Bruno! Doctor Dahse put me on bed rest!" she yelled at him. "Oh my god. I'm sorry I yelled." She could feel him moving his head away from the phone.

"Laur...I don't know what I would do if I was there...." He said to her.

"What does that mean?" she asked him.

"I can't leave right now, boo boo. We're like so close to finishing some stuff..." he said in a soft voice knowing he was going to get yelled at.

"Fine. I'll just go to my mom's. I'll bring the dogs and we can hang out there." She said frustrated but not yelling. "I want you to be here. But I get it. What you're doing is important. It's more important than me right now. Well, me and your children. I get it." She said bursting into tears again. More important than your children. I get it. He repeated her statement in his head trying to figure out what to do. He was in a spot where he was actually working really well and knew exactly what he wanted to do with the track he was working on. He wanted to be in New York but he had to be in Los Angeles. HAD to be in Los Angeles. It was not an option. He could hear Phil in the back of his head. You're so dumb. Go. I don't even know why you would think that not being there is an option. "Bruno? I didn't lose you did I? Brunz?" Lauren asked after a few seconds.

"I'll be there later tonight, Laur. I promise, baby. Have Cait stay with you until I come home. I'll be home soon. I'll be there. I want to be there." He said to her still in the soft voice, this time in a soothing way that made her calm down.

"You will?" she asked a bit shocked. "I want you here, but I know that you're so darn close to finishing."

"I'll make them come with me. We can finish it at the house if we have to." He told her without any doubts in his tone.

"What?" she asked still shocked by his response.

"Yeah. Baby....it's not about me right now. It's only you. Until we have those babies. That's all I care about. What's the difference between September and October? No one will know that it took me that extra time. No one is rushing me to finish. I will wait for it to be perfect. You can't wait, mama. " he said smiling through the phone leaning against a wall in the studio suddenly realizing that he wasn't playing the same games that he was playing before, but that he was saying all of these things because he meant them and that for the first time since they were married that he absolutely positively had to be with his wife. I will be there. He said to himself.

"Are you sure?" she asked hearing the cars of the city behind him along with his lighter lighting a cigarette.

"Stop asking me, baby. I'm coming home as soon as I finish this cigarette." He said slightly coughing away from the phone.

"Stop smoking." She told him matching his smile. "Thank you, Bruno. I really do need you."

"I know, mama. I'll be home later tonight. Be safe. Have Cait stay with you." He said still in a calming tone that he knew he needed to use.

"I will." She said sniffing away her tears.

"I love you, Lauren." He said stomping on the cigarette after quickly finishing it.

"I love you too." She said waiting to see who was going to hang up first.

"I'll call you when I get to the plane, Elle. Is that okay?" he asked.

"Yeah. That's fine. We're at the store. I need to go. I love you." She said ending the call.

"I love you too, Lauren." He said leaning against the wall closing his eyes hearing her voice in his head. I need you. I love you. Are you sure? Of course I am. It's about you and not me right now.

"Okay." He said to himself loudly regaining his composure from the conversation seeing someone from the office building the studio looking at him. "What? Just because I'm Bruno Mars doesn't mean I can't talk to myself does it? Because I know you do it, sweetheart." He smirked at the younger employee making her blush.