Uproar

Chapter 45

Chester

"Well work on that when we come back from our lunch break," Don told Joe as he finished scratching over a track. He nodded and Dave groaned behind him.

"Let's hurry up and eat somewhere good," he said as he pushed Joe out of the door, his stomach growling rather noisily. Brad snorted and followed behind them. "Coming Mike?"

Mike sat on the couch with his laptop. He looked up at Brad and shook his head. "You?" he asked.

"I'm good," I replied, giving him a meek smile. Brad nodded and he and Rob walked out the door, Don walking behind them.

I looked back at Mike. He looked terribly fatigued. He wasn't even wearing his contacts. I wondered why his eyes seemed to be puffy, like he had allergies or if he cried all night. Knowing the emotional and mental toll this album was taking on Mike, I had a feeling that he had been crying. I bit my lip and stood up from the stool I sat on, thinking maybe I should've picked up lunch with everyone else. I could hide out in the restrooms until everyone got back instead of having to deal with a sour mood.

"Hey," Mike said suddenly, making me stop in my tracks. "I...can you read over these?"

"More lyrics?" I asked, wanting to just ignore him and bolt. He nodded and held out a notebook. It wasn't even a notepad, it was one of his sketchbooks. I grabbed it and flipped to where all the post it notes were sticking out. I read over the loose papers first, taking note of which lyrics I liked the most.

"These are for...?"

"The first one I thought would be been good for Cumulus, but I think Don's taking it out of the mix, read the page behind it."

I nodded, flipping the book, not taking my eyes off the paper. I looked over to the notebook. I stared at the page. The writing was messy, looking as if Mike had written it in a hurry.

I read over it, slowly. After the first line, I knew this was going to be a good song. But then as I kept reading, it was almost like he was writing about...

I wanted to slam the book shut. Tears were prickling my eyes but I didn't stop reading. Once I finished, I picked up the book and read over it again, and again.

"Ches," I looked up and Mike was looking at me with eyes full of hurt, not something I would've expected from him. "You're..."

I touched my face and finally took notice of how wet my face was. I wasn't sobbing like I normally did, it was just a steady stream of tears rolling down my face. "S-sorry." I wiped my face with my sleeve. I would've expected him to roll his eyes and snap at me for being such a cry baby.

"No no...I'm...sorry," he croaked. "I'm so sorry this all happened. I'm sorry...that I acted this way," he said quietly, sounding like he was on the verge of tears. I bit my lip and put the book down on the couch arm rest, collapsing onto the couch. I wasn't expecting this, at all, but yet here I was, ready to listen to him. Even after I was beginning to really hate him, I was still willing to come running back.

"This song...I...you really do want me to get better?"

I felt the couch sink next to me, my vision was too blurry to look at Mike. "Yeah. I--We need you to get better Ches. This is hurting you."

I looked up at him. "How do I know you're not saying this to make me listen? How do I know you're not lying, just saying this for the sake of the band...." I whispered.

"I'm not asking to be friends with you, I'm just asking for you and I to get along. The guys need you, I need you."

"Mike..."