|Van|
I was surprised to see Vienna sitting on Mike's bed because I swear she had just flown to New York a couple of days before.
Vienna looked like she was trying to keep it together, but I couldn't help staring at the bruises on her face. The corner of her lips was busted and the right side of her face was evidently purple in colour.
Her eyes were still wet and her cheeks had drying trails of shiny tears on them. What happened to her? It fucking killed me to see her like that, but I was holding myself from asking the wrong questions. I just didn't want to hurt her any further than she was already hurting. It really pained my heart knowing that something terrible had happened to her. She was trying to put on an okay face, but I could easily tell that her heart was a mess.
Mike on the other hand, was looking furious. He was biting his lower lip and his eyes looked livid, like he was silently cursing.
"We are just going to grab a bite. Do you want to come along?" I offered Vienna as Mike waited for me at the door. Vienna shook her head and refused my offer. I let her have the privacy that she needed and shut the door behind me, leaving the beautiful mess alone in the hotel room.
"What's going on back there, mate?" I finally asked Mike as we were walking down the hallway. Mike exhaled loudly and gritted his teeth.
"I fucking swear I was about to lose it. Lucky the scumbag is in New York or I might just beat his coward ass up!"
"Who?" I asked.
"Vienna's crazy boyfriend. Did you see her face? He did it to her!" Mike sighed as he shook his head.
"Fuck. That is crazy!" I exclaimed. I immediately had the urge to comfort Vienna. She must have been so scared.
"Yeah, I know. But talking to Vienna is like talking to a wall sometimes. She never listens and I think it's really fuck up that she still wants to be with Seth," Mike sighed.
"That's terrible... Should we take her to a clinic or something?" I asked.
"I'll just let her have some privacy and then I'll persuade her to go. I am just glad she didn't decide to stay in New York," Mike murmured.
Mike and I joined the rest of the boys and Emily at the lobby. We were all headed to In-n-Out for some lunch. Emily was pouting because she wasn't fond of the idea of hanging out with the boys, especially Larry. She always thought that Larry and the band was stealing me away from her, which I thought was rather silly.
"Why aren't you eating?" I asked Emily who was sitting across of me, looking out the glass window.
"I am not hungry," she pouted.
"Is something wrong?" I asked, reaching for her hand.
"It's nothing," she pulled away.
"Oh..."
Emily wasn't in her best mood ever since she touched down in LA. Sure, we went out, we had sex, we spent a lot of time together, but, somehow, something just didn't feel right. She was on her phone most of the time, replying emails, she said.
"Van, can I steal you for a second?" Emily asked while I was eating my burger.
"Right now?" I asked with furrowed brows.
"Yeah, now," she replied.
Larry was staring at us but I pretended not to look at him. Both, Emily and I stood up and the boys were watching us walking away from the table. I heard soft murmurs of the boys asking each other what was going on, but I just proceeded trailing behind Emily.
"What's wrong? Why are you so moody lately," I asked her.
"There is something that I need to tell you," she swallowed.
"Something that we can't talk in front of the boys?" I asked.
"Must we always talk in front of the boys?" She replied, with clear annoyance in her voice.
"Why is that bothering you so much?"
"You wanna know why? It feels like I am dating you with the boys tagging along behind you. That's why! I don't see you as an individual anymore!" She cried out.
"I am in a band, Emily. I am on tour. With the band! And wherever I go, they will always be there! That's the entire scenario of being in a band while on tour, Emily."
"I flew all the way to you from London to spend time with you! Not with them!" She yelled, pointing at the boys inside.
"Emily, we are just having lunch with them. What is the big deal?" I chuckled, trying to tame the intensity that was building between us. "Come on..."
"It is a big deal when you start to not give your full attention to me. We are staying in the same hotel as them for god's sake," she sighed, throwing her hand in the air while shaking her head.
"You know that's not true," I muttered, stroking her cheeks with my finger. "I love you. You know that. And I am trying to divide my time for you. We are only having lunch Emily and it's not like we are staying in a room together with them," I laughed. "Okay, listen. We will go to anywhere you want to go after this, without the boys tagging along, I can guarantee you that. And tonight I'll bring you to this amazing place in...."
"Van, stop!" She interrupted me. "I am seeing someone else."
It felt like my world stopped moving the moment I heard her said it out loud. "What?"
"I am seeing someone else," she repeated herself, looking down at her feet. "I wanted to tell you before but I didn't know how to...so I am purposely trying to make you hate me, but nothing I do is affecting you..."
My eyes blinked a few times as my brain tried to digest the confusing information that it was receiving. "You're seeing someone else?"
"Yes, I am seeing someone else...." She frowned.
I could listen to the sound of my heart breaking as soon as I finally understood what she was saying. It finally made sense. She was moody and distancing herself from me and she was always trying to make a big deal when I was spending time with the boys.
"Oh..." Was the only thing I could say.
"Who?" I asked, staring right at her.
"A man from work..." She animatedly replied.
"For how long?" I asked.
"Since I moved out to London...Van... I am sorry. But I just don't see how this is going to work out," she cried, pointing at the both of us.
I couldn't focus on what she was saying. My stomach was churning and my mind was shutting down. My hand automatically reached out for the fags in my pocket and lit one. We both stood in silence for a moment before I looked at her again.
Her face was full of determination, assurance and confidence that she was going to leave me. Her eyes were looking at me, waiting for my mouth to say something. But I stayed silent.
That was making her impatient.
"I am going to go, okay? This is where I leave you. This is goodbye, Van. So... Goodbye," she said before slowly walking away.
I watched her turned her head a few times to look at me but she kept on walking away. I still couldn't find the words to say to her. It felt like she had just murdered me. I felt betrayed.
And I was in utter disbelief. Did that really just happen to me?
