False Starts || Dave Grohl

Chapter 16

Kurt hopped down, looking anywhere but at me as Krist pulled me into a bone crushing hug. "Dad," I groaned, "You're embarrassing me!" He just squeezed me tighter, grateful that I was in such a good mood.

"It's out of love my little Rose Pedal," His hand came up to ruffle my hair, but I swat it away before he could ruin Shelli's work. "Feisty." He shot me a wink before turning his full attention over to his wife, leaving Kurt and I in an awkward silence.

Neither of us had spoken about that afternoon in the Novoselic living room, coming to an unspoken agreement to never bring it up again. Every time we were near each other now though, an awkward tension hung in the air.

"How's the album coming?" I knew we would get past this eventually, but for now I stuck to only discussing music with him. "Are you still stuck on that last song?"

A childlike excitement washed over the boy, "Actually it's complete. We're going down to Sound City next month to record and the label is pushing to release it in September."

"That's amazing!" I wrapped my arms away him, my excitement breaking through the walls he had built between us. "Holy shit Kurt..."

He didn't react to my hug at first, his body stiffening at the initial contact, before relaxing into the embrace. My face was tucked into his neck, grateful that there was one less person I had to make amends with tonight. "I'm glad you're doing better Rose. You look happier."

"I really needed the space," I sigh and pull away, "Where is he?"

"I think the dressing room," Krist responds as I turn to look at him and Shelli, "He's been writing in this notebook all tour, probably making a porn novel since he hadn't been getting any."

The notebook meant he was back to writing songs again, which was exciting yet terrifying at the same time. I bit my lip, eyes darting to the loading dock behind. "Maybe we should head inside. You guys are probably going on soon right?"

---

The halls were bustling with staff from the small venue. Some hunting through gear in hopes of finding a specific piece of equipment, while others were lost in conversation with one another. Krist and Shelli walked ahead of Kurt and I, his arm wrapped around his wife's shoulders, as he led us to the green room Nirvana was sharing.

"Alright give me the pants motherfucker!" Dave's voice echoed through the hallway as Krist opened the door to let us in. "Man tell him he can't bitch out of strip poker." My eyes scanned the room of four guys sitting in a circle, some missing articles of clothing while others didn't.

A girl I didn't recognize was seated in the corner drinking a beer as she watched the scene play out in front of her. My eyes lingered on her for a second before returning to the shirtless drummer seated in the circle. Our eyes locked and I could've sworn my knees buckled in that exact moment. He was obviously happier, the bags under his eyes gone and his toothy grin hardly left his face. "Rosemary."

"David." He winked, causing my heart to skip a beat, before turning his full attention back to the card game. I pulled my discarded cigarette from my front pocket, lighting the stick of tobacco in hopes that the nicotine would calm my nerves.

Krist was dealt a hand so he could join the game, while Kurt excused himself to get some alone time before the gig. Leaving Shelli and I to once again fend for ourselves.

It was weird being in a room with Dave again. Seattle had changed both of us in the short period we had lived here, and I knew if we wanted to stay together, we'd have to start from scratch.

"You must be the girlfriend." The sudden voice startled me, resulting in me falling into a coughing fit when I breathed in too much smoke. "Shit sorry." Shelli helped me compose myself before I turned to greet whoever was the cause. "I didn't mean to scare you like that."