Run to Paradise {Nikki Sixx | The Dirt}

23. everything i've ever let go of has claw marks

"Uh-huh?" Lola half laughs in response anyways.

"We're starting sound checks soon, you're needed by the sound guys." 

"Sounds like fun," she responds coyly, though she's pretty sure Doc's already moved on, not even waiting for her response.

It's not that he cares what she does with them, it's just that he's watched her spiral for the past few weeks, and knows that the more time she spends with the boys, the worse she gets. 

Lola and Vince finish quickly, and Vince is zipping up his pants and heading out the door while Lola fixes her hair. Doc is back by the time she's happy with how she looks, knocking on Nikki's door. Lola's amusement sours considerably however, when the door opens, and Roxie scampers out, like a dog with it's tail between it's legs.

Blood running ice cold, Lola stopped where she had been walking behind Doc, her gaze locking with Nikki's. 

"Tommy wants to introduce you to his parents," they both hear Doc say, though neither really registers it. Nikki smirks a little, like he's expecting her to be proud or amused, like fucking the girl who inadvertently hurt Lola was a joke, or payback somehow on Lola's behalf. 

All it did was hurt. 

Another person she loved, another person she cared about, had picked Roxie over her. 

All it did was prove that Roxie didn't even care for Tommy, because Nikki wouldn't think it was as amusing as he clearly thought it was if it was a situation close to what he and Lola and the other two had. This was a secret. A terribly kept secret, but one that would hurt Tommy nonetheless. 

Lola's expression turned cool, and she blinked slowly, apathy that barely concealed anger written all over her face. Without wasting another moment, she was walking to the stage. 

She's supervising where one of the other roadies is running cords beneath the drum risers, arms crossed, expression dark and pensive, when Tommy walks in, brimming with enthusiasm.

"Check this out!" He announces, "Pyro coming out of those;" he points out a few of the pyrotechnic devices before making a beeline for the rocks by his drumrisers, making a show of struggling to lift them, before lifting them with ease, showing off that they're fake as his parents laugh along. "Ma, dad, you remember -" his voice catches in his throat as his eyes land on Lola, and she looks at him. It's the first time they've looked each other in the eyes since the start of the tour, and his expression falls. Lola's, curiously enough, softens, just a little, barely noticeably to anyone who's not paying close attention.

"Yes, we met dear Lola in the, uh," Tommy's mother struggles to find the word, missing the shift in mood from both her son and Lola, and his father quietly fills in 'lobby' for her, still smiling. Tommy turns to his mother, smiling, seeming to be relieved when Nikki and Doc step into view and he can change the subject quickly.

"And this is the Sixxter." 

Nikki high fives him like he hadn't had his dick in Tommy's girlfriend only minutes before, and Lola's lip curls in quiet disgust. She's well aware she's a hypocrite, but she can't bring herself to care.

"It's so good to finally meet you," Tommy's mother hugs Nikki the way she'd hugged Lola, and Lola's pretty sure the confusion and slight discomfort that reads on Nikki's face had read on hers at the time. Or maybe he's feeling guilty about Tommy, but she doubts it.

Tommy's father shakes Nikki's hand, declares it a pleasure to meet him, and Nikki scowls as Doc offers to fly his family out to meet them all. Despite everything that's happened in the past five minutes, Nikki and Lola make eye contact, sharing a moment of solidarity as Nikki rolls his eyes, and Lola mimes shooting herself in the head, at the mere suggestion of family.