Sorry I suck and haven't updated in a few days. 😭 Decided to make this into two chapters, because I like cliffhangers. 😛
Warnings: Mentions of Previous Drug Use, Abuse
Ryan's POV
"Is that...your mother?" I'm almost too scared to ask, nausea threatening to creep up my throat.
"Just go, I'll handle it." He pushes me to the side to move me out of the doorway, and worry cuts through me like a knife. Something inside of him switched as soon as he heard her name.
"You don't want me to stay? Are you sure you want to be alone with her?" I'm not too comfortable with the idea of leaving him alone with her, but I'm not sure that it's any of my business.
"I said just go." His tone is short and full of anger, spitting his words through gritted teeth. "Go take care of Riley. Get everyone out."
"But the party isn't-"
"Get everyone out, Ryan." I flinch at the volume of his voice, nodding in agreement because I don't want to start a fight on top of everything else that was just put on our plate.
"Go to my bathroom, I'll be there in a minute." Riley nods and wipes her tears away with the back of her hand as I whisper in her ear.
This is not good.
This is really, really, really bad.
Why did she have to show up today of all days? Today is supposed to be a happy day for us, and now memories of my daughter's first birthday will always be tainted with hostility. How does she even know where we live? From what I understood, Nikki hasn't talked to his mother since before we met. I've heard him talk to his sister, Ceci, on the phone, but never his mother. He hasn't even talked about her since those nights on the beach in rehab. He would've told me if he knew she was coming, but by the look on his face and the mean tone to his voice, he definitely wasn't expecting her. Maybe his sister told her where we are? Surely she wouldn't if she knew anything about their relationship, but I guess I don't know her well enough to know if she's one of those that just wants to watch the world burn. She is his sister after all.
"Thank y'all so much for coming and for all of the gifts, but we- uh- have some unexpected company and the party's gonna have to end now." I feel like a total bitch for kicking everyone out when they made the trek in the pouring rain just to celebrate Wylie with us.
"She's not done opening presents!" Tommy frowns as he lets out a huff and points at Wylie trying to open one of his gifts.
"I know. I'm sorry, guys. I'm not trying to be a dick, but his mom just showed up." I probably shouldn't be telling Nikki's business, but they're all gonna have to go in the driveway to get in their cars and see her anyway.
"Later!" Tommy bolts out of his seat, his tone making a full 180.
"Yeah, we're gonna go out the back way." Mick fumbles to stand up, gripping Emi's shoulder for support.
I put my hand on Sharise's shoulder when she starts to stand up, lightly shoving her back down. I give her a deep look, trying to communicate for her to stay with my eyes.
"Go ahead, babe. I'll see you at home later." She understands my look and tells Vince goodbye, but he doesn't seem impressed as he rolls his eyes and follows Mick and Emi out the back door.
"Go to my bathroom. Take Wylie with you, please."
"What's going on? What's in the bathroom?" Her face is twisted in concern as she gets out of her seat and fumbles to cradle a crying Wylie against her chest. She's not happy to be pulled away from her gifts.
"Riley's in there and she needs help." Tears start to accumulate in the back of my eyes again as Sharise lets out a deep breath and heads toward the stairs.
The living room is empty, no Nikki in sight. The car on the street no longer has its lights on and doesn't seem to have anyone in it, but I don't see them anywhere outside either. Maybe they came in while I was pushing everyone out. It's still pouring down rain and even if he only has negative feelings toward his mother, he wouldn't make her stand in the middle of a storm.
The only room I don't check is the basement, which worries me because it's soundproofed and I won't be able to hear a murder happen. I have to remind myself that their relationship is none of my business, and whatever happens will happen whether I'm in the same room or not. Maybe they just need some privacy.
"What happened? Be honest with me." I rest my head on the bathroom door and listen to Sharise's voice, not emotionally ready to enter the room and see Riley's beat up face again.
"He didn't want me to come today. He forbade me from being around Mötley, he said they're just a bunch of sleazy cheaters and that they'd try and take me away from him."
"That's rich coming from him." Sharise snorts out a scoff.
"He told me Ryan was the same way." My eyebrows perk at her words. "He told me she's a nasty dyke that only keeps me around to try to get in my pants and that she cheats on Nikki with anyone she can get her hands on." Well, that's not only rude, but completely incorrect. Sure, I've cheated, but I wouldn't count once as 'anyone I can get my hands on.' Why do all rockstars have such fragile egos?
"You know that's not true, right?"
"Of course I do. He's just mad because I spent so much time here when we were helping her get clean, and because I told him I think she's beautiful." A small smile forms on my face at her compliment.
"You dumped him, right?" Sharise's voice is stern as Wylie babbles in the background.
"No. I mean, not yet. Ow!" She winces when Sharise presses the towel too hard onto her cheek to clean off the blood.
"You have to dump him, Riley. We should be calling the fucking cops." Their heads snap up to me as I open the door, Riley seeming to shrink into her skin when she hears my voice. "I understand not wanting to report it, God knows I never have, but you have to leave before this gets worse. He could kill you, and what will we do without you? What will Wylie do without you?" Tears fall down her cheeks as she nods, her eyes so dull that her sparkling personality seems to be gone.
"I'm going to, I promise. I just don't have anywhere to go. He was so sweet and helped me get out of my dingy apartment, but now I know he only did that so I wouldn't have somewhere to run to when he throws one of his fits."
"Stay here, with me and Nikki. He won't mind helping you get on your feet again." She starts to shake her head and I drop to my knees in front of her, grabbing her hands. "I'm serious. We have plenty of room. Just for a while, and I'll help you find a place of your own."
"I don't want charity, Ryan. I can't impose on you guys like that."
"Charity? It's not charity, you can help us with Wylie. It'll be just like tour, only here. If it would make you feel better, you can consider babysitting as your way of paying rent. It'll just be you doing your job."
"And I'm here, like, all the time. We can hang out and have sleepovers and girl's nights!" We laugh as Sharise butts into our heavy moment by shoving a box of tissues between us.
"What will Nikki think?"
"Nikki would be saying the same thing if he were in here, too." I hope I'm right. He has grown to love her the more time he spends with her, surely he'll agree with me on this.
"Where is he? Is his mother here? Is he okay?" Sharise wipes the rest of the blood off of Riley's cheek, deep purple bruises littering her entire face.
"I honestly don't know, that's a whole other level of shit. This whole day has been a never ending pile of shit. Everything is just shit."
"Shit!" My eyes widen as Wylie's small voice comes from the corner. She doesn't quite land the 't' sound at the end, but we all know what she's trying to say.
"Shit." I groan, slapping my palm against my forehead. I guess 'shit' is better than 'fuck.'
"Shit!"
Nikki's POV
"What are you doing here?" I can't hold back the apprehension in my voice, my brain slowly imploding every second that I'm in Deana's presence.
I won't let her get to me. I will be calm and collected, she doesn't deserve the ability to get under my skin. I have my own family, she can't hurt me anymore. I just have to keep it together.
"What do you mean what am I doing here? I came to see you. I came to meet my granddaughter. It's awful of you not to tell me about her, I had to read it in the magazines like a normal person." She picks at her nails as she sits on the basement couch, completely oblivious to the fact that I didn't tell her about my family for a reason- she doesn't deserve to know.
"Why would I tell you about my daughter? We don't talk, Deana."
"And whose fault is that, Frankie?" I roll my jaw at her use of a name that I killed a long time ago, and the fact that she's trying to blame me for everything. Why am I surprised? She never takes responsibility for anything, she always blames everyone around her.
"It's Nikki, and if you can't even use the correct name, then you can just leave right now."
"Fine. Whose fault is that, Nikki?" I roll my eyes at her snarky tone and choose to ignore the question.
"Why are you really here, Deana? It's not to meet my family. What do you want?" I pace back and forth across the room, everything slowly starting to close in on me.
"I really did come to meet her, to meet Wylie."
"Cut the shit."
"Fine. I need help. My house is being foreclosed on in thirty days if I don't come up with the payments I've missed."
There it is. The only times I've seen her since 1981 is when she's needed money. As soon as Mötley started gaining traction, she claimed she deserved part of the profits because she 'made' me. Every two to three years she'll come crawling out of whatever hole she comes from, asking for something and my dumbass always does it, because I think somehow it'll fix our relationship, that somehow it'll make her love me.
Not this time.
"No. You'll have to fix it yourself this time. I have a family now. I have my own people to take care of."
"Why do you hate me so much? I've never done a cross thing to you. I have always tried to be a good mother! It is not my fault that Tom and Nona poisoned you against me!"
"It is your fault! You've never given a flying fuck about me!" My calm and collected facade quickly flies out the window.
"You know that's not true! I love you more than life itself! It wasn't my fault, they took you away from me and you know it!"
"No they fucking didn't! You shipped me off every chance you fucking got just so you wouldn't have to deal with me. You're lucky you had somewhere to ship me to!" My eyes fill with tears, but I refuse to let them fall. She doesn't deserve to see me vulnerable.
"That's a lie, Frankie! They-"
"That's not my fucking name!" She over dramatically flinches when the glass vase sitting on top of the coffee table shatters against the wall.
"I see you still have the same temper you always had as a child. Always throwing things, always hurting people and blaming everyone else. Tell me, honey, do you hurt your family now the way you've always hurt me?" Her face twists into a sick smile, knowing she can push me right where it hurts the most.
"Go ahead. If you want to hurt me, then hurt me. It won't be any worse than anything we've already done." Ryan's fingers cover the hand I have around her throat, making me grip her tighter.
"I don't want to hurt you, Ryan."
**
"I'm sorry for hitting you. I didn't mean to, you have to believe me." Ryan's face is already black and blue, her nose nearly twice its size from swelling.
"N-no. I would never hurt my family." My voice comes out as a whisper, memories flooding my brain of every time I've put my hands on Ryan.
But I have hurt her, and not just once.
"Are you sure? Your wife- she's a beautiful girl, but I read the magazines. I know she's...wild." She raises an eyebrow and my already tormented brain bubbles with anger.
"What the fuck are you saying?" I can't control the spinning in my head, everything starting to look blurry.
"I'm saying she's not the right one, darling. The right woman would calm you, she only exacerbates your anger. I read what happened at that award show."
"You don't know shit about Ryan."
"I know enough."
"Get out." My jaw is clenched so tight that I worry it might snap in two.
"Oh, come on, Nikki. I came to meet my granddaughter. I deserve to meet my granddaughter." She stands up and swiftly moves toward me, gripping my arm with her hand.
"Get the fuck out!" My shriek bounces off the walls as my chest heaves, my eyes as wide as a madman's.
"You are an awful human being! I hope you can live with yourself knowing you put your own mother in the streets! All I have ever done is love you!" She reaches for her purse, slinging it over her shoulder. "Don't worry, I'll show myself out."
My back slides down the wall until I hit the floor when the door slams shut, my head in my hands and hot tears flowing down my cheeks.
Why can't she ever just love me?
She was right about hurting my family. I've always hurt anyone that gets anywhere near me. Maybe she's right. Maybe I am an awful human being.
Ryan's POV
"You can stay in here. It's Sharise's room when the guys are gone, but they're home for a while now so it's yours." I give Riley a weak smile as she looks around the room, throwing her backpack on the bed.
"Thank you, Ryan. This is perfect."
"I'll help you go get the rest of your stuff this week, okay? We can get a storage unit if you need it."
"I don't want to go back there." Tears start to fill her eyes, just as we had gotten her to calm down.
"We'll go." I nod in agreement with Sharise, a dark look flooding her face.
"You don't need-"
"We'll go." Sharise's voice is stern and Riley shrinks into her chest like a scorned child. She nods slightly, too scared to challenge Sharise. I don't blame her.
My ears perk when I hear the front door slam, my eyes darting into the hallway. I guess that means Deana has left, and by the slam I'm assuming they didn't leave on a good note.
"Stay here. I'm gonna go see what's going on." The girls nod and exchange nervous glances, closing the door behind me.
My heart starts to pound as I look out the window to see the woman rip her car door open and wipe her face with her hands as if she'd been crying. Fuck, this isn't good. I need to find Nikki.
I can't seem to catch my breath as I walk down the stairs to the basement, my mind racing with all sorts of crazy ideas, wondering what state I'm going to find him in. Will he be angry? Will he want to be left alone? Will he be rocking back and forth in the corner crying? Will he be destroying everything in his path?
"Nik?" My voice echoes into the room as I open the door, only to be met with silence.
My heart threatens to rip through my chest as my eyes catch the reflection of the broken vase on the floor. My eyes wander around the room in search for blood splatters, and I let out a deep breath when I don't find any. Okay, that's a start. Maybe he went upstairs to find me and we missed each other.
My legs feel weak as I run back up the stairs and look through the whole house. He's nowhere in here. The deep feeling of dread that's been settled in the back of my mind all day comes out full force, nausea finally starting to creep up the back of my throat.
Where the fuck is he?
My hands shake as I open the door to the garage, and I let out a whimper when the side where his car normally sits is empty.
He's gone.