Chapter 19 ~ Liam
We all look with eyes wide open at the scene in front of us. Andy at the end accepted that Kay wouldn’t give him a chance, no matter how charming he tried to act, so he gave up and she went back to Louis.
And now they are snogging.
What is happening? How? Why? Are we all so drunk we’re imagining the same? But I haven’t drunk a single drop tonight! Not yet, at least. I think I’m seeing things, but I’m not the only one with the same reaction. Everyone in the club —and by everyone I mean the lads, the girls and I— are staring at the… new couple?
We came here after our last gig in London to celebrate for the first part of the European tour. We’re leaving to Germany in two days and then the rest of the continent. We’re visiting many countries there, and we’re really excited. So celebrating with everyone seemed the right option considering that we won’t see them as much anymore. Even if we want, we can’t have a break every week, so we make sure to use properly the time we can get with our friends.
Louis is certainly taking advantage of this!
Man… I know Kay fancies him, and I think Lou has some feelings for her, he just won’t accept that in the near future. For that same reason, everything is so bizarre I don’t even know what to think. And with this thing about Kay being bisexual, things get even weirder. No one minds, believe me, Andy told the girls already and they didn’t even blink. Mila said she already knew it, she felt it. Apparently, Mila has so many gay friends that her radar has atomic precision. Niall, Harry and Zayn don’t mind either. But Louis really seemed offended, thus this situation is even more confusing.
I feel my pocket vibrating and I hurry to take off my mobile, grateful for the distraction. I really can’t understand Kay and Louis. They have the weirdest relationship.
I am surprised to see Tammy’s picture on my screen when I finally have the gadget in my hands. This is probably more bizarre than Louis and Kay snogging in the middle of the dance floor. I thought Tammy really didn’t want to hear of me and I wasn’t expecting her to call me, and certainly not this late —it’s almost midnight—, so I pick up with my eyebrows very furrowed.
“Hello? Tammy?” I ask. Maybe someone stole her phone and they are prank calling now.
“Liam?” But it’s her voice and even above the noise of the club, I can hear it sounds broken.
“Hold on,” I say and I don’t know how, but I manage to walks past everyone and leave the club so I can hear properly. Tammy hasn’t said another word but I know she hasn’t hung up. “Tammy, what’s wrong? Are you okay?” I ask, anxiety clear in my own voice.
“No… It’s Ray… Liam…” Just then I notice she has called me Liam, not Noob. And that scares me as shit. “Liam…” her voice breaks again and I hear sobs. Is Tammy crying?
“Tammy, where are you? What happened?”
“I didn’t know whom to call… Please, come. I— I don’t know what to do. Ray is in the hospital,” she finally says and I feel my blood freezing and when I hear her breaking into tears, my own heart breaks.
Still holding the phone against my ear, I go for my car. “Don’t hang up. I’ll be there in five minutes. Don’t worry, Tammy, he’ll be fine.”
“I’m scared…” She whines and it breaks me more and more to hear her like this.
I’m not really conscious of what I’m doing, I just know I have to be fast. I’m driving like soul being chased by the Devil Himself, but desperation moves my muscles, not my brain. I never hang up, I keep talking to Tammy although she can’t reply anymore. I talk and talk, making sure she is still at the other end of the line. I hear her sobs and I feel more desperate. Why can’t I be faster? Why is taking me so long? I know I’ll get some tickets for driving like this, but I don’t care. I have to get to Tammy… and Ray. Oh my God, what happened to him? Why is he at the hospital?
I finally arrive to the hospital and run to Tammy, still with the phone against my ear and everything seems blurry around me, even the nurse who tells me where to find Ray, and with him, Tammy. When I get to the waiting room, I see her, on a corner, hugging her legs as she keeps crying onto the phone. Only then I hang up and say her name.
“Tammy,” I whisper but she hears me.
She is a mess, her eyeliner is drawing thin sinuous lines on her cheeks, her eyes are bloodshot and all the colour has been drained from her cheeks. She looks so fragile, so broken and when her green orbs meet mine, she jumps to her feet and runs to me. I open my arms and receive her without saying a single thing. I hug her tightly and she holds on to me, crying even harder.
I can’t believe this is happening, I never thought I would see Tammy like this. I didn’t think it was possible! But she is crying, against my shoulder, holding on to me for dear life. I rub my hands on her back, trying to sooth her, my own heart breaking but I stay strong, for her I stay strong.
“It’s okay, I’ve got you, I’m here,” I tell her, whispering into her ear and she hugs me tighter.
“I’m sorry… I didn’t know whom else to call. You… you know him and I… I can’t do this alone. I’m sorry!” She cries and I hug her so tightly I may be hurting her, but I can’t help it.
“It’s okay, I’m glad you called me. I’m here, I’ve got you,” I repeat hoping it works somehow.
Tammy doesn’t say anything else, she only cries in my shoulder, never letting go and I feel my own eyes burning with tears that want to set free. I feel powerless and confused, mortified because I don’t really know what’s happening, and for Tammy. It hurts so much to see her like this.
“Love, what happened?” I ask softly, carefully, not sure if Tammy can speak yet.
She takes a deep breath and tries to pull back, but I stop her and she gives in again. Too weak to fight me. “Ray and I were supposed to go to your concert and then to grab something to eat at the Arcade, but he never showed up at the Charity. I waited, waited for many hours until his neighbour called letting us know that Ray’s dad had beaten him up until he was unconscious. She was the one who called the police and they stopped that man. Now he is in jail, I think, but Ray is still unconscious in that room,” she tells me, her body is shaking and I’m not sure if it’s due to the sobs or the rage. Probably both. I know I’m getting furious as I hear the story, wanting to beat that man until he is unconscious.
Ray is a wonderful boy, he doesn’t deserve this. No one deserves something like this. Why? Why to someone as good as him? Why to a kid? I feel so angry, so feverish with sheer rage that I have to fight my instincts to stay here, with Tammy.
“I hate that man, I hate him so much! I hope he fucking dies in jail! How could he do that to Ray?! Why Ray?!” She pushes me back and this time I don’t stop her. Her rage is kicking in and I let her, she needs to rant. “Why Ray? He doesn’t deserve this. And he is in unconscious now! He will be taken away! Put in the system! I won’t see him again! And it’s all that man’s fault! He is not even a man!” Tammy glares at me, I can feel her rage as my own and I don’t have the words that could offer her some comfort. “I wanna kill him for doing this to Ray!”
“He is not worth your time. Ray needs us now, forget about that man,” I say although it is so hard. I hate that man, too. “All you need to care now is about Ray. Can we see him now?” I ask, trying to divert her thoughts from Ray’s father.
Tammy shakes her head. “The doctor won’t allow us at this time, we’re no relatives. We can see him only in the morning, as regular visitors. The doctor told me he is fine, though, that he’ll make it through the night despite the beating. Ray has some broken ribs and some minor inner injures, but all that’s taken care of. The most concerning thing is the concussion, as he was smacked against the table.” At this, her voice breaks again and I step forwards to hug her again, and she lets me. “I can’t believe what that man did to Ray…”
“Shh, he is in good hands now. He’ll be fine. That man can’t hurt him anymore,” I promise and my words get to her, I guess, because I feel her relaxing. “C’mon, let’s go. We’ll be here tomorrow first thing in the morning. You need to shower, eat something and get rest. I’ll go with you.”
Tammy pulls back and stares at me with shame in her eyes. “You don’t have to. I shouldn’t have called you,” she says but I shake my head.
“No, I want to do this and you did well in calling me. You can’t do this alone, I’m with you.” Carefully, I raise my hand and stroke her cheeks, wiping the tears and eyeliner from her skin. “Let’s go. You can’t help Ray right now if you wear yourself out. You need rest. We’ll be here in the morning,” I promise her but she is unsure. “He’ll be fine, no one can hurt him here. We can only wait now to see him and when he wakes up, he’ll need us more than ever. We better look presentable for him, don’t you think?” I ask and I know that talking in Ray’s benefit terms is getting to her.
“Okay,” she agrees doubtful, so I don’t give her a chance to change her mind and pass my arm over her shoulders, leading her away, slowly. I rub her arms to give her some warmth, she is so cold right now.
I lead her to my car that was parked awfully and, no surprise, there’s a ticket on my windscreen. I take it without looking at it. I’ll deal with that later. I just care about taking Tammy to a safe place. “Love, I need you to give me your address, unless you don’t mind I take you to my flat. But I think you’ll be better at your own place.”
Tammy seems to be in shock, she is barely conscious of my words and that worries me so much. I have to take her hand and squeeze it to wake her up and make her come back to me. She looks at me startled, like she has just realised I’m with her. “Uh, right.”
I’m so worried but I don’t push her right now. Tammy is taking this awfully, her mood swings concern me so much; she goes from rage to heart-breaking pain in one second, then to absent mind.
When she gives me the address and I type that in the GPS immediately so I won’t have to ask again, and carefully this time, I drive until we get to her building. It’s a modest construction, old fashioned and you would never guess an international rockstar lives there. When I walk with her into the lobby, the caretaker of the building seems to jump and stare at us with a worried expression. “Miss Rodenhizer, are you all right?” He asks politely, approaching to us carefully.
Tammy doesn’t answer, her eyes are lost into the nothingness, so I speak for her. “I need to take her to her flat. She is not answering right now. What number?” I ask the man and he looks suspicious, but then Tammy finally says something since she gave me her address.
“Eight oh-five.”
The caretaker looks even more concerned, but he leads us to the lift and press for us the button with the number eight. Soon, the doors close and when they open again, we face a small and modest hall, like the whole building. I look for the door with the number and find a black door, with nothing else but golden numbers. Eight. Zero. Five.
I ask Tammy for the keys a couple of times until she hands them to me and we can walk into her flat and I don’t even take notice of the surroundings, Tammy is everything in my mind right now. “Okay, love, we’re home. I need you to take a shower with very hot water. I’ll make some tea for you and a sandwich, okay?”
“Okay,” she answers and her eyes fight to focus on me again. “Thank you. For coming. For helping.”
I cup her face carefully and she doesn’t move, nor even when I lean in and kiss her forehead. “You’ll be fine. I’m with you now,” I tell her and I see a shadow crossing her eyes before she shakes her head and steps back, leaving me there.
Only then I take notice of the place around me. It’s simple and small, almost with no decoration. One sofa, a simple heating system, a flat telly not too big, a coffee table with nothing but an used mug and plate. There’s no table nor dining room, but the kitchen connected to the living room has a small counter with one stool. There are no pictures, no books, nor magazines. I see a guitar against the wall, but nothing else. The corridor leads to two doors, I guess the bathroom and her room. It is a really simple and small flat, and I can’t really believe she lives here. A rockstar, someone who calls attention like Tammy does… It just doesn’t match. I would’ve thought she lived in a big, pompous place, but as it always happens with Tammy, she is never what you expect.
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About the chapter... No, of course I won't kill Ray! I'm not that evil. But I just broke Tammy, and you know how much I love doing that to my main characters ;)
Dedication to @Shali_Berry for that purrrrfect comment. Thank you ;) I wish you all would comment as much as you do on Bitter & Sassy... *sighs*
Bel, xx