Hanging on the Brink of Self Destruction, chapter 2
"Hello?" Mike asked, sounding sleepy and tired.
"Mike, you know Aimee; the girl from the concert?" Billie asked, his eyes burning from brimming tears and no sleep.
"Uh huh"
"Adrienne knows about her and everything is so fucked up! She's thrown me out for a walk to think about what I just said to her"
"SHIT! FUCK! Bill, why the fuck... ? Shitting hell... " Mike screamed, now awake and from the sound in the background, his girlfriend was too.
"Look, Mike... um... I dunno why I did it but I did and now I'm not sure which way to turn" Billie said, wiping the tears from his eyes.
"Shit... you wanna come over for the night?" Mike asked, his girlfriend questioning the shouting and swearing.
"Yeah, cheers so fucking much, I'm so fucking mad, I... shit... " Billie Joe managed before he broke out into tears. Why was everything going so bad?
*Back at the Armstrong home*
Jakob peeked around the door. Joey hadn't woken up to the sounds of mom throwing out dad. Jakob was really worried and hoped everything would get better. Mom hadn't shut the bedroom door properly and Jakob could see through the small opening.
Mom was lying on the bed, her face pressed into a pillow, her crying muffled by it. This had never happened before, nothing this major, nothing like mom throwing out dad. What was mommy angry about? Was mommy even angry? Was she sad? Questions raced through Jakob's mind and this made him confused and upset. He eventually picked up the courage to go to the bedroom.
Adrienne was sitting on the edge of the bed now, drying her eyes.
"Mommy? Can I come in?" Jakob asked, peeking around the door. There was a strange silence.
"Oh, sure, sorry Jake I was... dreaming" Adie eventually said, gesturing for Jake to come and sit on her lap.
"What were you dreaming of mommy?" Jake asked as Adrienne wrapped her arms around him. Again, another strange silence...
"You know that lovely pie we had for dinner a while ago? I was dreaming of that" Adrienne replied, trying hard to smile.
"I love that pie, especially when you cook it mom. Daddy can't cook much that's good"
Adrienne laughed but was quickly reminded of Billie Joe and tears rolled down her cheeks.
"Mommy? Why are you crying?" Jake realised. "Did I do something?"
"Oh, no Jake... It was, it was me... I... "
"Are you and daddy gonna... um... I dunno how to say it, um... stop, liking each other?" Jake plucked up the courage to ask the question that had been bugging him all night since he had woken up to the argument.
"Look, um, Jake, baby... I'm not sure about anything yet, but I hope... " Adie couldn't answer the question. She broke. Everything in her heart was being burnt, all of her love for Billie Joe was trying to survive without being cursed. Adrienne covered her face with her hands and cried uncontrollably into them. "I'm really... sorry baby, can you give me a minute?" Adie managed to say. She went into the bathroom and locked the door and let out all the tears.
Jake sat on the bed, tears in HIS eyes. Were mom and dad going to stop liking each other?
Suddenly Adie's phone started to ring on the bedside table. It said in the little window on the front of the mobile 'Billie Joe calling... ' Jake grabbed it and flicked open the lid.
"Hello daddy"
"Jake?"
"Yeah you want mom?"
"Yes please"
"She's in the bathroom... and she's locked the door"
"Jake? Is that dad?" Adrienne yelled from the bathroom, obviously hearing the conversation.
"Yeah"
"Does he want to talk to me?"
"Yeah"
Silence.
"I don't think mommy wants to come out of the bathroom daddy"
"OK, could you tell her that I'm staying at Mike's for the night? Oh and can you ask her when she wants me home?"
Suddenly Adrienne came out of the bathroom and sat on the bed next to Jake who automatically handed her the phone.
"Billie?"
"Adie, hi"
"Hold on... " Adie took the phone away from her ear. "Jake could you leave please baby? I'll call you back in if you want after I've finished talking to dad"
"OK" Jake made his way out of the bedroom.
"Y'know nothing has really changed since I sent you out?" Adrienne said. "I'm still not sure if this Aimee girl who has been sending 'love texts' to you is really in 'love' with you"
"Oh, Adie please... I just wanna know when I can fucking come back to my house! Can I come home tomorrow? I don't wanna shitty argument over the shitty phone; it's not the way to have one... "
"Yeah, come home tomorrow, we'll argue then. And, listen Bill, did you really mean what you said?" But Billie had hung up. Adrienne threw her mobile across the room, not caring if it broke. She was angry, upset and confused all at once; not a nice feeling...
*At Mike's house*
"SHIT! NO YOU SON OF A... " Billie screamed at his phone. He had no more credit. He took a large swig of his beer and leant his head back against the sofa. Mike was sitting with Billie, trying to comfort him and Mike's girlfriend had gone back to bed, she had had a busy day and was going to have another the next day.
"God, I might as well fucking drink myself to death the way my life is going Mike... I love Aimee but Adie loves me and I love her back but Aimee is taking up my life so much; I feel so, so, everything, I feel everything that's good to feel when Aimee is around me, when she keeps contact with me, when I hear her voice, when I see her... like I couldn't live without her"
"Bill, I dunno what you feel but as long as it's good I would be going with my good instinct and what started to argument?"
"Adie saw some texts that Aimee had sent me... hold on... these ones" Billie Joe showed Mike all of the texts Aimee had sent him. "And she said it sounded like a 'love text' and got thoroughly pissed off and I said something I shouldn't have said. Then she told me to get out of the house and go for a walk and think about it all... I know it sounds really stupid but it isn't"
"It don't sound silly... don't worry about it; Adie will realise that she loves you and doesn't wanna let you go and, well, there you go" Mike reassured.
"That's the fucking point; I'm not sure if I wanna stay with Adrienne anymore. I never thought I would feel more love for a woman other than Adrienne but I did and I am and, from the way this is going, I always fucking will!"
"Bill, you do what you think you should... I'm not gonna dictate your life; I'm gonna support you through it, do what feels right"
"Mike, you know Aimee; the girl from the concert?" Billie asked, his eyes burning from brimming tears and no sleep.
"Uh huh"
"Adrienne knows about her and everything is so fucked up! She's thrown me out for a walk to think about what I just said to her"
"SHIT! FUCK! Bill, why the fuck... ? Shitting hell... " Mike screamed, now awake and from the sound in the background, his girlfriend was too.
"Look, Mike... um... I dunno why I did it but I did and now I'm not sure which way to turn" Billie said, wiping the tears from his eyes.
"Shit... you wanna come over for the night?" Mike asked, his girlfriend questioning the shouting and swearing.
"Yeah, cheers so fucking much, I'm so fucking mad, I... shit... " Billie Joe managed before he broke out into tears. Why was everything going so bad?
*Back at the Armstrong home*
Jakob peeked around the door. Joey hadn't woken up to the sounds of mom throwing out dad. Jakob was really worried and hoped everything would get better. Mom hadn't shut the bedroom door properly and Jakob could see through the small opening.
Mom was lying on the bed, her face pressed into a pillow, her crying muffled by it. This had never happened before, nothing this major, nothing like mom throwing out dad. What was mommy angry about? Was mommy even angry? Was she sad? Questions raced through Jakob's mind and this made him confused and upset. He eventually picked up the courage to go to the bedroom.
Adrienne was sitting on the edge of the bed now, drying her eyes.
"Mommy? Can I come in?" Jakob asked, peeking around the door. There was a strange silence.
"Oh, sure, sorry Jake I was... dreaming" Adie eventually said, gesturing for Jake to come and sit on her lap.
"What were you dreaming of mommy?" Jake asked as Adrienne wrapped her arms around him. Again, another strange silence...
"You know that lovely pie we had for dinner a while ago? I was dreaming of that" Adrienne replied, trying hard to smile.
"I love that pie, especially when you cook it mom. Daddy can't cook much that's good"
Adrienne laughed but was quickly reminded of Billie Joe and tears rolled down her cheeks.
"Mommy? Why are you crying?" Jake realised. "Did I do something?"
"Oh, no Jake... It was, it was me... I... "
"Are you and daddy gonna... um... I dunno how to say it, um... stop, liking each other?" Jake plucked up the courage to ask the question that had been bugging him all night since he had woken up to the argument.
"Look, um, Jake, baby... I'm not sure about anything yet, but I hope... " Adie couldn't answer the question. She broke. Everything in her heart was being burnt, all of her love for Billie Joe was trying to survive without being cursed. Adrienne covered her face with her hands and cried uncontrollably into them. "I'm really... sorry baby, can you give me a minute?" Adie managed to say. She went into the bathroom and locked the door and let out all the tears.
Jake sat on the bed, tears in HIS eyes. Were mom and dad going to stop liking each other?
Suddenly Adie's phone started to ring on the bedside table. It said in the little window on the front of the mobile 'Billie Joe calling... ' Jake grabbed it and flicked open the lid.
"Hello daddy"
"Jake?"
"Yeah you want mom?"
"Yes please"
"She's in the bathroom... and she's locked the door"
"Jake? Is that dad?" Adrienne yelled from the bathroom, obviously hearing the conversation.
"Yeah"
"Does he want to talk to me?"
"Yeah"
Silence.
"I don't think mommy wants to come out of the bathroom daddy"
"OK, could you tell her that I'm staying at Mike's for the night? Oh and can you ask her when she wants me home?"
Suddenly Adrienne came out of the bathroom and sat on the bed next to Jake who automatically handed her the phone.
"Billie?"
"Adie, hi"
"Hold on... " Adie took the phone away from her ear. "Jake could you leave please baby? I'll call you back in if you want after I've finished talking to dad"
"OK" Jake made his way out of the bedroom.
"Y'know nothing has really changed since I sent you out?" Adrienne said. "I'm still not sure if this Aimee girl who has been sending 'love texts' to you is really in 'love' with you"
"Oh, Adie please... I just wanna know when I can fucking come back to my house! Can I come home tomorrow? I don't wanna shitty argument over the shitty phone; it's not the way to have one... "
"Yeah, come home tomorrow, we'll argue then. And, listen Bill, did you really mean what you said?" But Billie had hung up. Adrienne threw her mobile across the room, not caring if it broke. She was angry, upset and confused all at once; not a nice feeling...
*At Mike's house*
"SHIT! NO YOU SON OF A... " Billie screamed at his phone. He had no more credit. He took a large swig of his beer and leant his head back against the sofa. Mike was sitting with Billie, trying to comfort him and Mike's girlfriend had gone back to bed, she had had a busy day and was going to have another the next day.
"God, I might as well fucking drink myself to death the way my life is going Mike... I love Aimee but Adie loves me and I love her back but Aimee is taking up my life so much; I feel so, so, everything, I feel everything that's good to feel when Aimee is around me, when she keeps contact with me, when I hear her voice, when I see her... like I couldn't live without her"
"Bill, I dunno what you feel but as long as it's good I would be going with my good instinct and what started to argument?"
"Adie saw some texts that Aimee had sent me... hold on... these ones" Billie Joe showed Mike all of the texts Aimee had sent him. "And she said it sounded like a 'love text' and got thoroughly pissed off and I said something I shouldn't have said. Then she told me to get out of the house and go for a walk and think about it all... I know it sounds really stupid but it isn't"
"It don't sound silly... don't worry about it; Adie will realise that she loves you and doesn't wanna let you go and, well, there you go" Mike reassured.
"That's the fucking point; I'm not sure if I wanna stay with Adrienne anymore. I never thought I would feel more love for a woman other than Adrienne but I did and I am and, from the way this is going, I always fucking will!"
"Bill, you do what you think you should... I'm not gonna dictate your life; I'm gonna support you through it, do what feels right"
