2028, chapter 9
Tre Cool couldn't realize he had agreed to possibly reunite with Green Day. It wasn't that he regretted the decision, it just that he was having doubts about it. One of his biggest problems these days was doubt, and he couldn't make a decision without doubting it some amount. His conscious was on overdrive these days and he was annoyed by it. When he was younger, he could do anything with no thoughts and feelings about it afterwards. If he had gone through with some of his plots to kill Avril Lavigne, he probably wouldn't have given it a second thought and walked away to get a coffee at the nearest Starbucks with Mike and Billie at his side.
He sighed, and turned on his side, glancing at his bedside clock, six-forty-five am. Katie'd probably be up, it was the first day of school today and kids were always up early on the first day of school.
"Hello?" came Katie's face across the screen as Tre phoned her nervously, "Tre, what the hell?"
"I dunno about this Katie," Tre said. He could hear Jessie moving around downstairs and he hoped she wouldn't accidentally look at the history on the phones. He had never got around to putting anything other than 'Armstrong' in the 'Name' part of the contacts list.
"Tre you made a commitment, now stick to it," Katie said and the phone went dead. Tre sighed and threw his head back against the headboard. The phone rang and Tre noticed it wasn't a video call, probably coming from someone in the car. He didn't recognize the caller ID number but he picked it up anyways.
"Yeah?" he asked, "This is Tre."
A strange voice came over the line, deep and thoughtful, the voice of a certain bass player who Tre knew quite well, "Tre. How fast can you get to the hospital?"
"What are you talking about Mike?" Tre wondered, not knowing what this was all about.
Mike's voice seemed on the edge of tears and he took a long breath, "Something's up with Billie Joe. I got a call from Adrienne about five minutes ago, I said I'd call you. Tre? Tre?" Mike asked, but Tre had already dropped the phone and was rapidly trying to put on his clothes. Mike gave up and hung up.
Tre ran downstairs.
"Hey honey, you're surely up ea-" Jessie began.
"No time, be back later!" Tre shouted, running out the door, his heart beating rapidly and cold sweat making his hands cold. He wondered if Joey knew and briefly considered calling Katie before hitting the 'Dial' button on his car's phone.
"Hello, this is Ellie," a woman said.
"Ellie?"
"Tre?"
"Yeah, yeah I know, ask your daughter. But do it later, get your damn family in the car and get down to the hospital, Billie's not good."
Tre heard a gasp and then Ellie said a few words and hung up.
**
"Oh holy shit," Joey heard his wife mutter as she hung up the phone. She looked shocked, her face white and worried, shadows already forming under her eyes.
"What's up? Who was that?" he asked, concerned and curious.
"Honey," she said quietly, "That was Tre... Cool."
"What's he doing calling here?"
"He called me about your dad... the thing is... he's in the hospital."
"Mom!" a voice called, it was Katie as her feet pounded up the stairs urgently, "Billie Joe's in the emergency room... something about an accident. We should go."
"Holy motherfucking fuck," Joey muttered and slumped down into a chair, his head in his arms. He had been such a dick over the past years! How could he get so mad at his dad like that? Did things have to come to this every time? Maybe that thing that people said was true, you never know what you got 'til it's gone.
His head was still whirling from these thoughts and questions as Ellie pulled him up gently and led him out to the car, directing Katie to call her school office and tell them they had a family emergency, that he didn't realize that his vision was blurring and that he was indeed crying for the first time in years.
He sighed, and turned on his side, glancing at his bedside clock, six-forty-five am. Katie'd probably be up, it was the first day of school today and kids were always up early on the first day of school.
"Hello?" came Katie's face across the screen as Tre phoned her nervously, "Tre, what the hell?"
"I dunno about this Katie," Tre said. He could hear Jessie moving around downstairs and he hoped she wouldn't accidentally look at the history on the phones. He had never got around to putting anything other than 'Armstrong' in the 'Name' part of the contacts list.
"Tre you made a commitment, now stick to it," Katie said and the phone went dead. Tre sighed and threw his head back against the headboard. The phone rang and Tre noticed it wasn't a video call, probably coming from someone in the car. He didn't recognize the caller ID number but he picked it up anyways.
"Yeah?" he asked, "This is Tre."
A strange voice came over the line, deep and thoughtful, the voice of a certain bass player who Tre knew quite well, "Tre. How fast can you get to the hospital?"
"What are you talking about Mike?" Tre wondered, not knowing what this was all about.
Mike's voice seemed on the edge of tears and he took a long breath, "Something's up with Billie Joe. I got a call from Adrienne about five minutes ago, I said I'd call you. Tre? Tre?" Mike asked, but Tre had already dropped the phone and was rapidly trying to put on his clothes. Mike gave up and hung up.
Tre ran downstairs.
"Hey honey, you're surely up ea-" Jessie began.
"No time, be back later!" Tre shouted, running out the door, his heart beating rapidly and cold sweat making his hands cold. He wondered if Joey knew and briefly considered calling Katie before hitting the 'Dial' button on his car's phone.
"Hello, this is Ellie," a woman said.
"Ellie?"
"Tre?"
"Yeah, yeah I know, ask your daughter. But do it later, get your damn family in the car and get down to the hospital, Billie's not good."
Tre heard a gasp and then Ellie said a few words and hung up.
**
"Oh holy shit," Joey heard his wife mutter as she hung up the phone. She looked shocked, her face white and worried, shadows already forming under her eyes.
"What's up? Who was that?" he asked, concerned and curious.
"Honey," she said quietly, "That was Tre... Cool."
"What's he doing calling here?"
"He called me about your dad... the thing is... he's in the hospital."
"Mom!" a voice called, it was Katie as her feet pounded up the stairs urgently, "Billie Joe's in the emergency room... something about an accident. We should go."
"Holy motherfucking fuck," Joey muttered and slumped down into a chair, his head in his arms. He had been such a dick over the past years! How could he get so mad at his dad like that? Did things have to come to this every time? Maybe that thing that people said was true, you never know what you got 'til it's gone.
His head was still whirling from these thoughts and questions as Ellie pulled him up gently and led him out to the car, directing Katie to call her school office and tell them they had a family emergency, that he didn't realize that his vision was blurring and that he was indeed crying for the first time in years.
