A lousy name, but please read it., chapter 2
Anna
"And this is my bed!" Joey said, jumping up and down on it.
I laughed. He seemed pretty excited about me being around, unlike his brother who locked himself up in his room. A part of me wanted to go back home. This whole thing was so surreal. And I really didn't want to bother the Armstrong's. On the other hand, this was the coolest thing you could ever dream of.
There was a knock on Joeys door and Billie came in, followed by Adrienne.
"This is Anna," Billie said and literally placed his wife in front of me.
Adrienne gave me a friendly smile and took my hand.
"Hello Anna. I'm Adrienne."
I smiled back at her. She was very pretty. Billie laid his arm around her and said,
"Maybe we should show her around the house."
Adie nodded and told me that there was a guest room I could have in the "meanwhile". We walked through the hall and on the left, there was a small room, compared to the others in the house. But I was really grateful to have a place to crash. The fact that it was in the Armstrong's house, was just a plus. I didn't really think about them as celebrities right now, more like friendly people.
Adrienne offered to help me with the bruises and took me into a bathroom. It did hurt a bit and I did a bad grimace in pain.
"Sorry," Adie said, as she took it more gentle.
There was an awkward silence and I started feeling stupid again. I wanted to tell her to stop, that I should go home again. But it felt good to be taken care of, which I had not been for a very long time.
"When did he start hitting you?" She asked, putting a band-aid on my arm.
I was a bit surprised by the question. She seemed to be keen to help me out.
"A couple of months ago," I mumbled.
Adrienne nodded like she understood. I felt that I was about to cry again. I'm not sure if it was because of my father, or just for feeling relieved.
"Thank you Mrs.Armstrong... it's really nice of you to help me out. But I should get going." I was sobbing.
Adie looked a bit puzzled for a second, which was understandable. Here I was, a complete stranger, crying in her bathroom. She glanced at the door, obviously wishing that someone would come in and interrupt. But then she gave me a sort of short, impulsive hug while hushing me.
"We just want to help you out," she said. "Why don't you take some rest, you look exhausted."
I gave her a week smile and dried my tears. Suddenly the door opened and Billies head popped in.
"I'm gonna take a nap. I'm really tired today," he said.
"Alright," His wife replied. "I think this young lady should do the same."
"Good idea."
I couldn't get any sleep though. The headache was increasing. I sneaked downstairs to find Adrienne in the living room with Jacob.
"Not tired?" Adie asked in a friendly voice.
"I'm sorry... I was just wondering if I could have some aspirin?"
As soon as I started to feel better, I could actually enjoy being in the Armstrong's house. I spent the following hours in the backyard with Adrienne and her boys. Little by little, I started to relax. And for a moment all my problems at home were forgotten.
Billie
I didn't wake up until dinner. I found myself hoping that the incident earlier that morning would only be a dream. But as I entered the kitchen, I saw Anna sitting at the table with my family. She blushed a little when I sat down beside her. Adie gave me a look, I assumed that she was wondering what we were going to do with Anna.
I shrugged, barely visible.
Everyone was quite during dinner. Normally, me and my family would talk about how our days have been and stuff like that. But with Anna around, it seemed like no one wanted to share their daily experiences. Luckily enough, the doorbell rang when I was about to say something random. My son Joey stood up to get it, but I was quicker. I thought for a minute that it would be Annas father. But it was Mike standing in the hallway. I saw Tré hiding behind his back.
"Hey Mike... and Tré," I said, rolling my eyes.
Tré gave up a sigh.
"Man, how could you see me?"
Mike laughed and I decided to ignore Tré. He is always full of energy, and that can be a bit annoying sometimes, especially when you have a problem to take care of. Though, in his defence, he didn't know anything about it by this time.
"So... guys... what are you doing here?" I asked, already knowing the answer.
Mike looked at me, scratching his head, and then turned to Tré.
"Is it the right day?"
"Yes," he answered, without any lack of certainty.
They both looked up at me. We had decided to jam in my studio this evening. There were some songs we just had to finish. I thought about excuses to make them leave, but realized that they would see right through me that there was something wrong.
"Bill, what's up? You don't have any other plans, do you?"
"No... no, course not," I responded, glancing in the direction of the kitchen.
We could easily sneak downstairs to my basement without bumping into any of the others. Tré jumped down the steps, loudly singing some dirty lines of a song I've never heard before. Probably his own words.
"We are so not using that song Tré!" Mike called after him.
Tré sat down behind the drums and crossed his arms, pouting. Then he used puppy-eyes.
"Please? On the B-side?"
Anna
"I'll help you with the dishes, Mrs.Armstrong," I offered after the long, quite meal.
Adrienne gave me another of her friendly, warm smiles.
"Alright. I'm glad that someone offers a hand in this house," she said, turning to her two sons.
But none of the boys seemed to take the hint. I smiled. The family spirit gave me a great feeling. A feeling I couldn't recall from the past.
As soon as we had finished, Joey disappeared up to his room again. I couldn't figure out if his constant absence was because of me or something else. Jacob started pulling in his mothers shirt.
"Mum, help me with the homework."
Adie looked really tired. She sighed and patted his head.
"Go and ask your brother. Or dad. Wherever he went... I have to take care of some stuff, okay?"
"Fine," Jacob muttered and sauntered out of the kitchen.
I just stood there. Adrienne had to figure out something I could do.
"Maybe you could help him? I'm sure he wouldn't mind."
So I went to fetch the little boy. I came out in the hall to find him down the stairs where I thought was a basement. I followed him downstairs.
"Jacob," I whispered, for some reason I didn't want to raise my voice while calling after him.
But he couldn't hear me. I saw him slightly open a door and take a peek inside. Then he disappeared inside.
"Damnit," I groaned.
I had not been down here before, and I didn't want to go anywhere without permission. But, I thought, I had been given a task to help Jacob with his homework. So I sneaked towards the door and opened it.
Billie
"No! You're supposed to come after my guitar intro."
"What? You didn't say that!"
"Guys!"
Mike raised his voice again. It wasn't the first time tonight. We hadn't even been close to finish one song yet. I sighed and putted my guitar away.
"Let's take break."
"That's all we do!" Mike protested, but gave up when Tré went to get some beer.
"Fine... suit yourselves. But we should have it finished this week."
"Yeah, yeah," Tré answered and reached for the door.
But before he had a chance to open it, Jacob came barging in. He greeted the guys courteously and then cuddled up in my lap.
"Help me with my homework dad," he said and rested his head on my shoulder.
"I'm sorry Jakey, but I have to work."
"You're always working!" He cried and released himself from my arms.
It was hurtful to hear that from my kid. I've got a lot of complaints from my family lately. Of course I want to be there for them, but at the same time I have the band to work with. My thoughts were interrupted by Tré.
"Who do we have here?"
I turned around to see Anna standing in the doorway. She looked very lost and I wondered what she was doing down in my basement. She glanced at me, clearly wanting me to explain for her.
"Right..." I said and gave up another sigh.
I had hoped not to be forced to explain the whole thing to Mike and Tré. But now they both looked at me with wrinkled foreheads. I had no choice but to retell the incident.
"And this is my bed!" Joey said, jumping up and down on it.
I laughed. He seemed pretty excited about me being around, unlike his brother who locked himself up in his room. A part of me wanted to go back home. This whole thing was so surreal. And I really didn't want to bother the Armstrong's. On the other hand, this was the coolest thing you could ever dream of.
There was a knock on Joeys door and Billie came in, followed by Adrienne.
"This is Anna," Billie said and literally placed his wife in front of me.
Adrienne gave me a friendly smile and took my hand.
"Hello Anna. I'm Adrienne."
I smiled back at her. She was very pretty. Billie laid his arm around her and said,
"Maybe we should show her around the house."
Adie nodded and told me that there was a guest room I could have in the "meanwhile". We walked through the hall and on the left, there was a small room, compared to the others in the house. But I was really grateful to have a place to crash. The fact that it was in the Armstrong's house, was just a plus. I didn't really think about them as celebrities right now, more like friendly people.
Adrienne offered to help me with the bruises and took me into a bathroom. It did hurt a bit and I did a bad grimace in pain.
"Sorry," Adie said, as she took it more gentle.
There was an awkward silence and I started feeling stupid again. I wanted to tell her to stop, that I should go home again. But it felt good to be taken care of, which I had not been for a very long time.
"When did he start hitting you?" She asked, putting a band-aid on my arm.
I was a bit surprised by the question. She seemed to be keen to help me out.
"A couple of months ago," I mumbled.
Adrienne nodded like she understood. I felt that I was about to cry again. I'm not sure if it was because of my father, or just for feeling relieved.
"Thank you Mrs.Armstrong... it's really nice of you to help me out. But I should get going." I was sobbing.
Adie looked a bit puzzled for a second, which was understandable. Here I was, a complete stranger, crying in her bathroom. She glanced at the door, obviously wishing that someone would come in and interrupt. But then she gave me a sort of short, impulsive hug while hushing me.
"We just want to help you out," she said. "Why don't you take some rest, you look exhausted."
I gave her a week smile and dried my tears. Suddenly the door opened and Billies head popped in.
"I'm gonna take a nap. I'm really tired today," he said.
"Alright," His wife replied. "I think this young lady should do the same."
"Good idea."
I couldn't get any sleep though. The headache was increasing. I sneaked downstairs to find Adrienne in the living room with Jacob.
"Not tired?" Adie asked in a friendly voice.
"I'm sorry... I was just wondering if I could have some aspirin?"
As soon as I started to feel better, I could actually enjoy being in the Armstrong's house. I spent the following hours in the backyard with Adrienne and her boys. Little by little, I started to relax. And for a moment all my problems at home were forgotten.
Billie
I didn't wake up until dinner. I found myself hoping that the incident earlier that morning would only be a dream. But as I entered the kitchen, I saw Anna sitting at the table with my family. She blushed a little when I sat down beside her. Adie gave me a look, I assumed that she was wondering what we were going to do with Anna.
I shrugged, barely visible.
Everyone was quite during dinner. Normally, me and my family would talk about how our days have been and stuff like that. But with Anna around, it seemed like no one wanted to share their daily experiences. Luckily enough, the doorbell rang when I was about to say something random. My son Joey stood up to get it, but I was quicker. I thought for a minute that it would be Annas father. But it was Mike standing in the hallway. I saw Tré hiding behind his back.
"Hey Mike... and Tré," I said, rolling my eyes.
Tré gave up a sigh.
"Man, how could you see me?"
Mike laughed and I decided to ignore Tré. He is always full of energy, and that can be a bit annoying sometimes, especially when you have a problem to take care of. Though, in his defence, he didn't know anything about it by this time.
"So... guys... what are you doing here?" I asked, already knowing the answer.
Mike looked at me, scratching his head, and then turned to Tré.
"Is it the right day?"
"Yes," he answered, without any lack of certainty.
They both looked up at me. We had decided to jam in my studio this evening. There were some songs we just had to finish. I thought about excuses to make them leave, but realized that they would see right through me that there was something wrong.
"Bill, what's up? You don't have any other plans, do you?"
"No... no, course not," I responded, glancing in the direction of the kitchen.
We could easily sneak downstairs to my basement without bumping into any of the others. Tré jumped down the steps, loudly singing some dirty lines of a song I've never heard before. Probably his own words.
"We are so not using that song Tré!" Mike called after him.
Tré sat down behind the drums and crossed his arms, pouting. Then he used puppy-eyes.
"Please? On the B-side?"
Anna
"I'll help you with the dishes, Mrs.Armstrong," I offered after the long, quite meal.
Adrienne gave me another of her friendly, warm smiles.
"Alright. I'm glad that someone offers a hand in this house," she said, turning to her two sons.
But none of the boys seemed to take the hint. I smiled. The family spirit gave me a great feeling. A feeling I couldn't recall from the past.
As soon as we had finished, Joey disappeared up to his room again. I couldn't figure out if his constant absence was because of me or something else. Jacob started pulling in his mothers shirt.
"Mum, help me with the homework."
Adie looked really tired. She sighed and patted his head.
"Go and ask your brother. Or dad. Wherever he went... I have to take care of some stuff, okay?"
"Fine," Jacob muttered and sauntered out of the kitchen.
I just stood there. Adrienne had to figure out something I could do.
"Maybe you could help him? I'm sure he wouldn't mind."
So I went to fetch the little boy. I came out in the hall to find him down the stairs where I thought was a basement. I followed him downstairs.
"Jacob," I whispered, for some reason I didn't want to raise my voice while calling after him.
But he couldn't hear me. I saw him slightly open a door and take a peek inside. Then he disappeared inside.
"Damnit," I groaned.
I had not been down here before, and I didn't want to go anywhere without permission. But, I thought, I had been given a task to help Jacob with his homework. So I sneaked towards the door and opened it.
Billie
"No! You're supposed to come after my guitar intro."
"What? You didn't say that!"
"Guys!"
Mike raised his voice again. It wasn't the first time tonight. We hadn't even been close to finish one song yet. I sighed and putted my guitar away.
"Let's take break."
"That's all we do!" Mike protested, but gave up when Tré went to get some beer.
"Fine... suit yourselves. But we should have it finished this week."
"Yeah, yeah," Tré answered and reached for the door.
But before he had a chance to open it, Jacob came barging in. He greeted the guys courteously and then cuddled up in my lap.
"Help me with my homework dad," he said and rested his head on my shoulder.
"I'm sorry Jakey, but I have to work."
"You're always working!" He cried and released himself from my arms.
It was hurtful to hear that from my kid. I've got a lot of complaints from my family lately. Of course I want to be there for them, but at the same time I have the band to work with. My thoughts were interrupted by Tré.
"Who do we have here?"
I turned around to see Anna standing in the doorway. She looked very lost and I wondered what she was doing down in my basement. She glanced at me, clearly wanting me to explain for her.
"Right..." I said and gave up another sigh.
I had hoped not to be forced to explain the whole thing to Mike and Tré. But now they both looked at me with wrinkled foreheads. I had no choice but to retell the incident.
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