"That was amazing!" I said loudly, running up to my friend completely out of breath. We had went out for a girls night for my last night inAmerica. I was finally going back home to Germany, where I belonged.
"I can't believe this is your last night here in America. I'm going to miss you!" Hannah said frowning.
I had been in America for a year now. I needed to get away from everything that had happened last year. The paparazzi were having a field day when I left. There were many rumors as to why I had left. Some were that I was pregnant with Tom's child and that Bill was abusive. Part of it was true. Three of the band members kept in touch but, none of them were Bill. Anytime I asked about him the answer I was given was "He's fine! Staying busy." I knew better but chose not to argue.
"I've had the time of my life with you" I answered, hugging Hannah back tightly.
"Well then don't leave! Stay here!" she begged. I loved Hannah. She had become my very best friend and I honestly was going to hate leaving her.
"I'll be back soon! And I'm taking you back with me so you can meet everyone" I said.
She smiled at this idea. She had been bugging me to meet Bill since every time I attempted to video chat with him but, he never answered. Instead, we got to video chat Tom.
"Make sure to dump that boyfriend of yours and date Tom" she added. I laughed and shook my head at her. She was always really suspicious at the fact that Bill refused to answer my calls or texts. She loved the fact that Tom always wanted to talk to me and was constantly checking in and, truth be told I did too.
"I told you I didn't leave on the best terms with him. He's probably still upset that I left. He'll get over it when I get back" I answered, defending the boy I had loved for over seven years. She gave me a weary look but dropped the subject. She knew I was stubborn and would have to figure things out on my own.
"I'm serious Tom! I should get some sleep" I said, laughing at him. He had been bugging me for the past hour to stay on video chat with him.
"Please Kay! We can sleep together on video! I miss your beautiful face! Please?" he begged again. I smiled and sighed.
"Tom you're going to see me tomorrow" I said. He gave a pouty face and intertwined his fingers together.
"Okay. Fine! Fine! I'll stay on!" I said, giving up to the overly adorable 23 year old with puppy dog eyes. How could I not? We stayed up for awhile talking about literally everything that had happened while I was gone but, somehow avoided the topic of Bill throughout the conversation.
"Tom…he's not happy anymore is he?" I suddenly said after a minute of silence and playing with my fingers. Tom was obviously surprised by this statement and was silent before he spoke.
"He's stupid if he's not" he said. Another indirect answer. But Tom had said he is. Not he'd be stupid. He is stupid. Tears started to form in my eyes and I closed them to make it look like I was just nodding off. "Are you tired" he asked. I nodded, knowing if I spoke he'd hear the want to cry in my voice. "Kay" he said. I opened my eyes and looked at the screen. Bill was behind Tom.
"Hey" I said automatically sitting up right. Tom gave a gentle smile before allowing Bill to take his seat so that we could talk.
"I'm sorry" we both said at the same time. "Let me go first" he spoke. I nodded and watched his eyes. "I'm sorry that I haven't answered any of your calls or refused to be around. Truth is I was still angry at you for leaving me behind. But that's still no excuse. I'm really sorry" he said. He turned his head to the side when Georg came in the room and there was a mark on his neck. I bit my cheek hard to keep myself from saying anything. "Hey Kay, I'm gonna let Georg talk to you" he said smiling and blowing me a kiss. I attempted to give a fake smile and nodded. Georg sat down next and talked to me for a long while. He didn't tell me what was going on either though. It was as if I was a glass doll to them the way they were tiptoeing around with secrets.
"Well get some sleep little sister. We will see you in the morning" he said. I nodded, still thinking about the mark on Bill's neck. I heard some shouting in the background before I saw Georg slam the laptop shut, ending the call. Confused, I just sat there. I wasn't even tired anymore. I was really sick and tired of not being told the truth.
The next morning, I got on the plane with a large cup of coffee in my hand and my bags in the other. "Can I help you carry that?" a male voice asked. I turned to see a tall dark haired man at about age 22. I smiled and politely shook my head no. He smiled and grabbed one of the bags anyway, tossing it up into the carrier above. I then allowed him to take the rest of the bags and do the same.
"Thanks" I muttered shortly, sliding past him and sitting in my seat. He then sat into the seat next to me and looked over at me. "You know we have assigned seats correct?" I asked. The man just smiled and showed me his ticket, which indicated he indeed was in the correct seat. I nodded and brushed the bangs out of my face before grabbing my headphones and plugging them into my Ipod. I hoped he had got the feeling I didn't want him speaking to me.
"I'm Ray" he said as I was placing my earbuds in my ears. I looked at him like he was crazy as he stuck his hand out to shake mine. "We're sitting next to each other for about thirty six or more hours, the least we could do is acquaint ourselves so it's not extremely awkward the entire time" he said. I shook his hand reluctantly before muttering my name to him as well. "Has anyone ever told you that you could be a model?" he asked.
"Yes. My boyfriend" I answered quickly and then turned on 'Scream' by my favorites, Tokio Hotel. I leaned back and closed my eyes, tapping my fingers to the beat. And then on until my distraction died, I had something to do. Frustrated that now I would have to make small talk with some guy, I threw my now useless ipod into my bag and looked out the window. "I'm sorry. For being rude to you" I said quietly, not even looking to see if he was awake or not.
"It's alright. No sleep will do that you" he answered. I shook my head and turned to look at him. He was gorgeous with his blue eyes and dark hair. "Any reason you couldn't sleep?" he asked, turning himself towards me showing me I had his full attention. Oh he was good.
"If a guy loves you and you've been away for a little over a year, he would call or text or even write a letter showing that he missed you right?" I asked him. I probably shouldn't even be talking to a stranger about this. It wasn't his business, but I needed to know from a male perspective.
"Unless they didn't miss you at all yes" he informed me. I nodded and turned back to the window. "How long have you two been together?" he asked me. I turned to face him and smiled.
"We've been together for five years" I answered. He gave a shocked face and I laughed. Bill and I had met when we were only thirteen and Georg had gotten custody of me from my parents. It wasn't love at first sight. It was completely the opposite actually. I considered him to be full of himself, which he was. We had fought so many times and always had something negative to say towards each other. So it was a surprise to people when we had ended up getting together. In all honesty, it was a surprise for me as well.
"Alright well show me the ring" he instructed, lifting my hand off my lap and inspecting it. I shook my head and gave a disappointed look.
"He hasn't proposed. It would just be complicated ya know? Planning a wedding while you're on tour with your boyfriend's band isn't the easiest thing to do. We're both young and have plenty of time. Besides, he doesn't want to get married right now anyway" I said. He eyed me carefully before speaking.
"I may be wrong, but it sounds like he's not ready to commit. Has he even brought up marriage?" he asked. I opened my mouth to disagree with him but quickly closed my mouth when I couldn't give any time he had brought it up himself. It was always someone else bringing it up or it was never brought up. I hadn't even mentioned it to him before. And then the mark I saw on his neck and the fact that he didn't want to settle down anytime soon had me believing I was only around to pass the time.
Ray and I eventually changed the subject, but not before I had made up my mind to end it. We talked about everything, music, food, religion. It was like we had known each other forever. "So where exactly are you headed?" I asked him once the conversation had died down.
"I am headed to Germany to explore" he explained. He then told me how he had always dreamed of going to Germany and had sold just about everything he owned to get there. "Where are you headed?" he asked me.
"My brother is a part of a German band. So you can guess where I'm headed" I answered laughing. "My brother fought for custody for me when I turned thirteen. My situation at home wasn't the best. That's where I met Tom" I said, breaking into a grin when I thought about Tom. "Tom is my boyfriends brother and he was the very first person I had made a connection with when I moved there. He's my best friend" I said. Tom was always there no matter what was going on.
We had finally touched down in Germany and it was time to exit the plane. Ray carried my bags along with his and we continued to talk the whole way off the plane. We had been so caught up in talking, I hadn't realized someone was calling my name. "Kay!" a male voice called. It was Tom. I smiled and excused myself from Ray for a moment before running and jumping onto Tom. He held me tightly and kissed the top of my head repeatedly. "I missed you so much!" he said, finally setting me down. Ray had reached my side by the time I had reached the floor. Tom looked over at him and rose his eyebrow questioningly.
"Tom, this is Ray. Ray this is Tom" I said smiling. Tom smiled and shook Ray's hand.
"Let me tell you man. You are so lucky to have her as a best friend. She didn't shut up about you once I got her to talking" Ray said laughing. Tom smiled at me and then laughed as well.
"I am indeed one lucky man" he agreed. "So where are you headed Ray?" Tom asked. Ray explained he was just traveling and didn't exactly have a place to stay. Tom looked over at me with a questioning look. "You befriended a hobo?" Tom asked laughing. I smacked Tom's arm telling him he was rude and apologized for the comment to a laughing Ray. Tom patted me on the back before leaning down and telling me he liked Ray. "So, I assume you're staying with us?" Tom asked. Ray seemed slightly shocked. "You mean she didn't offer? Gosh Kay, way to help a guy out" Tom joked.
"I don't want to cause any problems" Ray said.
"Nonsense! What problems could you cause?" Tom asked innocently, knowing good and well what problems could come of this.
"You are welcome to stay with us Ray. It should be okay" I said. Ray smiled and thanked Tom and I. "Alright, enough talking. I'm starving and ready to be home. Where's Bill by the way?" I asked.
Tom went silent and his face hardened. "He wasn't at the house when we woke up. Everyone else is in the car" Tom said quickly.
"So he couldn't come see his girlfriend who has been away for two years?" I asked angrily.
"Apparently there's more important things for him to do. But the people that are here to see you consider you important" Tom said, taking my bags from Ray and heading towards the exit. As soon as we walked outside, there was the large black suburban waiting for us. Georg got out and I squealed. I hadn't seen my brother in two years.
"Hey little sis" he said, hugging me tightly. I pulled back and smiled. "Look at you. You grew up on me. I feel like you got even more gorgeous!" Georg said. I blushed at his compliment and turned to Ray.
"Georg this is Ray" I said, moving to Ray's side and giving him an encouraging push forward. Georg shook Ray's hand and looked over at me. "I met Ray on the plane. He'll be staying with us for a while" I explained. Georg rose his eyebrows and gave a small nod.
"It's good to meet you Ray. Took care of my little sister I see" Georg said. Ray gave a laugh and shook his head.
"She didn't make it very easy. Seems like she has a good hold on herself" Ray answered. Georg smiled and nodded at Ray's statement. I had always been very cautious about who I befriended. Had my ipod not died, I probably would have never spoke to him.
"I'm going to need to know a little more about you if you're going to be staying with us" he said placing a hand on his shoulder and leading him to the suburban.
Once we arrived at home, Tom helped me out of the car. Bill's car was in the driveway. "Oh so he's home now" I said, marching inside. He sat there flipping through the channels on the couch, a beer in his hand. He looked up and smiled when he saw me. He was drunk. I stopped in the door way and just stood there, taking in his disheveled appearance. He made his way over to me, mumbling something once he reached me. His arms wrapped around me tightly and I gagged at the stench that caught my attention. "Bill...when was the last time you showred?" I said, as he let go of me. He shrugged and kissed me passionately, running his hands up my side. I pushed him when I felt his hands messing with my belt bucjle. "What are you doing?" I hissed. His face twisted into an angry expression and he rolled his eyes before kissing me again, a little more forcefully this time. "Bill! Knock it off!" I said, pushing him again.
"youre being ridiculous Sarah." He growled before returning to the couch. My heart stopped and I stood frozen, watching him glare at me and take another sip of his beer. Who was Sarah? Tom came behind me and rubbed my back gently.
"He's just drunk Katelyn. Wait for him to get sobered up before you talk" he whispered. I looked at him with tears in my eyes and nodded. He kissed my forehead and motioned for Ray to follow him. I took a deep breathe before heading up the stairs after Ray.
"Who is this?" I heard Bill yell. Ray, Tom, and I ignored him and continued up the stairs to the guest room. "Katelyn" he yelled. I heard him run up the stairs behind us. I pointed to a door down the hallway before turning around to face Bill. "Who is he?" he growled at me.
"Bill he's a friend. Okay?" I said. He didn't look very convinced.
"I've never heard of this friend" he said.
"Well maybe because you haven't spoke to me in two years. Too busy sleeping around with cheap sluts" I accused. I felt a sting on my face. I kept my eyes on the floor, not wanting to look back up at him. I prayed that Ray was nowhere around. Tom came into view, anger written all over his face. "Tom...it's ok" I whispered. I didnt need for him and his brother to be at odds because of issues within Bill and I's relationship.
"Don't you dare talk to me like that. YOU left me here. That was your choice to leave" he yelled. I still refused to look at him. I could see his hands were balled into fists and I knew if I challenged him anymore, this fight could be worse.
"I'm sorry" I whispered, looking up barely, hoping the softness of my voice would calm him down a little. Tears were sliding down my face and I watched as his fists slowly started to unfold.
"Katelyn…." He whispered, opening his arms and walking towards me. I let him wrap his arms around me and slowly wrapped mine around him too. He was different when I could get him calmed down. He was honestly really soft and tenderhearted behind the wall of toughness he put up for everyone. I opened my eyes to see Ray watching the two of us. 'Great' I thought.
"Ok. I'm gonna go get the rest of my things and take a nap. Meet you in there?" I whispered, pulling away. Bill nodded before kissing my forehead and walking down the stairs. I shoved my hands in my pockets and walked over to Ray awkwardly. "Please don't judge. You don't know him like I do" I said, looking up at him with sad eyes. He bit his lip and nodded, shoving his hands into his back pockets before leaning against the door frame. Tom gave my shoulder a squeeze before disappeaing down the stairs.
"He seems fun" he said quietly. I shook my head and gave a small laugh. "I honestly cannot wait to get to know him" he added. I could tell that he was being way sarcastic and for some reason I was okay with it. His dry sarcastic humor was making me feel a little bit better after what just happened. "Bet he's really a ray of sunshine with you. I won't judge the dark clothing and the makeup and spiky hair and roughness" he whispered. I looked up at Ray, crossing my arms over my chest. "Don't judge me, if I lay hands on him because of the way he handles you in front of me" he said, turning and closing the door. I sighed.
"What problems could you cause?" I mimicked Tom.