CHAPTER 2
A week had passed by and things between Mike and I were okay. It always seemed like he would come home from work and drink until he would pass out. I hadn't seen Beau since the night at the bar and I didn't know how I was going to approach him once I did see him, especially after what Mike had done to me.
I was standing in the kitchen, making something to eat when the phone started to go off. I walked over and answered it.
"Hello," I said as I held the phone to my ear.
"Hey, Kaylee," I heard Beau's voice say from the other line.
"Oh, hey, Beau," I said with a smile.
"I haven't seen you in awhile. Where ya been?" He asked as I leaned back against the counter.
"I had to work all week," I said as I looked down at the floor.
"Well, I am playing at The Stage again tonight and I was wondering if you would want to come and see me," he said and I smiled again.
"Ummm, yeah, sure. I would like that," I said as I continued to smile.
"Is Mike going to come this time?" He asked and I looked over at the calendar to see that he was working late that night.
"Probably not. He has to work late."
"Well, good. I'll see ya later."
"Bye, Beau," I said and hung the phone up.
A few hours passed and I was in the bathroom getting ready. I walked out of the bedroom and into the bedroom when I heard Jen saying my name from the living room. I decided to have her tag-along with me that night to the bar so I had someone to hang out with.
"I'm in here, Jen," I said loud enough that she would be able to hear me. "I'm almost ready," I said as I slipped my cowboy boots on.
"Woo, look at you," she said with a smile as soon as she saw me.
"Oh, hush. It's just a plaid shirt and jean shorts," I said with a smile as I grabbed my purse from the bed.
We left the house and headed to The Stage. I saw Beau's truck parked out front as we headed inside. We got ourselves a couple of beers and headed over to where the stage was so we could stand up front. The band came on stage first and then I looked over to see Beau coming to the stage with his guitar. He got up on stage and immediately went over to the mic.
"How's everyone doin' out there tonight?" He asked into the mic and everyone started to hoot and holler as they clapped. "This first song we're going to play for you tonight is a new one. Be kind to me," he said as he looked down at me and smiled as soon as he saw me. "It's called Hard Out Here," he said and they started to play.
Well, after all these years of running 'round
Always flying high and fallin' down
I gotta get back to the way I was
Gonna turn it all 'round just because
And everybody's talkin' about the shape I'm in
They say "boy, you ain't a poet, just a drunk with a band."
All over and over, again and again,
Lord, they don't know about the places I've been
I smiled as I started to sing along with them.
It gets hard out here
I know it don't look it
I used to have heart, but the highway took it
The game was right, but the deal was crooked
Lord, I'll make it perfectly clear, it gets hard out here
They continued to play and Beau looked at me with a smile on his face.
"You two would be so cute together," Jen said into my ear as I took a sip of my beer.
I pulled the bottle away from my lips and laughed a little.
I guess there must be something I'm missing
My momma told me I should've gone into easy listenin'
Going with the band 'cause I thought it was cool
Oh, good Lord, I should've gone back to school
Oh, pretty darlin', it'll be OK
Beau looked at me as he continued to sing.
You know one of these days I'm gonna take you away
She said, "oh, sweet daddy, you're probably right,
You know we might get lucky, but it won't be tonight"
It gets hard out here
I know it don't look it
I used to have heart, but the highway took it
The game was right, but the deal was crooked
Lord, I'll make it perfectly clear, it gets hard out here
I know it don't seem it
I said I tried, but I never did mean it
Nobody's listening so we mine as well scream it
Oh, God, we're all outta beer
It gets hard out here
He turned towards his band and continued to play with a smile on his face. Jen and I clapped along to the beat of the song until it was over. Everyone started to clap and hoot and holler at them.
"Thank you," Beau said into the mic and glanced at me. "For this next song, I want to bring my friend up here," he said as he looked at me again. "She's a talented songwriter and helps me write some of my songs. Kaylee Rose, can you come up here, please?" He said as he continued to look at me and I slowly made my way to the side of the stage.
I walked up on stage and waved at everyone as they clapped and hooted and hollered for me.
"This next song is called Highway Don't Care," he said as I took the mic from the stand and smiled as the band started to play.
"Go, Kaylee!" I heard Jen shout and I smiled at her as Beau started to sing as he looked over at me.
Bet your window's rolled down and your hair's pulled back
And I bet you got no idea you're going way too fast
You're trying not to think about what went wrong
Trying not to stop 'til you get where you goin'
You're trying to stay awake so I bet you turn on the radio
And the song goes
I pulled the mic up to my mouth and started to sing.
I can't live without you, I can't live without you, baby
I looked over at Beau and he nodded his head as he continued to play.
I can't live without you, I can't live without you, baby, baby
Beau and I started to sing together.
The highway won't hold you tonight
The highway don't know you're alive
The highway don't care if you're all alone
Beau and I looked at each other and we continued to sing.
But I do, I do.
The highway won't dry your tears
The highway don't need you here
The highway don't care if you're coming home
But I do, I do.
I bet you got a dead cell phone in your shotgun seat
Yeah, I bet you're bending God's ear talking 'bout me.
You're trying not to let the first tear fall out
Trying not to think about turning around
You're trying not to get lost in the sound but that song is always on
So you sing along
Beau stopped singing and continued to play as I sang the next part by myself.
I can't live without you, I can't live without you, baby
I can't live without I can't live without you baby, oh baby
We started to sing together again.
The highway won't hold you tonight
The highway don't know you're alive
The highway don't care if you're all alone
But I do, I do.
The highway won't dry your tears
The highway don't need you here
The highway don't care if you're coming home
But I do, I do.
The band continued to play and Beau and I smiled at each other. I brought the mic back up and started to sing again.
I can't live without you, I can't live without you, baby
I can't live without I can't live without you, baby, oh baby
The highway don't care
The highway don't care
The highway don't care
But I do, I do.
I can't live without you, I can't live without you, baby
I can't live without I can't live without you, baby, oh baby
(The highway don't care
The highway don't care
The highway don't care
But I do, I do)
I can't live without you, I can't live without you, baby
Beau and I smiled at each other as the crowd started to clap and hoot and holler for us again.
"Thank you," I said into the mic with a smile before I placed it back onto the stand.
"Give it up for Kaylee Rose, everyone," Beau said into the mic and I waved at everyone as I got off the stage.
I headed back over to where Jen was and she handed me back my beer as the band started to play their final song.
"You two are too cute," Jen said into my ear and I smiled as I nodded my head.
After the set was over, Beau came down off the stage as Jen and I were at the bar getting another beer.
"Way to go, Beau," I heard Jen say and I looked to see that he was standing behind me.
"Thanks for the notice," I said with a smile before I drank some more of my beer.
"Hey, if I would have asked you, you would have said no," he said with a smirk as the bartender handed him a beer.
"True," I said with a smile as I sat down on the bar stool next to him.
I felt someone roughly grab onto my arm and I looked over to see Mike standing there with a furious look on his face.
"Mike, what.." I started to say as my smile faded.
"It's time to go," Mike said as he started to pull on my arm.
"Mike, I'm hanging out with my friends," I said as I stood up from the stool.
"Now," he said into my ear as he strengthened his grip on my arm, causing me to wince.
"Mike, why don't ya hang out for awhile," I heard Beau say and I looked over at both him and Jen.
"No, we gotta go," he said as I set my bottle down on the counter and grabbed my purse.
"Bye, guys," I said and glanced at Beau to see him looking at me.
I headed out of the bar with Mike and over to his truck. We both got in and he slammed the door shut. He stuck the keys in and started the truck up before he peeled out of the parking lot. He sped all the way home without saying a word to me.
We arrived at the house a short time later and headed inside. Mike grabbed a beer out of the fridge and slammed the door shut as I stood there and watched him.
"Mike, I..." I started to say, but he cut me off.
"What the hell do ya think you were doin' up there with him?" He asked after he chugged half of his beer.
"I was just..."
"You were just what? Making googly eyes at him," he said before he finished off his beer.
"Mike, we're just friends," I said as I continued to stand there.
"Bullshit!" He shouted as he threw his empty beer bottle against the wall, causing me to jump. "I see the way he looks at you!" He shouted as he got into my face.
"Mike, stop," I said and he roughly slapped me across the face, causing my head and body to go to the side.
I immediately brought my hand up to my cheek and tears came to my eyes as I felt my cheek stinging. I stood straight up and continued to hold my hand to my cheek as I looked at him. He breathed heavily as he stood there with an evil look on his face.
"You are not going to hang out with him anymore, you hear me?" He asked and I continued to stand there. "Answer me!" He shouted and I jumped again.
"Yeah," I quietly said as tears started to go down my cheeks.
"Good," he said as he nodded his head and grabbed another beer from the fridge. "Clean this mess up, too," he said referring to the broken beer bottle all over the floor as he walked out of the kitchen.
I walked over and grabbed the broom and dustpan from the closet. I kneeled down and started to clean up the broken glass that was all over the floor. More tears came out of my eyes as I dumped the glass into the garbage can. I couldn't believe that Mike had struck me across the face and I had a feeling that I was in trouble. Maybe Beau was right.