Four Months Later
John let out a sigh opening the door to his home in Massachusetts. He had a few days off before leaving for an overseas tour, but he was somewhat dreading this time by himself. He hadn't spoken to Andy in about four days after a fight after one of the shows. She had left tour, she said she was going home but for all he knew she was in California. Dropping his bags on the floor of his bedroom, he pulled his shirt over his head and climbed into the bed. He inhaled the smell of her perfume from one of the pillows, making him hopeful that she had been there. As his mind continued to wander, sleep slowly took over his body.
The smell of coffee filled the room as John began to stir. Opening his eyes slowly, he noticed that his bags were missing and his shirt was folded on the dresser. Slipping out of the bed, he made his way down the stairs looking for the source of the wonderful smell. He found himself frozen in the doorway of the kitchen; she was leaning over the counter, biting down on a pencil as she studied something on the paper in front of her. Her hair pulled into a loose ponytail as she continued to push her bangs out of her face.
She knew that he was standing there, looking like an idiot, but at the moment she didn't care. She was still mad at him. Finally looking up from the schedule in her hands, she turned her attention towards him. He looked as though he was about to speak, but shut him mouth before anything came out. Rolling her eyes, Andy pulled the glass container from the coffee pot before pouring some of the fresh liquid into her mug.
"Andy, I thought you were going home," he finally said stepping into the kitchen.
"I didn't know that my house in California was my only home."
"That's not what I meant." She rolled her eyes once again before pushing past him to leave the kitchen. Way to go, John, he thought before following her. She sat on the couch with her mug in one hand and the paper in the other. How did Kate think she was going to be able to do all of this in so little time? Marking out a few things she watched from the corner of her eye as he sat in the chair across from her.
"What do you want John?"
"I'm sorry." Her eyes moved up from the paper to meet his. He stood from the chair and made his way to the couch, sitting next to her. He took the mug and schedule from her hands before placing them on the coffee table. She tried to grab them, but instead he grabbed her hand. "I'm sorry Andy. I didn't mean anything I said. Everything had finally caught up with me, and I took it out on you." Andy made sure to keep her emotions in check as he spoke. She wasn't about to cry in front of him again.
"I leave for a promo tour in two days."
Was that all she had to say? She didn't care that he was sitting here apologizing to her for being an arrogant jerk?
"You don't need to apologize, I asked for it." She stood up from the couch and made her way up the stairs. He watched as she completely ignored everything he had just said. This was going to be harder than he thought.
XO
Andy sat in the quiet atmosphere of the bus, her mind focused on the events that had occurred over the past eight months. John ended his engagement with Liz, then they got back together and now she was thinking about ending her music career. Playing with the phone in her hands she thought about the consequences of what she was about to do. She could always just take a break; she didn't have to completely end the career she had built. But what about her fans, she couldn't just abandon them; maybe a few appearances every once in a while.
Dialing the number, she waited for Kate to pick up. She knew that her manager was going to go insane when she heard the news, but this was something that she needed. This was something that they needed.
Hello, how are you doing darling? Kate answered the call. Andy let out a sigh; this was going to be harder than she thought.
"Hey Kate, I called because I need to talk to you about something."
Anything, what's on your mind?
"I need a break, Kate. I need some time for myself."
You don't get breaks in this business Andy.
"Well then I'll stop permanently." The other line was silent. She knew that Kate was mad, but at this point she didn't really care. "I'm sorry. But I need this. We need this."
Are you having problems?
"Before I left, we had another argument. I think, well I hope, that if we can get some more uninterrupted time together it will help."
When do you suppose you will be ready? To come back I mean.
"I don't know."
I will see what I can do.
"Thank you Kate." She agreed before hanging up. Andy sighed as she placed her phone on the table in front of her. Running a hand through her long chocolate waves she let out a groan of frustration. She had left for her promo tour without making amends with John. It had been about a month since then, and they hadn't spoken. Randy kept her up-to-date on him, but it wasn't the same. Randy was the only person who knew about her plans; he was the person she confided in most of the time. She hoped that by taking this time off, they could work things out.
XO
Randy drummed his fingers on the steering wheel as he waited for Andy to get out of the airport. No matter how much he loved her, that girl was slow. And no, he didn't love her any more than like a sister. He heard the passenger side door open to reveal her climbing into the seat. She looked exhausted, almost like she hadn't slept in a few days.
"Are you okay?" he whispered as he examined her.
"I'm fine. Can we just go?" He nodded before pulling out of the airport. He had told John that he had something to do that he would meet him at the hotel later that night. He just hoped that John hadn't gone to the bar by himself. "How is he Randy?"
"The same." He heard her sigh before turning to look out the window. "Listen to me, this is going to work, it has to. If this doesn't then I don't know what will."
As he handed her the extra hotel key that he had received, he led her up to the room. As he opened the door, he heard the sound of water running coming from the bathroom. He motioned for Andy to put her things down while he talked to John. Before he could knock on the door, it opened to reveal John in a pair of basketball shorts and wet hair.
"Oh, you're back. Is everything okay?" he asked pushing past his best friend.
"Yeah, everything's fine."
John nodded before he saw something, or someone, move out of the corner of his eye. He turned to see Andy standing in the doorway of his bedroom. He felt his eyes burn as he looked at her, noticing that her eyes were already glassy. He walked towards her before wrapping his arms around her petite frame; he felt a stray tear fall down his cheek as she wrapped her arms around his torso. Randy smiled at the sight in front of him. He knew that these two were going to be just fine.
