Chapter 21

Sweet Revenge

Jude lit the smoke bomb and threw it in the empty trash can. She waved it around, and near the boys room, waiting for the bus to fill with a hazy cloud before pounding on their doors. She put the basket down to one side as she waited for them.

"Fire!" She yelled at the top of her lungs. "Get out guys! Fire!" Kyle, Spied and Wally all stumbled out. Kyle was only in boxers, Wally in tighty whities and a t-shirt and Spied was the only one in pajamas. Eww...Jude thought. They looked panicked as they saw the smoke, practically pushing each other out of the way to get to the front of the bus. Glad to know they would have looked out for her if it had been a real emergency. She rolled her eyes as they ran off the bus, Jude following behind slowly. She nodded at Dave and he shut the doors behind the boys. They rushed for the grass at the side of the road before turning and realizing Jude wasn't with them. That was when they noticed her still inside the bus. She waggled her fingers at them and smirked. They came back and started pounding on the door to be let in. The late night air was cold on their bodies.

Tommy looked out at the window as Ben slowed the bus down, seeing the other one stopped ahead. Tommy and Chaz were the only ones still awake and in the common area. He heard Ben radio Dave to make sure everything was alright. Dave said something about doing a favor for Jude and Tommy, Chaz and Ben started laughing when they drove by seeing SME in their underwear pounding on the bus doors. He would have to ask Jude how she had managed that one and he reminded himself never to piss her off.

Jude grinned and whipped out her cell phone as her band mates begged to be let back in, promising anything and everything. She snapped a few pictures and promptly sent one to Tommy before turning to Dave.

"Should we let them back in?" He winked at her and laughed.

"Well you don't want them getting sick." She nodded and he pulled the lever to swing the door open. She stepped to one side to let them pass. They ran up the steps, shivering and glaring at Jude as they made their way back to their rooms to get more clothes on.

Guilt Intruding

They both sat on the couch in her dressing room, still only half dressed, Jude's leg slung over Tommy's. Their lovemaking had been great as always, but something about it didn't feel right to her. Deep down she knew what it was. She remembered how horrible it had been when she had found her father and his mistress together and now she was that woman, having clandestine quickies whenever they could find a chance. She moved her leg off of him and started searching for her clothes.

"What's wrong?" He could feel her shift in mood as if it was his own. She looked at him with troubled eyes. She shook her head, knowing he would not like what she had to say. She put her shirt and jeans on before meeting his eyes again.

"Maybe you should just tell her Tommy..." He just looked at her. "You're just hurting her ..." And me. She did not add.

"It's not that easy. What am I supposed to say Jude?"

"It's just two words Tommy...'We're over.'" His stunned eyes met hers. She couldn't possibly mean they were over could she? He reached for her and pulled her back down beside him, wrapping his arms around her, face in her hair.

"I'll tell her Jude. I promise." She closed her eyes, wishing she could believe him completely, letting him hold her anyway.

The Other Woman

Portia stood up from the bed as Tommy entered the hotel room. She looked at him and just knew where he had been. Her hands balled into fists as she stared at him.

"Hey..." He said softly, not really looking at her. When she did not answer he raised his head to see the confrontational stance she held.

"Where were you?"

"With the guys."

"That's bull. You were with her!" He hated it when she got like this. It reminded him too much of his childhood when his mother had used that same tone of voice. His jaw hardened and he turned cold eyes on her.

"Who was I with Portia?" He said stonily. She either missed the signs or refused to acknowledge them in the face of her own anger. She had accepted when he cheated, but this was so much more. She would not lose.

"Jude!" He shook his head.

"You don't know what you're talking about."

"You have the same fucking tattoo Tommy! Why do you have to lie about it?!" This should have been the perfect opportunity to tell her the truth, but for some twisted reason he didn't.

"I can't talk to you when you're like this..." He started for the door.

"You're going back to her again aren't you?" She called from behind him. He did not answer as he slammed the door behind him. She crumpled onto the floor, more afraid of losing him than ever before.

Damage Control Part II

Darius showed up without warning. He greeted his sister and took her out to lunch having not seen her in 4 months. Portia hid her unhappiness well, telling him all about Paris and everything she had learned. Darius had never approved of her and Tommy getting together. She would not be the one to confirm that he had been right all along, so she played the happy wife. After lunch it became all business as he called Chaz and Tommy into one of the hotel conference rooms where he and Portia were waiting. He ranted and raved as he was wont to do, not really phasing either of them as they just glared at each other from across the table. When he asked what the fight was about, knowing there was no way it was over his sister, neither of them would answer.

"I made you guys and I can ruin you! You are not going to screw up the last few weeks of this tour! Do you understand?!" The just nodded still silent, pissing him off even more. Tommy listened in shock, not realizing there was so little time remaining and his thoughts drifted to what would happen with Jude. Asia was the next stop, so he would have very little time between tours.

"Darius it was over nothing...They just needed to blow off some steam. They've been stuck together for months." Portia tried to calm her brother. He could be vindictive if crossed and he could make all of their lives hell. Darius looked over at his sister, knowing she was hiding something. He kept his thoughts to himself though and barked for them all to get out. They scrambled out with haste.

He was actually glad that Jude was seeing Chaz now, because there had been rumors about her and Tommy. Of course there were always rumors floating around about celebrities of their caliber. There was one that claimed that Bruno had decided to become a Buddhist monk and was donating all his worldly possessions to a charity. Darius snorted. As if...There was also a funny one about a trans-sexual claiming to be pregnant with Spied's baby. He wondered sometimes where the tabloids came up with these things. He had one more person to see, before his flight out tomorrow. His empire didn't run itself after all. He picked up the phone and dialed her room.

"Jude it's Darius. I need to see you. Now." He commanded and then hung up, sitting back to wait for the girl. She had turned out to be quite the surprise on this tour.