"Come on, Tomi, pick up!" Bill muttered and tapped his foot impatiently. "Hey Tom, its Bill. We're at the condo, so I guess we'll just wait for you guys here. Call me back. Ich liebe dich." Hanging up the phone with a sigh, he turned to face Maria, Georg, and Gustav, who were all seated in the living room. "Still no answer, guys."
Maria glanced at the three guys nervously. "You don't think there's something the matter, do you?"
"I don't know," replied Bill as he took a seat next to her. "But it's not like Tomi to just…not pick up. Something's wrong."
"Why don't we just try and relax till they get here?" Georg smiled uneasily, fumbling with the television remote. "Let's see what's on."
As the TV came to life in front of them, so did their suspicions. The movie premiere live event was on E!, and all of the blood drained from Bill's face when they aired the condemning footage of Leah. Zooming in on a photo of her wrist, the show's host verbally tore her to shreds.
"Leah McAllister caught red-handed! Literally! It seems as though the rising rock star's career might be over before it begins! Take a look at these photos from tonight's event!"
Photo after photo appeared on the screen, displaying to the world Leah's stitched up arm.
"Turn it off!" Bill couldn't take it. Quickly he stood up, clutching his head. He'd have to live with those images for the rest of his life.
"Sorry, sorry!" Georg shut off the television as fast as his hands would allow him. "How was I supposed to know she'd be plastered all over the TV?"
Suddenly, Bill's phone rang, startling him. He fumbled with it, finally answering on the fourth ring. "Hallo?"
"Oh Bill, I'm glad I caught you!" came Tom's voice from the other end. "I've been trying to reach you for the last half hour!"
Bill shifted the phone to his left ear. "We saw the photos from tonight. They're all over the TV. What the hell happened?"
"It doesn't matter; the problem is that it DID happen. That's what I was calling you about." Tom sounded worried.
Walking back over to the others, Bill turned on the speakerphone, setting his cell on the coffee table. "Everyone's here, Tomi. What's the plan?"
"Alright guys, listen up. We're moving the intervention to tonight. Leah's about to crash and burn; she's locked herself in the bathroom for over a half hour now, and Stevie's trying her hardest to get her to come out."
The others grew silent. Maria bit her lip to keep it from quivering. Gustav lowered his head into his hands; truly and utterly speechless. Georg glanced at Bill, who had grown ghostly pale.
"Bill, I know this is going to be murder for you," Tom continued. "But I'm going to have to have you lead the intervention. Leah won't listen to anybody but you right now."
Closing his eyes for a moment, Bill struggled to keep it together. "Alright, I'll do it. I'd do anything for her. I just hope she's willing to see that after all that's happened."
XXXX
"Leah, honey, please come out!" Stevie pleaded with her friend for what seemed like the hundredth time.
"I can't!" came Leah's small voice from inside the stall. "I just can't! Everyone knows! Everyone's going to stare at me like I'm some kind of freak!" Softly, she continued to cry, letting the hopelessness of the situation grip her tightly. "I just want to go home!"
Stevie sighed. Where was Tom? "Alright, anything you want, sissy. We can just go home, there's nothing more to do here anyways!" She smiled to herself. "Why don't you just come out of there so we can find Tomi and leave, okay? Sound good?"
A short period of silence ensued. Ever so slowly, the latch on the stall door unlocked, and Leah humbly emerged, her heavy makeup slightly running from her eyes. Keeping her eyes downcast, she made her way over to Stevie, burying her face in her shoulder.
A gentle smile crept onto Stevie's face as she embraced her broken friend. "That's better. Look at me, sweetie." She lifted Leah's chin to look her in the eyes. "No matter what happens, just remember how much I love you. You're like my sister! I just hate seeing you like this!"
"Thanks sissy," Leah sniffled and dried her eyes. "I love you, too. Let's just get out of here, huh?"
Giving each other one last squeeze, they exited the bathroom and found Tom, who had his Escalade ready to go out the back way, so that nobody could follow them.
XXXX
"Here they come, here they come!" Gustav called to the others as he spotted Leah, Tom, and Stevie pull into a parking spot outside of the condo. "They're here!"
Bill's stomach knotted up and his heart jumped into his throat. He hadn't seen or heard from Leah in over three weeks, and these weren't exactly the ideal circumstances he would have chosen to see her again. Nervously he paced back and forth, letting his nerves get the better of him.
"Oh God. Oh God, oh God, oh God, oh God, this is going to be disastrous," he murmured to no one in particular.
"Bill, calm down!" Maria placed her hand on his shoulder. "Everything's going to be fine, don't worry. We've been planning this for a while now, you know what to do." Giving him a slight smile, she squeezed his shoulder and then walked over to take a seat on the couch.
The three guys all seemed to be walking on pins and needles; they were just afraid of how upset Leah would be with them.
Suddenly, the door swung open, and Stevie and Tom entered through it, slowly followed by Leah, not realizing what was happening until she was well in the room. Glancing from person to person, she finally rested her gaze on Bill, who looked as white as a ghost. "What's going on here, guys?" She drilled him with her stare. "Why are you here?"
The others silently looked to Bill, who took a deep breath and slowly made his way over to Leah, taking both of her hands in his. "Leah, we need to talk to you about something important."
XXXX
