"We used to be a really happy, normal family. It was me, Mom, Dad, my older brother, and my younger sister. We lived in New York most of the time and whenever Mom wanted to work on her music we would come up to the cabin. Usually it was just me, my mom, and my sister. My brother was usually busy with one sport or another. My Dad usually had to work. Chelsea and I took after my Mom and we both loved music. Mom had a recording studio down the hill. We'd spend the day down there and then come back to the cabin at night. She'd do her own thing at the studio for awhile and then she'd let Chelsea and I do ours. By the time I was 14 I was getting noticed and then I joined BoyzAttack. I was the pure definition of the wild child and I thought I was the best. That's when my parents started fighting." Tommy paused for a moment and looked at Jude.
Jude put her hand over his and nodded for him to keep going.
"My Dad hated my music and wanted me to quit the band. My Mom would stick up for me and they'd get into the fight of the century. Then I went on a three month tour the summer I was 16. I got sick towards the end of the first month and I ended up dropping out of the tour and coming back to the cabin. My Mom and Chelsea came up, Dad and Ryan were supposed to but Ryan so conveniantly had a basketball tournament and Dad had a business convention. I felt like the family outcast but my Mom assured me that Dad and Ryan were just busy and that they did want to come and see me. I had a hard time believing that. After two weeks at the cabin I was starting to feel better and I made my way down to the studio to mess around with some beats. I was boiling some water on the stove in the mini kitchen and I forgot about it. After an hour I went up to the cabin and Mom and Chelsea went down to record a demo for Chelsea's solo record. A towel caught fire from the stove, and it..it burned down the studio," Tommy's eyes glistened with tears and Jude laid her head on his shoulder and gently squeezed his hand.
"They got caught in the studio. When they found my Mom she was already gone. The took Chelsea to the hospital but she died even before my Dad and Ryan knew about the fire. Dad and Ryan blamed me for everything. Darius recommended I take a break from BoyzAttack so I went back home for awhile. That lasted about a week and a half. Dad started yelling at me and hitting me. Ryan wouldn't even look at me let alone talk to me. I went back to the band even though I hated performing with the guys. I stayed until I was 19 and then I walked. I would have left sooner but I knew what I was going to end up going home to. I married Portia shortly after I left the band."
"Tommy, I'm so sorry. I had no idea."
"There's no way you could have known Jude. Not that many people know the whole story. I usually keep it to myself."
"I'm really glad you told me Tommy. I know it was hard for you."
"It was, but I'm glad you know."
"So why else did you leave?" Jude asked quietlly, not sure if she would recieve an answer or not.
"My brother decided to come to Vancouver. I was thinking of leaving anyway but when I found out Ryan was coming, I came up here."
"Oh," Jude said quietly. "Jude I know this is hard for you to understand but welcome to my life."
Jude sat there silently, snuggled against Tommy's broad chest. "I can understand it. I mean as well as a person who hasn't experienced any of that can."
"I'm going to go call Kwest and tell him to bring everyone up," Tommy said as he stood up and walked towards the kitchen.
Jude sighed and stretched out on the couch. She'd known Tommy had a dark past but she never imagined anything like this. She knew he still blamed himself for the fire and she needed to find a way to help him.
They both slept in their respective rooms with Jude being the first one to wake up. She tiptoed into the kitchen and started a pot of hazelnut coffee, Tommy's favorite. After the drink was brewed she carefully poured it into a G Major coffee cup and quietly walked to Tommy's room.
"Tommy, wake up," she said quietly as she walked over to the bed and pulled back the sheets. Tommy wasn't in bed. "Tommy," she called frantically. Normally Jude wouldn't worry if this had happened on regular day, but after last night she wasn't sure what to think. She hurried back to her room and quickly dressed in a pair of Tommy's sweats and a white tanktop with a black track jacket. She then started walking up the mountain toward the lake. When she got there she saw beer bottles littered everywhere.