Chapter Two I Don't Need You

The next day, Jude found herself next to Tommy in Darius's office listening to her new song "Impossible" that she recorded yesterday. She couldn't bring herself to look at Tommy so she put all her attention on Darius and his reaction to her new song. He seemed like he was enjoying it, bopping his head with the soothing notes of the piano. Once the song was over and Tommy pressed stop on the recorder, the room was deathly silent. Jude snuck a glance at Tommy and saw that he was anxiously awaiting Darius's opinion. He didn't have to wait too long because Darius smiled and nodded his head.

"You did good, Jude. This is exactly what the album needed. I'm proud of ya girl. Now get out of here and go celebrate." Darius said as he walked up to Jude to give her a hug. Jude smiled and hugged Darius back.

"Thanks Darius." Jude looked at Tommy for a moment and then walked out the door. When Tommy stood up to leave, Darius stopped him.

"T, I need to talk to you about something." Darius told Tommy as he made his way back behind his desk. He shuffled through some papers and handed Tommy two sheets. Tommy glanced at the paper and looked at Darius in confusion.

"These are dates and places. What's going on?" Tommy asked as he flipped between the two pages. Darius pointed at the sheets and smiled.

"Those are Jude's tour dates. She's going to be going on a three month long tour to promote her new album. We need to get her out and about and show everyone she can do live shows as well as other things." Darius explained. Tommy looked up at Darius at the point and stared.

"Well, that's great. When do we leave? I need specifics D." Tommy said as he got out a little notebook and began to write down some information.

"Tom, there's no 'we'. Jude is going to go on tour, by herself. I need you here to work with other artists. Jude's a big girl and she can handle whatever comes her way, without her producer around." Tommy immediately stopped writing and looked at Darius in shock. Tommy hasn't spent more than a day without seeing Jude and now he was going to have to go without her for three months? It just didn't seem feasible.

"But she does need me! She hasn't been on the road for that long, ever. The touring life can be pretty difficult, especially if there isn't anyone there for her to depend on. You can't just throw her out to the wolves like that!" Tommy exclaimed as he stood and began pacing back and forth. Darius looked on in amusement.

"T, you need to calm down. Like I said before, Jude is a big girl; she can take care of herself. She'll have people she can depend on, her band for one. Now, I need you here and that's just how it's going to be." Darius said. Tommy took that as his cue to leave so he stomped out of Darius's office, slamming the door as he went. When he was making his way back to Studio A, he saw Jude sitting on one the couches fiddling with her guitar. He changed his direction and headed towards her.

Jude looked up when she heard footsteps coming towards up. When she saw that it was Tommy, she smiled a little and scooted over so he could sit next to her. She stopped playing when he sat down and put the guitar back in its case.

"You didn't have to stop playing because I came over." Tommy said as he leaned back against the couch. Jude shrugged and yawned.

"I figured you wanted to talk to me or something, with the way you were walking over here like you had a mission." Jude said. Tommy chuckled and nodded.

"You know me too well, Harrison."

"So, what's up Quincy? What do I owe this pleasure of your company?" Jude asked as she made herself more comfortable on the couch. Tommy turned towards her and sighed.

"Darius told me about some of your upcoming plans that he had in mind. I don't want to tell you because I think it's supposed to be a surprise and all that jazz but I just wanted you to know that if you ever need me, you know where I'll be." He said in a soft voice that was unlike Tom Quincy. Jude looked at him in confusion and was about to comment when Darius walked out.

"Jude! I thought I told you to go celebrate, what are you doing still here?" Darius asked cheerfully. Jude looked over at Darius and smiled.

"I just couldn't drag myself away from this place." She said sarcastically as Sadie walked into the building.

"You ready Jude? Mom's cooking a special dinner tonight and doesn't want us to be late." Sadie said as she took in how close Tommy was to Jude. Tommy seeing what Sadie was looking at, stood up and put his hands in his back pockets.

"I've gotta get going, Jude. I'll talk to you later." He said as he made his way back to his original destination: Studio A. Before he made it to the door Jude called out his name. He stopped and saw her running up to him.

"Why don't you come to dinner? You helped bring this album into existence, you deserve to celebrate too." Jude said as she rocked back and forth on her heels. Tommy looked over Jude's shoulder to see Sadie giving them both a glare.

"I don't think so Jude. It's a family dinner and everything. I wouldn't want to intrude and besides, me and Kwest were going to go out tonight and do our own celebrating." He explained, obviously lying. Jude looked at him for a minute before nodding.

"Oh, well then. I hope you guys have fun. See you when I see you." She said before she walked to the waiting Sadie. Tommy watched as she walked away and then as she walked out the doors. He shook his head and finally made into Studio A where he found Kwest jamming out to Jude's new album.

"Hey man, you wanna go celebrate tonight?"

--

During the car ride back to the house, Sadie had questioned Jude about Tommy. Jude ignored her excessive questions and just watched the scenery go by. 'What did Tommy mean by what he said before Sadie showed up? He acted like I was going away and never coming back or something. He had this sad look in his eyes and such sincerity in his voice.' Jude's thoughts came to a stop when she noticed that she was now home and Sadie was getting out of the car. She unbuckled her seatbelt and followed her sister into the house.

"Mom! We're home!" Sadie called as she took off her coat and shoes. I did the same and just as I was hanging my coat up, Victoria walked up and gave Sadie and me a hug.

"Girls, I'm so glad you're home. Dinner is almost ready so, Sadie if you could set the table and Jude, could you come help me in the kitchen?" Victoria asked and walked back into the kitchen not waiting for an answer. Sadie sighed and made her way to the table. Jude slowly walked to the kitchen. When she got there Victoria was stirring some kind of concoction that smelled pretty rank. Jude tried not to breathe through her nose as she stood beside her mom.

"What do you need help with Mom?" she asked trying not to cough due to the odor that was now enveloping her in a cloud.

"Jude, honey, I really didn't need your help. I just wanted to congratulate you on your new album. I didn't want to do it out there with Sadie because you know how she is and everything. I want this dinner to be a special one, with just us girls." Victoria explained as she turned off the oven and poured the foul-smelling ooze into a bowl. Jude's nose crunched up at the smell and turned her head from the bowl. What was in that stuff?

"Mom, the table is set." Sadie announced as she walked in the kitchen. She didn't even notice the smell.

"Thanks, Hun. Dinner is done so let's get to eating!" Victoria said, obviously proud of what she made. They walked to the table and sat down and began to cautiously eat Victoria's creation. When dinner was over, Jude excused herself and walked upstairs to her room. She was exhausted, physically and emotionally. Tommy can be so unreadable sometimes and she just didn't know what to do about it anymore. Being around him was like riding a rollercoaster, you could be as happy as you can be and then it all comes crashing down and you feel the lowest you've ever felt before. Jude fell asleep wearing the clothes she wore that day and thoughts of Tommy floating around in her mind.

That morning, after Jude had taken her shower and gotten ready for the day she received a text from Tommy telling her that she needed to get to the studio and that he'd be there to pick her up in 15 minutes. She wondered why she was needed at the studio if her album was done and there was nothing left to do. When she heard the familiar honk of Tom's viper, she ran outside and hopped into the car.

"Morning Tommy! Why do I need to be at the studio?" Jude asked in one breath. Tommy looked at her in amusement.

"One too many coffees this morning Harrison?" Jude glared at Tommy and crossed her arms across her chest. Tommy shook his head and drove towards the studio. The rest of the ride was in silence except the consistent tapping of Jude's leg. Tommy kept glancing over at her in annoyance but Jude pretended not to notice. Tommy sighed as he pulled into G Major.

"Thank God, I don't know how much longer I could've dealt with your caffeine high." Tommy said as they both exited out of the car. Jude stuck her tongue out at him and jogged into the building. Tommy chuckled and followed suit.

When Jude walked in everyone yelled 'Surprise!' to her. Jude's mouth opened in shock and looked around. Everyone that was important to her was there, including Kat and Jamie. She turned when Tommy walked in and hit him on his arm.

"You sneaky person you!" she exclaimed as he grabbed her in a hug. She pulled out of the hug and walked around, mingling with everyone and anyone. When she made it to Darius, he motioned to his office and she followed him in there.

"Jude, have a seat. I have something I'd like to tell you." Darius explained as he leaned against his desk. Jude sat down slowly, watching Darius for any signals that would giveaway what he was about to say.

"What's up Darius?" she asked.

"Jude, I've signed you up to do a three month tour. You'd be leaving in one week for Montreal and then on into the States." Jude's eyes widened before she jumped up and hugged Darius.

"Are you serious? This is amazing!" Jude exclaimed in excitement. Someone cleared their throat and Jude let go of Darius to see Tommy at the door watching them.

"I take it D just told you about the tour." He said as he made his way into the room. Jude nodded and jumped up and down.

"Come on Tommy! You should be excited. You and me touring together, it's going to be awesome." She said as she pulled on Tom's arm. Tommy shook his head and looked at Darius.

"Tell her the rest." Was all he said. Jude looked back and forth between Darius and Tommy.

"What's left to know, Tom? Darius?" she asked in confusion. Darius sighed and motioned for both of them to sit down.

"Jude, Tom won't be going on tour with you. I need him here to work with other artists. You'll be going this one solo." Jude continued to look in between Tommy and Darius.

"But, he's my producer. I need him there with me." She tried to explain. Three months without seeing Tommy would be the death of her. She wouldn't be able to handle it. Darius looked at Tommy and it was then that Tom knew what Darius wanted him to do. Tommy turned towards Jude and looked over her head. He wasn't able to look in her eyes.

"Jude, you don't need me. I'm needed here. You're a big girl so maybe you should start acting like it." Even the words tasted wrong in his mouth. He avoided her eyes to the best of his ability. The truth was that he didn't want her leaving without him but his hands were tied.

Jude's eyes watered when she heard what Tommy had said. At first she thought that her ears were playing tricks on her but when she saw how he was avoiding her gaze, she knew she heard right. Jude stood up and looked at Tommy and then at Darius.

"Fine." She walked out of the office and didn't look back. She was going to prove to herself and to him that she really didn't need him, in any aspect of her life.