Sorry guys, I know it took forever. Thanks to everyone who pushed me to finally do this. This one's kind of short. I promise the next one's gonna be longer. And more interesting, hopefully.
You change me all over again.
VII.
Billie Joe's Point Of View
I rushed down the street, got a cab and told the driver the address of the hotel. The second I was quiet, my phone rang. The screen said 'Adrienne'. I smiled at myself. "Hey, Adie," I greeted. "Hi, Billie. How're you doing?" she asked with the voice I haven't heard in a while. "Same old, I guess. To what do I ow the pleasure of this phone call?" I asked in a fake formal tone and I knew she was smiling, even though I didn't see her. "Well, um, there was something I wanted to tell you... Before you, you know, found out from anyone else. I just thought you should know..." she paused for a few moments. "Billie, I met someone. We've been seeing each other for a while and things are looking pretty good and... Well, I guess that's it. I just thought I should tell you." Her voice was shaky. She was nervous, I could tell. "Well, that's great, Adie. I'm happy for you," I answered, in hope of calming her down. "Thanks, Billie. I appreciate that. How about you? What've you been up to?"
What she meant with the question was obvious. "Nothing much," I answered truthfully. "I ran in to a friend from high school a few days ago." Most people would consider having a friendly relationship with someone you used to be married to as odd, but Adrienne and I had it good. We were able to keep our friendship afloat. "A high school sweetheart, I'm guessing?" she laughed. "Eh, um, well..," I stumbled, but decided to shut up in the end. "That says it all," she figured. I wondered if she was right. "Good luck with that, then." Yeah, I'm gonna need it. "Thanks, Adie. I guess I'll see you around?" "See you around, Billie." With that, we hang up. The cab had just stopped in front of the hotel and I paid the driver and hurried to our room. Mike was practically waiting for me at the door.
"You're late," he said with an irritated voice. I had a bad feeling about this conversation already. "I noticed," I replied in the same way. "Where the hell were you?" I rolled my eyes. "What are you Mike, my mother?" It seemed like he pretty much ignored that. "The record's gonna be ready in September," he said, prooving me right. "Great." Now the look of irritation on his face was replaced with worries. He knew I wouldn't usually use one-word replies about the record. "What happened, Billie?" he wanted to know next. And it would be lying if I said I didn't feel like telling someone about what happened. And not anyone. There aren't many people I'd feel comfortable talking to like that. One of those few people was Mike. So I might as well just tell him. I'd get drunk and tell him sooner or later, so why not just tell him when I'm sober? "I stayed with Annie last night." His eyes widened so much it looked like they were about to pop out of his head. "No, not like that," I denied the thoughts I could read off his face. At least not yet. What the hell am I thinking? My mind really sucks sometimes. "She... She's in some trouble," I explained. He demanded to know what it was, because, I quote 'She's his friend too' and so I told him the whole story.
"Fuck," he let out once I finished. "That's messed up," he spoke his thoughts out loud. "Yeah. She cried. A lot. But she seemed better in the morning." Mike looked at me like he was observing something very closely. "Exactly how deep in to this are you, Billie? Just so I know if it's worth trying to pull you out of it." "How deep am I in to what? Don't psycho-analyze me again, you're a bassist, for fuck sake." He lifted his hands in the air. "Not psycho-analyzing. I'm just wondering what you feel here. And by 'here' I mean with Annie." Shit. Now I really couldn't look at him. What am I supposed to say? "I don't know," I ended up telling the truth. "I guess we're friends. Or maybe not. Fuck it, I have no idea." With that said, I looked at him. What he had on his face seemed like a smile. "Don't look at me like you know something I don't, damn it," but he only smiled more. "And let me guess - you're planning to call her tonight?" he asked, like he knew he was right. "Well, I was going to. But I might not." He laughed out loud this time. "Of course you're gonna call her. You're so goddamn predictable, Billie Joe."