14.

Last update for a week. Vacation time, kiddos.



Natalie sat in a chair by a window as they waited, her face toward turns it and her eyes unmoving. She felt Jon watching her, and she knew what he was thinking. She slowly turned to face him, and he made no show of looking away from her.

“You don’t like me, do you?” she asked matter-of-factly. Jon seemed to have been expecting the question and smirked a little to himself.
“It’s not that I don’t like you…” he began, pushing himself up from the wall he’d been leaning against.
“Then you don’t trust me. You think I’m after something."
“You could be after his dirty socks for all I care. It’s not you I’m worried about. Richie’s been through a lot, and I’m just looking out for him.”
“I don’t intend to cause him any trouble, you know.”
“Well in the end, it doesn’t really matter, does it? What you do and what you intended, it’s all the same.”

Natalie looked down at her hands quietly. She knew Jon was just looking out for his brother and the band, but it hurt her to know that she was seen as a problem to be gotten rid of. She never had high expectations for whatever she was doing with Richie, but that didn’t mean she didn’t toy with the notion of what could have been were he not who he was. Jon seemed to realize he’d hit a nerve and sighed to himself. He felt like a little bit of a jackass, but he stood behind what he’d said.

“I didn’t mean to hurt you feelings,” he started, sinking into a chair next to her, “But you gotta realize where I’m coming from.”
“I do. And now you’ve got to realize where I’m coming from.”
“You realize you live in Nashville, right?”
“So?”
“So what are you doing? Setting yourself up for something that you know has to end? Richie has to get on that plane and go back home sooner or later. You’re gonna have to say goodbye.”
“You’re right. But that doesn’t mean we can’t enjoy the present.”
“You’re just prolonging the inevitable.”
“That’s not true. He knows the way back here if he wants to come. Correct me if I’m wrong, but do you not repeatedly leave your wife to tour the world?”
“That’s different.”
“But you still do it. Because you love each other and that’s really all that matters.”

She said it before she meant to, and it caught her by as much surprise as it did Jon. He blinked those blue eyes at her, and she blinked her own right back. She stuttered for a moment before she managed to regain her composure.

“That came out wrong,” she said quickly. “Nevermind.”

The sound of a door being opened down below put an abrupt end to the otherwise heated conversation, and Richie’s loud footsteps could be heard climbing the stairs. Jon rose from his chair as Richie entered and took long strides toward him.

“I’m headin’ out. See you later tonight,” he said quietly to his friend before popping a hand over his shoulder. Richie nodded, but Natalie had commanded his attention. She looked like a broken toy sitting in the chair, her right cheek already a sickening shade of purple. She looked up at him – her eyes glassy looking from the tears she’d held back all night – like she was embarrassed, ashamed of something. She smiled sadly at the sight of him, but didn’t move from the chair.

“I’m so sorry, Richie,” she said quietly, her eyes back on her hands now. “That was awful, back there. Thank you for what you did, but you really shouldn’t have. Suppose someone saw you…” Her voice drifted off and nearly broke Richie’s heart.
“Stop apologizing.” His voice sounded so loud in the silence of the room that Natalie couldn’t help but look at him again.
“But—“ she started, only to be interrupted.
“But nothing. Stop it now. That wasn’t your fault, and you didn’t deserve any of it.”

He sat down in the chair Jon had previous occupied and motioned for her to join him; she nestled down into his lap and let her legs dangle over the side of the chair. While wrapping two strong arms around her, he kissed the bruise on her cheek lightly.

“Listen, baby. I don’t know what we’re doing here. I don’t know what we’re gonna do about it, either. But I’m not sorry that I clocked that son of a bitch tonight, and I’m not sorry we’ve made a mess of things. You confuse the hell out of me, but I like it. You make me remember what it was like to…” his mind wandered in search of a word, “Relax. I can be happy sittin in a car eating the greasiest, sloppiest food with you. I can sit in a room and watch you sing and, honest to God, it makes me forget my name. You make me forget everything. All that bad shit I’ve carried around disappears when I’m around you.”

Richie stopped and looked down at her, finally realizing what exactly it was she made him feel. She made him feel young again, like he didn’t have a care in the word. He was energized. Playful. Carefree. He laughed. He could tell from the look on her face that she didn’t know what to say, and that was okay with him.

“You don’t have to say anything back to me, I’m used to rendering women speechless,” he chuckled. The joke didn’t fly over her head, but Natalie didn’t laugh. The doleful look on her face worried Richie enough that he stopped stroking her cheek and turned her to look at him. “Okay now you gotta say something,” he insisted.
“You don’t think I’m after your money or a minute in the spotlight, do you?” she said quickly. Richie's eyes danced in mirth for a minute before he realized that she was being serious.
“Of course not. I’m not stupid. What gave you that idea?”
“No one. I just…I mean how often do people like you meet random women on the street?”
“We’re normal people too, you know. And for the record, I met you in a bar.”
“You know what I mean.”
“I like to think you pay attention to me because you enjoy my company.”
“I do. More than I’ve enjoyed anybody else’s in a long time. We’re in the same boat, Rich. But you’re about to leave, and it’s awfully hard to row a boat alone.”
“Well we’ll cross that bridge when we get to it. There’s no use in spoiling what we’re doing now with worrying about what we’ll do later."

His mirrored sentiment of what she'd tried to explain to Jon earlier brought a small smile to her face, and that seemed to be enough for Richie. She let her head rest against his chest and found comfort in the dependable rhythm of his heartbeat, and it wasn't long until she fell asleep.