Nobody Puts Baby In The Corner

They were on stage. Patrick glanced to the side, noticing Luci was nowhere to be seen and that Katy was left in the care of Keegan, from The Rejects. Patrick felt he shouldn’t worry, but he couldn’t help it. She kept disappearing for an hour or two and would return with blotchy cheeks and red eyes. Patrick knew she’d been crying. He didn’t know why, though.

//

Patrick grabbed a wash cloth, wiping the sweat from his face. The show was great. Nothing bad happened. He didn’t see Luci until the end, and she just spoke to Andy and Pete for a few minutes before she took off again, leaving Katy in the care of them.

Once he finished cleaning up, he headed back to the bus. He saw that Andy and Pete looked like they were at their wits end already, and Katy had only been with them for about an hour. Pete looked relieved when he saw Patrick.

“Oh thank god you’re here!” He cried, grabbing his friend by the arm and dragging him over to the couch. “She won’t stop crying and won’t sleep! She refuses to let me sing her to sleep, and says only you’re allowed too! And Luci’s on the phone again, and we can’t find her, and…”

“Whoa, whoa, Pete.” Patrick forced his friend to sit down on the couch. “Relax, okay? What’s going on with Luci? Why is she gone all the time now?” Andy and Pete exchanged looks, looking hesitant. Patrick sighed. “Fine, if you don’t tell me, I won’t help.”

Katy started to calm down when she saw Patrick. “Tricky!” She whined, reaching up for him, tears rolling down her cheeks. Patrick took a seat next to her, letting her crawl into his lap. “I want my mamma! And I don’t wanna sleep! They’re mean!”

Patrick wrapped his arms around the little girl, rocking her gently. “Hey now, it’s okay. We’ll find your mamma and we’ll get you to sleep, okay? Does that sound good?” She nodded, clutching his shirt as she whimpered. “Okay, well, if I leave you here with Andy, will you be good and listen to him? I promise I’ll sing you a song when I come back.”

Katy sniffed, hiccupping softly, but she nodded. Patrick gave her a hug and put her back on the couch, rubbing her back. Andy took a seat on the couch next to her, turning the television on. Patrick looked at Pete before he headed off the bus in search for Luci, with Pete trailing behind him.

“Where does she keep running off too?” Patrick asked, glancing at his friend as they walked out of the parking lot of the venue. Again, Pete hesitated, but the look Patrick gave him finally broke him.

“Okay, fine! She’ll be pissed off at me, but it’s better than you being pissed at me.” Pete said, throwing his arms up in defeat. He stopped walking and gave a look around the area to make sure they were alone before he spoke, his voice lowered. “Look, ‘Trick… the first night, why Andy and Luci ran off… she got a call from her grandma.” Patrick frowned, but nodded. “Her grandpa fell and broke his hip, and so he’s in the hospital.”

Patrick nodded. “So…why is she still with us? Why didn’t she leave?” He asked, frowning.

“Her grandma told her not to worry and to keep up with the tour. So Luci is going too stay; because hell, Rose would probably hit me if I let Luci leave.” Pete said, running his fingers through his hair. “I mean, seriously, she might be some old lady, but she can be damn scary. She threatened to castrate me after she caught me climbing into Luci’s room one night.” Patrick glared at him.

“Why were you climbing into her room?!” He growled, feeling jealous all of a sudden. Pete smirked, but shrugged.

“Hey, man. Relax. We were having a late night study session.” Patrick looked like he was going to punch him. “Hey, I mean it! She fuckin’ sucked at math, so I was helping her out! But Rose caught me climbing into her room and thought we were going behind your back, that’s why she threatened me.” Patrick still looked uneasy at the thought of his ex girlfriend spending nights alone with Pete, while they were dating. Pete sighed and shook his head.

“So, okay…back on the subject of Lawrence…”