All the Time I Can Steal

I felt alive. The crowd had been here all day, but they had stuck around for our set. “Thank you Texas! We had fun!” Kyle said some things then we walked off the stage with our band. When I was walking around the venue, I saw a girl walking with a guy, and the guy was arguing with her. She looked over at me and grinned. She walked over quickly and grinned wider. “Hey David, how are you?”

I smiled, “I’m good.”

She laughed, “You probably don’t recognize me. It’s me…Ellie.” I must’ve still looked confused because she continued, “Bee’s cousin.” My eyes widened and she grinned. “Yeah.” She hugged me and I was still shocked.

“Wow, you don’t look the same. How have you been, kid?” I asked a slight smirk on my face, she grinned.

“Good. Oh, this is my boyfriend, Greg. Greg, this is David.”

He looked me up and down. “Are you in one of the bands?” I nodded, and he rolled his eyes. “How do you know Ellie then?”

I raised an eyebrow, “I used to date her cousin. Bee.”

His face paled and his eyes widened, “Wait….you dated Bee? For how long? Only few months, probably.... Because how someone could....could....” he trailed off when he saw the looks that Ellie and I were giving him. “What? She’s a scary person.”

I shook my head, rolling my eyes. I pulled out a cigarette, and lit it. “Bee is one of the most caring people you will EVER meet. You just have to prove yourself worthy. And apparently you didn’t. But I swear to you, if you ever talk shit on Bee again, you WILL regret it. And I’m sure that Elle here feels the same.”

The girl nodded and he looked down. “Sorry. Fuck.”

But I could tell he didn’t mean it. I rolled my eyes and gave the girl a hug. “I’ll see you later, okay?”

She nodded, “Yeah. See you David.”

I walked around some more, taking some pictures with fans here and there. I watched a few bands play, then it was twilight. I headed over to the catering tent, and saw that the 3OH!3 group was already there. Bee, of course, had on her sunglasses. It didn’t matter what time of day it was, she mostly always had on sunglasses.

I pulled out a cigarette, and saw as she had one out but was patting herself. I walked over, and tapped on her shoulder. She turned and gave me a confused look, until she saw that I had a lighter. She rolled her eyes behind the frames, and took the lighter. “Thanks.”, she said handing it back. I could tell that there was something on her mind. She took a drag, and then sighed. “Abbs, I’m going to the bus.” She nodded and she gave me a very slight forced smile. She walked off and I sighed, shaking my head.

“She had a bad day. “ Abby said. I looked over and she had a look that I couldn’t read on her face. I shrugged and took a drag. “I know that she’s probably sick of seeing me. So it’s okay. I mean…I did break her heart.” The girl sighed, and then looked at me.

“I have to tell you something.” I gave her my attention and she sighed again, “I think that Bee had a dream about you the other night.”

“What makes you say that?” I asked, unable to believe that she would still dream about me.

“She…she was talking in her sleep. She said, ‘Davey.’” I nearly dropped my cigarette. She called me Davey in front of people, but I knew that if she were to ever talk about me, she would call me David. “By the look on your face I guess that means something.” I didn’t say anything. “Anyway, apparently Matt found out that you’re her ex, and called her and bitched at her today. And then her cousins’ boyfriend is a little shit who pissed her off.”

I nodded, “I’m going to go.” I said and walked away. And the part that worried me the most, was I knew Abby was watching me walk away.

I walked over and grabbed a beer, opening it and taking a sip. I didn’t know what to think really, and I was too shocked to fully process what all Abby had said. I agreed about Ellie’s boyfriend….that guy needed to get his ass kicked. But I was more frustrated by the fact that Bee was with a guy who would treat her like shit. Even if they weren’t officially together. She never used to put up with that bullshit. I decided that even if she hated me afterwards, I was going to tell her what I thought about it. I walked towards the buses, my hands in my pockets. I found Bee sitting on the ground, cell phone in her hand.

“I don’t give a fuck if you don’t want me to be around David, you don’t fucking control my life.” A pause, which I guess was Matt replying. In all the years I had known Bee I had never heard her this pissed off. “I don’t give a fuck if you don’t like them. They’re my friends, and they’ll be there when you’re gone.” Another pause, and it was then that I decided I would talk to her later about it. “Whatever Matt. I’ll talk to you later. Or not. Whatever. Bye.” She then pressed end, and looked over at me. “How long have you been standing there, David?”

“Only a few seconds.” She stood up and shook her head, “I swear if you tell people about this, you’ll be sorry.” I rolled my eyes.

“You don’t need to pull that shit with me, Bridgette. I know better. And you should fucking know me better.” She rolled her eyes.

“I thought I fucking knew you, but I didn’t now, did I? Stay the fuck out of my personal life, and it will do both of us good.” Her words cut like a knife and she turned and walked onto the bus. I stood there shocked, and I guess you could say that I was hurt and surprised. I didn’t realize that she was still so upset about my….mistake.

But I guess I shouldn’t be surprised though. She spent years with me, and she had finally confessed that she loved me. And then I left her. And I guess her arguing with Matt was just making her lash out. I had seen her get mad at people and lash out when her mom was taking shit out on her. But she had always made it a point to try and not lash out at me.

But that was before. I walked onto the bus and saw her on the couch. “What do you want David?” she asked tiredly.

“Look. I know that this is going to piss you off, but I have to say it. Why the fuck are you with that guy? I mean...you would never put up with that shit. Why are you doing it with this guy?” she stood up and walked towards me. Our faces were inches apart. I had to resist the urge to kiss her.

“Why the fuck does it matter to you?” she instinctively backed away some.

“I want you to be happy! Fuck, Bee. You aren’t you with this guy. You aren’t the same girl that I had fallen for.” She rolled her eyes scoffing.

“That you fell for? When the fuck did you fall? Last time I checked you weren’t sure if you loved me! So I don’t want you to act like you’re so much better.” I took a few steps closer and looked at her square in the eye.

“What the fuck are you talking about? I cared about you. So much that it fucking scared me. I never made you cry until I made the biggest mistake of my life. And you KNOW that. Don’t let yourself settle for a piece of shit like that. You deserve so much more.” She rolled her eyes and walked away from me, or at least tried until I grabbed her wrist. “I know you know I’m right. Why are you doing this to yourself?” she pulled her wrist out of my grasp and looked me dead in the eye.

“Why the fuck does it matter to you, huh? When has it ever mattered to you?” I saw tears in her eyes and I fought to keep the hurt out of my voice. “Because, Bee. I love you.”

I walked off the bus before she could say anything else. I didn’t get to tell her what I had originally wanted to. But that was fine. Because I think what I said had a bigger impact. I walked back to the bonfire and drank the night away.