Shattered By Broken Dreams

When the doctor finally left Matt’s bedroom he warned Sydney that Matt was not to be under any stress. It wasn’t a heart attack, just an ulcer that when aggravated could become much worse.

Jimmy walked into Matt’s room with Tera beside him. He never felt more guilty at any time in his life ever. “Here, you can have my wife, just don’t die, please” he said nervously.

“Jimmy!” Tera shouted.

Matt held his stomach and started to laugh. “You guys, my husband needs to rest” Sydney said from the doorway and they got the hint and left.

Sydney stood there with her hands on her hips glaring at her husband trying not to cry.
“You scared the hell out of me!” she said pointing at him.

“I’m sorry,” he pouted.

She walked over to the bed and rested her head on his chest. “You can’t leave me”

“I wont” he said rubbing her back.

When she found him lying on the kitchen floor, she panicked and the thought of having to go on without him in her life was something she wasn’t ready to deal with any time soon. Poor Jimmy nearly had a heart attack himself in the kitchen when Matt didn’t get up. He said he was sorry over and over again and he meant it too.

--

Tera and Jimmy went back down to the reception and explained to everyone that Matt was going to be ok and that it was his wish that the reception continue on.

Seven sat at the table looking at the place where her father once sat that was now empty.

“He’s ok” Her new husband told her squeezing her hand.

“I know, I just cant help but wonder what kind of stress he has and how much of it was the wedding.”

“Oh no, you are not going to do this on our wedding night. It’s already been a disaster and now you are going to blame the wedding for your father getting sick? What the fuck did we get married for?” He asked and before she could answer he got up and walked away from her.

--

“Is uncle Matt going to die?” Melody asked her father who seemed worried about his friend.

“Uncle Matt? Are you serious, that man couldn’t die if you killed him”

She smiled. “That didn’t make any sense!”

“I know, I’m just trying to make you smile” he said

“If this is what happens at weddings, I am never getting married!” she said.

“Thank you!” Brian mouth looking up at the clouds and Stormy slapped his arm and laughed.

A few minutes later Blade walked over with his sister on his arm. Brian eyed him over the rim of his glass as he sipped his drink.

“Uncle Brian, umm” Brian could see Blade’s nervousness and raised his eyebrow patiently waiting for him to finish. “this is my sister, Jaylen”

She held out her hand to shake and he took it. “It’s nice to meet you” he smiled at the girl who was in awe of him.

“You’re Synyster Gates, you’re my favorite guitar player” her eyes grew as wide as her smile as she said those very words.

“Thank you” he laughed lightly.

“Hey! I thought I was your favorite” Blade looked insulted when he looked back at his sister.

“You are, but you are no Synyster Gates!” she said and Brian nearly spit the liquid out of his mouth that he just drank.

“Well, Synyster Gates would like to dance. How about it young lady?” Brian asked.

“Sure!”

Melody glared at Blade just before storming off to the kitchen.

“Melody” Stormy called out and ran after her daughter.

Blade shook his head and wondered what the hell he did wrong this time.

--

About an hour later…Blade was sitting at the bar alone watching his sister dance with Lryic when Brian walked up and fixed himself another drink.

“Sweet kid” Brian noted.

“Yeah” Blade nodded.

“So, want to tell me exactly what was going on the night I found you in my daughter’s room?”

“What difference does it make, you only believe what you think you saw anyway”

“Try Me,” he said sipping his drink and turning his gaze to his daughter who was talking with her mother at the table where they were sitting earlier.

“She was crying because somewhere in her mind, she thinks you don’t love her, so all I was dong was comforting her”

Brian set his drink down on the bar. “Where the hell would she get an idea like that?” he asked.

“Oh I don’t know, maybe because you are always gone. You don’t really spend any quality time with her and probably because the time that you do spend with her is usually when you are yelling at her because she was acting out to try and get your attention.”

Brian stood straight up ready to kick this kid’s ass. “Who the hell are you to make that assessment?”

Blade looked him dead in the eye “I’m the man who talked your daughter out of committing suicide. Want to hit me now?” Blade dared him.

“What?” Brian said

“Yeah, she snuck out of her room one night. I was sitting out front with Legend and when I spotted her, I followed her. I found her standing on the ledge of the bridge ready to jump off. So I climbed up and told her that if she jumps, I jump.”

Brian sat back on the stool and looked over at his daughter.

“You ever just sit and talk to her? If you did you would know how brilliant she is. And if you ever got her to trust you enough to let you see her sketchbook, you would know what an amazing artist she is and that one-day she is going to be a force to be reckoned with the fashion world. If you ever really looked at her you would see that when she smiles she tries to hide it right away because she feels bad being happy. She hates ballet, but she does it because it makes you happy and she loves music, but I bet you wouldn’t even know what her favorite song is.”

Brian was starting to feel like an idiot for not seeing all the things in his daughter that Blade has had the privilege of seeing himself.

“How do you know all this?” he asked.

“I just gave her what she wanted. I listened. Yeah, she drives me nuts sometimes when she follows me around and shows up places where I don’t want her to be, but when I do remember that she’s a kid and I’m a person she looks up to, I try and find time here and there.”

Brian got up and got started to make himself another drink. “It’s getting late and Mel needs to go to bed soon so if you want to dance with my daughter, now is the only time when I will pretend that I don’t see It.” He said and walked away

Blade smiled to himself and walked right over to Melody. Brian watched his daughter’s face light up as she followed Blade out to the dance floor.

--

“Well, this has certainly been one hell of a night” Jimmy said to his wife as he walked into their bedroom.

She turned around to look at him. “That’s all you have to say for yourself?”

“What?” he shrugged.

“James Owen Sullivan, you are in big trouble!” she warned if there was any one person in the world that he was afraid of, it was his wife.