What a Wicked Game

“Jeremy, dinner’s ready!” Lindsey set a plate of spaghetti on the dining room table for Jeremy, who was reluctantly getting up from the couch in front of the TV. He knew that his mom wouldn’t let him eat in front of the TV so he didn’t bother asking her. But if he leaned to the right a few inches he could see the screen just fine.

As Lindsey went to grab a plate for herself the phone rang. ‘Can’t I get a bite to eat too?’ she thought with a sigh and answered, “Yeah?”

“Well don’t sound so excited to hear me, sis.”

A smile came to her lips, “Hey Zacky. What’s up?”

“Not much, you know. It’s just…we have a tiny break from touring.”

“That’s good! Paige will be happy about that.”

“Yeah…”he sounded nervous but it may have been nothing, “she’ll be extra happy because we’re all coming to visit!” The phone almost slipped out of her hands but she was quick enough to grab it.

“Oh, really? That’s-” she heard the doorbell ring, “Jeremy, could you see who’s at the door, please?” as he got up she walked to the back of the house where he couldn’t hear. “Zacky, you know Brian can’t see Jeremy. He looks so much like him now and…it wasn’t a problem before.”

“Yeah, because the last time we saw you was six years ago.” She felt a pang of guilt at the hard truth. “Besides, maybe he should know by now.”

She chewed on her bottom lip. Jeremy was nine years old now and he still had no idea who his father was. He would ask once or twice but she would try to dodge the question as much as possible. It was wrong, but how could she go about telling him, much less Brian? It’s not that she was keeping the secret because she enjoyed it, she was just afraid of how to do it.

“Well?” Zacky prompted after her long silence.

Not being entirely sure how everything would play out, she answered, “Okay, it’d be great to see you guys again. When day do you think you’ll fly over?”

“Awesome! We’ll probably find a flight for Sunday so we’ll look for tickets the rest of this week. And don’t worry about Brian. I know you’ll figure out what to do, but if you need any encouragement I’m sure Paige will help.” Lindsey had only just told her best friend about everything a few months ago. Paige was upset at first but she came to understand.

“Thanks. I’ll see you all next week.”

“Ciao.”

Lindsey hung up and set the phone on the dresser in her bedroom. Their visit would be interesting for sure…if she found a way to tell Brian. But she had to find a way because it was the right thing to do. The fear of his reaction was making it hard to imagine telling him. Plus, what would Jeremy think? If he hated her for it she wouldn’t know what to do.

A pair of tattooed arms wrapped gently around her waist and pulled her against the owner’s chest. She smiled and laid her arms on top of his, “What are you doing here?”

“Stopping by to see a beautiful woman. Just don’t let my girlfriend know, okay? Her name is Lindsey and I’m sure she could kick some ass.” Corey placed a kiss on her cheek.

“Yeah, you better watch out for her if she ever finds out.” She turned around in his arms and looked up into his blue eyes, “Hello.”

“Hello.” He kissed her tenderly, “What’s wrong?”

She pursed her lips, “How do you do that?”

“Do what?”

“Tell when there’s something wrong with me?”

He shrugged, “I’ve known you long enough. Anyway, you would have hit me for that whole ‘beautiful woman’ thing.”

She nodded in agreement, “True. I’ll tell you when Jeremy’s asleep though.”

It had taken dessert and a Ghostbusters movie before it was time for Jeremy to go to bed. “But mom, I want to stay up with Corey.” He whined as he climbed into his bed.

“Hey, your mom’s making me go to bed early too. How about we do something fun tomorrow?”

Jeremy didn’t even have to think of an answer. He absolutely loved being with Corey. “Okay! Promise?”

“I promise. Now get to sleep before you drive your mother crazy.” Jeremy reluctantly turned to his side and closed his eyes. Even if he didn’t fall asleep right away he would at least look like he was. Lindsey leaned down and kissed his forehead, whispering goodnight, before walking out his room with Corey.

She stopped in the dimly lit living room and glanced around absentmindedly. Some of Jeremy’s toys were scattered around-she would have to clean those up at some point after she talked to Corey-and there were controllers in every corner of the room for all of their video game systems. It would have seemed excessive for some but Lindsey needed every different console for her job, being a video game developer.

“So what’s going on?” Corey grabbed her hand and pulled her onto the couch with him, into his lap.

She fiddled with a loose piece of string on her jeans. She didn’t really want to talk about everything but she knew he would keep asking. It was more for her sanity than his, “Zacky and Paige are coming to visit.” She finally muttered.

Corey nodded slowly, not exactly seeing what the problem was, “Uh-huh…”

“If they’re coming then that means everyone else is.”

It took only a few seconds for it to dawn on him. He knew exactly why she was so nervous. He sighed, “Oh, right.” They sat in silence. Corey was thinking of how he could reassure Lindsey about this and Lindsey was just thinking of worst-case scenarios, worrying herself even more.

“What should I do?” she asked hopelessly.

“I’m not one for believing in that “signs from God” bullshit, but I definitely think it’s time for you to tell him.”

“Oh, sure. ‘Hey Brian, remember when you took my virginity? Well you got me pregnant and this is the kid I ran away with’.”

Corey smiled and shook his head. He didn’t always agree with the way she handled this problem but he understood there were different circumstances, small things he would never understand because he wasn’t there. “All I’m saying is that it sucks not knowing who your dad is. Jeremy’s still young enough where it might not have bothered him a lot but you’re running out of time.” He took her hand in his and rubbed the back with his thumb.

“You know more than anyone how he’s feeling, huh?”

“Yeah, pretty much.”

She looked down at their intertwined hands. Somehow, just a simple touch from him made her calm, no matter the situation. He had a weird effect that just made everything okay. Even so, there was one thing that kept bothering her. It seemed almost childish to worry about. “What if he hates me?”

“Jeremy won’t-”

“Not Jeremy…Brian.”

“I’m pretty sure he still cares about you, Lindsey. You guys were friends for a long time.”

“It’s funny but that’s what scares me the most.”

“He’s gonna be mad either way, so you have to let him be. But he would be even more upset if you waited any longer.”

Lindsey looked at him with an expression of mock-annoyance, “Why are you always right?”

He smirked, “I’m always right? Oh baby, say it again ‘cause that turns me on.” He bit his lower lip and batted his eyelashes seductively.

“Don’t get used to it! And if you tell anyone I said that, you’ll pay for it.” She joked. She couldn’t have him thinking he was always right! She’d never hear the end of it.

“I may need some convincing to shut myself up.” He ran his hand up and down her thigh suggestively.

“So I’m supposed to give myself up to you every time you need a little convincing?”

He stuck out his lower lip, “It would help.”

She leaned forward, brushing her lips against his, “Not tonight, Mr. Taylor.”

He was still pouting, “I can go put on one of my masks. As I recall, you said that-”

She covered his mouth with her hand. He bit her palm but she ignored it, “We weren’t together when I said that and I was joking.”

“Yeah but it was a fucking good night though.” He emphasized the word ‘fucking’. “Good song, too. We should do it again sometime.”

“Not tonight! I’ll make it up to you later.”

“You’re gonna make me go to bed early with no incentive?”

“Cuddling isn’t an incentive?” she suggested.

Corey stared at her in disbelief, mouth hung open, “Remind me why I’m dating you?”

“Because you love me.”

He smiled, “I do, very much. Alright fine, let’s go to bed.” He didn’t even give Lindsey a chance to crawl off his lap. He hooked an arm under her legs while the other held her back securely in place and he carried her to her bedroom.

He laid her on the bed and joined her soon after, taking his shirt off in the process. Another weird thing about Corey was that his skin felt so much warmer than when he wore a shirt, but maybe that was just her. He wrapped his arm around her waist so that her back was as close to his chest as possible. She could feel his chest moving up and down in a slow rhythm with every breath he took.

It was nights like these that made Lindsey feel the happiest. Not just laying in bed with Corey, but also being able to spend time with him and Jeremy always ended up being the best day of the week. They didn’t come as often as you think, what with how busy Corey could be working on albums or going on tour for months on end. Those were the worst parts of the year for her and her son.

“The album is almost done, isn’t it? All Hope Is Gone?”

Corey must have been about to fall asleep because he jumped slightly when she spoke, “Yeah, it comes out in August. Why?”

“Just wondering, ‘cause I know how hard you guys have been working on it. I can’t wait to hear it.”

She could feel him take a deep breath, “Is that the only reason you were asking?”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, you know we’re going on tour the day after it comes out.”

She tried her hardest to hold back a groan, “No, I didn’t know that!” Their album was coming out in August, which meant she had less than a month to spend with him until he left. She hated feeling clingy but when he was always gone for so long it started wearing on her.

He placed a few gentle kisses on her shoulder, “I know and I’m sorry babe. We can talk about it later so that we can just sleep now, okay?”She couldn’t argue with that, seeing as she was dead tired from working all day. She let her body relax into his and soak up the warmth of his skin. In that moment she could forget about all of her worries. All that mattered was the way his heart beat was slowly lulling her to sleep. She would miss this when he had to leave.

***

It was Sunday evening and Lindsey could barely concentrate on anything. She was walking back and forth through the house preparing everyone’s rooms. There was only one spare bedroom in the house that Paige and Zacky would use. Everyone else would stay in the room above their garage a few hundred feet from her house. It was small, with one bathroom and a ton of couches for people to sleep on when they stayed at her house. Corey had paid to have it built, even though she protested countless times.

On one hand, she was excited to see all of her friends again, but on the other hand she was extremely nervous about Brian seeing Jeremy. They shared the same brown eyes, the same high cheekbones, and hell, they even shared the same blonde hair. If Brian didn’t notice it then she would be concerned for his eyesight.

Corey was keeping Jeremy occupied by telling him various stories while they watched some movie on TV. He kept glancing back at Lindsey whenever she would pass by the living room. He knew she would be worried but he didn’t expect her to be like this. He decided it would be better for him to hold Jeremy’s attention while she sorted out her thoughts.

Paige called as soon as their plane landed. Lindsey could hear all the guys laughing and shouting in the back, which actually calmed her nerves a little bit. They called for directions to her house and told her they’d be there within half an hour. That put her nerves into shock again. When she hung up the phone she decided she had prepared the bedrooms enough and went to sit down with Corey and Jeremy.

“He still has no idea, right?” she muttered silently to Corey so that Jeremy couldn’t hear her.

“Nope, none whatsoever. So when his uncles and aunt step in that doorway he’ll want to throw himself on the floor he’ll be so excited.” That was the bright side, that Jeremy would be able to see everyone. He was very young the last time they were all together but Lindsey made sure that he knew who everyone was. Plus, he listened to Avenged Sevenfold almost as much as he listened to Slipknot.

Half an hour later, right on the dot, the doorbell rang. Lindsey looked over at Corey, who motioned for her to go answer the door. ‘You can do it’ he mouthed. Was she too nervous to even answer the door? She only took a second before she got up from the couch and walked over to the door, legs feeling weak. The first person she saw when she opened the door was a six foot, lanky guy with uneven black hair and blue eyes deeper than Corey’s.

“Holy shit, Lindsey!” Jimmy dropped his suitcase and wrapped his arms around Lindsey, twirling her in a circle while she laughed happily. I certainly had been a while since they last saw each other. His hair was longer and he looked more mature, even if that only reached his physical appearance. He wasn’t as thin as he was before either.
Paige came in next, with her and Zacky’s daughter Céline holding her hand, and pulled her into a big hug. The both of them had tears in their eyes when they pulled apart, “I missed you so much.” Paige said as she wiped at the tears. She moved more into the house so the guys could come in and see Lindsey too.

The rest of the guys piled in and the years she spent apart from them really became evident. They were covered in more colorful tattoos than before. Matt’s muscles had gotten impossibly larger, but not too large. His hair was shaven too. She barely recognized her own brother, whose black hair was short with a little fringe hanging over his eyes. Johnny’s hair was in a shaved blonde and black mohawk, and he was still shorter than everyone else. And Brian, well, Brian looked as good as he did in high school. His hair was short and spiked and there was a piercing in his nose. They all had one thing in common, and that was that they looked much older.

“You’re a sight for sore eyes. I mean damn, you’re all grown up!” Matt said, taking his turn to pull her into a hug.

“I hope you’re not hitting on my sister, dude.”

“I can appreciate a good-looking girl.” He winked at Lindsey jokingly, “Besides, I hear you’re pretty attached to someone.”

Lindsey blushed, and she was pretty sure it was because Brian was looking at her with a slightly jealous expression, “Yeah, he’s in the living room with Jeremy. Now I wanted you guys to surprise him, so why don’t I bring him out here to the foyer?”

They all agreed and went very silent while she went to fetch Jeremy. She told him that there was something for him at the front of the house, and he followed her with a confused look on his face. Corey wasn’t too far behind him. When Jeremy stepped out into the foyer, he was greeted by seven smiling faces. He recognized them immediately, “Wow!” he ran over to Zacky first, who gave him a big hug. Lindsey watched Brian closely, but he didn’t show any signs that he realized who Jeremy was. That was sort of a relief.

At that point, everyone came to greet Jeremy and Corey. Apparently, a few of them didn’t know that she was dating Corey and they looked at him with wide-eyed facial expressions. Matt came up to him immediately and asked how he was doing, how the band was doing, what they were doing on their new album, and a bunch of other stuff.

As Lindsey looked around, she started to calm down at seeing how happy everyone looked. Sure, this visit may turn ugly later, but right now she was just glad to see all of her friends again. She was especially happy at the look on Jeremy’s face when he first saw his uncles. At least for a while she would allow herself to enjoy this.