Trapped Inside a Dillinger

Over the next week I didn’t get to see Ronnie as much as I had hoped due to his preparations for touring. When he wasn’t with the band rehearsing he spent much of his spare time packing. I knew this was a huge deal for him and I’m not gonna lie, I was so excited that Ronnie would be out there again, performing on stage to his super supportive fans, but I was gonna miss him.

It wasn’t until the day before he left that we finally got to see each other properly again. It was a Friday and I went to Ronnie’s straight from work.

‘Hey, babe, you’re early,’ Ronnie said as he opened the door.

‘I know,’ I said, sounding more upset than I actually felt.

‘Ok, what’s happened?’ he asked, as we walked to his living room and sat down.

That was one thing I loved about Ronnie, he knew when I was upset and always tried to do something about it, even before we dated.

‘Well, tomorrow my boyfriend goes on tour and now, I don’t even have a job to keep myself occupied while he’s away,’ I explained.

‘You don’t have a job?’ he then asked, concern in his voice.

‘Apparently I’m not the same dedicated person I was when they first hired me,’ I told him. ‘It’s not like I wanted to work there for the rest of my life, but while I figured my life out again, it was a great job.’

‘I know,’ said Ronnie, suddenly, as if he had had the best idea ever. ‘I can solve both of your problems in one. Be Falling In Reverse’s merch girl.’ He wasn’t asking me to work for him, he was telling me to.

‘Really?’ was all I could think to say.

‘Yes, really! You’re my girlfriend, who better to work for us? And it saves our manager having to do it all. I also remember that I might have said something to you back in prison about if you didn’t have a job by the time I went on tour you could come with us.’

‘Yeah, you did,’ I smiled at the fact Ronnie had remembered this too.

‘Right, we leave tomorrow, so I think we might need to head to yours and get packing!’ said Ronnie, suddenly very upbeat, as he stood.

By the time we got back to mine, Vix was also back from work.

‘I thought I got the house to myself this evening,’ she complained as we walked in.

‘I know,’ I said. ‘But I’ve got a new job, and I need to get ready!’ I finished running up the stairs.

‘And hey,’ added Ronnie, ‘you get the house to yourself for just over a month while she’s on tour!’

‘On tour?’ squealed Roxy. ‘You’re taking her on tour? You actually kept your promise from prison?’

I heard Ronnie laugh. ‘She told you about that, huh?’

‘She told me most things,’ Vix replied.

‘Ronnie!’ I shouted downstairs. ‘Come help me!’

Then he appeared at my bedroom door.

‘Help you what?’ he asked. ‘It’s your stuff! I’ve already packed all my stuff.’

‘Yeah, but I’ve never done this before,’ I reminded him.

‘Haven’t you ever packed for a holiday or something?’

‘Well, yeah, of course I have.’

‘There you go then, you know how to pack,’ he said, taking a seat on my bed next to my case and watching me grab various things from around my room. ‘Tomorrow, we’ll come pick you up in the bus at about 7.’

‘In the morning?’ I asked, horrified.

‘Yes, in the morning. But there are beds on the bus, so you can go straight back to sleep,’ he said, laughing slightly, I assumed at the worried look on my face.

‘Yeah, I know. I’m sure it’ll be worth it.’

A few moments silence passed as I continued to pack, until I turned to Ronnie.

‘This might seem odd, but I’m so proud of you,’ I told him.

‘Why?’

‘Well, look where you’ve come from and where you are today. All those people you thought you could trust who ended up fucking you over yet you’ve still started another band and learned to trust people again. You’ve managed to come from two years inside to a band who are already world famous, I mean, I struggled adjusting to life after nine months but you’ve come out stronger and carried on with your music like nothing happened. I just don’t think I could have done what you have and that makes me incredibly proud of you.’

‘Come here, babe,’ he said, and pulled me on to his lap as I walked over. ‘I think you’ve done better than you think you have, given the fact that your parents have offered you no support and you’ve had to deal with coming back to the real world on your own, well, you have Vix, but I’ve had my band, my brother and my Dad there for me. I don’t think I could have got on with normal life, especially in a busy music shop, dealing with the public, if I only had one friend.’

I simply smiled at Ronnie before pecking his lips and snuggling into his chest.

‘I couldn’t have done it without you,’ I whispered.

As I sat there, safe in Ronnie’s arms, I realised that being fired may have been the best thing for me. I would get to spend more time working on my relationship with Ronnie and helping him get used to trusting everyone again and I would get to travel, which was something I’d always wanted to do but never had the money for.

I knew that the time I was going to spend on tour with Falling In Reverse, some of the only friends I had, was going to be the best time of my life so far.