Heartkiller

Chapter Twenty Seven: Shatter Me With Hope

Scream me a dream, untouched by shadows
Baby, shatter me now

July 17, 2012

“Honey, I’m home!” Avery said opening the apartment door.

“Are we in the ‘50s now?” Ville said as he got off the couch to greet her.

“That’s funny. If we were in any other decade, I would imagine that you’d want to be in the ‘80s again.” she said, giving him a kiss.

“I thought you were referring to the line from ‘I Love Lucy.’” he pointed out.

“I know, I know.” she replied with an eyeroll. “What did you do today?”

Avery started walking towards the bedroom to change out of her suit and into something more comfortable. Ville followed close behind and flopped on top of the bed. She dropped her belongings on the floor before she walked over to her dresser. She pulled out an over-sized shirt and a pair of boyshorts and began stripping off the suit.

“I’ve been figuring out some songs by myself. I had them written out already, but I was working on like the logistics of it. You know... things that we would normally be doing at rehearsals.”

“I thought Gas was cleared by the doctors to play again. Why aren’t you working through the songs with everybody else?” she asked, pulling the shirt over her head.

“Gas was cleared to play a month ago, but I don’t want to head to the rehearsal space yet. What’s the point of recording the album if there’s no way to put it out? If we decide to do it anyway, we’d have to fund it all ourselves, which… I mean, Burton’s expenses are baby-related, Linde pissed his money all away, Gas just paid all these medical bills, and Mige… Maybe he has something… I might have some, but there’s no way we could finance the entire album ourselves. I don’t know, though, it seems like things may be coming together finally. I talked to Seppo today.”

“What did he say?”

“He’s talking to some people. He’s been in talks to find us a new setup since we got dropped by Warner Brothers, but his efforts were stalled by Gas’ whole situation, you know. Then, once we got the call that Gas was good to go and that there would still be a band called HIM to be signed… Seppo started working on it again. He’s talked with a few people, and it’s narrowed down to three labels who seem interested. He said that it doesn’t seem like we’re going to get one label to support us everywhere. Universal will sponsor us through Europe and Asia, Razor & Tie--I think that’s what it’s called--for the States, and DoubleCross for the UK and Ireland. And that’s IF they all sign us. That’s a big if. If it’s only two of the three or something, we’re gonna have to be on the lookout for someone else to support us in the areas that are left. So hopefully… you know, hopefully they all sign. Then this headache will finally be over.”

“They will all sign. Don’t you worry ‘bout that.” she assured with a smile. After fitting on her clothes, she turned to him.

“Thanks.” Ville said, bringing his arms up and signalling her to lay with him, and she obliged. “When I talked to him, he was on his way to a meeting with the representatives of the three labels. They’re working through the contracts, so we should have an answer soon.”

“Today?”

“Yeah, probably today. Pretty soon actually, I talked to him a while ago. He should be out of the meeting soon enough.” he replied as he held her hips.

“That’s good!” she said with a grin.

Avery looked at him, thinking he would mirror her expression, but he wasn’t. His mouth was stretched taut, and his forehead was laced with worry. He was tense about the way things would go at Seppo’s meeting, and she decided to change the subject to try and relax him. They cuddled on the bed together with Ville’s chin resting at her forehead.

“So I saw Sabrina Mayweather today. Do you remember her?” she asked Ville.

“Um, not really.” he admitted.

“It’s okay, you only met her once a few years ago. She was the attorney who, like, tried to convince you that I was bad news because of the whole Michael situation, if you recall.” she said, trying to remind him.

“Ah yes, I remember. She’s… quite the character.”

“Tell me about it. I was leaving court today and she got in the elevator with me. She faked this whole spiel about it being such a long time since we’ve seen each other… which it was. I mean, I haven’t worked with her for a while. But anyways, beside the point! We were making small talk, and she asked me, ‘so are you and that one guy still together?… Veal, was it? You and veal?’ and I was so confused.”

“Oh, right, she couldn’t pronounce my name.” he recalled with a smirk.

“Yeah, but I didn’t know that. So I was just like ‘what the fuck is she talking about? Is she crazy?’ And then I understood, and I explained that you and I got married and everything. Sabrina was surprised by that.”

“Was she really?”

“Yeah, I think she thought that you and I would have called it quits by now. She thinks I’m a lunatic… though I couldn’t care less what she thinks.”

“Veal…” he said mockingly and chuckled. “I can’t believe that. I’m not a calf to eat. Did she really think I would have been named after meat?”

Avery giggled with him. “I have no idea what she was thinking... A lot of people have trouble with your name though. Remember my mom at first?”

“Yeah, all she could get out was ‘Vil,’” he agreed.

“She’s got it now, though, after that whole lesson. And what does Bam call you? Veala?”

“No, he can’t get the ‘i’ correctly, he calls me Villa. And if he’s especially drunk or something, he won’t even say the ‘v.’ He’ll call me Willa. Willa Walo.”

Avery burst into laughter. “Willa Walo.” she repeated. “That reminds me of whales. Walo.”

“Hehhe, yeah.” he snickered.

“It’s been awhile since I’ve heard from him. How is that rascal?”

“Oh, dear Bammy. I haven’t a clue. When I last spoke to him, he was working on some music.”

“Music? Really?” she asked, surprised.

“Yeah, it’s like a parody type thingie. I haven’t heard it yet. I don’t know what’s going on with that exactly.”

“Oh. Then? What about him and Nikki?”

“I believe they’re still together. I don’t know…” he muttered. “I haven’t talked to him in a while, so I don’t really know what’s going on with him. It’s weird not seeing him with Missy, though. They’re still amicable with one another, as far as I know.”

“That’s good. They had a really weird situation going on…” she trailed off.

“Yeah, did I ever tell you about the time this reporter thought I was in the middle of the scandal?” he asked, looking down to catch her expression.

“What? No, what happened?” she asked, her eyebrows scrunched together in confusion.

“When they were in the midst of their breakup or whatever it was, there were all these rumors running through the magazines. I wasn’t paying attention to anything, so I didn’t have the foggiest idea as to what explanations people were coming up with. There was an interview I did, though, I can’t remember where. Germany or something… maybe. The interviewer asked me something like ‘is it true that you and Missy are an item? Are you the reason she and Bam Margera are breaking up?’ I was like ‘um, what?’” he let out a throaty chuckle. “I was caught off-guard, and I had no clue what she was talking about.”

“What did you end up saying to her?” Avery asked, amused by the situation.

“I played it off. I said ‘I’m happy with my charming girl, although it is not with Missy, lovely as she may be.’ Something like that, I think.”

“I guess I can see where they would get the idea. You hung out with Bam a lot; I suppose when you’re fishing for an explanation, it seems to make sense to attach a third person to the equation.” she reasoned.

“Yeah, but why me? I mean, the Jackass fellows were around Bam and Missy more than I was.”

“Oh, honey, you are clearly the most attractive of the bunch. Hands down.”

Ville laughed, and, since her hand was over his heart, Avery felt the vibrations of his moving chest, tickling her. “Thank you, darling.” he replied.

There was a call on the landline that interrupted their conversation. After untangling herself from him, Avery rolled out of the bed and ran to the living room to answer the phone.

“Hello?” she said, barely making it in time.

“Hello, Avery, it’s Seppo.”

“Oh, hello! How are you?”

“I’m well, honey. How are you?”

“I’m doing well. Do you wanna talk to Ville?”

“Yeah, is he there?”

“Yeah, he is. Lemme give the phone to him.” she said as she made her way back down the hallway.

Ville looked up to see her when she walked into the bedroom. Avery covered the receiver with her hand and whispered to tell him that it was Seppo. His eyes widened, and he took the phone.

“Ey Seppo.”

“Hey, so I have some good news, boy. I just got out of the meeting, and we sorted through the terms. It’s not the original agreement I had in mind, but we made some changes that I think we can all work with. After a three hour meeting, I’m happy to deliver the news that all three labels signed. You’re set.”

Ville’s shoulders relaxed. “Thank goodness. That’s… that’s great. That’s amazing. Thank you.”

Avery looked at him expectantly, waiting for him to tell her what had happened. He was looking at the ground, lost in the conversation though, so he didn’t see her.

“Yeah, it’s great.” Seppo agreed. “So, you and the boys can head back to the studio and finish up that album. As your thank you to me, you better make sure it’s a hit.”

Ville laughed at his joke. “I’ll be on the next flight out to Hel.”

“That’s what I wanna hear. Alright, I’ll let you go make arrangements. Tell Avery that I send her the best wishes.”

“I will. Alright… bye.”

“Bye.”

Ville hung up the phone and threw his head back to heave a sigh. All those months of waiting had finally paid off.

“You’re going back into the studio? They signed, didn’t they?” Avery asked excitedly, standing in front of him.

“Mhmm. They signed us.” he said and pulled her into his lap, burying his face in her neck.

She covered his cheek in kisses, not minding his goatee that was grazing her skin. She didn’t care right now. Her hands cupped his face and held it close while she continued to kiss him. Avery giggled. He leaned back on the bed and she fell with him, straddling his body.

“I’m so happy for you, baby. I’m so unbelievably happy!” Avery exclaimed.

“Thank you, Ave. I couldn’t have gotten through this without you.” he said.

“It’s what I’m here for, Valo.” she said, pulling him into a tight hug. “Let’s go celebrate.”

“Where?”

“I’ll call your favorite restaurant and we’ll get all dressed up to go.” she said definitively.

“Okay, lemme call the others while you get ready. I’m probably going to have to take a flight… mm, I think tomorrow back to Finland so we can finish recording.”

“Okay.” she said and rolled off to lay beside him. “I told you things would work out, Ville. I told you! Muah!” she gave a kiss on his cheek and stood up. “Lemme go make a reservation.”

He grinned widely and let her go. Avery went to the living room and picked up her cellphone to call the restaurant. It was only 5:30pm on a Tuesday night, so she was able to get a 7 o’clock reservation to Nobu, a popular Japanese restaurant in the city that the couple loved to go to. It was a rather expensive place, so the couple went only for special occasions. Getting signed to record labels certainly counted for being a special occasion.

Once the reservation was made, Avery returned to the bedroom to find Ville on the phone with Mige. She let him be and went to the bathroom to take a quick shower. Although she hoped that he would join him, he never came. She finished her shower and wrapped a towel around her body after drying off. Her hair was tied up into a loose bun at the crown of her head, and she did her makeup. Because of where they were going, she decided to be a little extravagant with her makeup: she wore a brown smokey eye with a cat-like eyeliner effect and a maroon lipstick with a light golden blush.

She then went to the bedroom to pick out an outfit for dinner. Ville was on the phone with the airline trying to book a flight; when she entered the room, he got off his place on the bed and walked up to her. While she looked through her closet, he peppered her neck with kisses as his mood was considerably uplifted after receiving Seppo’s call.

“Sweetie! You’re on the phone!” she whisper-yelled, though a smile graced her face.

“I’m on hold,” he explained in a hush.

With one hand holding the phone to his ear, Ville wrapped his arm around her waist, her back against his chest. He tried to remove the towel from her body, but she pulled away. There was no way she was going to try to fool around while he was on the phone, despite his playful pleas. She wriggled in his grasp and a muffled laugh escaped her lips.

“Not now, Ville,” she warned.

“It’s okay, it’s not like the guy on the line can hear us.”

“You don’t know that.”

“Yes, I do. I can mute the phone, you know, and then he won’t--” Ville started, but the guy returned to the phone. “Oh, yes, I’m still here.”

Avery shot him an ‘I told you so’ glare and continued to look through her closet. He regressed to the bed and laid flat while he tried to book his flight.

“Yes, from JFK to Helsinki.” Ville confirmed.

He listened to the airline’s attendant explain the flight schedule. Avery brushed past her formal clothing that she wore to work until she reached the section of dresses. Her fingers danced across the hangers as she flipped through her wardrobe looking for the right dress.

“At one pm? Yeah, that one is fine. Economy class, please.” Ville continued.

“Baby, get a first class ticket.” she said without drawing her attention away from the closet.

“One second,” Ville excused himself from the attendant, muted the phone, and said, “No, that’s unnecessary. An economy class ticket will do just fine.”

Avery looked over her shoulder and raised an eyebrow, challenging his opinion. “Will you listen? It’s a long flight, and you should be as comfortable as possible. Please, if for nothing else but my peace of mind, get first class.”

Ville smirked. “Fine.” Returning to the call, he corrected, “Actually, can you make that a first class ticket, please?”

She smiled and looked back at her wardrobe. She found a violet dress and took it off the rack. “Aha.” she exclaimed.

After grabbing a set of lingerie to wear, Avery dropped the towel that hung to her frame so that she could get dressed. She saw Ville’s eyes widen at the sight, and he bit his lip. He got off the bed and was immediately by her side, pulling Avery close. She could hear the airline attendant give the final instructions because of her proximity to the phone's speaker.

“Alright, you’re all set. You can pick up your ticket at the gate with valid ID. Thank you for flying FinnAir.” he said.

“Yes, thank you.” Ville said and hung up the phone, letting it drop to the floor so that he could hold Avery. She was trying her best to break free of his grip so she could get dressed.

“Babe, I--” she started.

“You said not while I was on the phone, and I’m no longer on the phone.” he objected and continued to dapple kisses across her collarbone.

“Fuck… you.” she breathed with a smile and relaxed into his grasp, though annoyed that he was about to get his way. He had her wrapped around his finger, ready to grant his every wish, and, for a change, she was the one who had to surrender.

“That’s the idea, Ave.” he said, attaching his mouth to hers.

With the intensity of his kiss, her grasp on the clothing loosened and the dress fell to the floor. She then opted to wrap her arms around him. Ville backed her into the dresser and leaned his frame against her while keeping her lips preoccupied with his own. His mouth was desperately grabbing hers and playing with her tongue, hungrily pulling her closer to him.

“You are wearing far too much clothing, Valo.” she murmured as she tugged at the buttons on his shirt.

He kept his hands braced on either side of her to keep her in place. Once she had undone all the buttons, he shrugged off the shirt and let it fall to the floor. Though his tongue entertained her enough, Avery grazed her fingers over the muscles of his torso, admiring his stature. Keeping her touch light, she traced the circumference of his nipple with her index finger and he sighed with pleasure at the sensation. The corners of her lips tilted into a smile, and Ville interlaced his fingers with hers and held her hands on either side of her.

Keeping her hands out of the way, Ville took this time to move down her body and left a trail of kisses on his way to her neck, where he decided to leave a love bite. Her back arched into the dresser with the gentle nicks on her skin, and she set to work on the buckle of his jeans to distract him. Immediately, Ville’s hands fluttered to hers and he brushed her off, opting to remove the last article of clothing himself. Clutching her wrists with his one hand, he used the other to unbutton his jeans. A teasing smile found its way onto his lips as he shimmied out of the pants.

He detached his mouth from her body to slip out of the pantholes of his jeans. He kicked the clothing off to the side. When he turned back to look at her, Avery took his cheeks in her hands to marvel at his features. She pulled him down to her level and placed a kiss on each of his eyelids, his cheekbones, the tip of his nose, and finally his mouth. She bit her lip.

“Give it to me good, baby,” she beamed.

“I don’t need to be told twice,” Ville replied with a naughty grin.

He picked her up by her ass and set her on the dresser. Holding her legs apart and at the appropriate angle, he pushed into her. Although he held her waist gingerly to keep her in place, his movements were rough. His hips rocked back and forth, forcing her to grip his neck to steady herself. Her lips pulled back to allow an uneven moan to escape, and it only served to encourage him. Ville continued to move in and out of her, and as he came, she curled into the feeling and dug her nails into his back.

He finished and eased out of her body. His hands dropped from her waist, and she held onto them, using her grip to pull him closer. With her legs wrapped around his waist, Avery placed a few kisses on his lips as she struggled to catch her breath. Resting her face against his heaving chest, she giggled while placing sloppy wet kisses on his skin.

"Love you," he said.

"You too, bubba."

The smile never left their faces, and she let go of him. After hopping off the dresser, she reached for the lingerie and dress that she had dropped earlier. When he bent down to grab his shirt off the floor, Avery could see the red marks across his skin and smirked.

“I will admit that that was good.” Avery said, pulling on her dress.

“Am I ever not?” Ville said smugly as he buttoned his shirt.

Avery scoffed. “It’s a good day, so I’m going to ignore how arrogant you just sounded.”

“Don’t pretend like you don’t like it.” he countered.

She turned away to hide her smile; he was right, she did like it when he got haughty at times. “Zip me up, please?” she requested with her back facing him.

He walked over and pulled the zip on the back of her dress until it reached the top. He placed a kiss on her collarbone. “Ready to go, dear?” he whispered in her ear, sending chills down her spine.

“Mhmm.” she replied softly and turned. Seeing his face, she burst into laughter; her lipstick had gotten all over his face and lips from her kisses.

“What?” he asked.

“You look silly with all this lipstick on you.” she explained and gently wiped away the makeup. “That’s going to have to do. You know, if it wasn’t for the goatee, I would question my sexuality. With all the eyeliner you wear and your long hair, you’re starting to look more and more… effeminate as the days go by. ”

“Is that a problem?” he mocked with a raised eyebrow as he tied his locks into a bun at the nape of his neck.

“Not as long as you know how to work your tools,” she replied with a sly grin and teasingly grabbed his crotch through his jeans for emphasis.

“Ah, I don’t think I’d ever lose my touch.” he reassured.

“Come on, let’s go, doll.”

She grabbed her clutch, and they left the apartment. Ville took her hand and led them down the hallway to the elevator, which they took down to the lobby. Once they reached the streets, Ville caught a cab for them to take, they got inside, and he told the driver to go to Nobu. As he settled into his seat, he looked over to see Avery with her head resting in her palm as she observed the passing scenery. The streetlights danced on her skin and the warmth of the violet dress complimented her olive skin tone. She took his breath away. Ville placed his hand on her thigh, and she looked at him expectantly.

“Have I told you how beautiful you are, Avery?” he asked.

She smiled. “You never let me forget.”

“Well, it doesn’t hurt to repeat it, huh? You look incredible this evening, darling. I’m a lucky bastard.” he said, grinning sheepishly.

Avery peeled herself away from the window to crawl against him. She tilted her head upwards to plant a kiss on his lips. She then smiled as she said, “I love you, Ville. I’m sorry I’m not talented enough to be as poetic as you are, but that’s the only way I can express that.”

He smirked and gave her another kiss. “That’s good enough for me.”

The taxi pulled up to Nobu and Ville paid the driver after she got out of the car. Adjusting the skirt of her dress, Avery followed Ville behind as he went into the restaurant. They approached the host’s podium to claim their reservations.

“Hi, welcome to Nobu, do you have a reservation?” the blonde girl asked in a peppy voice.

“Yes, a table for two under the name Valo.” he said.

She checked through the list. “Ah, yes. Here you are. Okay, let me take you to your table.”

The hostess grabbed two menus and led the couple into the restaurant. There was dim lighting by candlelight and the floor was crowded with a full house of guests. They were directed to a table near the center of the floor and took their seats.

Once she handed the menus to them, the girl said, “Okay, your server will be right with you for your drink order.”

“Thank you.” Ville said.

“What are you gonna get, baby?” she asked as she looked through the menu.

“The usual. I love it too much to get anything else.” he admitted. “What about you?”

“I think I’m gonna get the usual, too. If it’s not broken…” Avery trailed off, allowing him to finish the saying.

“...Why fix it?”

“Exactly.” she said and folded the menu.

The waitress approached the table. “Hi, I’m Rhea and I’ll be your server today. Can I start you off with any drinks?”

Avery allowed him to speak first. “I’ll just have a water.”

“Me too,” she said.

“Okay, great. And do you have your order ready or do you need a few more minutes?”

“We’re ready.” Ville said. “I’ll have the Assorted Sushi Plate, and she’ll have an order of the California Roll.”

Rhea scribbled the order onto her notepad. “Okay, great.”

“Thank you.” Avery said as she returned the menu to her.

“Thanks,” Ville said.

After the waitress walked away, Avery put her elbows on the table and rested her chin in her hands. “I’m happy you got signed, but I’m sad that you’ll be leaving.” she said with a pout. “It was nice to have you around all the time for the past 8 months.”

“It was nice to be around.” he agreed and took a sip of water. “I’ll miss you.”

“I’ll miss you, too.”

“You’ll come visit, right?”

“Of course I will! If only to continue the baby-making ways.” she added.

Ville grinned. “I have no objections to that.”

“I thought as much.”

She stared into the patterns of Ville’s shirt, letting herself get lost in it. They had been trying to have a baby for two months, and so far, it didn’t seem like they efforts were fruitful. It worried her. Was it supposed to take this long? Was there something wrong with her? Was she unable to bear children at thirty-four years old? Ville noticed her mind was far away; she was chewing her lip in thought.

“What’s wrong?” he asked.

She came out of her reverie and reminded herself where she was; she put a smile on her face to reassure him. “Nothing… Nothing’s wrong.”

Ville narrowed his eyes, clearly not believing her words. “Are you really going to try this with me, darling?”

“I’m… I’m just thinking about what it’s going to be like with you off to work again. I’ll be coming home to an empty house. It’ll be lonely.”

“I’m sorry.” he said sincerely.

“Ville, don’t apologize! You need to go, and I want you to work. The circumstances suck, that’s all. I wish I could be working closer to you without this ocean between us.” she insisted and straightened her posture. “Anyway, enough about that. We’re celebrating! No sad faces, no apologies.”

“Yes, ma’am.” Ville chuckled.

“Did you talk to the rest of the band?”

“Yeah.”

“What did they say?”

The waiter came with the food and presented it on the table. There were several pieces of sushi on each plate, and it was more than enough. After having such a long day, the couple took a few bites of food before continuing their conversation.

“They were all really excited to get back to the studio. I think Linde was the most enthusiastic of them all.”

“Really?” Avery said, surprised. Linde was usually a pretty shy, laid-back fellow; if anything, she expected Mige to be the one bouncing off the walls after hearing the good news.

“Yeah.” he said as he grabbed another piece of sushi with his chopsticks. She noticed his mane was neatly tucked away, and it reminded her to warn him.

“You know, when you’re out there, make sure you take care of your locks. I don’t want to see any pictures of a dry mess on top of your head. Condition your hair.” she warned, sounding like a nagging wife.

“I probably won’t. I like when you do it for me, but I don’t think I would care enough to do it myself. It’s too much effort.” he whined. “A simple wash is enough for me.”

“Well then cut it so that it’s manageable.”

“Nah, I think I want to keep it long and overgrown for this album.” he confessed.

“Then please take care of it, sweetheart. I know you want to keep the rocker image going, but it’s getting a little out of control.”

“Yes, dear.” he finally gave in.

There was a lull in the conversation as they continued to eat their food. Using his chopsticks, Ville inched toward her plate to steal a piece of her food to try it. She saw him out of the corner of her eye and playfully shooed him away. Feeling bad, she picked up a small bit and put it on his plate.

“A taste, that’s all.” she conceded.

He graciously took the piece off his plate and slipped it into his mouth with a sheepish grin for having gotten what he wanted. She shook her head at his behavior.

“So you’ll visit me, I need to take care of my hair… is there anything else?” he asked innocently.

“Have fun, most importantly. Enjoy yourself. I know that it hasn’t been easy to wait all this time to see what the future of the band was, so have fun with it now that it’s finally here. That’s all I have to say. Oh! And you better call me all the time!”

“Well, that last one was a given, Avery.”

“I was reminding you, just in case.” she added with a smile.

“Mm. Is that so?”

“Yeah, you know, while you’re off rocking the world, remember that you have a wife back in New York worrying about you every minute.” she said lightheartedly.

“I don’t know. I’ve got so many girls around the world, it’s hard to keep track… What’s your name again?” he asked, continuing the charade.

“Shut up.” she said with an eyeroll and a giggle. She took a sip of the water and leaned back in her seat.

“Are you ready to go?” he asked.

“Yeah.”

“Me too.”

Ville signaled for the check and the waitress quickly returned with it. Once he paid the bill, the couple made their way out to the streets to catch a taxi to return home. Avery pulled her coat tightly around her arms and went to the curb to call for a cab. It wasn’t long before a yellow car pulled up to the curb alongside the couple and they got inside. She gave the intersection to which they wanted to be taken. During the ride, she leaned her head against his shoulder and held his elbow tightly. Avery breathed deeply to inhale his scent of a cologne and cigarettes and closed her eyes.

"Enjoying yourself?" He asked.

"Very much so." She admitted. He kissed her hair and pulled her into a hug. She whined, “I don’t wanna let you go. I know that you have to go, but I don’t wanna let you.”

“You could always join me in Finland. It’ll be fun.” he suggested.

“Come there for a week and hang out? I could. I’d have to wait for things to calm down at work.”

“Which is never going to happen.”

“Yeah, or I could convince my boss that I’ll be signing some client while I’m there.”

“That’s working! You’ll be running around everywhere, and I wouldn’t ever get to see you.”

“Hehhe. True. Maybe take some vacation days then, huh?”

“That’s more like it. You could join me in the studio and watch.”

“I’d really like that. I’ll have to arrange to make an extended stay there, other than the occasional weekend visiting trips.”

“That you must.” he replied.

The car pulled up in front of the apartment building, and Ville opened the door for her while she paid the driver. Avery got out and they proceeded to go up the elevator to the 43rd floor. She opened the front door and they went inside.

“Dinner was lovely,” Ville said, closing the door behind him.

“It was. That reminds me, make sure you eat well when you’re there. I know that when you’re in the studio, you tend to lose track of time, but be careful.” she warned.

Ville rolled his eyes. “I will, I will. I’m not a child, you know. I can take care of myself, Ave.”

“I’m not quite sure that you can,” she teased. “You tend to forget about yourself when you get lost in the music.”

“Whatever.” he dismissed with a chuckle.

“I’m gonna go change.” she informed, setting her purse on the coffee table. “Help?”

He pulled the zipper down on the back of the dress, and she went to the bedroom to change into pajamas. Ville took a seat on the couch and turned on the tv. Once he found something remotely interesting to watch, he started unbuttoning his shirt and removed it completely; he leaned against the sidearm of the couch so that he could face the television screen.

Avery took off her heels on the way to the bedroom and pulled off her dress. She found the oversized T-shirt and shorts that she had been wearing earlier in the evening and started to change back into them. Meanwhile, Avery’s purse, which was on the table beside Ville, started ringing. He reached for it and pulled out her cellphone.

“Darling, your cell! Your mother is calling!” Ville yelled out.

“I’m almost done!” she called.

Ville answered the phone, “Hello, Grace. How are you?”

“Hello, Ville. I’m… I’ve been better.” she said and the hesitation in her voice signaled how traumatized she was feeling.

“What’s wrong?” Ville asked, his eyebrows furrowed.

“Um, is-is Avery there?” Grace hesitated. Her voice was coated with nervousness.

“Yeah, she’s changing, but she'll be right here.”

“Oh, I see. I’m afraid I have bad news.” she started. She took a deep breath. “Easton’s mother, Irene, she, um, she was hospitalized earlier this morning for a stroke. She, um, she didn’t--she didn’t make it.”

“Oh, Lord. I’m so sorry. Avery’s going to-- she’s going to be devastated. I know how close she and Irene were.”

“Yeah, she’s going to take it pretty hard. I don’t even wanna...”

“One second, let me give the phone to her.” Ville said and stood. He went to the bedroom and prepared himself. When he walked in, she looked up at him while pulling on her shorts.

“Hey, what did my mom want?”

“She’s, um, she’s on the phone. You should sit down.” Ville said.

“What? Why? What happened?” she asked with a quizzical expression on her face.

“Ave… sit.”

Avery obeyed and took a seat on the bed. He walked over and cupped her cheek, letting his palm fall to her shoulder before handing her the cellphone, while she stared back at him with puzzled eyes. He stood over her and held her left hand while she spoke to her mother; Ville braced himself for what was to come.

“Hey, ma, what’s wrong?” Avery answered.

“Hi, honey,” Grace hesitated. “This morning, Nana Irene--she fell down this morning from a stroke. She hit her head on the table on the way down, and we took her to the hospital, but there wasn’t anything they could do. They, um, couldn’t save her. Nana Irene passed away about an hour ago.”

“Oh my, God.” Avery whispered.

“I’m sorry, honey. I’m really sorry.”

“How’s Dad taking it?” she asked, gulping.

“He’s pretty flustered. He hasn’t moved in the chair since the doctor told him.” Grace said uneasily.

“I’ll-uh, I’ll come by tomorrow morning and see you. Did you call Brody already?” Avery asked, referring to her brother.

“No, I called you first.”

“Okay, then, I’ll let you go so you can talk to him.”

“Alright… are you okay, Avery?”

“I’ll be fine, Mom. It’ll be fine.” she said to reassure her mother.

Inside, she was falling apart. This was her favorite grandmother with whom she had spent most of her childhood. She didn’t feel fine knowing that she was never going to see Irene’s glowing face again. When her parents were at work and running business trips, Nana Irene was the one who took care of Avery and Brody; their afternoons were spent listening to her crazy stories from back in the day when she was living in war-torn Europe. She was a rather old lady, and Avery knew that this day was coming. Still, it was going to be difficult to handle.

“Okay. Bye, Avery. Take care.”

“Bye, mom.”

Ville enveloped Avery in his arms as soon as she hung up the phone, allowing her to cry against him. He sat down next to her, and she nuzzled closer to his body.

“I’m sorry, Ave.”

“It’s fine.” she said, biting her lip to muffle the sobs that threatened to escape.

They sat for a few moments, and he allowed her to release all her emotions. It was a rare sight to see Avery so vulnerable, and he wanted to be there for her. He wanted to support her the way she had helped him through all this agony he felt waiting to hear from the record labels. Ville wanted to return the gesture to show her how much he cared. For a moment, she let him. Avery let him comfort her sobs with his soothing cooes. It felt easy to let the pain be released through her tears. The couple sat in an entangled mess for a while before she eventually pulled away, feeling like she had cried out all her tears. Avery looked at him, and he helped brush away the tears on her cheeks.

“I’m sorry, Ave.” he repeated, not knowing what else to say to comfort her.

“It’s not your fault.” she dismissed with a sniffle. “I-uh, I’m gonna go to bed.”

“I’ll join you in a minute. Let me call the airline, first.”

“Why? What’s wrong?”

“Uh…” he hesitated. “I’m gonna postpone my ticket.”

Avery furrowed her eyebrows. “What? Ville, no! Don’t do that. You’ve been waiting to go back to work for the longest time. You have to go.”

“I can’t leave you like this. I want to be here for you.” he reasoned.

“That’s sweet, but no… no, you can’t. If you stay, then the rest of the band can’t get back to work either, and no. That’ll make me feel even worse. I can’t stop you guys from doing what you want. I-I can handle this. I’ll be fine.”

“But--”

“But nothing.” Avery waived. She cleared the remaining tears on her cheeks and faked a smile to convince him. “I can take care of myself. I can’t let you hold up the band’s plans because of something that was out of your hands. Go to Finland, go make your album. Let me hear the sweet music you come up with; that’s--that’s the best way you can help. Trust me.”

Ville bit his lip. He didn’t want to leave her behind when she was like this, but he knew he wasn’t going to get his way. Avery had a tendency to shut everybody else out whenever she was dealing with something difficult, and there was nothing he could do or say to change her mind. He knew that.

“Okay.” Ville replied reluctantly.

“Okay. I’ll get up early to help you pack tomorrow morning okay?” she asked, disregarding any pain she currently felt in order to put on a brave face for him. She should have been aware that he knew her well enough to know she was only pretending, although Ville would never say anything; she wouldn’t listen.

“Yeah.”

“Good night, Ville.” she said and kissed his lips.

“Good night, darling.” he replied, allowing her to crawl underneath the covers.