Hold Onto Me

After I changed out of Zack's god awful muscle shirt and into something more California-ish, I waited on Gena to fix her make up before we headed to the sports bar down the street from the hotel. It was a little awkward between the two of us, considering we hated each other for so long and the only reason we were "hanging out" was because we were both pissed at Zack.

"You don't have to do this because you feel sorry for me. You know that right?" She asked as we walked side by side.

"That's not why I'm doing it, Gena. What better person to talk to than the person who's going through the exact same thing?" I laughed softly. "I don't expect us to be best friends or anything, but once we talk everything out, we might not be enemies anymore."

The rest of the walk was silent but I don't think neither one of us really minded. We waited at the hostess stand for a good ten minutes before someone finally came up. I couldn't see her face, but I knew the voice and I couldn't help but smile.

"I am so sorry! I don't know where the hostess went, but follow me please." She smiled as her eyes met mine. "Nice to see you again, Marissa Quinn."

Gena nudged me in the side and gave me a wink as we followed Kelsey to the booth. She stood to the side as we got in and then asked what we wanted to drink. I couldn't look at her when I ordered, and that resulted in a swift but gentle kick from the blonde sitting across from me. I shot her a look before reading the menu, trying to decide what I felt like eating.

By the time Kelsey came back with our drinks, we both knew what we wanted to eat. I could feel her staring at me as she took Gena's order and my palms got a little sweaty when I realized I would have to talk to her in a second.

"What about you, Marissa?" She asked, giving me a gorgeous smile.

"Uhm... Can I get a chicken BLT, fries, and a side of broccoli?"

"Sure thing, cutie."

I watched from behind my hair as she walked away, towards the computer to put our order in and Gena's mouth was open in a grin. I gave her an odd look before sipping some of my Jack and Coke. I had no idea what was going on through that girl's head, and I had a feeling that I really didn't want to.

"Girlfriend, why in the world are you hung up on Zack when you could be with that? I mean, I'm not into girls like that, but damn. She's cute."

"I'm not... I'm not hung up on, Zack. Lots of stuff happened in Tempe and I just, I don't know. It's complicated."

"Well, why don't you tell me all about it?" She asked, taking a sip from her drink. "I mean, it does involve me, in a way."

"Eh. You know I left California over three years ago. I went to live with my godmom in Tempe, but my ex, John-"

"Ah, yeah. I remember him."

"I'm sure you do." I chuckled. "Anyway, we ended up getting back together and we've been engaged for the past four months or so. Basically, my neighbor begged me to go to the guys' show with her and Jimmy blew my secret. They wanted to meet my daughter, I let them, John came back from touring and got pissed then the guys went back on tour for a few days. They came back once the tour was over, John ended up leaving me, Zack and I slept together, then he pretty much begged me to go on a date with him so he could show me that he wanted to be with me and he wanted us to work. Once I thought things were starting to go good, they all just packed up and went back home."

"Oh... Oh wow. I can't believe I was stupid enough to believe they were doing an extended tour! I always had a feeling this would happen though. Zack would never cheat on me, unless it was with you. The one that got away." She sighed.

"What do you mean?" I asked, raising an eyebrow. "And I'm sorry, Gena. I really am. If I would've known you two were together, I never would have-"

"Hey, it's not right, but it's okay. But what I mean is," She paused long enough to silence her phone. "He never stopped loving you. He pretended like he was over you and completely fine with it all, but he's been a wreck since you left and I was just the one to try to put him back together. I never stood a chance against you. That's why I was so goddamn hateful towards you back then. You've always been such a sweet, and beautiful, and charismatic person and I envied you more than anything."

"What?" I asked, completely shocked. "You were jealous of me? I don't understand why. I was just a stupid 19 year old kid who had no clue what she was getting into. I mean, do you not remember when I beat you up in the parking lot? Why would you be jealous of someone that immature?"

"Uh, no. I think you mean to say that I'm the immature one. You never would've hit me if I hadn't provoked you and told you Zack was cheating. It was a stupid lie and I felt terrible when I found out you and your friend actually got it put on your record. He never really forgave me for it. And he blamed me for you leaving, like I actually had something to do with it. But the more I get to know you and all, I can see why he's head over heels for you, Marissa."

I gave her a smile since I wasn't quite sure what to say. Her eyes lit up and she wiggled her eyebrows, obviously trying to tell me something. Just as her eyes darted behind me, I felt someone stop beside me. I knew it had to be Kelsey and my palms started to sweat again.

"So, Marissa. I thought you told me you didn't have a girlfriend." She joked, letting out a small laugh before eyeing up Gena.

"Oh, oh. No, I don't. This isn't my girlfriend, this is Gena. She's my daughter's father's girlfriend. Just having a friendly lunch. Ya know, as friends."

"Ex-girlfriend, actually." Gena grinned, extending her hand for the orange haired beauty to shake. "Gena Paulhus, pleasure to meet you."

Throughout the entire meal, Kelsey kept coming over to "check" on us, but ended up flirting with me. I was flattered, honestly, but I didn't think it was a good time to jump into something. I had Mel to worry about. I had Zack to worry about. I didn't need to bring someone else into this mess I was dealing with.

After we finished and paid the bill, Gena had her sister come pick her up from the restaurant and I made the short walk back to my hotel room. I was not looking forward to checking my phone, cause I knew I had tons of missed calls and unread texts. Upon picking my phone up, I saw over 100 missed calls and only a handful of texts from Sharon. My heart sank as I read them and I immediately called the one person I knew could help me.

"Hello?"

"John? It's Marissa, look I need you to do me a big favor. I'm in California and Sharon was supposed to watch Melody until I got back tomorrow, but Joe's father had a heart attack, and she can't keep Mel. I'll be on my way, but it'll take me hours to get home. She's already tried to call Ainslee, Lauren, and Kenton, and I just- I didn't know who else to call." I cried, tossing all my stuff into my suitcase.

"Hey, hey. Say no more, Rissy. You know I'd be more than glad to help out. I can watch the little squirt for a day. Let Sharon know I'm on my way, okay?"

I thanked him a few times before hanging up to finish packing my stuff. It was time for me to get the hell out of California, and never come back. Just as I was zipping up my suitcase, there was a knock on the door. I didn't look to see who it was, though I should have, and opened the door to see all the guys standing there with bloodshot eyes.

"Look, I don't have time for this right now. I've got to get back to Tempe as soon as I can."

"Marissa, just hear us out, okay? Please? Is Melody okay? Is that why you have to leave?" Matt asked, stepping in the room.

"No, I'm not gonna hear you out! Every single one of you lied to my face, you let me fall for him again." I glared, pulling the suitcase off the bed. "Yes, Mel's fine. Not that it's any of your concern, but Joe's dad had a heart attack, so John's doing me the favor of watching her until I can get home."

"What the fuck?" Zacky piped up from outside. "You left our daughter with him? Mari, what were you thinking?"

"I didn't leave her with him, thank you very much. Sharon was watching her, and now she can't. Ainslee, Kenton, and Lauren are all MIA so I had no other choice. If you don't mind, I'm gonna go check out so I can leave California. For good."

"Just stop for a goddamn minute, Marissa!" Jimmy yelled, tears running down your face. "We fucked up and we know that, okay? Zacky was going to break up with Gena when we got back home, it just took a little longer than expected. That's why we were all at Matt's today, so he could tell her and have us there in case she tried to do something."

"That's not the problem, Jimmy. The problem is the fact we had sex, lots of sex, while they were still together! He didn't even act like Gena was back home, waiting on him. That's what doesn't fly with me. I really have to go though. Give me my space, I'll call when I'm ready to see you, any of you."

"What about Melody...?" He asked, following me towards the hotel lobby. "You told me you'd never keep her away from me. I don't know what to do without her, Rissy."

"I might have overreacted when it came to that." I sighed and looked back at all the heart broken guys. "I'm mad at Zack, I shouldn't punish you guys for his stupidity. I'll get her to call when I make it home, okay?"

Jimmy didn't answer, he just wrapped his long arms around me and let out a very unmanly sob. I wrapped my arms around him and soon I felt everyone surround us in a giant hug. Everyone except me had tears running down their faces and it made me realize just how much they adored Mel. I gave them one last hug before going to check out. Once my bill was paid, I made my way to my car and saw Zack leaning against the hood, with his hands in his pocket.

"Baker, get off my car." I groaned, unlocking the doors. "You're gonna put a dent in it and I really don't have time for this right now."

He didn't say a word as he got up and closed the distance between us. Ignoring the evil looks I was giving him, he pressed his lips firmly against mine. I pulled away and slapped him across the face, and he just grinned like an idiot.

"So worth it." He laughed, pulling me in for another kiss.