Two Pieces

Rylee stood barefoot in her kitchen, wearing Matt’s old Metallica shirt and a pair of sleeping shorts. Stephanie had woken her up this morning after a restless night. As much as she wanted to cuss out the red head for waking her up, Steph didn’t know and couldn’t be held accountable. Plus she had respected Rylee’s wishes and gave her time to herself for three days.

“So, the girls’ and I are getting together today. How about you get out the house and join us?”

Rylee didn’t immediately respond to her invitation. Instead she reached into the cabinet and pulled out a jar of peanut butter. Then she took a spoon and scooped out a huge spoonful.

“Please, Rylee! The girls’ haven’t seen you in 5 months.”

With a mouth full of thick peanut butter, she let out an inaudible “I know.” She needed more convincing than that. Yes, it’s been five months since she last saw the Sevenfold lady’s. And while part of her really wanted to catch up with them, the other half would rather laze around the house another day. Or week.

“We could go shopping for the baby. Wouldn’t you like to buy your little girl cute outfits and trinkets?” said Steph, smirking on the other end. She knew bringing the baby into the equation would break down her friends stubborn demeanor.

Rylee slowly took the, now clean, spoon from her mouth and smacked her lips in thought.

Her mood brightened at the thought of shopping for her baby girl. She pictured dressing her in cute little dresses and shoes. It brought a sincere smile to her face.

She dropped the spoon in the sink and took a long drink from her glass of water.

“What time are you guys thinking of going?”

Stephanie smiled triumphantly. “How does two o’ clock sound?”

Rylee checked the clock on her kitchen wall. It was going on noon, which left her plenty of time to get ready.

“Two o’ clock is good. I’ll get ready and then drive over to your place.”

She started making her way up the stairs to her bedroom, thinking of what to wear.

“Awesome! See you then,” said Steph.

Rylee ended the call and dug through her closet. She frowned seeing all the clothes that could no longer fit her. The only clothes that could fit were the maternity clothes she brought back with her from tour.

She pulled out a dark gray top and a pair of blue jeans, along with undergarments from her suitcase.

She started the shower, making sure the water wasn’t scorching hot. Then she got out a set of towels and sat them on top of the sink.

When she returned back to her room, her phone beeped, indicating a voice mail. She recognized her husband’s number immediately. He must’ve gotten a new phone. She contemplated whether or not to listen to the message. Part of her wanted to hear his voice while Part of her also wanted nothing to do with him at the moment.

Without thinking any further, she pushed the play button.

“Hi, Rylee.” Long pause. “How are you and the baby? I miss you two so much.”

Rylee placed a slightly shaky hand over her mouth. The sound of his melancholy voice gave her mixed emotions.

Sadness. Anger. Regret for leaving.

“I can’t express how sorry I am for everything, baby. I love you so fucking much,” he choked out. “I’ll be home in 3 weeks. Call me sometime. Please?”

When the message ended, Rylee slowly took her hand from her mouth and exhaled deeply. Her thumb hesitated over the call back button.

______

“So he called you with sincere words of sorrow and you didn’t return the call?” asked Jody, Zack’s girlfriend.

They were all sitting in the food court of a Laguna Hills shopping mall, sipping on fruit juice.

“No. I don’t know what to say to him,” said Rylee, defensively.

“I don’t blame you, Ryles,” said Lindsey, Jimmy’s girl.

“So you’re saying that if this was Zack, you’d forgive him without second thought?” Stephanie asked Jodie in a snarky tone.

Jodie flipped back her long blonde hair and huffed. “No. I just think she should give him a call. It might help simmer things a bit.”

Rylee chuckled sarcastically before glaring at the blonde woman.

Jodie backed down and mumbled an apology in return.

“I just need extra convincing from him. I gave in so easily the first time.”

“And that’s fine. Right, ladies?”

They all nodded in agreement, hoping to give their friend a little reassurance.

Once they finished their drinks, they continued shopping. Rylee stopped by a baby boutique. She found herself getting excited all over again, which made the prices seem invisible.

Her daughter will be spoiled, without question.

Before the day was over, her debit card was used and abused. She ended up buying three dresses, two outfits and five onesies from the boutique. Little band tees, shoes and bibs were bought at various other stores. She was officially worn out from walking around most of the day.

She hugged the girls’ goodbye after they helped get the bags into her car. She stopped by the grocery store before going home to put stuff away. She made herself dinner before settling down with chick flicks and a box of tissues for the night.

Back in Virginia Beach, Matt and the guys’ had just finished sound check for their show. They decided to grab a bite to eat at a local bar. They ordered food and a round of Jack and coke to start.

Matt is still melancholy, but participates in daily activities with the guys. After that fight with Jimmy, he decided to get a new phone. He kept his number, of course, but made sure to block Bella’s number. It felt good knowing she couldn’t get back in contact with him.

“So, did you leave Rylee a message,” asked Zack, with a mouth full of chicken sandwich.

Matt flushed down his bite of food with his drink before responding.

“Yeah. But she hasn’t called me back,” Matt sighed and poked at his burger, losing his appetite suddenly.

“Pretty sure I’ve driven her to hate me..”

He noticed the mood shift from his friends and decided to push his feelings to the side to brighten the mood back up.

“Well not exactly hate. It’s just I’m not really expecting her to call or anything.”

He stuffed his mouth with food, pretending like Rylee not calling him back doesn’t affect him, when honestly it does. A lot.

He want’s nothing more than to hear her voice. Even if all he gets is a simple fuck off. He found himself going through Zack’s camera last night, watching videos of her. Seeing her made him smile for the first time in days. But just like his dreams, the videos ended way to soon. It wasn’t enough.

“The fans are kind of upset with last nights show,” said Brian.

“I don’t blame them. Our set list fucking sucked,” said Jimmy, glaring over at Matt.

Matt frowned. He knew it was his fault. He refused to sing Almost Easy, Seize the Day, and Dear God at the last show, which are fan favorites. He usually thought of Rylee when singing those songs. And with everything that’s been going on, those songs are difficult for him to perform.

“Matt, you gotta think about the fans. They pay money to hear those songs live. Remember? We do these tours for them. Without them, we are nothing.”

Matt agreed hesitantly.

“If you won’t do it for the fans, do it for your daughter, man. Pretend she’s out in the audience. You don’t want to let her down, do you?”

For the first time in days, Jimmy spoke to Matt without grimace.

Matt looked over at him with slight amusement. Jimmy always knew how to persuade him. Even when his mother told him not to hangout with jimmy back in second grade. He has always had that affect on people.

“Fine. Put the songs back on the set list.”

The guys’ grinned wide, including Jimmy. They finally found Matt’s weak spot: his daughter.