A Helping Hand

Sitting amongst the bubbles, Indy leant her head back and rested it on the porcelain edge, feeling the most relaxed she had felt in the last few months. She had chosen once again to indulge herself in a long bubble bath, enjoying the tub for one last time before she checked out of the room tomorrow morning and flew back to LA.

Like her recording with Avenged, her time with the Raconteurs flew, and not only because they had recorded their album within a week. She had actually gotten along with the band, including Brendan (once he slipped into professional mode), and she had enjoyed the free-style of recording they adopted for the album. She hadn’t contributed too much, not wanting to build too many layers into their unique sound, and happily watched them as a unit as they worked out song after song together. She had shared time with them all, accompanying Patrick on cigarette breaks, cooking dinners with LJ for the band, and she had even shared an evening with Jack White, discussing everything and anything she could think to ask him. It had been wonderful.

Brendan, on the other hand, was a little more complex. He had kept his word and had behaved professionally while recording, Indy putting it down to his focus on the music, but once recording had ceased for the day he had a tendency to either disappear immediately or clinging to Indy’s side. It made Indy anxious, unsure of what he was expecting of her while he was invading her cooking time with LJ, or sitting next to her while they all chatted in the living area after a meal. Indy hadn’t had a chance to speak privately with him since her first day in Michigan, everytime she had asked something had miraculously saved Brendan from agreeing. She felt like a weight was lifted from her shoulders when Jack had declared the album completed this afternoon, only a few more vocal takes to go, and Indy was relieved of duty.

On her way back to the hotel, she had changed her flight, bumping it from two weeks until tomorrow, and had called her dad to let him know she would be home and able to collect her fur babies. All there was left to do was enjoy her last night in the luxury tub and check out tomorrow morning. Easy.

Breaking her reverie, her phone rang. Indy opened her eyes, looking down beside the bath and looking at the caller ID. With a smile, she reached out, wiped her hand dry on the towel her phone was resting on, and answered the call.

“Long time, no speak,” she said as a greeting, settling back down in the water.

“I miss you,” a voice sung back to her. Indy stifled a laugh as she tried to ignore the background noise as Jimmy continued to speak. “Come back from bum-fuck nowhere and party with us again! I want to see the babies! Winston needs me!”

“Having a fun evening, Jimmy-jam?” Indy asked sarcastically, picking up his level of intoxication from the amount of slurring and lisping in his words.

“It's amazing! You should be here! They took my phone, but it is ok, I stole Zacky’s instead. I knew he would have your number!”

“Why did they steal your phone, Jim?”

Jimmy’s maniacal laughter flowed through the speaker, making Indy smile widely at his infectious happiness.

“Johnny took it from me because I broke his. I threw it in the toilet and -”

“Ok hon, I get the picture,” Indy interrupted, not wanting to know whatever else the Rev had done to poor Johnny’s phone. “How’s the party?”

“It’s awesome!! Shadz threw it for us. Well, we showed up and invited everyone along, and now it’s a party! Even your dad is here, Indy! Mudrock made it to the fucking party! Why aren’t you here?”

“I’m a little far away for that, but I promise to make it to the next one,” she told him.

There was a scuffle over the phone, and she had barely finished her sentence before there was a wind noise down the phone. In the distance she could hear some shouting, and it wasn’t long before Jimmy piped up, his voice still loud enough for Indy to hear even though it was not near the receiver.

“No! It’s my turn! I’m talking on the phone, Zachary!”

“... you fuck! Give it to me, asshole!”

Indy was only able to hear the second half on the conversation clearly, Zacky clearly catching on to Jimmy.

“No, I am not done!”

“Jimmy, give me my phone.”

“Never! If you want it, you need to come get it, shorty!”

“You’re such a dick! Who the fuck are you speaking to, anyway?”

There was another scuffle, and Indy laughed. She could only imagine what was happening now, Jimmy holding the phone above his head, his long limbs taking it out of Zacky’s reach.

“Miss Indy, if you must know. I miss her! Come back home, Indy!” He called out, the volume of his words increasing as he must have returned the phone to his face while speaking to Indy.

“I will be home tomorrow, giant,” she replied, hoping he could hear her.

“Tomorrow?! For real?” He asked, his voice full of excitement. The background fighting noise had stopped, and Indy gathered that Jimmy had either used his other hand to stop Zacky, or Zacky had given up.

“Yes, tomorrow,” she assured him.

“YAY!” he replied, and in an instant, the call hung up.

Indy looked at the phone in her hand, making sure that the call had actually ended. It had. Jimmy had hung up on her. She laughed once again at her giant friend, feeling warm and fuzzy inside that he had made the effort to call her, even in his inebriated state, and clearly missed her presence at their get-togethers.

Not a full minute passed between her call with Jimmy and her ringtone once again breaking the silence of the bathroom. Indy grinned, seeing the caller ID once again read Zacky.

“It’s rude to hang up on people, Jim-Jam,” she said into the receiver.

“Not as rude as stealing someones phone and making calls on it,” Zacky replied with a laugh.

“You beat the giant?” Indy asked, giggling at Zacky’s remark. It was a happy surprise to hear his voice on the other end.

“He gave in, and is now running around the yard and screaming about you, listen,” he told her, holding the phone out so Indy could faintly pick up Jimmy’s voice yelling out ‘She’s back! She’s back!’ over and over.

“Please apologise to Matt and Val for me. Their neighbours are going to hate them,” she said, sighing happily.

“Is it true, are you back?” Zacky asked her, and she would have to be deaf not to hear the hope in his voice. It made Indy blush, even though he couldn’t see her reaction.

“I will be tomorrow,” she corrected, subconsciously swirling her fingertips over the top of the water. “The recording is all but complete, so I am free to leave.”

“That’s the best news I have heard in a long time,” he replied, the hope that was once in his voice turning to excitement.

“I’m not complaining,” she said, grinning.

“Hang on a sec, I am just going to move somewhere a little quieter, so there is no screaming Jimmy interrupting again,” Zacky told her, and as he was speaking, she could hear a sliding door open and close.

“Sounds good,” Indy replied, once again running her fingers through the water. “So, how has your week been? How's the album?”

“It’s been good,” Zacky replied. “Album is still being mixed, Matt has needed to do a few more vocals, just adding harmonies and shit like that. I can’t wait for you to hear it, you will barely recognise some songs!”

“I can’t wait, either,” she replied, smiling once more. His excitement was contagious. “Hang on a sec, you don’t sound drunk.”

“I haven’t been drinking that much. Still on painkillers,” he replied with a small sigh. He had made the mistake of mixing heavy drinking and the painkillers the week prior and it had ended in one of the worst hangovers of his life so far. It was definitely not worth the pain the next day. “But on the bright side, I have another appointment this week with the doc, so fingers crossed it’s good news.”

“Really? My fingers and toes are crossed for you,” Indy replied earnestly, eager on his behalf for the cast removal. The background noise had now all but ceased and she heard a small ‘hmph’ from Zacky as he sat down. “Finally find some solitude?”

“Yeah, just in the guest bedroom, away from the chaos,” he replied. “Are you enjoying your final night in the Arctic?”

“It’s not that bad! It got to 40 degrees today,” she laughed. Though the weather wasn’t as freezing as Zacky was teasing, she was still excited to get back to the warmer Cali weather. “But I am enjoying my final bath in the most beautiful tub in the world. The water is helping me thaw out.”

There was a pause once Indy had finished speaking, and she had to take the phone away from her ear to make sure the call was still in progress.

“Zacky? Are you still there?” She asked, concerned that the steam had gotten to her phone and caused it to fail on her.

“Yeah,” he choked out. “Just recovering.”

“Recovering?” Indy asked, naively.

“Recovering,” he confirmed, having to take a deep breath before continuing. “When a beautiful woman tells you that she is currently relaxing in a steaming hot bath, all rational thoughts leave your mind for a while.”

“Oh,” Indy replied, finally understanding where Zacky was coming from. Once more, her face flushed. “Sorry, I didn’t really think.”

“Believe me, there is absolutely nothing to be sorry about,” he replied, chuckling slightly. Indy flushed further, glad that he wasn’t there to see her beet red face. If she was honest with herself, she wasn’t really glad he wasn’t here...

“Should we change the subject, then?” Indy asked, not sure if she could continue down the flirty road they were heading.

“Probably a good idea,” Zacky replied. Even though he was now in private, he thought better than to get worked up at the thoughts of a naked Indy surrounded by bubbles.

“Sorry I haven’t been able to talk much, it’s been so busy here,” Indy said, trying to think of a new topic.

“Hey, it’s ok. I understand,” Zacky reassured her. “You must have been doing some crazy days.”

“You have no idea,” Indy said, letting her head fall back against the tub again and relaxed. “I think our record was about 17 hours. Jack just kept pushing so it could all be recorded as fast as possible to keep the ‘live energy’, as he put it.”

“But it was amazing, right?”

“Phenomenal,” she answered. Indy smiled widely, her mind going over the highlights of the past week.

Zacky couldn’t help a streak of jealousy cross through his mind. Half of him was ecstatic for Indy, glad she had such an amazing time furthering her career and making new connections. The other half was riddled with anxiety over the knowledge that her ex was there the entire time, something he couldn’t discuss with Indy or she would know he had eavesdropped on her private conversation with Val. He was soothing his mind with the thought that if she hadn’t mentioned him, it meant nothing had transpired between them, right?

“You told me all about Jack White, but how were the other band members? You didn’t really say much in your texts,” Zacky asked, finally figuring out a way to potentially get some more information from Indy.

“They are all amazingly talented musicians,” Indy replied. “The drummer, Patrick, is pretty cool. He reminded me a little of Jimmy as he recorded, he just seems to be on another plane, connected with the music in a way that was actually hypnotising.

“LJ, their bassist, was super sweet and he helped me cook a lot. He is a man of very few words, I think it was 3 days before I actually heard his voice, but when we were cooking, he would come out of his shell. He has this gorgeous upright bass he plays in a few songs, and the sounds it creates are just so rich and luxurious. Jack White was just this insane music genius. I really could talk about his guitars alone for days.”

“You already have,” Zacky interjected with a laugh. There was no jealousy in him as she was describing the Raconteurs as he could sense her admiration for the guys came from their passion for music.

“The studio, and I say studio loosely, was actually at the other guitarists house,” Indy said, Zackys interest perking up, eagerly awaiting to hear what Indy would say about her ex.

Indy’s train of thought broke when she heard a knock on the door of her room. It was only faint as the sound had to travel through to the bathroom, but it was still audible enough that Indy furrowed her brows and stopped her conversation.

“At his house, hey?” Zacky asked, trying to urge Indy to continue speaking. He was unsure why she had left such a long pause after her last words, and thought if he prodded her, it would help her talk.

“Yeah,” Indy said slowly. The knocking stopped, and Indy sunk down into the bath again, ruling it out as a mistake. Someone must have got the wrong room number. “Yeah, it was. The space was pretty cool though, and there was every mic you could imagine there to use. From SM-57’s to an AKG that Jack had taken apart and halved the polarity to get this insane pick up of only the cabs, even though there was all sorts of sounds battling around. It is a thing of beauty! I wish you could hear it.”

“I wish I could, too,” Zacky replied. He couldn’t help but feel even more enamoured with the woman as she spoke tech nerd. She spoke with such passion that it was hard for Zacky to concentrate on anything else when she was talking.

There was another pause as Indy heard more knocks on her door. This time she made out a muffled ‘Indy’ along with the knocks, and Indy knew she was going to have to at least see who was at her door at 11pm.

“Are you ok? You didn’t drown, right?” Zacky asked, trying to get Indy’s attention once again. He sighed, unsure of what could be distracting her this time. He heard the splashing of water as he was speaking, making his brows furrow.

“Huh? I’m ok, just hopping out of the bath,” she replied, doing just that. She stepped onto the bathmat and grabbed a towel. Resting the phone between her ear and her shoulder, she wrapped it around herself, and grabbed a bathrobe to wrap around that.

“Uh huh,” Zacky replied, his mind once again wandering because of Indy’s words.

“Are you ok?” Indy asked, emphasising the you to turn the question back on him. Once again, she was unaware on where Zacky’s mind had wandered.

“I’m more than ok,” he replied, a little breathless. He had to get his mind away from the image of Indy slowly getting out of the tub, water cascading off her body… “We need to change topic again.”

“Again?” She asked, distracted by the knocking that had once more resonated the hotel suite.

“It isn’t my fault! You’re the one saying these things,” he defended, letting himself fall back on the bed he had sat upon.

“You have a filthy mind, Mr. Vengeance,” she replied, finally understanding why he had requested the subject change. There was a part of her that was enjoying this torture.

“You have no idea,” he replied cheekily. He couldn’t help how the words flew from his lips. What he would do to share these thoughts with her.

Indy moved from the bathroom and into the main room of the suite, walking towards the now silent door. As she approached, the knocks started once more, breaking Zacky from his thoughts and making him shoot back into a sitting position.

“What was that?” He asked, his voice sharp.

“Someone is at the door,” she replied, her voice sounding as curious as she felt. Zacky relaxed slightly upon hearing the tone, knowing she had not planned for whatever was interrupting their conversation. It had been the first proper conversation they had shared since before Indy left, everything else only being a quick call, or a barrage of text messages.

Finally reaching the door, Indy looked through the peephole and accidentally dropped the phone to the floor. Of course it was Brendan. Why would it not be Brendan? She had thought his farewell to her this afternoon had been far too easy, but counted it as a blessing and went on her way. Clearly, she had been wrong.

“Indy!” He called out from the other side of the door.

Flushing with embarrassment, Indy swung the door open, silencing the man that swayed in front of her. If she could hear him all the way in the bathroom, no doubt anyone else that was currently occupying this floor could also hear him.

“What the fuck?” She asked harshly. She had all but forgotten that Zacky was on the phone, the call not ended.

“Don’t leave,” Brendan said, looking at Indy with pleading eyes. She was taken aback by the vulnerable side he was showing her.

“What?” Indy asked, her tone a lot softer.

“Please don’t leave. I can’t lose you to LA again,” he pleaded, taking a step forward so he was close enough for Indy to smell the whiskey on his breath.

“LA is my home,” she replied simply.

“No, your home is here, with me,” he insisted.

Knowing this was not going to be a quick conversation, Indy ushered him inside the hotel suite, not wanting to cause any more noise in the hallways that had already listen to him scream out her name.

“It may have been once, but it isn’t anymore. It hasn’t been for a long time,” she told him, shutting the door and leaning against the wall with her arms crossed.

“But it can be!” He said loudly, trying to take one of Indy’s hands in his. He missed, his depth perception way off.

“No, it can’t,” she said firmly.

“Tell me you didn’t feel what I felt over the last week, Indy! Tell me you didn’t feel that connection we have, the bond we share when we write together,” he challenged. It was true, they did have a weird musical connection that Indy could not refuse to admit. With a softer tone, he continued, not waiting for Indy’s answer. “Tell me you felt nothing when I kissed you.”

He took yet another step closer to Indy, now close enough that mere inches separated their lips. With a jagged breath, Indy stepped away.

“Brendan,” she started, trying to think of the best way to let him down. “I did feel that connection, I can’t lie to you.”

“Then stay!” He interrupted, happiness radiating from him as she admitted her truth. “We can get your stuff shipped here, Andrew will help, I’m sure. He always loved me.”

“Leave Dad out of this,” she warned, not happy he would bring her father into this mess he had created in his head. “He stopped liking you the first time I cried over you.”

“You cried over me?” Brendan asked, his tone turning sombre.

“Of course I did. You were my all,” Indy admitted.

“Indy,” he whispered, taking another step closer and put his palm on her cheek, caressing her lightly.

“Brendan, stop,” Indy told him, not falling for his actions again.

“But,” he started.

“I mean it, stop,” she said forcefully, taking another step away from him, trying to create some distance. He tried to follow, stumbling slightly.

“Don’t run from me,” he sighed.

“I’m not having this conversation again, Brendan,” she told him, suddenly exhausted. “You need to leave.”

“Why? Don’t push me away.”

“Brendan, you’re drunk,” she told him, pointing out the obvious. “You aren’t even going to remember any of this tomorrow.”

“I will. I can never forget a moment with you.”

“Then you will remember the moment you walked away,” she said, pressing her fingers to her temple and massaging. “It’s too late, Brendan. You are two years too late.”

“But we were going to fix it,” he said, repeating his words from exactly a week ago as he left this very room full of hope for the future. “You were meant to be here for weeks, and we were meant to fall in love again.”

“It wasn’t going to happen, Brendan. I told you that I didn’t love you anymore,” she reminded him, kicking herself that she hadn’t had the chance to say this any earlier. She took no relish in causing him pain.

“But you could fall in love with me again. I have changed, Indy! I know we could make it work this time,” he pleaded, once more stepping towards her.

“No,” she told him firmly. How was she going to get him to understand?

“Please? One chance, Indy,” he asked, taking another step and managing to finally grasp her hands. She quickly shook him off, putting yet more distance between them.

“You have already had your chance,” she said. “It is time to take the chance on someone else.”

“You will never have this connection again, Indy! You will never have what we share,” he warned her.

“No, but we have something else pretty special,” she admitted, trying to stop herself from blushing at the words that came from her mouth.

“It won’t be the same,” he said, starting to get angry. “Nothing will be as good as we were.”

“It won’t be the same, because this actually has a chance of lasting!” She spat back. Taking a calming breath, Indy looked at Brendan, seeing the underlying disappointment on his face. “Look, I am going to call one of the boys to come and pick you up. You need to leave.”

“Don’t go tomorrow!” He shouted, trying again to get her to stay. Why had nothing worked?

“You are drunk, you need to go,” she told him, not taking no for an answer. She looked down, seeing her phone on the floor.

Her stomach sank, realising there was a call in process. Zacky had heard every word. Fuck. She cautiously raised the phone to her ear, listening to see if he was still on the line. She heard his breathing, telling her enough to make her heart flutter with anxiety.

“I will explain,” she said quietly into the receiver, her voice quivering.

Without waiting for an answer, she hung up the call, cringing as she did so. For those brief seconds, she forgot Brendan was watching her every move. Even his whiskey addled brain understood what had happened.

“That was him, right? Your new man?” He asked her for confirmation. Indy gave him a tiny nod, her attention on her phone as she scrolled through her contacts for Patrick’s number. He was usually a night-owl, so she hoped he would answer her call to pick up his bandmate. Brendan angrily scoffed. “I’ll wait outside.”

Indy moved to stop him leaving the suite but thought better of it. He couldn’t injure himself out there, so there was no reason for her to chase after him. It wasn’t her job anymore. Though there would always be a piece of her that cared for him, this week had cemented the fact that she could move on without him. She could actually give Zacky a proper chance, even if he was a musician.

Indy dialled the number as Brendan slammed the door.