Double update today... :3 this chapter is the shortest in this particular Layne trilogy-arc...
*this chapter was hard for me to write... RIP Kurt Donald Cobain, the voice of a generation... ❤️
Layne and Kurt did know each other. Layne knew him well enough to be devastated by his death, according to many sources (and Layne himself, apparently). While their last meeting is unknown, and the one I wrote in chapter 37 is fictional, I tried my best to make it as accurate as I could make it.
❤️❤️❤️
On to the story...
***
April 4, 1994: Seattle, WA, USA
Today is Mike Starr's birthday.
Layne calls him up. Jokes around with him for a bit... and then Mike asks Layne how he's been.
Layne practically dissolves into the receiver, telling Mike anything and everything. And that means everything.
He tells Mike everything about Sadie, about how Demri kicked him out of the house... and, at long last, he decides to confess to Mike about his affair with Jerry.
Mike is shocked. He thought that the whole article thing was just a rumour- at least, Jerry had said that it wasn't true. Susan (Silver: manager for Alice In Chains) had been trying to file a lawsuit against the publishers for false pretences and for attempting to destroy the reputation of her clients.
Layne tells Mike that the article started this big fight between him and Demri- it played a large part in why he'd been kicked out.
Mike is a surprisingly good listener, barely interrupting Layne at all. He's most interested in the whole Layne-Jerry thing, but he doesn't pry too much into it.
Layne decides, nervously, to ask Mike how Jerry's been doing.
Mike says that Jerry has been incredibly worried about him, more so than anyone else has been... and, well, now he knows why.
"If what you've told me is true... Jerry really loves you, man. He can't stop talking about you. He misses you like crazy. He won't stop asking around, trying to get in touch with you... seriously, can't you just give him a fucking call?"
Layne frowns at Mike's reasoning. "I... I want to... but-"
"But what? Layne, if you really loved him, you wouldn't be putting him through this shit. I've honestly never seen him like this before... he's totally broken up over you."
"Hey, this isn't about him!" Layne shouts angrily into the phone.
"Sure, then who is it about, Staley? You? Demri? Sadie?"
Layne curls his free hand into a fist, his nails digging into his palm as he shuts his eyes. "Happy Birthday, Mike."
"W-"
Layne doesn't give Mike a chance to finish as he hangs up on him, head in his hands as a wave of guilt crashes over him.
He wants so desperately to be with Jerry again... God knows he misses him.
But, in some small way... he blames his affair with Jerry for the loss of his daughter.
He doesn't want to blame Jerry, but... a part of him does.
If I hadn't been so inattentive to Demri... if I'd spent less time worrying about Jerry, and more time getting ready to be a father... we never would've lost her...
This truly is all my fault.
***
April 5th, 1994: Seattle, WA, USA
YOU ARE READING
Even Now
Fanfiction**Discontinued :( The year is 1993. Heroin addict Layne Staley of Seattle rock band Alice In Chains has just had the fear of God put into him following a bandmate's overdose. When faced with a simple decision, the butterfly effect comes into play...
