Söbriety • Mötley Crüe •

21. Horror Movies

Warnings: Assault & Violence

Ryan's POV

"This is fucking beautiful." I say through a sob and I grip the headphones, as if shoving them onto my ears harder could help me hear better.

The Without You demo is complete, and I would be lying if I said it wasn't perfect. I know Bob will make it even better with his meticulous final touches later on. I am in awe of him every time I'm around him. He takes such pride in his work and does everything he can to make sure every single sound is what it needs to be to make a better bigger picture. He's also sweet and asks my opinion on things, perturbing Doc.

The song ends but I don't want to take the headphones off, replaying it in my brain one more time. A warm feeling falls over me, thinking of my dad smiling down from wherever the hell he ended up. He would get a kick out of these hard ass rock Gods making a power ballad out of his old song.

"You like it?" Nikki slips the headphones off of my head.

"I love it."

"It is pretty fuckin tight." Vince adds.

"Your dad would be proud of you, kid." Mick's comment causes more tears to fall and I can't contain my emotions. I wrap my arms around him in an attempt to give him a hug.

"Okay. Yep, that's good. That's enough." He slaps my arms away but I see a hint of smile in his eyes. He has a soft heart beneath all the tough exterior, if he didn't then he wouldn't have made this song with me.

"What the fuck is this?" Doc barges in the room waving something around in his hand, but he's thrashing so hard that I can't make out what it is. He slams the object on the table and we slowly congregate around it.

"Oh shit, it's from the other night. That sleaze ball paparazzi." Vince picks up the magazine and I reach over the table and rip it out of his hands, my heart thumping in my chest.

Mötley Crüe and Steven Tyler Get Cozy With Vancouver Night Life

I scoff, flipping to the pages inside to see a spread full of pictures of us, my chest visibly heaving. I let out a deep breath when my face is covered by Nikki's arm in all of them. Nobody would've recognized me anyway with Sharise's makeover she gave me. I laugh at myself for getting so anxious and I throw the magazine back on the table.

"That was rude." Vince points at me.

"Sorry." I give him a crooked smile, and Nikki grabs my arm to pull me out of the room into the recording booth.  He motions for me to sit in a stool and I've worried I've angered him, so I oblige and sit down like a scorned child.

"What was that?" He points at the control room and I hang my head in embarrassment. "You lost your shit there for a second. In front of everyone."

"I was worried you could see my face in those pictures, Nik." I try to explain but his face still shows signs of confusion. until I can see the light bulb go off and his shoulders relax onto his sides.

"Kelsey." He lets out and I nod softly, looking at the floor. He comes and sits next to me, grabbing my hand and putting his face into it. "You know I would never let anyone hurt you, right?" I smile and kiss his forehead.

"I know she's gonna find me eventually. I just want to give her time to get over her anger before she does." He nods in agreement.

"Would you mind staying for a while? I still need your help on She Goes Down." The name of that damn song will never fail to make me laugh, and my laughter will never fail to make Nikki roll his eyes.