Fight For Love

Part 24

(Paul POV)

Paul put the pad of paper down on the table and grabbed the acoustic guitar sitting next to the mixing board. Strumming the melody that came to his head, as he sang the lyrics out loud, feeling a small grin pull at his lips. The singer continued to arrange the song as Eric and Gene came walking through the door, holding a fast food bag and a coke out to him. Paul pointed at the table, not wanting to lose the idea he had by taking a slight break.

"Please tell me that's not another ballad," Gene said

"Actually, it's not. Read those lyrics, and help me figure out some more guitar parts," Paul replied, throwing the notepad on the table.

The singer opened the bag of food, pulling out the burger and fries, and dug in as he tried to hide his amusement as he watched his bandmate. Gene read the paper slowly and nodded his head like he was hearing the same melodies as the lyrics. After a few minutes, the bassist looked up at the singer with an enormous smile on his face, giving Paul a sense of accomplishment after the disastrous conversation with his ex. The sound of the phone made the guitarist's excitement quickly disappear, and he looked over at Eric, pointing at the wall.

"It's your turn to answer that fucking thing. Chaos only happens when I do it, and if it's my ex, take a message, please," Paul said, turning back to Gene.

"Gene, you answer it." Eric said.

"No, Eric, you do it! If it's Y/N and Gene answers it, my life is going to become more difficult. Gene, let's go see if we can work on some arrangements," the singer replied, getting up from the couch.

"Good point," The drummer said

The two men walked into the booth and grabbed their instruments, going to work on Paul's new song. The singer looked up from his guitar, seeing Eric nod his head to look at Paul in the booth, with a concerned look on his face. Paul caught the drummer's attention and motioned for him to hang up the phone, assuming the call was from Pam trying to continue the fight. Gene looked over at the younger man with a raised eyebrow, confused by the interaction between the other two men. The sound of the intercom crackling made both men put their guitars down, annoyed.

"Paul, you need to call Y/N, she's upset over something and has been trying to call over here." Eric said.

"She's pregnant, there's always going to be some emotional crisis." Gene replied.

"Did she give any more details, Eric? I've been in the studio the whole time and have gotten no calls." Paul said, glaring at the bassist.

"Just that you needed to call her." the drummer replied.

"Fucking Christ! I have a fucking album to do, and the women in my life can't just leave me alone for an afternoon," the singer yelled.

Paul walked into the mixing room and pointed for the drummer to get out, ignoring the mumbling under the man's voice when he walked out of the room. The guitarist ran a hand through his hair, trying to check his emotions before he went and picked up the phone, not wanting to upset you or put any stress on the baby, but he was over the bullshit for the day. Paul punched in the digits to his house and waited for you to pick up.

"Hello?" You asked.

"What's going on, Y/N, Eric said it was super important for me to call," Paul replied.

"I've been trying to call since Pam picked up Evan. He told her about the baby and she's pissed." You said.

Paul looked over, seeing his bandmates looking over at him, making the pressure building up in him like lava in a volcano. The singer pulled the cord of the phone with him and opened the coat closet, shutting the door behind him. Paul heard you crying slightly on the other line, sending him over the edge.

"You realize I'm working, right? You didn't need to call to tell me that Pam is pissed. She is always mad about something. If there was no physical altercation and my son's safety wasn't in jeopardy. Why call me to be dramatic on a simple engagement?" Paul snapped.

"You told me to call you if there was a problem!" You yelled.

"YES, A PROBLEM Y/N! YOUR FEELINGS GETTING HURT DOESN'T COUNT IN THIS MOMENT! YOU WANTED TO BE IN THIS WITH ME, THEN YOU'RE GOING TO HAVE TO GET TOUGHER SKIN WHEN DEALING WITH HER!" Paul yelled into you.

"FUCK YOU, PAUL, NEXT TIME TAKE CARE OF YOUR SON YOURSELF!" You snapped and hung up the phone.

"Goddamn it!" the singer said, opening the door.

Paul hung the phone up on the base and went to walk back to the booth. He looked over his shoulder just as he opened the door at the device on the wall. The singer stormed back over to the small area and took the phone back off the hook and left it dangling on the floor. He hoped that would solve the drama, at least until Paul got back home. Paul walked out to his bandmates, finding Bruce in the booth with the other two, all of them looking at the singer as though they were scared.

"Dude, is everything okay?" Eric asked.

"Eric, I know you care about my family, but right now I wouldn't say a damn word about her or anything that doesn't pertain to this song or album. Got it?" Paul replied.

The singer looked at the drummer and waited for him to pop off something before his eyes shifted to Gene, knowing the man had a list of things he wanted to say about you. Especially with you calling Paul at the studio and being glued to his hip. To Paul's surprise, Eric moved to his drum kit while Gene turned to Bruce and picked up his bass again.

"Alright Bruce, show Paul that lick you came up with. Paul, I think it will fit well with what we came up with," Gene said.

Paul stood with his arms crossed in front of his chest, watching as Bruce took a deep breath and started playing the lead part he had come up with. The singer nodded his head at the tune, glancing over at Gene, mirroring the same grin as him.

----------------------------------------------------

(Reader POV)

You slammed the phone down and felt yourself tremble from the anger that was pulsing through your veins. Paul hadn't talked to you in that way since the breakup in Oklahoma You wiped away the few drops of tears sliding down your face, unsure of what to do since you had no friends in the city except for the few guys in the band, and definitely no one back at home you could reach out to for some type of comfort.

"Well, I guess my feelings only matter if it benefits him. Just like Mom and Jake." you sighed.

You grabbed your water off of the counter, taking a few small sips to calm your nerves down. Walking toward the patio door, the sunset caught your eyes, bringing a smile to your face as memories came swimming in of trips to your hide out back home with your dad, taking pictures of nature. It was the one way you could cope with the physical pain your mom had inflicted on you. You walked toward the singer's office and searched for your camera, wanting to snap the photos before the sun faded away. Scanning the small room, you found the bag on Paul's desk next to the brochure from the camera store.

"He really won't let it go over the stupid new camera bag," You said, annoyed.

Opening the bag to check that you had everything, two receipts for it that caught your eyes stopping your tracks. A receipt for a jewelry store and a hotel, with three different dates and times jotted on it, including this evening after Paul left the studio. The total cost of whatever the singer purchased had more zeros behind it than anything you had ever seen in your life. You held both pieces of paper in your hands, looking back and forth at each one. Dropping them down on the desk, you leaned back in the chair and put your hand on your stomach, feeling a slight movement.

"Is he buying expensive stuff again because he's guilty of something?" You said, with a sigh.