Golden Roses ★

Part Eleven: Don't Hurt Him

January 3rd 1980. We were already a few years later, years flew by.

It was morning, very early. David and I are inside our beautiful villa. It was wet and cold, a snow shower could be coming.

David lit the wood stove. I sat down on the couch with a mug of hot chocolate milk. "It burns." David sighed and sat down next to me.

Together we watched the wood burn in the stove. David threw a blanket over our legs. "Now we are nice and warm." He said as he crawled closer to me.

"Shouldn't you have performed today?" I asked. David shrugged. "Actually, yes, but I just wanted to be with you today."

When I looked outside light snowflakes flew down. "Look, it's snowing!" I pointed outside. David looked excited, "Finally, that was a long time ago when it last snowed!"

Suddenly there was a knock on the window, we couldn't see who exactly that shoulder belonged to. David got up quietly and walked to the front door.

"Hey, where have you been, huh? You were supposed to be practicing here for your gig for a month. I've been waiting for you all morning!" It was angry Jack, David's manager. Jack hadn't become a sweetheart over the years, he just got meaner and meaner. And why? Because of his drug use which he has been using since 1975.

David was startled by Jack's angry talk, "Jack, listen to me, I want to take it easy with my wife today." David tried to make amends.

"Money has to flow in, dude, everyone wants to sit at home." Jack just started talking angrier. I went to the front door to see what the two men were doing.

David was speechless and focused on the floor. Jack's steam came out of his ears and grabbed David by the throat and pushed him against the wall in the hallway. "Jack don't!" I screamed in panic. Why won't he leave us alone?

"Don't you dare hit me!" David said as he spread his arms. Jack's fist was already pinched. He hit David once on the mouth and then let go of his throat. Jack took a step back, "If I don't see you in the studio tomorrow, your career is over!" Jack walked back to his car.

David's anger broke out, "Mine over? I think yours, moron!" David shouted loudly. I grabbed David by the arm, "Leave him alone, he's already gone." I tried to calm David.

A drop of blood came out of David's mouth, he rubbed it away with his sleeve. "Is everything alright?" I asked. David has been beaten several times by Jack.

"Yeah I'm okay, but that man needs to be fired!" Said David angrily. I closed the front door and walked into the living room with David, "Calm down, honey, we're all going to figure it out tomorrow."

"How? I never want to see him again, he mistreats me! Every time!" David said as he sat down on the couch. I found this to be a tricky situation, and I definitely didn't want David to be beaten any more by that failure.

"We'll find a solution together, please don't worry about this. I'll protect you." I said as I put an arm around David's shoulder. David laid his head on my chest, why always him?

I looked at David's face, "Do you have pain on your lip?" I asked. David shook his head. "It's not that bad, it was quite a blow, wasn't it?"

"I think so, I closed my eyes when he hit you. He shouldn't be doing this!" I said. "Indeed, but Jack has been aggressive for months, he drinks a lot and is quite addicted to drugs." David sighed.