Fighting Fire - s.k.

Chapter Two

Stevie ended up staying the night with them and she woke up next to Ronnie in her bed, thankful to be wearing pajamas and that her makeup was off. She squinted at the light shining in through the openings of the blinds and when she moved, a sharp pain made itself known on her butt where she fell after jumping off that guy's back last night and she groaned.

Stevie looked over and laughed quietly at the sight of Ronnie with her hair over her face and her mouth wide open. She stretched herself out again and decided to move off the bed slowly and very quietly and stand up. She knew that she could probably start playing the drums and Ronnie would still be asleep, but the eerily quiet room made her feel like she had to be silent.

Stevie slipped out of the room and closed the door quickly, letting the breath she was holding out through her nose. When she turned the corner of the hallway into the living room, she saw Sam, still asleep on the couch in the same position that they left him in last night. Except now he was wrapped up in a blanket with his dog, Rose, curled up at his feet and there was a bottle of water, a small trashcan, and a sleeve of crackers on the floor beside the couch.

Stevie smiled to herself, knowing that was Josh's doing and she kept walking through the living room, looking out the back door to find Josh and Jake sitting on their back patio talking tensely to each other. She took a deep breath before sliding the door open and closed, joining them out back.

"Good morning," Stevie spoke softly, knowing she was coming into a rough conversation.

Josh pulled together a sweet smile for her and nodded, "Good morning, Stevie."

He took a sip of his tea and sat down on a patio chair, "How are you feeling?"

She nodded and walked over to a chair across from him and sat down, "I'm fine. I was pretty sobered up by the time we got back last night."

"Thanks for dealing with Sam," Jake sighed and sat back in his chair, "I should have taken over for you."

Stevie shook her head and chuckled, "It's fine. It's not like I haven't dealt with him before."

The twins both shared somber expressions and looked back at Stevie and she raised her eyebrows in question, "So... are you guys finally gonna tell me what is happening here? Ya know, he almost got his ass beat last night."

"What?" Josh asked, "Almost?"

"Yeah, I mean, I kind of jumped on the guy's back and clawed at his face, and then he left him alone," Stevie explained, avoiding eye contact with the twins.

Jake laughed, "You what?"

"Ya know," Stevie sighed, "I know you guys came back because of him, and being in the dark about it is really stressing me out."

Josh takes a large drink of his tea, finishing the mug and setting it on the patio table before running a hand along his jawline, "Well, it's sort of a long story."

Jake scoffed, "It's not very long at all. Sam just went too far, and it got dangerous, so we postponed the tour to get him to take a break."

"What do you mean he went too far?" Stevie pressed and Josh sighed, "It's really not something Jake and I can explain."

Jake leaned forward and rested his elbows on his knees, "At our last show," he began but Josh cut him off harshly, "Jake."

Jake glanced at his brother and gestured his hand to Stevie, "It's Stevie, Josh. She's family."

Josh looked at Stevie and he sat back in the patio chair, taking a deep breath and looking up at the sky. Stevie looked back at Jake, and he continued speaking, "At our last show, Sam had been acting strange the whole day. He didn't really come out of the green room until we took the stage and even then, I could tell something was wrong."