Russian Roulette

Part 22

A Week Later

(Joe POV)

The guitarist paced up and down the waiting room of the hospital, holding a bouquet of roses in his hands. He was trying to work up the nerve to ask the nurse at the desk for your room number when Joe saw Paul and Gene come walking out of a room looking very somber. The Aerosmith guitarist took a deep breath and shoved one hand in his pocket before walking over to the two men.

Paul spotted the guitarist first and before Joe could open his mouth or Gene could grab the singer, The younger man sprinted down the hallway and tackled the other guitarist to the ground. Joe threw the flowers to the ground as he hit the tile floor with a thud. Paul immediately started throwing right and left hooks, connecting with Joe's face repeatedly. The Aerosmith guitarist tried his best to protect himself. Gene wrapped his arms around his best friend's waist and pulled him off.

"What the fuck, Paul?" Gene asked

"You put her in a coma and then think roses are going to make it all better? Why don't you go back and continue fucking your singer, you fucking junkie!" Paul screamed..

"I just wanted to check on her. It's been a week and I haven't heard anything. I'm a worried mess. I didnt know she was going to do the entire line on the dresser. Man, you have to believe me. Everything happened so fast. She was with you and then she was back catching me and Steven..." Joe trailed off

"Why keep up with the games, Joe? You know I care for her and I can give her what you never could. Just go in there and say your goodbyes and leave or better yet go back to the hotel and continue to let KISS clean up your messes," the lead singer screamed

"Okay, you two, let's have some breathing room. Paul, you take a walk, maybe go shower because you've been here for days. Let Joe have a few minutes with her. I promise I'll stay with them the whole time. You will be the first to know if something changes in Y/N," Gene said, pushing His band mate down the hall.

Paul flipped both men off before storming down the hallway in his signature eight inch boots. Joe covered his mouth to stop himself from laughing out loud. He didn't want another blow to the head of the flamboyant singer. Gene turned and looked at the guitarist, making the younger man straighten up. The bassist walked over and put his hands on Joe's shoulders, making the man tense up slowly.

"Do whatever you can to win her back, man. She's causing my bandmate to lose focus and I can't have that. We had a goal and now Paul is seeing marriage and babies, not music and taking over the world. Go in there and get your girl and then do whatever to keep her happy and away from my singer. Do I make myself clear?" Gene said.

"The only way I can do that is if we leave the tour and go back to boston or I ship her back to her parents because she snorting dope again. They said next time they are sending her to a 90 day treatment. Y/N will flip if I do that," Joe replied

Gene shrugged his shoulders and walked off, following the trail his bandmate had left in his wake. Joe shook his head, not sure if he wanted to keep you from Paul now that he and Steven had gotten closer. He wanted to do everything in his power to keep you safe and not going down the same road he was heading. The guitarist took a deep breath and slowly pushed open the door, seeing you lying there with tubes and wires everywhere.

Joe covered his mouth to stop the loud sob from escaping his lips. He fell to his knees and freely sobbed as the door closed behind him, too afraid tonight to take a seat next to you. Gene walked in behind the guitarist and lifted the younger man to his feet. The bassist held joe's arm and pulled him to a chair.

"It's time to be a man and decide what you really want, Joe," gene whispered before closing the door

The guitarist wiped his face and leaned forward and kissed your head before grabbing the phone, dialing the only other set of numbers he knew by heart that weren't his parents