Tied Down

Chapter Seven

 Michael sighed, his phone locking which made the picture of him and Ruby disappear behind a black curtain. He knew where he needed to be and it wasn't on tour with the boys. The thought of Ruby having the baby while he was gone made his heart sick. He was on the tour bus, his bunk feeling small with his feet planted on the back wall. He didn't have the curtain closed, so he could see Ashton, across the small hallway, doing the same thing as him. They were both staring at their phones, pictures of their significant others and families. Luke's giggles were audible from above Michael's bunk, obviously meaning that he was FaceTiming with Zoe. He could see Calum above Ashton, who was snoring quite loudly, even though his curtain was closed. Michael put his phone to the side, then rolled over, facing the wall, then decided trying to get some sleep before the next show would be a good idea. As he slammed his eyes shut, he hoped that he would dream about his girlfriend.

Walking around the now empty-looking condo, Madi sighed and sat on the couch. This isn't how she wanted her first marriage to end. With the band getting more serious again, it was hard to have a family with Ashton and have him be gone so much. She wasn't even sure if Hudson knew that Ashton was his father. That little boy is Ashton's whole life... Could she be that mean to take him away forever? Whether she wanted it or not, Ashton had to be a part of Hudson's life. They weren't going to be that family where the parents are split and the one that had the kid isn't who the kid wants to be with. The cries of her two year old made her snap out whatever she was thinking about. With a groan, she got up to see why her son started screaming.

Izzy has had something on her mind, but she wasn't exactly sure how to bring it up with Calum. The more she thought about it, the more ridiculous it sounded to her. Turning the Kindle onto sleep mode, she stretched to put it on her nightstand.

She woke up the next morning in a cold empty bed. This would have been strange, but since it's been happening for a while, it was practically usual. She called Ruby after her shower, asking if she could come over since she was feeling very lonely. After throwing on some yoga pants and a T-shirt, she drove over to Ruby's apartment. It took her pregnant friend a few minutes to get the door, but the two girls greeted each other with smiles.

"Ru, you look exhausted." Izzy said, walking to the kitchen to make some tea for her friend.

With a sigh, Ruby shuffled over to sit on a bar stool as she watched her friend. "You have no idea how long it takes me to get comfortable with this big stomach..."

So, the girls had their tea, talking about mostly things about the baby. Ruby told Izzy that they know that it's a girl, so Michael and the guys are going to paint the nursery a soft pink when they get back home. Then, Ruby watched as Izzy stared into her cup of tea for a few extra seconds. "What's the real reason you came over, Izzy?"

"You can read me that easy, huh?"

"Of course. We've been friends forever."

A sigh escaped Izzy's almost chapped lips, "I want to marry Calum..."

"So, what's the problem?"

"I don't know if he wants to marry me..."

"Izz, just because the guys left to tour for a few months doesn't mean that they don't love us anymore. Michael hates himself for leaving me like this, but this is something that they need to do. I know that, and you know that. If Calum wants to get married, he'll ask when he's ready." Ruby patted Izzy's knee, trying to calm her down. "Shoot, you could always ask him."

Izzy chuckled, "You know that my parents would flip out if they found out I proposed to him."

"Yeah, I know..."

Michael sighed, staring out towards the empty arena. His guitar strap was digging into his shoulder, but he didn't pay attention to it. Absent-mindedly, he and the other guys went through the same playlist that they do every night, making sure the tech department knew when to mess with their microphones and volumes of the instruments. No matter how many times they sang She Looks So Perfect, his mind always goes to Ruby. She was always with him when they were writing the lyrics to all the songs that went towards that album. So were the other girls, but Ruby was there more often. He missed her more as Luke and Calum took their turns singing the song.