The Hook-up

Chapter 211

"What are you sorry for?" she asked him holding her phone with her chin and changing a baby with the other.

"For hurting you. For putting you through all this. I don't know what I'm doing." he said turning to see people waiting for him.

"Can we talk about this when you get home? I need to put the babies down..." she asked.

"Yeah. Yeah. Okay. I'll talk to you soon. I love you." he told her.

"Bruno? Are you okay?" she asked sensing the sorrow in his voice.

"I need to go, Laur. I'll be home soon." he hung up the phone quickly seeing his fans putting on the prettiest fake smile he could. "Ladddieessss...."

**

"Laurrreennn...." Bruno sang opening the door to the house glancing at a new painting she had placed where the broken mirror once stood. "L-a-u-r-e-n..." he sang through the house until he found her sitting on the couch with her laptop.

"Hi." she smiled looking up at him very briefly before returning to what she was doing before he got there.

"What are you doing?" he asked standing next to her.

"Answering some e-mails." she said without any emotion.

He noticed her lack of interest walking past her to get to the bedroom.

"Okay." she said to herself noticing that he had walked past her.

"Ugh. Fine." she moaned after a few minutes realizing that Bruno wasn't going to come back. She heard a faint piano being played in the extra bedroom of the house. "Bruno?" she asked leaning her head against the doorframe hearing him strugging with a few words of his new single. "I like that choice. You were amazing tonight." He ignored her and continued to struggle with the song moving his head to the words.

"It's hard to sing." he told her turning to look at her.

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"Because I wrote it after you. left..." he said looking at her. "I think of you leaving the house when I sing it." he told her.

"Oh." she responded a bit shocked. "I didn't think that bothered you." she said shrugging her shoulders.

"Lauren..." he said confused by her answer. "Of course it hurts me." he held out his hand for her. She shook her head suddenly feeling a wave of insecurity from knowing that he was with Damaris over the last few weeks.

"I'm going to go to bed." she told him ignoring his attempt to soothe her ego.

"I'll be there soon, baby." he said turning back around trying to wrap his head around what he was doing. She knows. He thought. She knows about everything. "Wait.." he turned around walking to her to see her turn to face him. "Are you mad at me?" he asked.

"No." she told him with a sympathetic smile that he saw right through. "No." she said shaking her head then leaning in to kiss him. "No. I'm glad you're home for a little bit."

"I am too." he said moving his hands to her hips looking into her eyes seeing that she was scared about what he had done.

"Are you okay?" she asked reaching her hand to his cheek seeing that there was something bothering him.

"I'm fine." he responded. "Maybe a little tired." he admitted.

"Then let's go to bed." she smiled feeling somehow satisfied by his honest about being tired. Maybe that's why he's being a jerk. "Did you work out today?" she asked as they walked to the bedroom.

"I ran this morning. But nothing else." he told her.

"You can't stop going, Bruno. I know it helps you." she said taking off her clothes to change into her pajamas.

"I'm not." he said a bit frustrated by her mothering. "I'm going tomorrow. Before we practice for the Europe thing we're doing in January."

"So you're going to be here for Christmas?" she turned running her fingers through her hair.

"I canceled Australia. I can't do it." he she said under her breathe waiting for his response not getting one as his hand fell against her waist, already asleep. Ugh. She won't stop.