Anything (Van McCann | CATB Fan Fiction)

5. Philadelphia, PA

|Vienna|

"Don't detest me if I ask you this, but, how are things with you and Seth?" Mike asked while we were having a coffee break at the venue the band was set out to play. It was a nice place called MilkBoy.

"Uhm, things are alright... I guess?" I swallowed. "I mean we are still together..."

"Hmm," Mike twisted his lips. Mike had known me long enough to know that my relationship with Seth was never a smooth ride. It was constantly bumpy, and yet we managed to stay together.

"I mean we love each other. That's the only important thing right now..." I sighed.

"Are you happy?" Mike raised his eyebrow.

"I am always happy..." I smiled.

"You're a bad liar, Vie," he shook his head.

"He's changed, I can say that. I mean, I can depend on him now," I sighed. "Why are we talking about this again?"

"I am sorry, Vienna. I was there the last time when shit didn't work out between you two... You were in a complete mess. I'd hate to see that happen to you again," Mike murmured. "It's scary and I thought I was going to lose you."

I knew where he was coming from. It happened on the third day of
winter last year. Mike was in town for work and we had promised to meet up for lunch but I never showed up. And so, he went to my apartment, only to find me sprawled on the floor. My face was bloody and my place was a mess.

Seth was well-known for his short fuse. But he had never put his hands on me. But, he lost it that day. I accidentally found sexual texts of him with other women on my computer since it was logged in with his iCloud account. He got really mad and defensive when I confronted him about it. And in the heat of the argument, he began to violently grab me and literally threw me against the concrete wall. He then began to kick me in the guts, repeatedly until I choked on my own spit and blood. My world went instantly dark when my brain realized that I had hit the hard surface and I could not remember anything else from then on.

I wished my brain was badly damaged so I could not remember what he did to me. Sadly enough, I did remember. Although I knew, in theory, it would be ideal to just walk away. But, in reality, it's not that easy.

My friends were begging me to press charges. But I couldn't bring myself to it. Seth was begging for my forgiveness. And he was all I have. And so I lied about being mugged. Seth had played the part where he staged a burglary at my apartment before he left me in a pool of bloody mess. Funny enough, the police bought it.

"The human heart is the most complex when feelings are involved," I thought to myself. I loved Seth. And I knew he loved me. He just had a bizarre way of showing it sometimes. And I couldn't say much about the beating part. As far as I could remember, my dad did it to my mom. And now Seth's doing the same thing to me. You could be lucky enough to be loved in the most tender way. Or you could be damned for being in love with a person who lived with violent delights.

"The dark days are over, Mike. Seth and I are in a better place, now. I can promise you that," I trembled, holding back the tears that was forming at the edge of my eyes.

"Okay, Vienna," Mike resigned, smiling, knowing that I was no longer comfortable to continue on with the topic. "I am sorry."

I shook my head and mouthed an "It's okay," and took a sip of my coffee.

"Everything alright?" Van suddenly appeared from behind me. I immediately straightened when he took a seat next to me at the table, glancing at Mike and then, over to me.

"Yeah, mate. We were just talking about the upcoming presidential election," Mike lied for me. I mentally thanked him for reacting quickly. I would never want anyone in the band to know too much about me.

Van had his brows bunched up, like he knew Mike was lying, but he shrugged it off seconds later. "Came down just to tell you we are ready for soundcheck, mate," Van said to Mike. "We just jammed to The Strokes," he grinned, nudging my elbow.

"Oh, so I missed that," I murmured.

"Larry recorded it on his phone, if you wanna see it," he grinned.

"That'd be great," I smiled.

"Alright. I'm ready to roll," Mike said, rubbing his palms together a couple of times.

I gathered my belongings and followed the boys up to the hall where the rest of the band were already waiting.

Mike quickly rubbed the edge of my shoulders and mouthed "You'll be fine," at me when Van had walked up to the stage. I thanked him and pulled myself together.

I was lucky enough to be working with a fun bunch. There would always be something to laugh about whenever I was with them. Van was quite a banter. He just always had something to say, or sing. Bondy was the silent joker. He'd randomly pop out of nowhere to either disturb or pull out a prank on his friends. Benji was naturally funny without even trying. He was also insightful. He would always come up with a topic to talk about and I liked that about him. Bob... well, Bob will always be Bob. The silent guy who wont stop smiling. And Larry, he was like the voice of reason to everyone in the band, especially Van. They were indeed inseparable. Being around them made me happy. Truth be told, I have never felt that way in such a long time. So to answer Mike's question, I guess I really was beginning to feel happy again.

I decided to take a walk outside when the boys were done with soundcheck. They were hungry and decided to try the 'Catfish BLT' at MilkBoy, which I found rather amusing. They were always excited whenever they came across anything that had to with their band name.

I took my cigarettes out of the pocket of my coat as soon as I stepped outside through the stage entrance and tried to lit one. But, my lighter wont lit. I cursed the moment where my lighter failed me at the time I needed it the most.

"Argh," I groaned with the cigarette between my teeth. Knowing that the lighter would be such a waste of time, I began looking around. I saw the queue for the gig was already building up in front of the venue. I walked around for a good five minutes and saw Van smoking at the corner of the building. He was alone and looked like he just got off the phone.

"Hey," I walked up to him.

"Hey," he smiled.

"Can I have a light?" I asked him. "Mine's broken."

Surprised, he tilted his head and began to rummage through his pockets. "I didn't know you smoke," he murmured.

"Is that a bad thing?" I asked, as he lit the lighter for me. "Thanks," I told him, when I was finally able to take a puff out of my cigarette.

"No," he chuckled. "I am not judging you. I don't care."

I smiled, as we both leaned against the wall and began to smoke silently till the very last puff.

A/N:

This chapter is a bit personal for me. If anyone is experiencing or had experienced domestic violence, please know that you are loved and there's help out there. X

Binks.