Brutal Love

Chapter 49

"Winnie! Come on, get up!" I blinked my eyes open to see Tre opening the curtains to let the sunlight in. "Come on, kid. Rise and shine."

"What time is it?" I groaned, pulling the covers over my head to block out the sunlight. It was no use because he ripped them right off.

"It's 1 in the afternoon. Jeez, how long did you stay up last night? I thought you went straight to bed?"

"I did. I guess I was just really tired. Now please, 5 more minutes."

"No can do kiddo. I got band practice today and you're coming with. Speaking of the band," he pulled me up into a sitting position and smiled at me, "did you know that Billie has the same Ramones sweater?" I giggled and looked down.

"What a coincidence." I bunched up the sweater and hugged it. "It's my favorite sweater."

"It's his too." He laughed. "Now, come on, get up and get dressed." He left the room.

I sighed and got up. Billie was right, it did hurt. I didn't think I could walk.It was a struggle to get out of bed. I reluctantly took off Billie's clothes and replaced them with my own, putting on a bra this time. I was wearing a white shirt tied at the bottom, with a leather jacket over top, matched with some black skinny jeans and of course my converse. Even though I brushed my hair, I put it in a ponytail, like I always do. Satisfied, I grabbed my phone and went downstairs.

"Looking good, kiddo." Tre said, waiting by the front door.  "Come on, Mike is already at Billie's."

"Then what are we waiting around for? Let's go!" Tre stopped me and dropped the keys in my hand. "What are these for?"

"You're 16, you drive. The more practice, the better." He laughed and pushed me out to the car. I got in the driver seat and he got in the passenger seat.

After a few starting instructions, I pulled out of the driveway successfully and made my way down the street. I was driving better than last time, less bumpy and a more steady pace instead of stop and go all the time. The only problem I had was pulling into the driveway. I almost hit Billie's car. Me and Tre laughed about it until we got to the door and I knocked.

"Hey, you guys finally made it." Billie said when he opened the door.

"Yeah, little miss over here just got up like 20 minutes ago." Tre explained as we stepped inside.

"I had a long night too." Billie said, smiling.

"I know that smile. Did she finally give?" Billie nodded. "Way to go, Beej. So when do we get to meet her?"

"Well, I don't know. She's really shy and she doesn't want to expose us to the public because she doesn't want to deal with the paparazzi."

"Well, she can at least meet us. We won't tell anyone. Right, Winnie?"

"Well, actually, I think we should respect her privacy. If she doesn't want to meet us, then she doesn't have to." I replied.

"Ah, wise beyond her years." Billie said, wrapping his arm around my shoulder.

"Alright, gang up on me like that, that's fine. Let's just go play some music."

Billie and I laughed at Tre before following him downstairs to the music room. The basement was completely open so it was filled with instruments. I saw Mike sitting on the couch playing his bass.

"Hey dad, you're out of toilet paper." Came a familiar voice behind us and then the owner of that voice walked in. Joey.

"Hey Joey." I said, sitting down next to Mike.

"Hey Winnie." He replied, stepping in a little. Billie looked from him to me and then went and got his guitar.

"Wow, you could cut the tension with a knife." Mike said, getting up and going to his spot.

"No time for cutting, time for music." Tre said before counting down and then they starting playing.

*Billie's POV*

All through out playing, I kept watching Winnie and Joey. She was sitting in the chair, staring at our feet, with her knees pressed up against her chest. Joey was lounging on the couch, staring at his phone. What happened between them? Don't get me wrong, I love the fact that they're not so chummy anymore but I want to know why that's the case. Did he do something to hurt? Did he hurt her? I'll hurt him if he hurt her. I don't care if he's my son, that's my girlfriend he hurt. That's the first time I called her that. It felt right. She is my girlfriend, whom I love and care about more than I did my  wife.

"Billie, what song are you playing?" Mike asked, pulling me out of the thoughts. I hadn't even realized I was playing a different song. I looked around at all the confused faces, except for Winnie's. She was still staring at the floor but she was now smiling.

"Hmm, what?" I asked, confused myself. It was obviously a song she liked but what was I playing?

"You started playing something none of us knew. Was it a new song?" Tre asked from behind the drum set.

"I didn't even realize. How did it go?"

Mike hummed the tune I was playing. It was the song I wrote about her, Fell for You. I smiled.

"Yeah, it's new. It's called Fell for You." They all perked their ears and Winnie even looked up. "Here, listen and come in with what you think works."

I started playing and then singing and the guys came in at the perfect time. It sounded pretty good. When we finished, Winnie was the only one clapping. Joey was still on his phone.

"That was great. Is it about your mystery girl?" Tre joked.

"Yeah, it is." I smiled.

"Wait, what mystery girl? What have I missed in one weekend?" Mike asked, putting his bass away.

"It's nothing."

"Nothing? Mike, Billie's got himself a new girl. They did it last night too." Tre explained as Mike sat on the couch where Joey was still on his phone, uninterested in anything we were saying.

"Well, what's her name? Age? Occupation?" Mike asked.

"Guys, do you have to know everything about my personal life?" I whined, putting my guitar away.

"Yes, we need to know everything." Tre stated.

"Yeah. At least tell us her name." Mike begged.

"Dad, come on, we'll find out eventually. You might as well tell us." Joey said, startling all of us because it was the first words since he spoke to Winnie.

"Now you have to tell us." Tre whined. Think, Billie, think.

"Her name is...Amy." I blurted out. It was the first name I could think of.

"That's a cute name." Winnie said.