Stranger Things Have Happened, I Know

Ch 18

Chapter 18

~*~*Dave’s Journal*~*~

                The day Kate left LA was fucking awful. First of all, the day didn’t start out well, there were a few last minute tour details that needed my immediate attention and I ended up being stuck on the phone all morning. Then, Jordyn wanted to drop the girls off early, so instead of driving Kate to the airport myself, I had to have a car come pick her up. She claimed it was easier this way, but I don’t know if she meant it. She did really well until we walked out to the car. She broke down, which fucking killed me. I feel like the biggest piece of shit, knowing that I am causing her this pain. I watched her go and then went downstairs to the studio and beat the shit of my drums for a few minutes until Jordyn arrived with the girls. It helped having them there, it kept me preoccupied, but once they went to sleep, I was alone with my thoughts again. Shit, poor Kate was stuck on a five hour flight with her thoughts. She texted me when she’d got home, but said she was too tired to talk and that I should just call her tomorrow. We really didn’t get too much of a chance to talk over the next few days. The night before I flew out, I dropped the girls back off with their mom and went home to take care of a few last minute things. It was late when I got a few minutes to call Kate. I woke her up, but she didn’t care. I talked to her for a few minutes while she tried to wake up a little bit, telling her about my few days with Violet and Hayden. Soon, the conversation turned serious.

                “I want you to know that I promise to be faithful to you while we’re away,” I said. “I know, in the back of your mind, you will be worried, but try to remember that I love you.” She promised me the same thing, telling me not to worry.

                “And if something changes, and you find yourself with some time off, call me, I will have you on the first plane to where ever I am,” I told her. I told her over and over how special she was and how much she’d changed my life. She told me that she didn’t ever want to go back to her life before me and I promised she wouldn’t have to, reminding her that this was just temporary and we’d be together soon. I could hear her growing sleepy.

                “Will you play for me?” she asked. I told her I would and I ran to get my guitar.

                “Lie down and put your phone on speaker,” I instructed her. “Close your eyes and I will play for you until you fall asleep.” I set my phone down and put it on speaker as well. I played and sang quietly all her favorite songs that I could think off. Finally, I whispered, “Kate?” All I could hear was her even breathing. I held the phone to my lips and kissed it and whispered, “I love you…good night.”

~*~*Kate’s Journal*~*~

                The first week after Dave and the guys flew out was really hard, we didn’t get to talk too much and I really struggled with the ache in my heart. I am so grateful that my classes have started and I’ve really thrown myself into them head first. It surprises me how much I enjoy teaching. I have amassed such a large amount of knowledge over my career, I am glad to be able to share it with others. Everyone at the college is nice, too. The guy who is teaching the class before mine, Nick Harris, has been very nice and helpful, giving me pointers and tips about where to get the best coffee on campus. He’s even asked if he could stay and audit one of my classes sometime!

                This week, though, I am able to talk to Dave fairly often. We even text and email when we can’t speak directly. The one thing that has been hard is having Dave call me in the middle of the night, my time, when he has been drinking. When he’s drunk he gets so emphatic and emotional, professing his love and telling me about the pain of being apart. I love him, I really do, but when he gets like that, it causes me to get emotional and it was starting to get exhausting. It was really wearing me out! So, last night, I tried shutting my phone off, because I honestly couldn’t take another night of staying up until sunrise crying on the phone. However, when I woke up, I had SIX drunken voicemails from him, stating he was very upset that I wasn’t answering. I then felt guilty for ignoring him. So, today, when he called me (while he was sober) I asked him to please try not to call if he’d been drinking, explaining that it was draining me and making things so much harder. He did not like hearing this and he got a little short with me, which also didn’t make things any easier. I hung up the phone after we’d said good-bye feeling incredibly frustrated and wondering if we were going to survive this time apart after all.