See My Tears.

Ch 17: Interscope.

I used the hospital's phone to call my dad. He was pissed that 1) I woke him up at three in the morning and 2) I hadn't told him before left, but he decided that wasn't important. He said I could stay at the hospital for as long as I'd like and that he hoped everything turned out okay.

Kelly's aunt had to go home to get ready for work around four, but I stayed by his bed and awake all night. He woke up around six the next morning. At first, I didn't even realize he was awake. I had zoned out, staring out the window over the city.

"Holly?" His voice was weak and rough.

"Kels," I gasped, moving from my seat to the side of his bed. I grabbed his hand and he winced. "Sorry."

"Am I where I think I am?" He groaned quietly.

"Yeah," I nodded, pressing the button to get a nurse in there. "You're in the hospital. What the hell happened to you?"

"I won against this big guy and ran my mouth a little too much," He said, closing his eyes and rubbing at his busted lip. "They beat the shit out of me. I don't remember.."

"Fine, fine, I'm just glad you're okay," I leaned down and kissed his cheek.

A nurse walked in and told me to leave the room, but I refused. I stood in the corner while she checked him out and ignored her dirty look when she left. I sat back down beside him, "Happy four month, by the way."

"That was today, wasn't it?" He chuckled. "What a great way to spend it."

"It's unofficial," I shrugged. "Not really a big deal."

"Everything that has to do with you is a big deal to me," He smiled weakly. "Thank you for coming. Staying here with me."

"Oh, no, I was only staying until you woke up," I  said, standing up and walking towards the door. "You're on your own now."

He laughed as I walked back over to him. He bit the inside of his cheek, as if he wasn't cut up enough already. "I really do love you, Holly." I nodded, grabbing his hand again. I said nothing, but tears started to fall. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," I sighed, wiping my eyes. "I've been weird lately. Don't mind me."

"When do you think I can get out of here?" He asked, sitting up a little. "I mean, it's just a busted lip and a broken leg. I'm all patched up, you think I can go?"

"Technically, you're an adult," I shrugged. "But I don't know."

I stayed with Kels all day, and we discussed little, meaningless things. We watched cartoons on the quiet, tiny TV mounted on the wall and he shared his gross hospital food with me. At five, his Aunt showed up and he was wheeled out.

The drive home was pretty quiet. "You're not going back to that Stripes place, Kelly."

"It's my only chance at--"

"You can continue at the diner, that's it," She stated. "Nothing else."

More silence.

.

The next week, every girl at school wanted to sign Kels' cast. Which was fine, but I could do without so many hearts and "call me if you need anything" signatures. Then there was Astrid, who offered to walk him to class and hold the doors for him so that he could get around with his crutches. I was really getting sick of that girl.

At lunch, a guy walked up to our table and sat across from us. "You're Machine Gun Kelly, right? That's what they call you in the streets, anyway."

"That's me," Kels nodded humbly, rubbing at his busted lip. I hated that thing, considering it stopped him from kissing me so often. "Why?"

"My dad works at a record company," The guy replied. "I'm Anthony." They shook hands and he went on, "I told him about you. I was at that last rap battle. I ditched after you won, didn't see you get jumped or I would have stuck up for you. Sorry, man."

"It's fine," Kels shrugged. "What record label does your dad work for?"

"Interscope," He replied. "He wants to talk to you."

Thye exchanged numbers and he said he'd speak to his dad again. Kels looked overwhelmed, and I didn't really know what to say. It was crazy, I couldn't believe it. "I told you," He said as I walked him to his next class.

"What?" I asked, holding open the door.

"Rap battling is what makes all good rappers great," He said cockily, heading into the hallway and not looking back. I rolled my eyes and went to class.

After school, I didn't bother waiting for him. I was sure there were plenty of girls willing to help him to the bus. Just as I expected, he made it fine. Astrid walked him, and he made sure to give her a big smile as he sat down beside me. Then he looked to me and snapped, "Thanks for waiting, up, babe."

"Thanks for being a douche after lunch, babe," I replied, raising my eyebrows. Did he really want to fight with me on the bus? If he hadn't noticed, I was pretty weird lately and not in the mood for bullshit.

When I got home, I called Eric. That was one of the great things about getting paid for singing at the diner: I could afford a phone from Walmart. "Hey, Eric, you busy?"

"Nope, why?"

He ended up coming over, and we hung out for most of the afternoon. Kels stayed away, which was exactly what I wanted him to do. It was like he was mad I hadn't wanted him to rap battle. Look what had happened to him!

I decided to brush it off and just have a good time with Eric. I could watch a movie with him and get to the end without someone else sticking their hand in my pants first.

.

Kels and I just decided to forget about our argument, not even mentioning it again. The next Saturday, he had a meeting with Anthony's dad and I went with him.

First off, I have no idea why Anthony went to our school. His house was way too expensive for him to be in the lousy public school that we attended. A maid answered the door and everything. She led us to the basement, which was a studio. There was someone in the recording booth, and when he stepped out, I almost had a heart attack. We were shaking hands with Diddy.

They wanted Kels to preform a song, so he did Swing Life away. I sang my part, but they basically ignored me. When they told him good job, I was pushed to the side and they started talking business. Basically, Kels was going to be signed on a very small, low paid contract, but he's play local venues. To them, it was small. To Kels, it was huge.

When we got home, he wanted to have celebratory sex. He didn't even have to drop hints. As mad at him as I had been, I was horny as hell and volunteered to be on top. I never volunteered, so he was pretty happy.

For a few weeks after that, everything was fine. We never went back passed Stripes, the diner continued to get knew customers, and Kels played little clubs all throughout Ohio. Everything was going great, but something was still really off about me. Like every little thing he said meant a lot more than it did. If he was joking, I'd get offended. If he said something sweet, I'd cry. I knew it was because he had told me he loved me. It intensified things. I pretended nothing bothered me and left well enough alone.

If only it could have stayed that happy.