Keep Yourself Alive - Roger Taylor

98

"Okay.. well is he okay?... we'll be right over" I hung up the phone and rushed downstairs to find Roger and Lizzie playing around on the floor.

Her toys were scattered across the room, yet I could not take in the heartfelt moment as my heart was beating twice it's usual rate.

I had just had a call from Freddie's doctor to say that he was experiencing an extreme fever and it wasn't looking good. Apparently it wasn't life threatening at its current stage, however with one complication it could completely wear his body out.

Tears were threatening to prick at my eyes but I managed to blink them back as I spoke to Roger.

"Rog, it's Freddie" I croaked, holding back the tears.

"What? What's happened?" He jumped up, placing Elizabeth down on the sofa gently.

"He's got a fever, it's not life threatening right now but it could be" I said, my fingertips quivering as Roger held my small hands in his.

"He'll be okay you know what he's like , Rose" Roger tried to reassure me, engulfing me into a hug and placing a hand on the back of my head lovingly.

"We have to go and see him, I bet he's terrified" I stressed, rushing to pull my shoes on.

"I'll stay with Lizzie, yeah?" He said, rubbing the back of his head awkwardly.

"What? He needs us, we can bring Lizzie too he loves her so much" I said, throwing Roger his shoes.

"I don't want her to get ill though" He said, standing his ground.

"Okay, then I'm sure your mum and dad can watch her for an hour or two?" I asked hurriedly, wanting him to speed up and get his shoes on.

I could tell by the look in his eye however, that he had no intention of visiting Freddie.

"I can't just show up at my mums and be like 'oh yeah, off to my mates can you take my kid' can I?" He said angrily, taking a step towards me.

"Don't you get angry at me Taylor, this is our best mate and he doesn't have long left. I don't think your mum would mind one bit and you know it. I'm going, and while I'm gone you best think of a better reason as to why you've been such a dick" I seethed, going to pick up Lizzie.

He stood back and just stared at me whilst I stormed from the house, slamming the door angrily behind me.

I opened the car door and slipped Lizzie into her car seat gently. She gargled up at me and I tickled her cheek before closing the door. Then, I rushed over to the front seat and sat in the drivers seat.

My fists slammed against the steering wheel as tears began to pour down my cheeks delicately. I looked at the house to see Roger staring at the car sadly. He knows exactly what he's done, but I can't quite understand why he's done it.

I shook my head and wiped away the last tears before driving towards Freddie's home.

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"I came as soon as I heard, how is he?" I asked Brian, who was sat next to John in Freddie's living room.

I was bouncing Lizzie in my arms to calm her down, as she began to sob as soon as I took her out of the car where she'd fallen into a slumber.

"He's doing better already apparently, we can see him in a few hours so we're going to wait here until then" He nodded, taking Lizzie from my arms and bouncing her around in his arms.

"Where's Roger?" John asked, his brown furrowed.

"Something's not right with him and I really don't know what it is. It's like he never wants to see Freddie and he always has a reason as to why he doesn't want to come. We fell out before I came" I huffed, flopping down onto one of Freddie's plush couches.

"Strange, maybe he isn't completely with the whole situation" John suggested.

"What do you mean?" I asked curiously.

"Well, we're used to seeing Freddie all happy and energetic. Obviously, that's changed significantly. Maybe he just hasn't come to terms with that and he doesn't want to?" John nodded.

I sat up on the sofa and pushed my hair back tiredly with my hands. He was right. Roger and Freddie are best friends, Roger won't be able to handle seeing his friend so helpless when he can do nothing to change that. However, my anger didn't subside as he didn't tell me that himself. I wish he had just admitted that so I didn't think he was being a dick. Also, he got angry at me for no reason, so just because we've made this conclusion does not mean that he is off the hook.

Hours passed by of us passing around Lizzie and eventually having her fall asleep in my arms. We talked for hours, whilst also allowing a deafening silence to engulf the room.

John ended up falling asleep with his mouth hung open like something from a cartoon, which was an amusing scene in itself.

"How long do you think it will be?" I asked quietly, whispering to Brian who was sat next to me.

"I don't know, do you want to get some sleep? I can hold Lizzie for a while" He asked, holding his arm out.

"Would you? Thanks so much, Bri" I smiled.

"Anything for my bestie" he winked jokily, holding another arm out so that I could fall asleep on his shoulder.

"Are you sure? Won't your arms get tired?" I giggled, watching the shaggy haired man multi-tasking with a great amount of skill.

"Right let's make a little bed for Lizzie then" He laughed, placing some cushions next to him in a little square.

I then passed him a throw that covered the sofa behind me and he created a little snug bed for her.

He placed her inside gently and magnificently she remained in her slumber.

"Come here, you've had a long day" He sighed, allowing my tired body to relax in his arms.

This is why you get yourself a group of loving male best friends, they always look after you.

Almost instantly, my eyes shut and I fell into a deep sleep, almost forgetting the events of the stressful day.