You Ran Away, You're All The Same

Part 16

As I finished telling him about that night, Sid just stared at me as if I had three heads. I lit up another cigarette and heard the door open again. I turned around and Paul stood in the door way.

"Mind if I join?" He asked. I nodded my head and Paul sat down in front of me and Sid.

"Have you got to the good part yet?" Paul asked me while taking my cigarette pack from my lap.

"Not yet." I stated while looking at the ground. Paul nudged my knee while his hand, making me look at him while he lit his cigarette and inhaled deeply. He looked at me, as if he was asking permission to tell the rest of the story. I smiled at him and nodded.

"Well Sid, since you know about the shitty part, I'll tell ya what happened next." Paul started with a smirk on his face.

"That next morning Corey woke me up and told me about how he found Steph sitting on a park bench down the road from his house. He always would bring girls over while I was there, but not like her." Paul winked at me.

"When she woke up, we could hear her walking around upstairs. She didn't have any clothes or a damn tooth brush. Corey went up to see if she was hungry or needed anything. He was able to get her to open the bedroom door after about an hour of standing there and talking to himself basically." Paul paused, remembering that day and letting out a small laugh while taking a drag off his cigarette.

"That asshole then hollered for me to come upstairs. When I walked up to the door frame, she looked terrified to see me. I told her we would keep her safe, as long as she would shower and brush her teeth." All three of us bust out laughing. I remeber that day often, it was the first time in a long time someone made me laugh. Paul and Corey didn't know me, but were so willing to help.

"I managed to talk her into getting cleaned up and Corey found her a pair of basketball shorts and a Misfits shirt to wear for the day. I didn't have much money, neither did Corey, but we had to help. After four hours, Stephanie agreed to go to the mall with me. She wore her dark sunglasses to try and hide the swelling. I bought that girl all new clothes, bathroom essentials, and even took out for dinner."

When Paul finished, I started crying. Not tears of sadness, but of happiness. I had never experienced such kindness from someone I had just met. I had tried over the years to pay Paul back for that day, but he always said he was happy to be of service.

The big brother I didn't know I needed, until I had him as a friend.

"Damn. You were just as stubborn then as you are now, Steph." Sid laughed as he put his arm around my shoulders and gave me a side hug.

"She's gotten better over the years. Still a pain in the ass though" Paul added.

"And when they got home, we watched her favorite movie until she fell asleep on my shoulder." Corey added as he closed the door behind him.

"I was wondering when you would come back outside." I said to him with a smile as he kissed my lips.

"I couldn't pass up the chance to tell my favorite part about that day." He said with that beautiful grin on his face.

Eventually the rest of the guys joined us outside. Jim and Mick brought everyone a beer while Chris and Shaun started up the firepit.

I kept feeling Joey staring at me, like he did on my birthday last year. Corey could sense I was feeling uneasy and pulled me close to him so I was sitting on his lap.

"You okay babe?" He whispered in my ear, sending chills all over my body.

"Yeah, baby. Just not comfortable getting stared at all night." I whispered back to him while putting my head on his chest. I could feel his grip on me tighten, then he placed his head on mine.

"Let him look all he wants to babe. Remember, you're my number one." Corey said with hesitation in his voice. I could tell the more he sat there, the more Joey was pissing him off.

I leaned up to look Corey in the eye while placing my hand on the side of his face.

"Hey. Don't get upset. Like you said, I'm your number one and you are mine." I kissed him on the lips.
"And I'm not going anywhere Corey Todd."

Corey looked me in the eyes and smiled while he ran his hand through my hair.

"Making the album is going to be hard Steph. Especially when all I want to do is punch him in the fucking mouth." The color of his eyes changed from their normal icey blue to a dull grey.

"I know baby, but don't let this get in the way of your music. He will get the hint and stop soon enough." Trying to calm Corey down is about as successful as trying to baptize a cat.

I kissed Corey's forehead before wrapping my arms around his neck. I could feel him relax some and bury his face in the side of my neck.