[[[the wonderful mess that we've made]]] [[[part iii]]]

23.

The lie in did me the world of wonders. But waking up next to Woody and not his sister was a bit of a shock.

'So, it's back on then?' He asked as we took the tent down. It felt awkward talking to him about Lily. It had been a sore subject, one we'd always skirted around for the sake of keeping peace in the band. They were so dissimilar that I sometimes forgot they were siblings. I often wondered how much Lily had told him about what she'd been through. Did he know about Steven? Did he know about the abuse? I knew she wasn't the type of person to spill their hearts willingly.

'Yeah. I think so. I'm sorry that I put her through all that-' I began.

'Dude, if we weren't best friends I would've killed you these last few months. But I'm glad it's you she's with. I worry about her a lot. Please promise me you'll take care of her.'

'Of course I will.' I assured him. 'I like her a lot.'

'I should hope so, you are married after all.'

'Shit, I don't know if we still are you know? I signed the papers she sent me.'

'Well you could always remarry and invite me this time?' We both laughed. That wasn't such a bad idea. Were there rules for marrying the same person twice? I'd have to ask her what she wanted to do regarding the whole thing. Maybe a divorce was a good thing. A fresh start.

My heart sped up when I saw her talking with Ed that afternoon, sat on the benches in the VIP bar behind the stage with her back to me. He was on first then we were afterwards. I couldn't resist going over and throwing my arms around her. She still had my hoody on.

'Hey!' She grinned and span around. We caught up on what we'd been doing all day and I wound her up by telling her we'd only just woken up. The truth was, I'd come down early to find her, leaving the boys to have a few quiet drinks on the bus. 'Some of us have real jobs.' She teased.

'What are you doing after the show?' I asked.

'We're on a flight to America. You?'

'Flight home.' I sighed. There'd been the slightest chance we were on the same plane.

'Oh. Well, never mind. Look, I need to go get Ed ready, we're on in ten minutes.' She had noted the time on her phone. Which reminded me I didn't have her number. I took it from her and typed my number in.

'I'll ring you later, ok?' I asked. She laughed like a little teenager and I felt exactly the same. Like a giddy, testosterone fuelled teenager.

'Yep.' She grinned. I watched her walk towards the stage and decided I'd go get myself a beer while we waited for our slot on stage. 'Dan, wait!' I heard her call.