The Silenced Drummer

Chapter 7: In the Morning

A ray of sunlight made its way through a gap in the blinds and shined onto Ringo, who was starting to wake.

When he opened his eyes, he saw that he was snuggled up against George's chest. The guitarist was still fast asleep.

Remembering what Brian had said about an announcement, Ringo's eyes went wide.

He thought about waking George up, but how would he tell him about the event?

He exhaled and quietly got up from the bed.

'Brian should be coming here to wake us up soon.' He thought. He looked at the clock that was on the wall.

7:16

They were supposed to be ready before noon, so Ringo had a lot of time to prepare. He contemplated going back to bed.

'I'm not tired. I suppose that a shower should clear me thoughts.' Ringo thought.

He went over to a drawer and picked out a red shirt, a brown sweater to go over it, and a pair of dark blue pants along with an undergarment.

His footsteps could barely be heard as he made his way to the bathroom and shut the door.

The light in the bathroom turned on and clothes were placed on the sink countertop. 

Ringo placed a towel on top of his clothes and started to undress.

'It's all over for me. My career, my reputation, my life...' He thought.

He looked at himself in the mirror once his clothes were off. His gaze once again met the scar on his neck.

'It's all pointless now...' He thought sadly.

Tearing his eyes away from the mirror, he turned the water on in the bathtub. Once the temperature was warm enough for him, he lifted the shower diverter on the spigot. 

He exhaled as the warm water made contact with his back and head as he stepped in.

He washed his hair and body as the thoughts continued to assault his mind.

'I might as well leave this band. What's the purpose? I can't sing, talk, or anything.'

Ringo believed that, while the person who had tried to kill him did not succeed in his plan, he did succeed in the next best thing that he could accomplish.

His face was wet from both water and tears by the time he stepped out of the bathtub. 

He dried his body and hair before putting his new clothes on. Taking in a large breath, he shut off the light and opened the door. 

The three other Beatles were still fast asleep. Ringo was about to walk back to his bed when a knock came at the hotel door.

"Boys, are ya awake?" said a familiar voice. Ringo looked through the peephole before opening the door.

"O-oh, Ringo, I wasn't expecting ya to open the door..." Brian said surprised.

Knowing about Ringo's condition, he knew that the drummer wasn't able to answer the question that he had planned on asking, at least not with words. Still, he asked it anyway.

"A-are they awake yet?" Ringo shook his head.

Brian sighed. He walked in the room and spotted the three other Beatles fast asleep in their beds.

"Boys, wake up!" He shouted.

John was the first one that raised from his position on the bed.

"Ugh. Eppy, is it that late already?" He asked, rubbing his eyes. Paul and George woke up as well.

"We have about five hours before we have to make the announcement. I want all of ya to be ready by ten, okay?"

"What time is it now?" Paul asked in a tired voice. Ringo would have answered if he was able to.

John looked at the clock.

"Apparently, it's a quarter till eight," He said.

"Ringo... I take it that you already cleaned yerself up, right?" Brian asked, turning his gaze towards the drummer, who nodded in response.

"Okay, I'll come back here once it's ten, got that?" The Beatles all nodded in response. After that, Brian left the room, closing the door behind him.

"Well, who's goin' next?" John asked.

"I will," Paul said, getting up from the bed to find appropriate clothes.

Ringo walked back to his bed. He laid down next to George. Once Paul was in the bathroom, John sighed and turned on the small television.

"An announcement is set to be made at noon today, regarding the attempted murder of the drummer," The newscaster's voice made Ringo sit up. George's eyes widened.

"John, change it..." He said. John did as he was told.

Even he wasn't ready for this.

Thankfully, the weather channel did not having anything pertaining to their situation on it.

John sighed.

"So... what do the two of ya want to talk about?" He asked the other two Beatles. George sighed. He was the only one who could answer.

"Well, to be honest, I don't know," He said. Ringo, for his part, merely got up from the bed and went over to the window. He pulled the blinds up to allow more sunlight into the room. 

The outside world was refreshingly quiet for once, allowing the drummer to relax. After gazing out of the window for a moment, he went back to his side of the bed and sat on the edge. John met his gaze.

They were all apprehensive about what they would have to do later today and George knew that John and Paul didn't want to be the one who would tell the world that a Beatle has lost his voice. 

Sighing, the young guitarist realized what he would have to do in a few hours.

He could only guess that the fans would react to the news in a similar way that he had.