Patience (d.m)

Prologue

Song for this chapter: All Time Low by Jon Bellion

Henley's P.O.V

1984

I feel my breath get caught in my throat as I sit on Tommy's couch. Tears are still fresh on my cheeks, considering I cried the entire bus ride here. I watch as Tommy walks in, an undeniable sympathetic glint in his eyes.

"Henley. . ."

"Don't start, Thomas," I nearly growl. "I'm not going back to Seattle. I've already dropped out of high school. There's no reason for me to be there."

"What about Du-."

"Don't say a word about that dickhead. I don't ever want to see him again," I say, holding in my sobs.

"Fine," Tommy nods. He sits down in front of me on the coffee table. "What about Steven?"

I shrug. "I'm gonna miss him like hell, but he's not gonna leave Duff's side. I never wanna see that asshat ever again."

"What did he do?"

I open my mouth to answer him, but then the door to Tommy's house swings open, hitting the wall rather harshly. I hear a distinct crack, meaning that the wall probably has a hole in it now. I'm not shocked to see Nikki, Vince, Angel, and Mick standing in the doorway.

"I'LL BEAT HIS ASS!" Nikki yells, looking around for someone to beat up.

I roll my eyes. "You don't even know what happened, Nik."

Nikki only shrugs, pushing his long, dyed, black hair out of his face. His green eyes are almost glowing in the dimly lit living room. He wears a fishnet tank top with a black leather jacket over it. He sports black leather pants that show off his legs perfectly. His black combat boots complete the look. I shake my head at him. He's definitely a rockstar.

Nikki walks over to sit beside me, wrapping an arm around my shoulders. I lean into the side hug. I look at Angel, who seems to be sick.

Her once glowing blue eyes are dim and bags stand out under her eyes. She's always been pale, but she seems more pale than usual. I feel that if she lifted up her shirt, I could see her ribs. Her blonde hair seems to be thinner. She's wearing a black tank top with some short shorts. I sigh as I spot some track marks on the inside of her arms. She's been shooting up either cocaine or heroin. Angel walks over, sitting on the other side of me. She wraps an arm around me as well.

Vince makes himself visible next. His blonde hair is teased up in its usual way. He looks normal to me. He's wearing a white tank top with white leather pants and cowboy boots. He's the normal Vince. I'm sure he's been doing drugs, but hopefully not nearly as bad as Nikki or Angel. Vince takes a seat next to Tommy on the coffee table.

Mick follows Vince in, quiet as ever. He hasn't changed a bit. He still has his long black hair that nearly goes down to his ass. He still has on his black shirt with a black leather jacket. He still wears those worn out black leather pants and black cowboy boots. I'm happy to see that there's no evidence of drugs. He smiles softly at me. He stands on the other side of Tommy.

I couldn't hold it in anymore. Without any warning, sobs wracked through my body, causing me to double over in almost pain.

"Why did he do that to me?" I sob. "I don't understand what I did wrong."

Angel and Nikki hug me tighter. Vince lays a hand on my knee, squeezing it reassuringly. Tommy and Mick just watch as I let out all of my emotions. I don't cry. That bastard made me cry. I never want to see him again. Without thinking, I reach up and start fingering the key necklace Duff gave me. I think about ripping it off and throwing it away, but something stops me. I'll keep it on.

Duff McKagan better hope I never see him again. I'd hate to see what the guys would do to him.

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Duff's P.O.V

Why didn't I stand up for her? Why didn't I say anything?

I've broken the love of my life, all because I was stupid enough to sleep with some slut that hit on me at a bar. I'm sure Henley would never have done that to me. Why was I so fucking stupid?

Mandy smiles at me venomously. I ignore her, my thoughts fully on Henley. The girl I really love. I'm done with this chick.

My head snaps up as I hear the door open. I'm not surprised to see Madeline and Steven walking in. Bella sits in Steven's arms, obviously sad. I bet she misses Henley almost as much as I do. Why did I fuck up so badly?

"Why did you fuck up?" Steven demands, setting Bella down onto the floor. He places his hands on his hips. His usual light hearted demeanor is out the door. He's pissed. "Why did you let this slut say the things she did about Henley?"

"I don't know. . ."

"Why did you sleep with someone that's not Henley?! The girl that thought you hung the moon. The girl that would do anything for you because she loved you so goddamn much. Did you just have to fuck up so that you could get rid of her? Fuck! If you didn't love her you should've just broken up with her! Not cheat on her with some cheap whore you met at a fucking bar!" Steven walks over to me, pulling me up by the collar of my shirt. I don't bother fighting back. I deserve whatever he does to me. "Because of your dumbass I lost one of my best friends! She's gone!"

I furrow my eyebrows. "What do you mean she's gone?"

Steven shoves me back down onto the couch. "I called Sasha's. She said she took the first bus to LA. I'm pretty sure she's going to live with Tommy." Steven wipes some fallen tears from his cheeks. "I'm never going to see her again and it's all your fault."

I scoff. "You make it sound like she's your little sister."

"She might as well be! To me she's family. And I miss her like hell." Steven looks over to see Madeline leaving. She looks really uncomfortable. "You're never going to hear the end of this, McKagan."

"Don't you think you're overreacting a little bit?" I ask, feeling tired of this conversation.

"No, I don't," He says. "If anything you're underreacting!"

He shakes his head at me, walking to his bedroom. I wince as I hear the loud slam of his door. I put my face in my hands. She's. . .gone? Did I really hurt her that badly that she left? Doesn't she want to finish school? Fuck! I wish I could fix this, but she's gone forever.

"How could you let him speak about me like that," The bitch says from beside me.

I look up at her, feeling my rage intensify. "Get the hell out of here! I never wanna see you again! We're done!"

She doesn't even seem hurt by my statement. She simply gets up and leaves our apartment.

I walk back to my room. I sit down on the mattress. I reach beside the bed and pull out a shoe box. Inside is all the pictures of Henley that I have. I smile as I pull one out of her with nothing but a bedsheet wrapped around her. She has her hand up to try and block the camera, but I got this one in the nick of time. The next is a picture of her snuggled in my arms. I'm positive that Steven stole my polaroid camera and took this one. The next one I look at is my absolute favorite. It's one that I had Steven take. We were going on a date, and she dressed up so beautifully. A gorgeous blood red dress hugged her curves perfectly. I stood behind her with my arms wrapped around her waist. I had my face nuzzled in her neck and she had a huge smile on her face. Her key necklace stood out against her pale chest.

I look down, realizing I still had the padlock necklace. I'll never take it off. I don't see the key necklace anywhere, so I'm guessing she still has it on. I wonder if she's noticed yet. I hope she doesn't take it off. If she doesn't take it off, that means that there might be hope for us. I might have a chance to get her back.

I swear that I'll get Henley back one day. And one hell of a day that will be.