Mutual

Chapter thirty three

Andy opens the passenger door for me as I grab my crutches. I plant them stiffly on the ground, putting my whole weight onto them. I throw a small smile towards Andy before hobbling over to Brook's open arms. I lean into him, sighing softly.

Brooklyn: "Are you ready for bed, babe?"
Me: "I was ready for bed eighteen hours ago."
Brooklyn: "Granted, you've been awake a while."
Me: "So have you."
Brooklyn: "I got a bit of sleep in the hospital, whereas you didn't."
Me: "Whatever, can you carry me to my bed, please?"
Brooklyn: "Technically speaking, you don't have a bed here. Should I drop you into Rye's? Or maybe Sonny's? Or would you rather me literally carry you to your bed at your house?"
Me: "Shut it Brooklyn, I'm tired. But I think I'll have the most comfort in Rye's bed."
Brooklyn: "Rye's bed? What's wrong with mine?"
Me: "You'll be in it. And you gave me the option of Rye's, Sonny's or my own."
Brooklyn: "Rye could be in his. And I'd like you to sleep with me."
Me: "Would you now?" I wink lazily at him. "And I doubt he will be, it's around four in the afternoon."
Brooklyn: "You know I didn't mean like that. I wouldn't be against the idea, though."
Me: "Okay, I'm done with this conversation."

I try to walk off forgetting the need for my crutches and step onto my bad leg. Oomph, that hurt like a bitch. Before I can process how I'm going to get into the house without difficulty, let alone how to get up the stairs, I'm being hoisted over Brook's left shoulder. Normally I shout and scream but I'm either too tired or in too much pain to do so. Who knows, maybe it's both. I let my crutches clatter to the floor and Andy swoops in to pick them up. We start to ascend the stairs with Andy following close behind. Rye is stood outside Brooklyn's door when we get to it. He moves out of the way so we can get past and Brook lays me on his bed, before turning to acknowledge Rye.

Brooklyn: "Hey mate, what's up?"
Rye: "I just had a phone call from Blair - we're going on tour!"
Andy: "We are? That's great news!" He says, leaning my crutches against the wall.
Rye: "Yeah! I'd say get some rest, and then we'll have a meeting once you're awake."

I'm really happy for the boys, but I'm so tired that I end up falling asleep mid-conversation. I wake up shivering, my body covered in goosebumps. What a funny word, goosebumps. Why are they called that? I glance down to see that I'm only in one of Brook's shirts. He must have changed me last night. I look over at him to see that he is hogging the whole duvet, and the blanket too. I sigh and get out of bed, crawling over to grab my crutches before shoving on one of his hoodie's and some grey joggers. I grab my phone from a nightstand and struggle downstairs with the intention of making a nice, hot tea. I don't get very far, however, as Sonny bursts around the corner, sending me flying into the wall. Sitting up, a searing pain goes down my leg.

Sonny: "Shit, I'm so sorry, Y/N! Oh god, what have I done!"
Me: "No, don't worry, I'm okay." 

I pull myself up and embrace him, trying to show that I am. The pain in my leg subsides and I wipe the sweat that has suddenly appeared on my brow from the pain. Andy and Rye come round the corner to see what's going on and Sonny explains what happened. I hobble into the living room, needing to be seated. The three older boys join me.

Me: "What time is it?"
Andy: "It's 8am. Don't worry I only woke up an hour ago."
Me: "How the hell did I sleep for sixteen hours?"
Andy: "Not sure, to be honest. The last time I slept for as long as I did was when I was super ill."
Me: "And why is it so cold?"
Rye: "Oh, the boiler's not working. Someone is coming over later to fix it."

My phone starts ringing and I answer without checking the caller id.

Me: Hello?
Brooklyn: Hey, where'd you go?
Me: Living room. I was cold, seeing as though you hogged all the covers and I was only in a t-shirt.
Brooklyn: Sorry. You could've nicked them off me. I'm coming down now, see you in a mo, princess.

Princess? That was a new one. It kind of makes me feel special though. It shows he treats me right and spoils me, and that he wants me. I love him so much. He walks into the room and sidles over to me, kissing my cheek as he takes a seat and laces his fingers with mine.

Andy: "Hey, Ill go get Jack. That way, we can finally talk about tour!"

He disappears and the rest of the room is silent. A couple of moments later, the doorbell rings. Rye jumps up, running to it. He comes back through with the same guy who fixed my door.

Me: "Aah, hey! Terry isn't it?"
Tony: "Tony."
Me: "Sorry." I grimace. "Would you like a cuppa?"
Tony: "Don't worry about it, love. It was close enough. And tea would be great, thank you. Where's the boiler?"
Rye: "I'll show you to it. Sonny, will you make the teas?"
Sonny: "Of course! Who wants one?" He says, jumping up.

Once Tony has fixed the boiler and we're all sat in the nice, warm living room drinking tea, we decide to make a start on the tour conversation. 

Rye: "Okay, so Blair said we need to make a list of all the places we want to go to, and he will arrange the venues and the date."
Brooklyn: "Let's do Australia!"
Rye: "Mate, I'd love to, but it needs to be in England."
Me: "I have a suggestion."
Andy: "Go on."
Me: "Sheffield."
Sonny: "Ooh, I'd love to see where Y/N grew up!"
Andy: "Look, I know it's your hometown, but the last time we did Sheffield, less than ten people showed up."
Me: "And when was that?"
Rye: "2016."
Me: "Who knows, maybe the amount of roadies will have grown?"
Andy: "Do you know any roadies from Sheffield?"
Me: "Other than Kathryn? No."
Andy: "Maybe next tour."
Me: "Okay."

At this point, if I wasn't temporarily disabled, I would've walked out of the room. But stumbling out of the room with a set of crutches didn't really seem as diva-like as I had wanted to be. So, I just sat there, listening to the other places the boys were talking about."