It Takes Two (Katy Perry)

Part 15

A/N: I'm sorry I haven't updated in a week, I've been away and only just got back today. So here's a lovely, drama free chapter (cough) to celebrate... Thanks for reading, please vote and/or comment!

15th February, 2012

Russell appeared suddenly in the doorway to Katy’s bedroom in the middle of the night. His body looked cold and almost opaque, never making a sound as he approached Katy. She kept her eyes trained on him the whole time, as he bent down and kissed her stomach lovingly, then her forehead, before he turned around and left the room, disappearing as suddenly as he had appeared.

Katy’s eyes flew open, her heart beating quickly and erratically as she awoke from the disturbingly real dream. A silent tear ran down her face as she remembered her dream, and there was now no stopping the tears. She sat up in the middle of the bed, pulling her knees into her chest and wrapping her arms around her legs as she cried inconsolably: silent wracking sobs that shook her whole body.

It could have been minutes, it could have been hours. Katy had no idea of how long she’d been crying for, when all of a sudden, words popped into her mind.

“There’s just an echo where your heart used to be, now I see it clearly. And there’s just a pillow where your head used to sleep, my vision’s 20/20, I see through you now…”

Katy scrambled out of bed to find a notebook, scribbling the words down on a fresh page. Then she pondered the lyrics she had just envisioned, trying to link them together. As she relived her dream in her mind, inspiration hit.

“Ghost…” she whispered out loud, and immediately wrote it down, coming up with a chorus in five minutes.

For the next hour, she worked steadily, humming the melody in her head quietly as she formulated two verses and a bridge. As soon as she had finished writing the song, she lay back down in bed and passed out as soon as her head hit the pillow, her notebook thrown haphazardly next to her.

Shannon awoke relatively early the next morning, around half past seven, and crept to Katy’s room to see if she was awake. She smiled as she peered through the open doorway, seeing her best friend sprawled out across the bed with one hand resting on her baby bump, which had grown since she had been home. Katy was now sixteen weeks pregnant, and was excited to find out the gender of her baby at her scan in two weeks time. Her eyes then fell on Katy’s abandoned notebook lying next to her, and Shannon quietly entered the room, picking up the book that was still open to the page Katy had been writing on.

Quickly, Shannon read the lyrics, tears coming to her eyes as she read the thoughts and emotions that had come from Katy’s head transposed onto paper. She knew that although Katy was trying her hardest to put on a strong front, underneath her brave face her mind was still in turmoil. She was still in love with Russell and missed him immensely, even though she knew she could never go back to him. Shannon knew how Katy felt, and could hear it in the song she had just read, and she was so proud of Katy for being so strong even though she was really a very sensitive individual.

Katy stirred slightly, and Shannon hurriedly put the notebook back where she’d found it, as she knew her best friend hated people reading her songwriting notebook. A small grimace appeared on Katy’s face as she slowly awoke, moving both hands to cradle her stomach.

“Kate?” Shannon whispered. “Are you okay?”

Katy’s eyes filled with sudden tears as she winced again, and shook her head. “Something isn’t right, Shan…”

“What do you want me to do, Kate?” asked Shannon, scared for her best friend.

“Can you get me some painkillers for now? And a heat pack? Maybe it will go away…” Katy trailed off, unconvinced by her own logic but unwilling to accept anything else.

Shannon rushed off to get what Katy asked for, being as fast as she could. She arrived back in the bedroom two minutes later, and her eyes widened as she took in the sight in front of her. She reflexively dropped the glass of water, hearing it smash on the ground as she hurried to Katy’s side.

Katy was now curled up in the foetal position, tears of pain streaming down her face. “Shan,” she moaned. “It- it hurts so much.” She cried out loudly as another sharp pain ripped through her stomach.

“I’m calling an ambulance,” said Shannon, grabbing Katy’s phone from the bedside table as it was closer than hers. Quickly, she called 911 and told them the details, tears beginning to form in her eyes as she heard Katy scream out next to her. Hanging up, she turned back to Katy, and was horrified to see a pool of blood quickly forming on the sheets.

“Oh my god, Kate!” she cried. Katy whimpered, unable to do anything.

“Help me, Shannon,” she whispered, hardly able to speak through her tears.

Shannon was terrified, and wanted more than anything to help Katy, but there was nothing she could do until the ambulance arrived, which she hoped was very soon. “Hold on, sweetie,” she soothed, rubbing Katy’s back as they both cried. “You are so strong, you can get through this. We just need to wait for the ambulance, they’ll be here any minute.”

Katy just nodded, hugging her stomach tightly with both arms as blood continued to leak from between her legs, staining the pure white sheets crimson. “My baby…” she sobbed.