14. Chapter 14
Chapter 14
C HAPTER FOURTEEN
RAPHAEL
"Are you ready?" Mason asked as he adjusted the microphone in front of him.
Rex hit the drums, nodding his head as the beat filled the studio. I let my fingers run over the guitar strings, testing the sound. "Yes, we're ready," I replied.
The studio was quiet for a while, save for the sound of our breathing. We had been at it for a few hours, and everyone was tired. Rex kept messing up his cue and Xander was getting increasingly frustrated. Mason looked exhausted.
"Again," I said.
We began to play, our voices filling the air. We sang and played the instruments, going through the chorus once and then stopping.
"This isn't working," Rex said, throwing the drumsticks down.
"Because you keep fucking it up," Xander snapped.
Mason held up his hand and we all turned to him. He had a way of controlling us with subtle movements like the jerk of his head, or a roll of his eyes. There were a lot of things we questioned before getting together as a part of No Limit but no one questioned the fact that Mason was our leader.
"It's a new song," he said. "It's only normal that we're not in sync yet."
Xander sighed and sat down, rubbing his face with his hands.
"Look, I get it. You're frustrated. We all are," Mason continued. "But we're not going to get anywhere if we're not patient with each other. The charity event is in two weeks. We have time."
The air seemed to change, the tension in the room dissipating. Rex grabbed his water bottle and drank from it, and Xander leaned against his chair, looking a little calmer.
"How about we try again tomorrow?" Mason asked. "We can all go practice our individual parts at home and meet back here tomorrow?"
"Sounds good to me," I said, pulling off my headphones. I lay my guitar on the table and stood, packing it up into the case. "Are you guys still coming over?"
"Yup," Rex said. "Can't wait to meet the new missus."
I frowned slightly. "Don't call her that."
"How is living with someone else like?" Xander asked. "You left your parents' house specifically to avoid that."
They all turned to me, except Axel who was lying on a couch in the corner with his hoodie over his face. Mason was texting but he looked up from his phone, expectantly
"It's not as bad as I thought it would be," I said. "I like living with Rory."
We had only been staying together for a while but Rory had managed to consume my entire home with her presence. Her shoes were by the door, her scent in the kitchen, her new books on the coffee table. When I woke up in the morning, she was in the kitchen with Susan, trying out snacks. She was nice to the rest of the staff. This morning, I watched from my window as she took a walk around the garden. She seemed to like the flowers so much that I was considering planting new ones for her.
"Really?" Xander asked, raising a brow. "That's interesting."
"Yeah, well," I shrugged.
"I thought you'd hate the fact that bringing someone else home would be awkward," Rex said.
I blinked at him. I hadn't had sex since Rory moved in.
That was odd, for me at least.
Maybe it was because my head was constantly thinking of the fact that I was going to be a father. It was still an idea that was hard to wrap my head around. I still hadn't visited my parents to update them on the whole situation, even though my mother had called more than fifty times in the past week.
The door to the studio creaked open and a low-pitched voice called, "Hello?"
I gasped. "Tori!"
Tori Callahan walked in. A huge coat was wrapped around her shoulders, and her hair was shoved underneath a beanie. Her eyes shone as she walked in and a huge smile spread across her face. "Hi everyone."
Mason moved toward her as fast as a cheetah and wrapped her in his arms. "Sweetheart," he said, kissing her on the lips. "How was the meeting?" he asked as he released her.
"Good," she said. "I missed you though."
"I missed you too," he said, holding her face in his hands and smiling down at her.
Whenever they were around each other, Mason and Tori seemed tuned out of the rest of the world. The rest of the band and I were used to the way they behaved around each other. I liked it. I liked them together.
"Aaww," Rex cooed. "Sometimes, I wish I had that."
Mason flipped him off and everyone laughed. Usually, I would have agreed. The concept of love and relationships had always eluded me. But now I was curious.
What was love like?
"Raphael," Tori said. "Guess what I got?"
My ears perked up. "What did you get?" I asked.
Tori grinned, unzipping her bag and pulling out a bound document. "I finished the first draft a few days ago so I thought I'd surprise my favorite beta reader."
"No fucking way," I said, jumping over Xander's guitar case and heading towards her.
Tori grinned as I took the book from her and flipped through it.
"Oh God, this is so exciting," I said.
"So you'll let me know what you think?" she asked.
"You damn right I will," I replied, flipping to the first page.
"I thought I was your favorite beta reader," Mason said, wrapping his arm around her waist and pulling her close enough for him to kiss her forehead.
"You give the best inspiration babe," she said.
Xander groaned. "God, you guys are sickening," he said.
"Open your heart up to love man," Rex said, moving over to Axel. "Yo, Axe? We're heading out soon."
Axel grunted, his arm covering his eyes.
"He's so dramatic," Xander muttered.
I placed the book into my bag. Tori had a way with words that pulled you in and refused to let you go. It was why I loved reading her books so much. Maybe I could introduce them to Rory. She would love them.
"Is everyone coming to your house?" Tori asked.
"That's the plan," Rex said, nudging Axel.
Axel pushed him off and sat up. "Do we have to?" he asked.
"Yup," I said. "Rory has a younger sister who's a fan and you are her favorite member."
He gave no reaction to that piece of information.
***
"Welcome to Casa De Barlowe," I said as everyone entered the mansion.
"Show off," Xander muttered. It was just past 6 P.M. We moved through the foyer and into the living room.
"Wow," Tori said. "This place is beautiful."
"Of course it is," I said. "It's my home."
I had the house decorated to my taste, so the walls were a blend of deep mahogany wood paneling and rich, velvet wallpaper in shades of burgundy and gold. A grand chandelier hanging from the vaulted ceiling. The furniture was antique and a grand piano stood in one corner.
"And where is the woman of the hour?" Rex asked, throwing himself on the couch.
"Probably upstairs," I said. "I'll go get her."
I climbed the stairs and headed towards Rory's room. It wasn't close to mine because I wanted her to have as much space as possible. When I got close, the door was slightly open, and inside, I could hear voices.
"I miss mom too, you know."
I froze. That was Callie's voice.
"Me too," Rory said. "If she was here, I don't think motherhood would seem so scary. Mom always had a way of making everything better."
"That's true," Callie agreed. "Are you that scared of being a mom?"
There was silence for a while. Then Rory said, "Yeah. I think Raphael and I are acting so calm right now because we don't know what the fuck is happening."
I held my laughter in. Knowing she was scared and hearing her admit it made me feel less like a coward for being scared too.
"You're going to be a good mom," Callie said. "Raphael is pretty cool too so I think he'll be a good dad."
"I think so too."
I knocked.
"Come in," Rory called.
I pushed the door open and peeked in. Both Callie and Rory were lying on her bed, their heads turned to face each other.
"Hi," I said. “Uh, the guys are downstairs.”
Callie jumped up immediately. "Oh my God," she said. "Oh my God."
Rory sat up slowly, a smile on her face. "Calm down," she said.
"I am calm," Callie snapped. Then she turned to me. “Can I go meet them? Just to say hi? Is Axel there?”
“He is,” I said, smiling. “You can go meet them. I already told them about you.”
She squealed, dashing out of the room and running down the stairs.
“Shouldn’t you wait for him to introduce you?!” Rory yelled after her but she was long gone.
I laughed. “She’ll be fine,” I said, sitting next to her. “How are you doing?”
Her hair was tied in a messy bun and her cheeks were flushed. She looked so pretty.
Rory nodded. "I'm good. How was practice?"
"Good," I replied.
She motioned to move off the bed. “I should go change before I meet…”
“Wait,” I said, holding onto her arm. My eyes fell to her stomach, hidden behind a shirt. There was a little growing bump that wasn’t that noticeable yet but I saw it.
My hand slipped down her arm, my thumb rubbing the skin gently.
“I heard your conversation with Callie,” I said. When she raised a brow, I added, “about you being scared.”
Rory didn't look away.
"You shouldn't be," I said. "Because we're in this together. If you're afraid, tell me. You shouldn't be worried about looking weak because I'm not strong enough to carry this on my own either.”
She looked down at our arms. “My parents died when I was in college. Callie was in high school. The only experience I have with anyone younger than me was being a big sister. I have no idea how to raise a kid and I know this baby is coming whether I'm ready or not. Thats what scares me," she said. “That I have no prior experience and I have no idea what the hell I'm doing and what if...what if I mess this up, Raphael? What if I screw it up and it grows up to hate me and you or-”
"Hey, hey, calm down," I said, placing both my hands on her shoulders. "You're panicking."
She took a deep breath and nodded.
"Firstly, that won't happen," I said. "And secondly, there's a first time for everything, Rory. I'm terrified too," I admitted. "I'm a rock star. I've never done anything more challenging than singing and playing a guitar. So yeah, this scares me. But I know that if we face this together, we can make it work."
She bit her lower lip and looked away, tears brimming in her eyes.
"Rory?"
She sniffed. "Thank you," she whispered.
"You're welcome," I replied. “I promise I’ll never leave you to deal with this alone, okay? I promise I’ll be a good father and a good co-parent to you. That's what I'm here for, Rory. We'll get through this, okay?"
She looked up at me, her eyes meeting mine. A smile grew on her face, her eyes softening. "Okay," she said.
I smiled back. "Okay," I said. “Now, let’s head downstairs before your sister manages to convince Axel to give him a few strands of his hair.”
Rory laughed at that and my chest felt warm.
I really liked her laugh.