Under the Cornerstone

by Sasha Marshall

  “I loved watching you beat his ass,” she chuckles.

  “I waited for years to do that,” I smirk. “Anyhow, when I met you I was being a little shit with my dad. I wasn’t mad at him, but I was angry as fuck at the world. I met you and that all changed. I saw that bitch put glue in your hair and I took my anger out on her. Then I pulled you into that bathroom and when your lip quivered, I was fucking gone, Noe. You gave me purpose. I had this need to protect you. It was immediate and consuming. I can’t explain it. I don’t really understand it myself. But, I stopped being a shit and started hanging out with you. When you didn’t come to school after your mom died, I had my first panic attack. Dad came and picked me up from school and told me why you were out and I went into panic mode. All I could think was you were going to leave me too. I thought you’d go somewhere else to live. You’d go to another school or move away with family and I’d never see you again.”

  I take another swig from the bottle and pass it back to her.

  “The next time I had a panic attack was the week you lived on the streets. Every single time I’ve had an attack, it was because I thought I’d lost you. The night… the night we first… slept together. I woke up and you were still asleep. I sat in your chair and watched you sleep and apologized silently to you over and over again because I knew I’d fucked up. I took advantage of you. I didn’t mean to. I’d held that shit in for fifteen years, and it only took one second for all of my control to go out the window. I was looking at what Tony did to you and all I could think was I had to take it all away. I had to show you how much you really mean, how amazing you really are. I shouldn’t have done it that night, but I did. Then I woke up and I was scared to death you’d wake up and hate me, which meant I’d lose you forever. I felt a panic attack coming on, and I didn’t want to wake you so I slipped into your stairwell. I called Rich to calm me down. He came over and talked me into getting out for some fresh air. I went back to his apartment and took a few shots. I was miserable, but the plan was to get my shit together and be at your place when you woke up. I was stupid, I kept drinking, trying to numb the panic that kept creeping up, and I drank myself asleep on a bar stool at his place. Jimmy kindly woke me up the next morning by picking me up off that bar stool and throwing me across the room.”

  “What?” she asks with a hint of anger and concern in her voice.

  “His phone died, so he picked up mine from the bar to use it. He saw the pictures I’d taken of you that night for proof. He automatically thought I’d done it to you.”

  “What the fuck is wrong with that idiot? He knows you’d never put your hands on me,” she says pissed off.

  “I tried to explain it wasn’t me, but I wouldn’t tell him anything else. Ryan woke up to the all the drama and Jimmy tossed him the phone. Ryan saw them and looked at me like I’d done it. Rich came in next and freaked out because he knew I was supposed to be there when you woke up and he knew I’d fucked up. He knew we’d slept together but he didn’t know about what Tony did. You asked me to keep it between us and I had intended to, but Jimmy went insane and the anxiety and tequila caught up to me so I was puking. They all came into the bathroom to watch me hurl and demand answers. I begged him to let it go, but you know Jim. He left the bathroom so Rich and I could talk and Rich put the pieces from the night before together. Meanwhile, Jimmy was in the living room calling everyone in Brooklyn to find out who could’ve done that to you. He found out it was Tony before I came out of the bathroom. Noe, I swear I begged him not to do anything. I asked him to get it out of you and get your permission before he laid a hand on Tony. Fuck, Rich even begged him to let it go. We watched and followed him for days to keep him from doing something stupid. I knew you were already pissed because you thought I’d skipped out on you that morning. I didn’t call after that because I wanted to stop Jimmy before I talked to you. I was trying to keep him on a leash and get that squared away so I could come tell you everything. But Jimmy found Tony and we showed up to stop him. Jim showed that asshole the pictures of the shit he’d done to you and all Tony did was smile. I don’t know what happened, but I lost my shit. That smile did me in, and I laid into his ass. Next thing I knew we were all being hauled off of his sorry ass and thrown on the ground and handcuffed. I didn’t go there to fight him, even though I can’t honestly say I didn’t want to kill his ass. I was trying to respect your wishes. The next time I saw you, you were bailing Jimmy out of jail and Leo had leaked the story. Then your name was leaked. It all just got fucked so fast that I couldn’t stop it.”

  “Why didn’t Jimmy or the others tell me?” she asks.

  “Because I asked them not to.”

  “Why would you do that, Johnny?”

  “Because you were pissed off at me and I knew I’d probably lost you forever. I wasn’t going to come in between you and Jimmy. I wasn’t going to let you lose him too. I wasn’t going to let you lose the rest of your family.”

  “Johnny, you should’ve told me this then. Fuck,” she says and the water sloshes around in the tub.

  “I tried, but…”

  “You should’ve made me listen,” I can hear the tears in her voice.

  “Don’t cry, Noe. It’s in the past. I’m just trying to make it right now.”

  “Will you hand me the towel?” she asks.

  I reach up to the vanity and grab the towel I laid out for her. I hand it to her and walk out so she can get dressed.

  “Those are my panties,” she says as I exit.

  “You left them here that night… the second time,” I tell her.

  “You kept them,” she says with shock.

  “Honestly, I just liked opening my drawer and seeing them next to my stuff, Noe.”

  I walk out with that and leave her to get dressed.

  I sit on the couch and turn on Netflix and absently scroll through the titles. She comes into the room and sits next to me and tucks herself tightly into my side. I wrap my arm around her and pull her in tighter. I kiss the top of her head and breathe in the smell of her hair.

  “I’m glad you followed me tonight,” she says.

  “Me too, Noely baby.”

  I rub circles on her leg and then my dick springs to life, but I don’t stop. I can’t fight this shit around her no matter how hard I try.

  “I have another story to tell you,” I chuckle.

  “This sounds like another Jimmy story,” she snickers.

  “Yep. I woke up this morning to him fucking a girl so dumb I have to wonder how she functions as an adult. I ate some cereal and the two joined me, and she started wrapping Jimmy’s leg in a cast.”

  I tell her the entire story from start to finish and she’s laughing like hell.

  “So his leg isn’t really broken?” she asks.

  “Hell no it’s not broken. He was just trying to get you on tour. Of course I didn’t put it all together until he played the ‘I don’t know how I’ll get around on tour’ pitiful card. I didn’t really care at that point. I thought he was a fucking genius when I realized he got you to tour with us, but I didn’t play a part in any of that shit and I’m not letting you come on tour under the pretense that Jimmy broke his leg.”

  She laughs again for quite a while and I laugh along with her.

  When she gathers herself together, she pulls back from my side to look at me.

  “Can I still go on tour with you?” she asks.

  “What? Yes! Of course!” I tell her.

  Did I hear her correctly?

  “You sure?” she asks.

  “Noely, you belong on that tour as much as the rest of us. It would make my life a hell of a lot less miserable.”

  Her eyes glimmer with tears suddenly, so I pull on her hand, “Hey, what’s wrong?”

  “I… I don’t want to go back to where we were.”

  “Me and you?” I ask.

  “Yeah.”

  “Done. It’s done, Noe. Me and you… we’ll always get through
whatever the world throws at us. We always have.”

  She smiles, “We have.”

  “Let’s get you tucked in,” I tell her as I take in how exhausted she looks.

  I scoop her up and carry her into my room. I gently place her on the bed and cover her up.

  “I’ll be on the couch if you need anything,” I tell her.

  “You’re not sleeping in here?” she frowns.

  I run my hands through my hair, “I can’t sleep in that bed with you, Noely baby. I only have so much self-control.”

  She has the saddest expression on her face, but nods in understanding.

  “You know I think I’m going to go along with Jimmy’s broken leg, but he’s going to pay like hell for it,” she gives me a mischievous smile.

  I laugh, “I can’t wait.”

  I lean down and kiss her forehead.

  “Night, Johnny.”

  “Night, Noe.”

  Chapter Forty-Two

  I watch her flitter around backstage, ordering people around with a smile on her face. She took to this job like I knew she would. It only took a few days before she was bossing Jimmy around. It’s funny to watch. I keep my distance from her in the first few weeks of the tour. I fight it with everything I have. I make sure I smile when I see her, and I get a smile back, but I’m much quieter than I usually am.

  I don’t want to give her a reason to run back to Brooklyn, without me. It doesn’t take long before I see that she’s found her home, just like we did. She belongs here as much as we do. She pushes social media on us and encourages us to be more interactive with our followers. She pushes Ryan into the spotlight and gets him to speak to the crowd.

  She increases our following it seems from the day she steps on the bus, and she’s constantly coming up with small ways to help us interact more with the fans and add more to our existing fan base. She redesigns our shirts and merchandise, and that shit starts selling so fast we run out of something at every show.

  Three weeks into the tour, she finds me playing my guitar on the couch in my hotel room.

  “Bored?” she asks.

  “Just enjoying the downtime,” I tell her and try not to stare.

  She curls up on the other end of the couch and sighs. I look over at to see her eyes closed.

  “You work too much,” I tell her.

  “There’s a lot of work to be done.”

  “I think we’re firing Jimmy and hiring you,” I chuckle.

  “Jimmy should be paid for his entertaining qualities alone,” she giggles.

  “Until a woman shoots him.”

  “I don’t know. I think he’ll surprise us all and settle down with one girl eventually,” she says.

  I look at her with apprehension, “Are we talking about the same Jimmy?”

  “Same Jimmy,” she smiles and closes her eyes again.

  I put my guitar down and tell her, “Take a nap.”

  She sits up straight, “Shit. No, if I do I won’t be worth a fuck the rest of the day.”

  “Noe, we have three days off. Rest. The other shit can wait until tomorrow.”

  She rolls her eyes at me, but I smile when she gets comfortable on the couch once again. She’s asleep in less than five minutes. I sit there for close to an hour watching her sleep. She looks so peaceful, far from the girl whose father ripped her heart out of her chest weeks ago. Thinking about it pisses me off all over again, so I turn on the TV and click through the channels until I find a decent movie. I settle in and watch as she sleeps.

  She wakes a couple hours later, so I order us room service while she uses the bathroom.

  “Got some food coming,” I tell her.

  “I’m starving.”

  She gets comfortable on the couch again while I’m still sitting on the bed by the phone. I take the remote and walk over to give it to her.

  “Find something for us to watch,” I tell her.

  She takes the remote and finds her favorite new show Black Sails on, and smiles when she sees Captain Vane. I settle on the bed as I wait for room service to show, but become engulfed in the episode. I get a little tiffed when room service shows up during the middle of a girl-on-girl scene. Fuck this guy.

  I open the door, sign the receipt, leave a great tip, thank the guy quickly, and pull the cart inside so he doesn’t follow. Then I pull it to the side of the bed and move the couch away from the wall so Noe is on the other side of the cart.

  “I could’ve gotten up,” she says.

  “And miss this shit? Fuck that, carry on,” I laugh.

  “Shit is hot, yeah?”

  “Fuck yeah.”

  We watch Black Sails late into the night. She passes out on the couch. I debate whether to move her or not, and finally chivalry wins over. I pull the covers back, then pick her up and place her in the bed. After I tuck Sleeping Beauty in, I find an extra blanket and gather some pillows before I crash on the couch.

  A knock wakes us around noon the next day. I shouldn’t call it a knock. It sounds like someone is trying to break the door off its hinges. I get pissed and head for the door as I watch Noely sit up and rub her eyes and then shoot me a confusing glance. I shrug.

  I open the door to my giant friend. He rushes in past me on his crutches for his “broken leg”.

  “Bruh, do you know how much sympathy head you can get for a broken leg?” Jimmy asks.

  “You almost knocked down the door to tell me that?” I ask and stretch.

  “What the fuck?” he asks as he sees Noe in my bed.

  “I slept on the couch,” I murmur to him.

  “Why would you…”

  “Shut the fuck up,” I tell him before Noe can wake up enough to hear his shit.

  “Right,” he looks confused for a beat and then remembers why he’s here in the first place. “So, as I was saying before you rudely interrupted me, I just received the most amazing blow job of my life.”

  “Good for you,” I say and walk across the room to find my shirt.

  I look over at Noe, and I swear on everything holy she’s checking me out. I look away and shake that shit from my head before I do something stupid… again.

  “Noe, you gotta hear this shit,” he tells her.

  “Yeah. Got it. Blow job. Best ever. I’m going back to sleep,” she says and I laugh.

  Jimmy looks hurt and a little shocked. He shakes his own head, smiles, and climbs onto the bed with her.

  “I want a cuddle,” he tells her.

  “Have you washed your hands since you last touched your dick?” she mumbles with her eyes closed.

  Jimmy frowns and then crawls off the bed. He picks up his crutches and walks to the bathroom. The water turns on.

  “Wash for sixty seconds with hot water and antibacterial soap!” she says loudly so he’ll hear, then only where I can hear, “or use some bleach.”

  We both laugh.

  Sixty seconds later Jimmy emerges from the bathroom and crawls back in the bed with Noe. I’m jealous. I’d be lying if I said differently. I stare at the ceiling so I don’t have to look at him cuddling with her. I can’t do that anymore because I have no self-control with her. I put myself in this situation and it fucking sucks.

  “I swear to God, Jim, that better be your cast in my fucking back,” Noely states.

  I can hear the lie and the smile in his voice, clear as day, “Sure it is, Noely baby.”

  I hear movement in the bed and Jimmy howl in pain.

  “That was my broken leg!” he yells at her.

  Scratch that, he howls in fake pain.

  “Oh? I’m so sorry, Jimmy,” she says sarcastically.

  I roll over and try to keep my laughter as silent as possible. When is he going to figure out she knows his leg isn’t broken?

  I offer to go to a Yoga class five weeks into tour with Noe. Jimmy obviously volunteers to go next, so the entire band ends up going. I wanted some time alone with her, but that’s appa
rently asking for too much. Jimmy went on and fucking on about yoga pants and asses until Rich and Ryan were so fucking pumped up that they thought yoga was something akin to going to a fucking strip club.

  We take the hotel limo to the class and watch the yoga videos Jimmy pulls up on YouTube. Of course, he finds the hottest bitches in the tightest pants, and chooses those videos to show us. Noe keeps a private smile to herself, like she knows something we don’t, which means Jim, Rich, and Ryan are going to be let down in an epic way.

  We walk through the door of the yoga studio and a woman in her thirties greets us. She’s cute as fuck and Jimmy is waggling his eyebrows at Rich and Ryan. Those two seem intrigued, because, well, we all have cocks. This is what we do. Of course, my eyes stay glued to Noe’s ass every chance I get. Yoga pants does an ass good.

  The hot chick has us sign in and pay for the session, then walks us into the studio and introduces us to an extremely masculine woman. Apparently, she’ll be our instructor today. I look over at Noe who smiles back at me and tries to suppress her laughter. I double over. I can’t help it. She knew our instructor was not going to look like one of the women in Jimmy’s videos.

  “Bullshit,” Jimmy says.

  “Excuse me?” the instructor asks with attitude.

  “I said, ‘Oh, shit’,” he lies. “I’m not sure how I’ll be able to do this with a broken leg.”

  The instructor waves him off, “You’ll do just fine.”

  Jimmy was in the process of backing out of the studio when she walks over to him and forcefully pulls him to a mat. I look down at Noe to find her silently laughing, and over to Rich and Ryan who look unnerved by our instructor.