Metal Urge (13 page)

Thom approached cautiously from the stairway where he had been sitting like a dejected outcast.  Mims meowed once and then closed her eyes, enjoying Deanna's attention.  There was a brush on the coffee table which he picked up and handed to Deanna before settling into an overstuffed chair across from the couch.  He watched Deanna brush Mims,
her long, delicate fingers running through the cat's lush fur after each brush stroke.  Closing his eyes, he envisioned those beautiful hands stroking his long, thick hair.  How marvelous her fingertips would feel against his neck and scalp.  For a brief moment he actually felt jealous of Deanna's attention to Mims.  He was a bit surprised by the whirlwind of emotions whipping through him as he watched the stunning Yank work her magic on the cat.  How could he have forgotten that night at Trevor's party?  A vision in blue satin, Deanna breezed into the room and he forgot to breathe as time stood still...until Nigel trailed in behind her.  What he would have given to have a chance with the American beauty, but Nigel had gotten there first, charming her into submission with his high voltage smile, and his phony snake-oil salesman pitch.  Given time she would forget all about that self-serving bastard.  The prat would never have the power to hurt her again.

Light was filtering through the living room shutters.  A shaft of bright sunshine played against Deanna's eyelids, waking her.  Mims was nestled against her belly, Thom was snoring softly in a chair across from her, and she realized they had all fallen asleep in the living room.  She stretched and yawned before sitting up, waking Mims who mewed as if to ask why she was disturbing her catnap.  All she wanted was coffee---sweet, milky coffee with lots of sugar and a dash of cinnamon to take away any bitterness.  She stumbled to the kitchen, Mims close at her heels, and searched for a coffee pot but all she found was an electric tea kettle.  She sifted through the contents of a couple of cabinets and found two oversized mugs which she placed on the countertop.  Mims cried insistently and wound around her legs so she opened the refrigerator and found a carton of cream, pouring a generous amount into Mim’s water bowl.  While the cat slurped her fattening treat, Deanna hunted for teabags, finally locating them in the pantry.

While the water heated up she went to the living room to wake Thom and ask what he wanted for breakfast.  She reached down to shake his arm but abruptly pulled her hand back.  With his flowing blonde hair and perfectly chiseled features, he looked like an archangel from a renaissance painting.  She couldn't believe that this was the first time since their fateful meeting that she had noticed what an incredibly handsome guy the guitarist was.  Where was the equally beautiful femme fatale whose sole purpose would be to hover and fawn over the gorgeous musician while she waited on him hand and foot?  Why had he had invited damaged goods to share his space?  And not only damaged, but rendered incapable of feeling anything but shame and regret by a love gone wrong with the lead singer of his band, Metal Urge.

Deanna moved to the couch and sat down, watching Thom sleep.  She vaguely remembered a heated exchange between him and Nigel before he took her away.  She ran her hands through her hair and over her face not wanting to recall anything else, especially the horrifying events after they left Nigel's flat.  Being here with Thom and Mims had helped to ease the hollow ache in her soul left by the loss of her baby.  She had even laughed and teased Thom after he admitted what he had unwittingly done to the poor cat.  For the first time in days she felt a semblance of normalcy.  The pain was there but it wasn't the agonizing nightmare that had tormented her unceasingly while she lay in that cold, soulless hospital ward.  Those simple, comforting exchanges helped her to forget for a while, even affording her enough peace to sleep soundly without the terrible dreams she had suffered in that lonely hospital bed.  There was no way she could ever repay Thom for all he had done, and was still doing for her.  Deanna felt the prickle of tears and blinked them away, afraid that if she
started to cry, she might never stop, and they would all drown in the unfathomable depths of her sorrow.

Without warning, Mims streaked in from the kitchen and jumped onto Thom's chest, jolting him awake.

“What the fuck!”  He yelled.

Mims scrambled over his shoulder and leapt off of the chair, racing away before he could grab her and throttle her for scaring him.

“Payback’s a bitch,” Deanna said austerely.

Thom stared at her in bewilderment as she got up and announced that she would make scrambled eggs, bacon, and toast for breakfast.  The tea kettle whistled shrilly and Deanna laughed at the goofy look on Thom's face as she walked away feeling the negative thoughts fade while chuckling over Mims’ clever payback stunt.  There was no doubt she was right where she needed to be.  Soon she would feel strong enough to begin putting the shattered pieces of her life back together.  She had Thom McCordy to thank for that.  That and his selfless act of offering sanctuary to a stupid, naive girl who had lost her way with no hope of finding her way back until now.

“I'm going to take a shower,” Tom announced from the kitchen entryway.

“Don't take too long.  Breakfast will be ready in a few minutes,” she said while breaking eggs into a large ceramic bowl.  “Do you like omelets?”

He nodded, his eyes scanning the room for Mims who was hiding behind Deanna's legs, golden eyes wide with fear.  He pointed at the cat and growled, “You’d better watch your furry back you little slag.”

“Thom!”  Deanna scolded.  She shooed him out of the kitchen and they both laughed when Mims peeked around the entryway with a wary look.

“I'm just teasing you, Miss mucky-muck,” Thom said to the cat and reached down to pet her silky head.  She shied away at first but soon began to purr as he scratched under her chin and murmured silly endearments to put her at ease.  “Have we reached a truce?” he asked Mims who meowed in answer.  Thom stood up and grinned at Deanna.  “Alright then, I'm off to the shower.”

Deanna shook her head and chuckled as she returned to the kitchen to finish preparing breakfast.  The omelet bubbled as she spread shredded cheddar cheese over the top, and she heard her stomach growl.  Just as she placed two slices of bread in the toaster the doorbell rang.  She called out for Thom to answer it but realized he was still in the bathroom.  She grabbed a towel to wipe her hands and ran to the door, opening it.  Metal Urge's drummer, Jayson Rawley and a pretty red-haired girl looked at her quizzically before apologizing for having the wrong address.

“Are you looking for Thom McCordy?” she asked Jayson.

“Yeah.  This is the address he gave me but, uh,” he stammered and Deanna smiled and opened the door, gesturing for them to come in.

“This is Thom's flat,” she said and cleared her throat.  “I'm staying here for a while...just until I find a new place.”  She could feel her face reddening as Jayson raised his eyebrows and glanced at the redhead standing next to him, her arm linked through his.

“I smell something burning,” the girl said.

Deanna cursed and ran to the kitchen, grabbing the blackened pan which was smoking furiously off of the burner and shoving it under the faucet to try and staunch the foul, billowing smoke.  In her panic she forgot to grab a pot holder and the red hot handle seared the palm of her hand, the metal sticking to her sizzling flesh.  She cried out in pain and dropped the pan in the sink just as Thom rushed in to see what had caused all of the smoke.  He scooped up a glob of butter from a nearby butter dish and grabbed her hand, slathering her blistering skin with the oily mess.  The girl handed Thom a cold, wet cloth and he pressed the dripping cloth against Deanna's palm.

“Hold this against your hand for a few minutes.”  He said and turned to the redhead.  “Cheers, Penny.”

She nodded and looked at Deanna who was grimacing with pain.  “Will she be alright or d'you think we should call a doctor?”

“No doctors please,” Deanna whimpered, tears rolling down her cheeks.

Thom eased her hand open and sucked in his breath.  “This is bad, love.  We've got to get you to the emergency room.”

Ignoring her pleas, Thom made sure the cooker was off and hustled her out of the flat and into his car.  Jayson and Penny climbed in the backseat and Penny rubbed Deanna’s shoulders, assuring her everything was going to be fine.

Although hospital staff took Deanna to a room almost immediately, the three antsy friends still spent hours waiting while she was treated in the burn unit.  The doctor didn't feel it was necessary for her to stay overnight, but he was adamant that she return to have the bandages changed the following afternoon.  He would re-assess the situation at that time.  He gave Deanna a prescription for painkillers and released her into Thom's care with strict instructions to bring her back the next day.  This clumsy accident was the second time that the poor guy had been forced to rescue her from a “burning building” in little more than a week, and Deanna wouldn't be surprised if he dropped her off at the nearest hotel, washing his hands of her for good.  She was like the Flying Dutchman of medical mishaps.  It was mortifying.  She rested her head against the car seat and watched the city lights refract into prisms of color against the window.

Thom reached over to pat her arm and she pulled away in embarrassment.  Unable to understand why she flinched from his touch, he felt hurt that she refused to let him try and comfort her.  He wondered briefly if she would welcome Nigel's touch, but refused to waste any more time on that nonsense---it would only serve to increase his escalating hatred for his old, boyhood mate.  For the sake of Metal Urge, he had to remain neutral.  Trevor had made it perfectly clear that he would take legal action against each and every band member if they broke their contract by any means---brawling or otherwise.  A tour of the States in October, and two more albums---he could live with that.  What choice did he have?  This war was between him and Nigel; the other three lads were innocent bystanders, and he would never do anything to hurt them.  “Bide your time and carry on;” a silly phrase his dad loved to say when times got tough.  Yeah, he’d bide his time until he could throw Nigel out of the band once and for all, and Metal Urge would carry on quite nicely without the worthless sod.

Penny helped Deanna undress and slip into her nightgown so she wouldn't have to use her injured hand.  As the girl tucked the bedclothes around her, Deanna smiled and said, “You've been so kind.  I'm embarrassed to say I don't even know your name.”

The pretty redhead smiled at her sweetly, “I’m Penny Laine’.”

Deanna couldn't help but giggle and Penny shrugged, grinning widely.  “The only saving grace is that my surname is spelled L.A.I.N.E., otherwise I would've been scarred for life.”

Both girls laughed as Penny handed Deanna a pain pill and a glass of water.  She gladly took the pill, hoping it would ease the hot, throbbing agony in her hand which had returned with a vengeance, as well as the renewed pain in her aching womb.  It was unbelievable how quickly the shot she was given at the hospital had worn off.

There was a soft knock and Penny asked who it was.  Thom identified himself, asking if he could come in.  Penny said good night to Deanna letting Thom in as she left the room.  Happy to see him, Deanna patted the bed inviting him to sit next to her.

“I'm so sorry,” she said.

“Whatever for, darlin'?”  He brushed a stray curl away from her cheek just as he had done when she was in the hospital, so alone and vulnerable that it broke his heart.

“I've caused you nothing but trouble.  I mean, that's how we met isn't it?  If I were you I'd run for the hills.”

“Actually, we were introduced at a music rehearsal last May,” he reminded her. “It was a couple of weeks before the band left for Glaston Hall.  I recall being very impressed by your grace and beauty.”

Deanna looked away, embarrassed by his attempt to make her feel better.  She felt awkward, and couldn't seem to find the right words to say.

“It seems your pills have kicked in.”  He started to get up, but Deanna grabbed his arm, her expression serious.

“You'll never know how much I appreciate what you've done for me, Thom.  I don't even have the words to express my gratitude.  You’re my guardian angel...I truly mean that.  If it weren't for you, I'd probably be out on the street.”  She sniffed, trying to keep from bursting into tears.

He desperately wanted to kiss her soft, pink lips---kiss all of the hurt, betrayal, and pain away.  He imagined pulling her into his arms, feeling her heartbeat strong against his chest as she melted into the warmth of his embrace.  Looking into her beautiful green eyes, he felt like he was floating, unreal.  She had no idea the effect she had on him.  It was profound, almost volatile.

He had never felt like this with a woman before.

Afraid that he wouldn't be able to hide the raging emotions threatening to erupt and overflow, burning them both to cinders; he lifted her hand to his lips and gently kissed the soft pads of her fingers before standing up abruptly.  “Don't you worry, love.  This is your home for as long as you like.”  He kissed her fingertips again.  “I'll always be here for you, Deanna.  I promise.”  Pressing her hand to his face, he said goodnight before hurrying out of her bedroom.  He reached the landing and leaned against the railing, shaking with pent-up emotion and frustration.  How long could he keep his feelings hidden?  God, he wanted her, wanted her so badly he felt on the verge of madness.

But she still loved Nigel...he could see it in her eyes.