Under Her Skin (11 page)

"Come on Dusty! Don't make me go home. I won't have anything to do, I'll be all alone." Marlo whined.

"Marlo, it's only for two weeks. Don't make this any harder than it has to be." He pleaded. "I'll call Annie to come stay with you so that you won't be all alone. I'm sure it will be nice to have her help until you're healed anyways."

Marlo thought about it for a few minutes. It would be great to spend some time with Annie again. She had been their nanny when they were growing up, and she was more of a mother to Dusty and Marlo than their own mother was. "Fine. But I don't have to like it."

"I know. I'll miss you too." Dusty smiled, knowing that was one of the biggest problems.

"Well, don't even think of turning off your cell phone. I'm going to be calling all the time to find out what's happening and making sure that you know what your schedule is." She warned.

"You can reach me any time you need to." He leaned over the bed and gave his sister a hug. "So when we leave on the bus tomorrow, you'll head back home. We hired a car for you so that you since we're only about six hours from home. Better than trying to get you on a plane with all that damn plaster on your arm."

Marlo sighed. She knew it was all for the better, but she didn't have to like it. Honestly, she didn't know how she would have gotten along on the bus in the shape that she was in, but it was a bitch to admit it.

A soft knock was heard in the room and Tobias peeked his head in the door slowly, making sure it was okay to go in. "Hey." He spoke softly.

Marlo smiled. "Hey, come on in." She looked over to her brother, giving him a look that asked for a few minutes alone.

"I'm just going to go call Annie and let her know the plan. I'll be back in a few." Dusty said, squeezing his sister's hand. As he walked by his band mate, he clapped him on the back.

"So, I suppose you know that I'm not coming back on the tour?" Marlo asked.

"Yeah, I heard Dusty talking to the doctor earlier. I didn't come in then because I didn't want to get hit by any flying object." He teased, knowing how much it meant to Marlo to be with the group.

"Nothing I can do about it." She said, defeated. "But, at least you'll finally have me out of your hair." She searched his eyes to find his reaction. She was kind of testing the waters, still not sure what was happening between them. She had all these feelings jumbled up inside of her, finally understanding what they meant when they said, 'There's a fine line between love and hate'.

For so long, she had all these passionate feelings towards Tobias, which she truly thought was hate. But now she thought that maybe it was something else. Maybe her 'hatred' was just her own way to protect herself from getting hurt and exposing her true feelings.

And as for Pierce, was he just a pawn, someone she used to try to make Tobias jealous? Or was he just another shield used to mask her feelings for the man in question? Marlo didn't think she was the kind of person to intentionally use someone, so maybe she was doing it on some sub-conscious level?

"Are you listening to me?" Tobias asked, waving a hand in front of Marlo's face.

"Huh?" Marlo had been so focused on her thoughts in her quest to find out how she truly felt, that she ignored every word that was coming out of Tobias' mouth.

"I said I was going to miss you. I got kind of used to you on the bus with us." He smirked. "Besides, I'm going to miss all the drama. I was kind of getting used to being the knight in shining armor." He teased.

"Ha-ha. Like I intended for all that to happen." She rolled her eyes, ignoring the pain that shot through her head when she did it.

"It's all good though. Anyways, I think I can handle two weeks without having someone to fight with constantly." He laughed. He ran his good hand across his chin, feeling the stubble scratch against his fingers. He was hoping that he wasn't letting on just how much he was going to miss Marlo. He felt like he was turning into a girl, all these emotions that he'd been showing lately. Time to make an exit, and quick, before he completely spilled his guts to her. "Well, rest up while we're gone. You need to save what little brain you have left." He stood and kissed Marlo on the forehead, then the nose, then lightly and quickly touched her lips with his.

Before Marlo even realized what was happening, Tobias was gone, leaving her even more frustrated.

*****

The next morning, Marlo and Dusty met with the doctor and went over her release paperwork. Much to her dismay, she was forced into a wheelchair instead of letting her walk out of the hospital on her own. What really mattered though, was that she was finally free of their watchful eyes.

As much as she hated not finishing the tour out with the guys, she was a little excited to be able to sleep in her own bed again. She was also looking forward to spending some time with Annie.

Dusty rolled Marlo out of the hospital to where the hired car and the bus were waiting. As soon as she was through the doors, she saw the rest of the members of the band waiting outside for her, next to their tour bus. Dusty stopped the chair and Marlo stood up slowly, trying to get balanced from the weight of the cast.

AJ came to hug her first. "You gaining weight?" He asked. "I can barely get my arms around you."

"Well, I'm sure the million pounds of plaster doesn't have anything to do with that." She laughed. Leave it to AJ to bring out the humor of the situation.

Sammy was next. "Going to miss you." He told her as he embraced her. He was going to miss all the time they spent talking and playing cards. He had so much fun with Marlo during the boring stretches on the tour bus. She always knew how to make the slow times fun.

Marlo nodded, unable to speak with the lump forming in her throat.

Tobias was next, and Marlo was dreading it. She was already over-emotional, and saying good bye to Tobias was bound to make it worse. He opened his mouth to say something, but Marlo raised her hand and put her fingers on his lips before he could get anything out. She shook her head at him, effectively stopping what he had been planning to say.

Instead, Tobias pulled her into his arms, careful not to get smacked by the large mass of plaster being used to heal her bones. Tears slowly trickled down her face, unable to stop them. She felt stupid for getting so emotional. After all, it was only a couple of weeks that she would be spending without them. The band had just become such a huge part of her life that she felt empty without them.

Tobias released Marlo and softly pressed his lips against her forehead. "Come on, I have a surprise for you." He took her good hand in his and led her around the bus to where her ride was waiting for her. "Just thought you deserved to ride in style."

Marlo cast her eyes over the limo that was waiting for her. "Wow! You didn't have to do that." Marlo was slightly shocked.

"Well, I didn't think you'd fit in a small car with that big ass thing on your arm anyways." Tobias teased.

She socked him in the arm with her good hand. "Just when I thought you were starting to be nice…" She laughed. "This is so cool. Thank you."

"You're welcome." Tobias kissed her cheek. "Have a safe trip, and we'll see you when we get back." He slowly walked away from her, using all the restraint that he had not to turn around and kiss the breath out of her.

Dusty was last to say goodbye. He made it quick and painless, with a 'see you soon sis' and a big smooch on the cheek. She was thankful that he didn't make it a mushy goodbye. They both knew that she wouldn't be able to handle it at that point. After he helped her into the limo, he smacked the roof and waved her off.

Marlo waved good bye to the guys with her good hand until she could no longer see them. For the next few minutes, to fight off the pangs of loneliness, she explored all the features and luxury that her ride had to offer.

Back at the bus, Dusty gave Tobias a knowing look. "I didn't order a limo for her to ride home in." A grin spread across his face.

"Yeah, sorry about that." He smiled sheepishly. "Don't worry, you won't get charged for the upgrade, I took care of it."

"It's about time you paid for something, tight wad!" Dusty teased and pushed Tobias onto the bus where AJ and Sammy were already seated and waiting to take off. The silence once the bus got moving was deafening.

AJ started drumming his fingers on the table and Dusty picked up a tennis ball that was near him and bounced it on the floor. Sammy started blowing bubbles with his gum, then sucked it back into his mouth so hard that it made popping noises. Tobias listened for a few minutes, to everything going on around him. Finally, he couldn't take it anymore, and yelled, "Stop!" Everyone stopped what they were doing and looked at him as if they had no clue what he was annoyed at. He stood and walked to the back of the bus where he could be alone. He just hoped that the rest of the tour wouldn't be like that.

*****

A couple of magazines and a short nap later, Marlo felt the limo come to a stop. She looked out the window and was relieved to see was home. Annie bolted out of the front door when she was the limo pull up, eager to see the girl who had essentially been her daughter.

She carefully helped Marlo out of the vehicle and up to the house, thanking the chauffer for bringing Marlo's bags in. Once they were settled, they caught up on each other's lives, and it felt like they had never been apart. After talking about the present, they began to reminisce about the past.

"Annie, do you remember the last time I had a cast on my arm?" Marlo asked, laughing a bit at the memory.

"That was a long time ago." Annie recalled, feeling a little guilty.

"I was only 9 years old. You were on vacation, and me and Dusty thought it would be fun to jump off that tree limb into the lake. You never let us do it when you were here, so we figured it would be a perfect opportunity." Marlo started.

"And you learned why I never let you jump from that tree, didn't you." She pointed out sternly.

"Did I ever!" Marlo groaned. "I knew I should have let Dusty go first. But no, I had to show him that I wasn't a sissy, and I went first. I don't know who screamed louder when I slipped and hit my arm on the tree, him or me." Marlo was finally able to laugh about it. "You know, the killer was that when Dusty called Mom at work to tell her what happened and that the bone was popping out of the skin, all she said was that she was busy and had to go. She left him to deal with his little sister who was hurt. But ever since he threw me onto the seat of his bicycle and pedaled us to the hospital, he's been my hero."

"I wish I'd been there for you Marls." Annie said, tears coming to her eyes.

"Hey! Stop that right now! You deserved a life too Annie. It wasn't your fault that our parents were such shits. We were your job, and every job needs a vacation." Marlo lectured.

"You kids were always more than my job." Annie told her.

"We know, and you were more than our nanny. You still are." Marlo patted Annie's hand. "Thanks for always taking care of us. Hell, thanks for still taking care of us!"

"I wouldn't have it any other way." Annie smiled at her. "So, tell me more about what's happening with you and Tobias."

"Annie, you probably know more than me. That boy has me so confused, I don't know up from down anymore." Marlo was happy to finally have someone to talk to about what had been happening. She also knew that she could trust Annie with the truth, without it ever coming back to haunt her. Maybe heading home early really was for the best.

Chapter 12

"I don't know Annie. On one hand, he's such a player and he can irritate me to no end. On the other hand, he makes me feel like I am the only person in the world when I'm with him, and I just get this rush." She paused. "He can be so sweet and caring sometimes, but other times... When things are good, they're very good. When they're bad, they're horrible. I just don't know what to make of the whole situation." Lola tried to explain her conflicting feelings for Tobias to Annie.

"Sounds like he's someone that you need to watch out for thought. I don't want to see you get your heart broken." Annie warned, without trying to tell her what to do. "As I've always told you, you need to figure out what you're going to do for yourself. I can't make the decision for you, but any time you need to talk, I'll be here to listen." Annie didn't really know Tobias. She had only met him a few times, and they were always meetings on the fly. Someone was always rushing to get somewhere, so they never had time to really talk. She really didn't have much of an opinion on him, besides what she had heard from other people.

"Thanks Annie. It's nice to be able to spend time with you again." Lola got up and hugged Annie on her way to her bedroom. "Good night!" She yelled back.

"Good night!" Annie yelled back. She looked at the clock, and even though it was late, she wasn't ready for bed. Instead, she curled up on the couch with her memories, of when Marlo and Dusty were younger, being her only source of entertainment for the night.

Over the next two weeks, Marlo spent a lot of time trying to straighten out her feelings. When she wasn't deep in thought, she was either reading or watching movies. A lot of the plot lines that were holding her attention were stories that mirrored her own. After the week long Lifetime marathon, Annie gently reminded Marlo that things don't always work out the way they do in the movies.

"If you aren't happy with the way that Tobias is now, then move on because you can't go into a relationship expecting to change the person." She pointed out sympathetically. Annie was aware that Marlo knew that, but it didn't hurt to have a little reminder every now and then.

Things were relatively quiet for the band on tour. The guys were anxious to play their last few concerts, being extremely tired and drained from the past few months of traveling. With the exhaustion setting in, the parties afterwards aren't as wild as normal. Tobias still flirted a lot and even kissed a few girls, but never went beyond that anymore. He was under Dusty's watchful eye, and even though he and Lola weren't technically 'together', he still had received quite a few dirty looks when he was with other girls at the after parties. Those looks always made Tobias feel ashamed, even though he really wasn't doing anything wrong.