Chapter 58

Kevin lay there holding her until she feel asleep from exhaustion.  Slowly and carefully he backed out of the bunk.  The guys were waiting for him and he knew that.  Kevin walked to the kitchen area and grabbed a drink.  Quietly he shuffled to the seating area in the back.  He frowned slightly thinking that he could have held her on this bed instead of that tiny bunk.  Kevin sat down on the couch, put his head back, and closed his eyes.  He needed to think, but he knew the questions would start soon.  They cared about Bron as much as he did.

“Is it over?” he heard Nick ask. 

Kevin opened his eyes but didn’t move from his position.  “Not by a long shot Kaos,” he answered him.

“What do you mean?  He’s going to jail.  He can’t hurt her anymore.”  Nick continued.  “Webster called Jake and said that Bron might not even have to testify.”

Kevin sat there, there is so much he doesn’t know or understand, he reflected.  I don’t how to explain this to him.  He didn’t see what happened today.  He didn’t see the terror, and fear in her eyes.  He didn’t see her blank expression.  He doesn’t know much about the details of what happened or about the nightmares.  Kevin sighed, I have to stop playing shrink before it kills her.

Mary knew that Kevin wasn’t in any shape to explain all of this to the fellas.  “Nick, even though he is in jail and can’t hurt her.  Bron has a lot of internal things to deal with,” she said.  Mary figured it was enough information for now.  If Kevin wanted the guys to know more, he would tell them.

“Huh?”  Nick questioned the answer.

A.J. was trying real hard not to get pissed at Nick for continuing,  “Christ Nick, she’s been through a lot of shit.  She has to sort it out.”

Nick was slightly embarrassed, “Oh.”

“Mare, what do we do now?”  Kevin asked, lifting his head off the couch and sipping his drink.  He couldn’t think anymore, he needed help.

Mary shrugged her shoulders.  “Depends on how she handles it.  She’ll sulk or get mad.  I just hope…”  Mary paused.  No, I don’t hope, I pray she doesn’t do this to herself again.

“Hope what Mary?”  Kevin asked.

“That she doesn’t close herself off again,” Mary sighed.

This time it was Kevin’s turn to be confused.  Jake looked at Mary and shook his head up and down.  Mary answered with a no.

Kevin saw Jake get extremely angry very quickly.  “Neither one of you told him.  Did you?” he frowned at Mary.  Mary lowered her head and looked at the floor.

“Fine then I will.  Kevin the day after Bron buried C.W. she deep sixed it…”  Kevin’s eyes open wide and his eyebrows went up.

“Jake,” Mary growled at him. 

“He needs to know,” Jake glared at her.  Mary got up and walked up to the kitchen.  I’m not telling him she thought.

“Explain Jake,” Kevin spoke as he narrowed his eyes at Mary’s back.  What the hell did she not tell me?

“She closed up, tuned herself off.  Shut the world out.”  Jake said as he glared at Mary also.  This was too important to keep hidden from Kevin.  Mary should have told him to begin with.  She wasn’t there but she knew about it.

“Oh God, I thought I was getting so close,” Kevin groaned.

The boys sat there without saying a word.  They were stunned that Mary would hold stuff back from Kevin; after all, they were supposedly working together.  Especially A.J., who was even getting pissed at her now.

Mary walked back and sat down.  Kevin looked at her.  “Are you afraid that she might do that again?” he asked softly. 

Mary stared at the floor, the tension and the anger in the room was almost bouncing off the bus walls.  “Yes, look at her reaction upstairs with Mc.  She’s already started I think.”  She answered Kevin’s question.

“So what do we do?”  Brian asked.

“Be there if she wants to talk,” Mary replied.

“That’s easy,” Brian, answered her.

Mary looked at Brian and began to speak, “Not as easy as you think.  She may want to talk about what Lenny did to her.”

Kevin jumped up from the couch, stalked up to the kitchen, and sat in the booth by himself.  Mary looked at the boys, “If he can’t handle it you’re going to have to help him too.” 

Mary walked back up and sat across from Kevin.  “Maybe I should send her home for awhile,” he spoke to the window.

Mary thought about it for a minute, “Not a good idea.  You will send her right back in time, back to all the misery in that house that he caused.”

“Hmm,” he mused out loud.  She’s probably right.

“Besides last time she couldn’t function.  Jake and her sister in law were there and they took care of Bounce.  Mc too.  That is why Jake is so upset with me.  I heard about it, he lived it.  She didn’t get out of bed for days on end.  She wouldn’t sleep or eat.”  Mary watched for his reaction as he looked out the window. 

Kevin let the remarks settle in his mind and then began to speak.  “So what do I do?  This is hard.  I’m trying to perform, do interviews, and wear a public face.  Plus the new record label.”

Mary was afraid now, “Kevin, Mc came to me this morning.  He said he asked you if you could handle this.  You can’t walk away now.”

Kevin shook his head,  “Mare, I wouldn’t walk away from Bron.  I’m just really worried that we went to far.  If you had told me this last night, none of this would have happened this morning.”

Mary looked at him, “I know that, that is why we decided not to tell you.  I’m glad Jake overstepped his bounds and called Solarez.  I think Mc thought that is what he would do.  Jake will go to the ends of the earth for Bron.  They have known each other since junior high.”

Kevin looked at Mary with a slight grin, “You’re one smart cookie, lady.”

Their conversation was interrupted by Bron screams echoing through the bus.  “Shit!”  Kevin jumped up and ran to the bunk.

Pulling back the curtain, he saw she was still sleeping but lost in her nightmare.  “Hey Bron, come on darlin’, wake up,” as he gently tried to stop her from thrashing around in the bunk.  She was fighting Lenny off her in her dream.  Bron’s eyes flew open they were full of terror. 

He heard Mary whisper, “She’s not awake, she’s still sleeping.”  Kevin didn’t notice that the aisle was filled behind him with his brothers, who were watching Bron.

“Bron, come on darlin’ please wake up.”  He shook her and she screamed at him, “Don’t touch me!”  Kevin dropped his head. 

Mary pulled his hand away from her.  “Let her go,” Mary told him. 

“No,” was Kevin’s answer to her plea.

“Yes, maybe it will help.”  Mary motioned everyone back to their seats, including Kevin.  Mary closed the curtain and sat in the bunk below her.

They all sat and listened to her screaming, talking, and crying in her nightmare.  Nick couldn’t handle it and began to cry.  Brian got up, walked over, and gave him hug.  “This is terrible,” he said to Brian. 

“Yeah, it is,” Brian answered him.  Kevin sat on the couch tears sliding down his face.  Everyone was shaken and horrified to hear what Bron was saying.

By the time they had reached Detroit there wasn’t a dry eye on the bus.  Bron came in and out of her nightmare.  When she finally woke up, she lay in the bunk.  Kevin checked on her and then bolted off the bus.  This was all his fault.  The guilt was too much for him to handle as he saw the state she was in.  Mary looked at the boys and Brian and Howie took off after him.  Nick walked back to Bron’s bunk and began to talk to her.  She immediately rolled on her side with her back to him.

Nick walked away silently, and off the bus.  Mary nodded to A.J. and he followed Nick. 

The bus was parked at the venue since they were going to have to do a quick out.  They had a long drive to Minneapolis.  Jake and Mary sat on the bus.  Somebody brought them some food with a note.  The note was from Alex saying I thought you guys would be hungry.  Mary walked back to the bunk and Bron was lying there gazing at the ceiling.  “Come on, you need to eat.”  Bron didn’t answer and again rolled on her side away from Mary.

Kevin was pacing the dressing room and then the greeting room.  The boys watched him skulk as he waited for Bron.  He was torn up at her being like this and was blaming himself for it.  The show went on and with no appearance of Jake, Mary, or Bron.

Bron heard footsteps on the bus and closed her eyes. 

The curtain opened and he was there.  She’s sleeping he thought.  That’s good.  Kevin went and sat in the back with Alex and Mary.  They all drifted off to sleep except for two people.  Bron crawled out of the bunk and slipped her sneakers on.  She went and sat at the kitchen area.  Jake joined her in a few seconds.  “Bron please don’t do this again,” he begged her.  Bron never responded to him or looked at him.  He sat up for the ride to Minneapolis. 

Kevin woke as the bus pulled into the hotel.  Bron was sitting at the table.  He walked up and brushed her cheek with his hand.  “How are you feeling?” he asked her.  Bron stood up and walked to the bunk.  She crawled in and turned to face the wall.

“Dammit!”  Kevin yelled as he barreled off the bus with his duffel.  A.J. had woken up earlier but decided not to approach Bron.  Hearing Kevin yell he immediately followed him off the bus.

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