Blue Saturn (4 page)

Mike groans and tries to push Wayne away but his efforts are all futile. Wayne picks up Mike and carries him over his shoulder toward the door.

“It was nice to meet you, Lyndsay.” Wayne smiles and leaves the room. It looks like I’m not the only one who has problems with Mike.

6.

Today is my first day off. Yesterday, I bumped into Liane and she, among other things, told me that Mike is expecting Mikey at nine o’clock.

I’m tempted to ask if he’s going to be exposed to anything a four year old boy shouldn’t be, but I don’t want to blow my chances of getting a day off. Not that it’s killing me looking after Mikey, he’s actually growing on me, but I need to run a few errands and I’d like to see a movie. Have some down time.

Mikey is super excited to be spending the day with Mike. He’s heard me refer to his dad as Mike so he has adopted the name also. If Mike has a problem with it, he can deal with it.

Mikey packs a few books and Lego into my backpack and stands eagerly at the door to our suite waiting for me to gather my things together.

I put my purse and phone and hotel pass into my handbag and grab a jacket. “Let’s go.”

I’ve taken Mike’s instructions on board, for now, and have kept to the hotel. Mikey and I have frequented the swimming pool and the lobby to watch the water fountains. We’ve spent time in our hotel suite, drawing and colouring and doing origami. I think it’ll be nice for Mikey to spend a day out with his father.

I’m knocking at Mike’s suite, but no one is answering. Mikey has a turn at wrapping his knuckles on the door but all is quiet. It’s going to break Mikey’s heart if his father doesn’t open the damn door.

Down the long hallway, another door opens and Paul stumbles out into view. He stares at me and Mikey before he smiles and starts toward us.

“Mike is not going to be happy to see you,” he slurs.

I roll my eyes and knock again on Mike’s door.

“He’s not going to answer. The last I saw of him he had his head between...”

“Paul,” I say loudly. “I don’t think Mikey needs to hear it.” Neither do I for that matter.

Paul keeps walking closer. “You’re kinda hot, in a librarian sort of way.”

I take a deep breath and knock again on the door. “Go away Paul.”

Paul laughs. “I bet you’re a real tiger in bed.” He comes closer again.

I lean down and take Mikey’s hand. “Come on Mikey, we’re going to go to the aquarium.”

“But I want Mike to come,” Mikey protests, digging in his heels and flatly refusing to walk. For a little kid he sure is strong. My hand slips from his and he turns back to knock on the door again.

“Let him keep knocking. There is no way Mike’s waking up.” Paul grabs my hand and pulls me toward him.

“Let me go,” I snarl, pushing at him with my other hand.

“Come on sugar, let me have a taste of you.” He moves his head down to kiss me but I manage to move away. It doesn’t discourage him. He simply grabs out for me again, grabbing my arm.

“Paul, let go of me.” My voice is stern but underneath I am falling to pieces. I remember that Mikey is most probably watching what is unfolding between Paul and I and muster all the strength I have not to completely lose it. I must not cry. I must be strong.

Paul tries to kiss me again but I push him away. “Paul, I said no.”

I try to pull my arm from his grip but he’s too strong. “I said yes,” he says before he pushes me backward. I stumble back against the wall, my head hitting it hard enough to take the breath from my lungs. Paul comes at me with an unexpected speed and pins my shoulders to the wall. “And Paul always gets what he wants.”

“She said no, Paul.”

Paul lets go of me instantly. He takes two steps backwards and looks to his right. He slowly retreats and finally turns and walks away.

I take a few deep breaths to calm myself before I look to see who is standing in the hallway.

“Are you okay?” It takes me a second to recognise my rescuer. Gavin is standing a few meters from me. His once red hair is now bright blue.

“Yes,” I say quietly. I walk away.

I’m packing my bags and I’m leaving. I can’t do this anymore. Not for Blue Saturn, not for Mikey and certainly not for Mike. They’ll have to find someone else.

There’s a knock on my door and when I don’t answer it, I hear the door unlock and open.

“Lyndsay. It’s Wayne. Can I come in?”

“No,” I say but Wayne appears next to me.

“Can we talk?”

“If you’re here to convince me to stay you’re wasting your time. I’m leaving.”

“I’ll call you a cab myself.”

That gets my attention. I look up at him.

“But before you leave, can I say a few things?” Wayne is a huge man. Tall and wide. He’s standing at the entrance to the wardrobe, taking up almost the entire width of the doorway. I’m inside the wardrobe, sitting on the floor, my suitcase open next to me. I feel like a tiny child in his presence. He must sense how intimidated I am by him because he lowers himself ungracefully to the floor, sitting down so we’re almost at the same level.

He waits a few moments before he finally starts speaking. “I’m not going to make excuses for Paul’s behaviour. He was completely out of line and if you want to press charges of assault, you’re within your rights to do so.”

He pauses to wait for my response. When I neither agree nor disagree he continues.

“Mike has asked me to ask you if you can stay until they leave for Sydney.”

“Mike knows what happened?” I ask.

“Of course he does,” Wayne says. “He wants to know if any of his band members are misbehaving.”

I widen my eyes at Wayne.

“Yes, I see the hypocrisy in that statement. But Mike isn’t a bad guy and he’d certainly never pull a stunt like Paul tried with you today.”

He’s right. Mike has never touched me. Not to shake my hand or even when he climbed into my bed drunk.

Wayne smiles sympathetically. “Mike apologises for forgetting about you having a day off today and he will have Mikey for today and tonight.”

“Why do I get the feeling that he’s only doing that because I got attacked by his lead guitarist?”

Wayne smiles. “It’s his way of saying sorry.”

I nod my head and despite that big loud voice in my head screaming at me to run away, I continue to nod my head. What would happen to Mikey if I left now? I’ve managed to avoid all members of Blue Saturn by staying away from the penthouse suites. Surely I can avoid them for a few more days. “I’ll stay until you leave for Sydney.”

Wayne’s smile broadens. “Thanks Lyndsay. I’ll let Mike know.”

I unpack my clothes and settle in for a day of binge eating. I order in a rom-com, don a bath robe and open a block of chocolate.

My phone beeps next to my bed. It’s a text message from Gavin.
“Are you busy?”

His message makes me smile. I message him back.
“Yes, I’m very busy.”

His reply comes through a few minutes later.
“What are you doing?”

I can’t tell him what I’m really doing. So I lie.
“I’m about to go for a 10k run.”
That should scare him off.

“Sweet, I’ll meet you outside your room in five minutes.”

Whoops. Thankfully I’m fully capable of running 10 k’s

Surprisingly, Gavin looks every bit the runner when I open my suite door. He’s wearing a black t-shirt and long black running pants, with grey running shorts over the top. His blue hair is hidden under a cap and he’s holding a pair of sun-glasses in his hands. He has his iPod strapped to his arm and his earphones hang from the neck of his shirt.

I see him scan my attire. I’m curvy, I know that and my tight fitting running gear shows it. I’m also wearing running pants, pink and grey in colour and my black top is tightly fitted. I’m holding my iPod in my hand. “You won’t be offended if I don’t talk while we run.”

“Absolutely not,” he smiles. “Have you stretched?” he asks.

“I thought we could run down the stairs to warm up?” I close my hotel room door and head toward the stairwell.

“Good idea.”

We’re running along the river, joining other joggers and bike riders and walkers. We run for five kilometres one way before we turn around and run back. When we get to the seven kilometre mark, Gavin stops and puts his hands on his head.

“You’re fitter than me,” he smiles. “I can’t run any further.”

I stop and walk back to him. “That’s okay. I don’t mind walking.”

We walk along the river in the midday sun. There is no breeze and the water is still. We don’t speak as we both take deep breaths to steady our hearts.

Finally, Gavin moves closer to me. “Are you okay?”

I look up at him. He looks genuinely concerned. “Yes, thank you. I was just a little shaken, that’s all.”

“Mike hit him.”

“What?”

“Yeah, punched him right in the eye.”

I don’t say anything because Paul deserved it. It surprises me though that Mike cares that much.

“He likes you,” Gavin said.

“Yeah, well...I have no interest in having a relationship with Paul.”

Gavin laughs. “I meant Mike. Mike likes you.”

I laugh too. “He has a funny way of showing it.”

As I approach my hotel suite, I realise I’ve forgotten to bring my pass with me.

“I’ll see if reception will give me another one.”

“They won’t,” Gavin says. “But there are a couple of spare ones upstairs, in Mike’s room.”

Gavin has a pass to Mike’s suite, so he doesn’t have to knock before he enters. I stay in the corridor as Gavin walks in.

When he realises I’m not with him, he turns back. “Well come on.”

“I think I’ll just wait out here.”

“Come on. He’s with the little fella. It might be the one time you see him sober.” He steps toward me and grabs my arm. “He might actually be nice to you.”

Reluctantly, I enter the suite, pulled along by Gavin.

When we reach the main living area, my eyes immediately go to Mikey. He’s sitting in the middle of the floor, tears silently falling down his cheeks. When he sees me, he quickly gets up and runs to me.

“Don’t leave me again, Indsy.” He grabs onto my legs and tries to climb up my body.

I lift him up and hold him against me. “Where is Mike?” I ask.

“He’s working with the lady,” Mikey answers, his tears still falling down onto my shoulder.

I look over at Gavin, panic going through my body. “Where is he? He didn’t leave Mikey on his own, did he?”

Gavin shrugs and looks toward a door on the far side of the kitchen. “I don’t know.”

Suddenly, the door opens and Mike stumbles out. He looks at us, the three of us standing together in the middle of the room and scratches his bare chest. “What are you doing here?”

“What are you doing, more like?” I ask, unable to hide my anger. “One day, Mike. You couldn’t go one day without screwing one of your little disease infested whores.”

“I don’t remember asking for your opinion.” He walks slowly toward us. “What’s your problem anyway? Why do you think you’re better than me?”

I huff and walk toward the door. “My problem is you Mike.” I don’t tell him he’s a useless and pathetic father. There’s no point. He’s too stoned or drunk or whatever the hell he is to know what’s going on anyway. “You better have someone lined up for Sydney, because I’m done here.”

Mikey hasn’t spoken all afternoon. I try to get him to open up to me, but he keeps looking away.

“Did I scare you when I yelled at Mike?” I ask. “Because I wasn’t angry at you. I was angry at Mike for working when he was supposed to be playing with you.”

Mikey takes a deep breath in and looks up at me. He looks like he’s about to say something, but he looks down again.

“You can tell me, Mikey. I won’t be mad at you.”

He looks up again, and then lowers his head. “I don’t want you to go. I don’t want you to leave me with Mike.”

And that’s all it takes. Mikey’s plea for me to stay. I can’t ignore that. In this exact moment, I decide to stay. I’ll stick it out for the six weeks. And after that...would it be crazy for me to adopt a little boy?

I’ve just posed the exact same question to Meredith. “I don’t think Mike would even notice if I ran off with his son,” I say. “He doesn’t care.”

Meredith sighs down the phone. “You gotta understand. I know it’s hard for you, having that natural instinct to love kids, but for some people it’s not that easy. For Mike, this is a huge adjustment. He’s gone from being a carefree rock star to a father in a matter of weeks and...” I hear Levi’s voice in the background. Meredith stops and sighs again. “I’m not allowed to say too much. But remember, he’s adjusting to this situation as much as Mikey is.”

“Has Levi spoken to him?”

“They talked yesterday.”

“Did Levi say that Mike was happy with me?”

I hear Meredith smile down the phone. “He had nothing but good things to say to you, despite all the hostility between you both.”