Chapter 116

Richie hummed as he strolled along the hotel hallway. He'd finally found that double fudge double nut ice cream she'd wanted at the sixth store he'd stopped at. Double Fudge? Hello cravings this early? But his lovely Sabrina had given him the pouty eyes and he couldn't resist those. He stopped just outside his door, his brow winging upwards at the raised voices.

“Thats enough, I have had it with you. I bring you in as guests and you fucking bitch and moan about everything I do. OH Richie is so this and that and I am shit. Well FUCK YOU. You wanna be a BITCH? Go be a bitch somewhere else besides MY tour. I knew it would be a big mistake to bring you girls here. Look what’s it done. You have my guitarist to the point that all he thinks about is being with you, and your friend? She went and got pregnant. What the fuck!! You girls are nothing but fucking trouble. I should have seen it coming but I just had to fucking listen to his fucking gut feeling. Now we're all screwed ."

Jon's voice was raised in anger, which he was used to, but those words were aimed at someone. It was his room for god sakes, who the hell was he yelling at? He wouldn't be saying those kinds of this too his pregnant bride. He wouldn't do that would he?Anger started to rise as he heard her soft voice trying to respond and knew then the object of Jon's anger WAS Bri. "What the fuck is going on?"

When the word Bitch filtered through to him he growled. Quickly opening the door, he stepped inside. He took it all in with one glance. Jon looked ready to blow and Bri was as pale as a ghost with tears streaming down her cheeks. Jonny made her fuckin' cry?

Clearing his throat he rumbled, "Someone wanna tell me what the fuck is going on here?"

Bri's eyes lifted as a hand went to her eyes to dash away the tears. Her petite body was stiff with anger, her eyes wide and awash with evidence of her tears. And even then she was staring at Jon with more fury than he thought she was possible of feeling. "Go to HELL you self serving piece of shit. If I'm a bitch YOUR a bastard!" She whirled and ran to the bedroom, the door slamming behind her.

"You got thirty seconds man." Richie stepped further into the room, "to explain why to me you called MY wife a bitch."

Jon turned towards the sound of Richie's voice, his shoulder lifting into a shrug. "God man she's just being a bitchy hormonal woman right now. Hormones? God I thought we were so done with this shit, now we gotta deal with it again? She just went off about everything, from how I treat Geena to the fucking setlists. Go figure. I came to find you, to go running or something, and she went off," Jon tried to explain, his anger cooling swiftly at the dark look from his best friend.

He strode to the bedroom door, cracked it open and went to step inside, his gaze taking in the woman sitting on the bed in tears, her small hands rubbing at her arms. His brow rose as he noticed the discoloration where she was rubbing. Turning without saying a word he eased the door closed. Without a sound he moved to the small bar and shoved the bag of ice cream into the small refrigerator as he fought for composure.

As he straightened he took a deep breath and gruffed. "So someone dares face the big man and speak a little truth his way." He took two steps forward, his hands curling into the neck of Jon’s shirt as he hefted him up a few inches, his voice going deadly quiet. "So instead of appreciating that treasure, that thing that you won't get anymore because your Jon Bon fuckingjovi, you curse her. You show her in spades what you think of her friend."

He fought back the urge to shove Jon into the wall, choosing to shake him instead as his voice went hard and loud. "YOU PUT YOUR HANDS ON MY WIFE AND HURT HER?"

He shoved him away before he could do harm. "We have a fucking show tonight. And although I want to, I can't kill you man. She didn't deserve your shit."

"I didn't mean to hurt her I just grabbed her. She wouldn't look me in the eye so I grabbed her wrist to turn her. I just wanted her to face me that’s it. Fuck man, can you see what they've done? They’ve got us fighting for what? Cuz she thinks she knows everything about a business we been in for 20 plus years. Geena is my wife I don't tell you what to do with yours, so what the fuck does she have any business telling me what to do with mine or how I run the business?" Jon felt his anger on the rise again as he took a step towards Richie. "And you fucking know I can throw a punch just as good as you can brother, so go ahead, bring it on.

Richie's hands curled into fists as he bit out, "Still making excuses? She's pregnant man! You don't grab a pregnant woman!" He took a step forward, his cheeks flushing with anger as he whirled and found Jon's shirt twisted into his fists again. "Throw the fuckin’ punch, but before you do fuckhead answer this. Did she say one thing that wasn't true? You get involved in your friends lives, you fucking tell us off if you don’t approve of the people we're involved with. So you're holding yourself to a different standard now? You suddenly better than me man?"

Richie knew he needed to step away, needed to let go of Jon. If he didn't put space between them he knew they'd be trading hits before they knew it, but couldn't at that moment find the power to turn loose. "What the fuck she say about the setlists? That they are the same day in day out? That you aren’t giving the fans what you promised? TELL me Jonny boy. Exactly what DID she say that has you so angry? Was it the Truth? Hurts like a son of a bitch don’t it?"

Jon fought the last strain of his controlled anger and broke away from Richie's grip on his shirt and turned away " So this is how you feel, bring these girls in and now you listening to everything she says . Its worked for 20 plus years. When the fuck did we let a girl come between us before? Not before these three -- and now it’s change this Jonny, this is fucked Jonny, what the fuck ? God! IF I had known this is what was gonna happen I would have never agreed to bringing these bit-- girls here. They have been nothing but trouble since they got here "

His fist connected before he knew it was flying, his anger cooling at the sudden smack of hand to belly. "Ya know man, I feel sorry for Geena, who thinks the sun rises and sets on your ass. You can be thankful though, I won't tell her about your shit sucking attitude about her, and I'm damned sure Bri won’t hurt her like that either. Tell you one thing you fuckin' idiot. YOU EVER say Bri is anything other than the blessing she is again and our sexless marriage will be over with. She's the best thing ever happened to me man. Open those blind eyes of yours. I DARE you to fuckin' open those eyes and listen for once. You aren’t infallible man, and contrary to the tat on your arm ain't Superman either."

His head jerked towards the door as the tap started, his feet carrying him across the room to open it. He forced back the grimace as he saw who filled the doorway, his sudden smile making its appearance. If he was good at anything it was putting a smile on his face and acting like everything was okay. "Well good morning sunshine. Here to see Bri or here to find the jackass you married?"

Geena's eyes skittered between Richie and Jon. The anger in the room was palpable. She could feel the heat even at the door. And the words she'd heard before she knocked had hurt. She could feel the ice forming in her veins as she stood there. She knew the marriage had been a farce all along. Even though he had said he loved her she'd feared it had been all words with no substance.

It didn't make what she heard him shouting through the door any easier though. To hear that they were nothing but trouble and god knows what else he had said before she had gotten there had her heart turning to ice. She stood frozen as all sorts of emotions played over her face . "Hi Rich I thought I would come and see where-- " Her voice trembled as she glanced at her ring, a ring that should have meant so much, a ring that didn't mean shit. Her life, her love wasn't shit no matter what her husband thought. She felt the rising hysteria as the thought circled her mind. I thought I could love enough for the both of us but I guess I thought wrong.

Richie tugged her into a hug as he watched her pale and knew without a doubt that she'd heard every word from beyond the door. He pulled her into the room and shut the door before turning them both, a sick look creeping onto his face. His arms slipped tightly and comfortingly around Geena as he turned and let Jon see exactly who had come by. "Well come on in Darlin'. Join the war."