Fic: Elizabeth - Prologue
After a long week of working on new stuff with Mike, Tommy decides that they deserve to have some fun. So that´s how they end up here - 'here' being Mike and Tommy´s favorite club. That is, if you can say Tommy has a favorite one.
If only Liz would stop with her attempts to make him dance, he thinks. Luckily for him, she knows that no matter how hard she tries, she won't succeed, so everything is okay after all. He likes that he can have nice evening out, enjoying it the way he wants. He likes clubs and music some of the time, but just not dancing.
As he´s sipping his drink, he looks out at the dance floor, watching Liz dancing with Mike. She looks back at him and smiles, blowing him a kiss. He catches it and thinks that right now he´s in a really happy place. He decides that it´s time for another drink so he signals to Liz and Mike and heads for the bar.
He isn't even halfway done with his drink when his cell phone starts to ring. The ringtone “Whataya want from me” always means work, so Tommy thinks it´s pretty fitting to assign it to anyone who might want work from him. He checks the number and is surprised that it´s Adam´s bodyguard, because he never calls him. He wonders what Jason wants so he picks up.
“Hey Jason, what´s up?”
“Hey Tommy I want...” He can´t hear Tommy so he yells, “Where are you? I can´t hear you at all, hello!”
When Tommy can´t hear a thing either, he yells back, covering his other ear. ”I´m out with friends at a club. I´m sure whatever you think is so important can wait.”
“No it can´t. Please, can you go someplace more quiet? It´s important,” Jason pleads and Tommy finally gives up.
“Okay, okay, hold on a sec. Don´t hang up!” Tommy yells again, already heading out.
When he reaches the door, he starts to talk again. ”You still there?”
Jason answers immediately: “Yes, still here”
“So what´s so important that it can´t wait?”
Jason takes a second before speaking. “I need you to come to Adam´s house to help him and….” he doesn´t even get to finish, when Tommy interrupts him.
“What do you mean by help him? Did something happen? Is Adam okay? He isn´t hurt or anything like that is he?” Tommy is worried, and Jason hurries to assure him that that´s not the case.
”No, he´s not hurt, but he´s completely drunk and crying. I´m sure I can manage him, but I also think that whatever happened, he needs a friend, not a bodyguard.”
“Okay. I have a few questions but they'll have to wait until I get there. I have to say goodbye to my friends, so I should be there in half an hour,” he says, then adds, “....oh, and no matter what, don´t let him go out.”
Jason huffs at Tommy, sounding almost insulted. “I know my job, Tommy...”
“I know, I know Jason, I´m just worried. Be there soon.” Tommy hangs up without waiting for an answer, heading back quickly into the club to find Liz and Mike.
He spots them on the dance floor so he rushes toward them. When he sees Liz smiling at him, he knows that they will fight about this. Liz kisses him and chirps happily. ”Here you are. Wanna head out for another place?”
Tommy takes a few deep breaths before answering. ”I can´t baby, have to go, Adam needs me and...”
Suddenly Liz´s smile fades away and is replaced by sadness. “Again?”
“What do you mean by that?”
“What I mean is that sometimes you act like nothing and no one else exists.”
Tommy looks at her in disbelief. “You know that´s not true. I have to go now, but we'll talk later, okay baby?”
“Whatever,” is her only answer before she turns around and leaves.
Tommy sighs deeply and asks Mike to get her home safely. Mike just smiles at him and pats his shoulder gently. “Will do, now go. He needs you right?”
“Yeah looks like he does.” Tommy smiles gratefully at Mike, thanking him again, and rushes out of the club, the only thing on his mind being Adam and what could possibly have happened to him.
After he leaves, Liz comes back to Mike; he thinks she looks pretty sad. “What´s the matter, Liz?”
“Why do I feel like I´m always second best?”
Mike takes her by her hand. ”You know that´s not true.”
“Do I?”
“Are you jealous?”
“You´re his best friend, you tell me. Do I have a reason to be?”
“You know I don´t have an answer for that.”
Liz lets out a frustrated noise. “I just wish, just some of the time, he would put me on equal footing, you know?”
“Then tell him; tell him it´s hurting you.”
“I´m implying it all the damn time, Mike. If he can't pick up on the clues...”
“And maybe it´s not enough. He isn´t a mind reader, Liz. If their relationship bothers you, you have to tell him that.”
“And how can I? It´ll only look like I want him to choose between us.”
“And do you want that? Do you?”
“Why are you always answering my questions with more questions?” Liz asks
“Because for some questions, only you know the answer.”
Liz looks at him oddly, like she thinks he knows more than he´s letting on. Mike just puts an arm around her waist and leads them back to the dance floor “Come on. Let´s enjoy another dance; the night's not over yet.” And with that, their conversation is really over and Liz decides that thinking about serious things can wait.
When Tommy arrives at Adam´s house, he uses the code Adam gave him to open the gate. He parks his car on Adam´s driveway and heads toward the main entrance. He finds Jason waiting for him by the door. Tommy gets inside and starts firing questions off right away. ”Where is he? Where is Sauli? Oh, and why not start with how you got here?”
“Slow down, Tommy. I´ll explain everything. We had an appointment scheduled for today but he never showed up. So I called him a few times but he didn´t pick up. I got worried, so I decided to come by and see if everything was okay, because he's never done that before.”
Tommy nods, following along, and Jason continues. “After I got here, we got into a small, kinda, argument about the lack of alcohol around here, since I hid everything I could when he was in the bathroom. He kind of kicked me out and stormed up to his bedroom and he hasn't left the room since. Also, Sauli's not here; I have no idea where he might be.”
Jason takes another breath before continuing. “So now that I've explained everything, what are we going to do?”
Tommy looks at him and raises an eyebrow. ”You called me because you thought he needed a friend, right?”
“Yes.”
“So, we´re not going to do anything. You are going to go home and I'm going to take care of him.”
“Right. Should I call back later to check how things are going?”
Tommy is already heading for Adam´s bedroom as he answers. “No. It´s not necessary.” Tommy doesn´t even bother to check if Jason really left.
When he gets to Adam´s bedroom, he stays outside, listening. He can hear Adam talking, his monologue combined with sobs so intense that his heart clenches. He braces himself for everything that might come, opens the door, and finally steps inside the bedroom.
What he sees shakes him to his core. Adam is sitting on the floor, his back resting against his bed, and his hair is sticking out in all directions. His makeup is running down his cheeks from all the tears. The anger is gone, and Adam just brokenly sobs while holding a bottle of Jack in his hand.
He calls out to Adam softly. “Adam.”
But Adam is looking past him, and doesn´t really see him. Tommy takes a few steps closer, and sits on his heels in front of him. He talks gently to him as he takes his hand and holds them. “Adam it's me, Tommy”.
“Tommy?” Adam asks, looking at him with red, puffy eyes. “Tommyyyyyyyy. Wha... what are you doin …. doing here? You love me right? You do, I… I know it. You´re the only one that lov… loves me,” Adam sobs, lifting the bottle to his lips to take another swig, but Tommy stops him, trying to talk some sense into him, not really thinking about the words Adam was saying.
“You know I do, but give me that bottle.”
“Noooooooo, I need it, it´s my f … friend,” Adam says and holds the bottle far away from Tommy. Tommy tries to reason with him, but he knows it won't go smoothly. Adam might have lost his anger, but he´s really stubborn so Tommy tries to sound more strict.
“I'm your friend and you don´t need it. Give it to me, please.”
But Adam only shakes his head vehemently. “Noooooo …!”
Tommy sighs and decides that gently isn't going to work, so he takes a few more deep breaths and gives Adam an order. ”Give me that bottle, Adam. Now!” When Adam hesitates, Tommy repeats, “Now!!!”
Adam looks surprised, and after a brief moment, where Tommy can see him thinking, he gives the bottle to Tommy. Tommy decides that it would be smart to take the booze away, so he starts to get up to dispose of it, when in the blink of an eye, Adam grabs his hand, holding on to him, pleading, “Please don ... don´t leave me, please don´t leave me, please ……”
Tommy is shocked at how Adam went from being stubbornly drunk one moment, to this hurt being the next. He looks back at him, explaining softly, “I´m not leaving you Adam, I´m just taking this away.”
But Adam isn´t listening. ”Please, please …..”
Tommy is shaken up, willing himself not to cry seeing Adam in this state. He sits back down next to Adam, bottle forgotten.
He gently brushes Adam's cheeks, wiping the tears away, whispering, “I´m not going anywhere Adam, calm down. I´m not leaving.” Adam calms down a bit, his breathing becoming more stable.
Tommy gently tucks Adam´s hair behind his ear, asking, “Are you with me? Do you see me?” Adam just nods, tears still rolling down his face.
After a few moments, Adam rests his head on Tommy´s shoulder, and Tommy takes that as a signal that Adam might be able to talk, so he asks, “Do you want to tell me what happened?”
Adam just shakes his head, figuratively locking his mouth and throwing away the key. In another situation Tommy might think it was funny, but for now he accepts that Adam doesn´t want to talk.
“Okay, okay. I think it´s time to put you to bed.” Tommy stands, helping Adam to get up and then lay down on his bed. Once Adam is lying down, he doesn´t even try to take his clothes off, so Tommy tries to talk some sense into him again. He's lost count of how many times he's tried.
“Come on Adam, we have to take your clothes off,” he begins, while Adam is just babbling something about being comfy, tired, and morning, Tommy uses his authoritative voice again and slowly, with Tommy´s help Adam loses his shirt and his jeans, leaving only his underwear on.
Tommy helps him get under the covers, settling him for the night, but when he´s turning to leave, he hears a weak plea from Adam. ”Please stay…”
He just turns around, undesses and slips onto the bed and under the covers, taking Adam´s hand into his own, whispering, “Okay baby. I´m here. Just sleep, tomorrow will be a new day.”
As Adam closes his eyes, slowly drifting into restless sleep, Tommy keeps holding him, whispering to him, wondering what happened to leave Adam so broken. He thinks and thinks, and as one scenario after another enters his thoughts, he slowly starts to fall asleep as well.
Tommy wakes up slowly, completely curled up in Adams arms. He slowly and carefully, trying not to wake Adam up, leaves the bed and heads to find some painkillers. He knows Adam will need them. He finds some in a cabinet in Adam´s bathroom. He takes them with a glass of water and leaves it all on Adam´s nightstand, gently touching his face, watching him sleep.
Adam looks so peaceful, his ruined makeup the only proof of the hard night he had. After a few short moments of stroking his hair and cheeks, Tommy gets his clothes and leaves the bedroom, heads downstairs to make coffee. He starts the coffee maker, taking some fruit from Adam´s fridge for breakfast, and goes to lay on Adam´s couch, waiting for Adam to get up.
Feeling the sun on his face, Adam wakes up. The first thing he feels is a terrible headache and God knows he has lived through some tough nights. Then he remembers more. He doesn´t want to think about what started it but he remembers Tommy in his bedroom, helping him, taking care of him. He grunts in pain again when he spots a glass of water and painkillers on his nightstand.
He knows who left it there. But as he thinks about how nice it is that it's from Tommy, the guilt hits him hard as he probably acted like a total fool the day before. He decides that right after a shower he'll make a coffee and then call Tommy and apologize to him. He heads for the shower, his mind full of questions and doubts.
When he gets downstairs after his shower, wearing fresh clothes, he´s surprised to see that Tommy is napping on his couch, coffee ready for him. As he watches Tommy, he thinks that he shouldn´t be surprised that Tommy stayed. He´s his best friend and always takes care of him. He gently shakes Tommy awake, until he´s looking at him.
“Good morning,” Tommy says, stretching from napping on the couch. ”how are you feeling?”
Suddenly Adam is blushing crimson and starts to apologize, as he knows an apology is in order. ”Still bad, but listen Tommy, I just want … I just want to apologize, because yesterday …” but before he can finish, Tommy interrupts him, shaking his head.
”Don´t apologize. Never apologize for needing a friend. Do you want to tell me what happened? You don´t have to, but if you want to talk I´m here. You know that.”
Adam takes the offered coffee and takes a small sip, looking hesitant. “I don´t know where to start.”
Adam sighs. Tommy sits up straight on the couch, rests his feet on the coffee table, patting the spot next to his.
“Come on, you can sit here and we talk”.
Adam hesitates for just a second, but instead of sitting down, he lays down, folds his legs and rest his head in Tommy´s lap. Looking up at him he asks, “Do you mind?”
Tommy shakes his head and with that Adam closes his eyes and starts explaining. “I came home from the studio yesterday, like every other day. I even bought takeout dinner home for us…
Flashback
“Hey baby,” I said happily as I crossed the living room to kiss Sauli.” Then I saw his luggage.
So I asked, “You're packed? Why?”
Sauli looked at me strangely, then said, ”I´m leaving for Finland.”
“Oh, okay. You got some last minute work there? When are you coming back?”
Sauli was looking anywhere but at me when he said, ”I´m not coming back Adam. I´m leaving you.”
I was in absolute shock and I was babbling. “You.. you're…. Why? What happened? You can´t mean that!”
But he just said, “I was thinking hard and I decided that I don´t want to continue with what we have. Responsibility and parenthood is not on my list anymore.”
“But … But what you mean by that? We agreed. We were happy and expecting our baby girl together.” Tears were running down my face as I slid down to the floor. “Please, don´t leave me, we´re happy.”
But Sauli wasn't listening to my pleas. “I have to go Adam, the car is here to pick me up. You have to understand, we don´t want the same things from life anymore,” and when Sauli left I was calling him back, pleading, accusing, hoping.
“Please don´t go, pl…. Sauli! You promised …. We agreed, why did you agree? Why? Why?” but there was no answer as he left. The closed door and the silence were my only company as I cried over everything, that I had just lost. And when anger replaced my sorrow, I helped myself to a drink, and another and another...
End of flashback
“… and after that, everything went wrong.”
Tommy can feel his pants getting damp with more tears, running down from Adam´s closed lids as he´s talking. “I begged him to stay. I tried to stop him. But he left, Just like that,” he sobs and Tommy's just holding him tightly. Feeling a single tear on his own face, again and again he promises Adam softly that everything will be okay, that time will heal his wounds. But for now, he's letting all the sorrow flow out of him, letting Adam cry in his arms.
