| 9. A Part of Me 2:45 pm "You make me come You make me complete You make me completely miserable!" "Nice to hear from you, too, Paul." The voice on the other end of line laughed, "You know I'm only joking, Meggie." "Sure you are. And don't call me Meggie." "Okay, Meg-Meg. How ya feel?" Meg ignored the horrible nickname. "Depressed. Hospitals make me feel..." "Depressed?" "Yeah, that's the word. I'm also full of weird medicine and it's making me incoherent, I think." "Really? I didn't notice a difference." "Oh shut up. I may be incoherent, but I'm not..." "Coherent?" "No...Never mind. Changing subject. Who are y'all playing for tonight?" "I'm filling in for Jessica's keyboardist for the rest of the week cause he got food poisoning at a Taco Bell this morning. Kevin's been doing some writing with Britney though. Seth is on the phone with his sweetie, but Chad is moping around because he misses his sugar plum." "Aw...I miss him. Wait, did you just call me sugar plum?" "No." "Oh, okay," she said, oblivious. "Listen, Dr. What's-His-Name is going to come and talk to me in about five minutes about a blood test or something, so I'll call you back in about a half-hour, -depending on how long it goes." "Okay. Meg, get some sleep, okay? And call Chad after you do to put him out of his misery for a while." "Yep. Talk to you later, dude." "We have two days off starting Friday, so if you're still up there, we'll come see you." "I'd like that very much, Paul. Bring some junk food while you're up. Hospital food is not suitable for eating." He laughed. "You're delirious, dear. Go to sleep." "I'll try. Tell Chad I love him, will ya?" "He'll think it's weird coming from me." "Paul, I'm tired, I'm drunk on pain killers and my back hurts from this concrete mattress. Don't make my life any more difficult." "Yes ma'am. I'll tell Chad you love him." "Thank you. Have fun tonight at the show, okay?" "I will. I'll talk to you tomorrow if not before then." "Okay. Toodle-oo." "Right back at ya. Bye." "Bye." Paul Sterling shut his cell phone and walked to the toy room from the backstage area. It was the third time they'd talked on the phone since she had been gone. He could tell she missed touring more than anything. He found himself missing her, his best friend since they had met at the beginning of the tour. He was the keyboardist for her band, so they would talk for hours on the bus about anything and everything. Meg was especially easy to talk to, and Paul was eager to talk. He had taken the initiative to introduce himself to her on the first day of the tour. All of the guys in her band thought he had a crush on her or something, which wasn't true. But he had contemplated it. Meg was absolutely beautiful with her black curly hair and gorgeous green eyes, which reflected her Irish heritage. Sometimes when they would talk in her small room in the back of the bus, he would be tempted to kiss her, but would resist. Even after her and Chad became an item, he still found himself wanting to merely touch her hand or face. Still, he resisted. Now that she was gone, he had been especially lonely, but didn't show it. Meg had a way of lighting up a room with her presence and setting it ablaze with her smile. All of the guys had noticed it. Though they had four other acts on the tour, they were closest to Meg, as she shared a bus with them. Earlier that morning, Paul and Gabriel O�Brien, a guitar player in Meg's band, had been talking about the void in the bus since she'd left: "Poor kiddo. You know she's going crazy without being on tour." "That's Meg for you." "Yeah, but," Gabe paused. "I just wish it wasn't her, you know? Meg always has this fire about her. There's no one else in the world like her. She's a freaking contradiction." He laughed, then sighed. "I hope she doesn't have cancer. Do you know how much that would crush her?" "I don't know, man. Meg's a toughie." "Yeah, but one can only withstand so much. I just pray that she gets through this." Gabe didn't say much after that, he just simply stared at his mug of coffee he cupped between his hands on the table. He had a thoughtful look in his eyes, like he was trying to remember something. It had truly been a moment of genuine fear for Gabe. Paul walked inside the break room, hoping things would get back to normal soon. After telling Chad that Meg loved him (and putting a huge smile on Chad�s face), Paul lay down on a couch and fell into a deep sleep. |