Around 10 a.m. Brian awoke to the sound of Mindy snoring beside him.

“What the hell?” He whispered to himself. He carefully slid out of bed and left the room.

Kate was sitting on the balcony so he went out to have a cigarette. She didn’t say anything when he came out.

“Good morning.” He said. She nodded and walked back into the penthouse. Zacky took her place.

“Well, so much for checking on Kate last night huh?” He said as he lit a cigarette. Brian choked on the smoke in his lungs.

“Zacky what the hell happened last night?” Zacky took a puff of his cigarette then let it out.

“Well from what I can guess, you brought Mindy the waitress home and fucked her.” Brian put a hand over his face and groaned.

“That would explain why she’s in our bed huh?” Zacky nodded.

“What were you thinking bringing her back here?” Zacky asked him. Brian shook his head.

“Dude I don’t even remember it. The last thing I can remember is Val and Kate dancing on stage.” He said. Zacky shook his head and looked behind Brian into the penthouse.

“Looks like your girlfriend’s awake.” He said. Brian groaned and shut the doors.

They both watched her slowly slink out of the door. Brian let out a sigh of relief and opened the doors back up. Zacky took one last drag and put his cigarette out.

“Well, better get ready we got some promo shit to do today.” He said standing up. Brian nodded and put his out too.

Kate was pulling on a t-shirt when Brian and Zacky came in the room.

“Looking good babe!” Zacky said. She laughed and ran her hands through her hair.

“Well thank you Zacky.” He nodded and grabbed some clothes.

“Brian you might wanna take a shower dude.” He said with a laugh. Brian threw a pillow at him then Zacky threw it back. Kate rolled her eyes and left the room.

Johnny was up watching TV and eating cereal in the kitchen. Kate grabbed an apple that was on the counter and sat down with him.

“Good morning.” She said. He nodded and took another bite.

“So what are you guys up to today?” She asked. He swallowed and thought about it.

“Well I know we have some promo stuff today, who knows how long that’ll take.” He said. She nodded and took a bite of her apple.

“What do you think of Brian hooking up with that waitress last night?” He asked her. She choked a little on her apple. When she recovered, she answered.

“Why should I care what he does? He’s a big boy. He can fuck whoever he wants.” And with that, she got up and went to the balcony. Brian was standing behind her and heard every word.

Johnny just shook his head and smirked.

“If it means anything, I’ll give you points for taste. That chick was hot.” He said, taking another bite of cereal. Brian rolled his eyes and sat down on the couch.

Val and Matt came out of their room. Val went to the couch and Matt went to the balcony.

Kate was finishing her apple and staring out at the sky. Matt took a seat next to her.

“What happened to you last night?” He asked her. She swallowed some apple and faced him.

“I got embarrassed. I heard some girls in the bathroom talking about us dancing and they said I made a fool of myself.” She said. Matt chuckled.

“You definitely did not make a fool of yourself. You both looked insanely hot up there.” Kate blushed and smiled.

“We sent Brian after you, but I guess he didn’t make it.” Kate laughed bitterly.

“Awe Kate don’t be bitter.” He said. She shook her head.

“I’m not. Brian can do whatever he wants.” She said. Matt pulled his seat closer to her.

“Come on Kate. I can tell it bothers you.” She sighed.

“I just didn’t think he was like that is all.” She said. Matt put his arm around her.

“Brian isn’t. But when he gets drunk, Synyster Gates takes over and he’s a completely different person.” Kate rolled her eyes.

“I guarantee he doesn’t even remember it happening. “ Kate sighed and took another bite of her apple.

“I’m just saying, try not to hold it against him.” She nodded and he got up and went into the penthouse.

While Matt was talking to Kate, Val was talking to Brian.

“So we send you to check on poor Kate and you end up banging the slutty waitress.” She said with a giggle.

“Give a rest Val would you?” He said with his head in his hands.

“Now this is a different side of you Brian. Normally you’re bragging about your most recent lay. Now you don’t even want to talk about it?” She said with a smirk. Brian sighed and stood up.

“No I don’t want to talk about it. I don’t even remember it happening. The last thing I can remember is saying I would go check on Kate. Next thing I know, it’s morning and that waitress is sleeping beside me.” Val shook her head.

“Alcohol will do that to you honey.” She said. He tugged his hair and looked at her.

“Can I ask you a question?” He said quietly. She nodded.

“Do you think…” He stopped and looked away.

“What Brian?” She asked. He sighed and stood up.

“Nothing.” She looked at him confused.

“No, what is it Brian.” He sighed and turned to face her.

“Do you think Kate is upset with me because I fucked that girl?” He asked in a voice just above a whisper. Val looked out at Kate and Matt, and then back to Brian.

“Brian, I don’t think she cares what you do. The thing is you were just so sloppy about it. You were drunk and had no idea what you were doing.” He sighed and leaned on the counter. Just as he was about to say something else, Matt walked in.

Val walked over and kissed him then he wrapped his arms around her. Kate came in and sat on the couch. Johnny, Jimmy and Zacky came in the room also.

“Alright, I say we all put Brian’s little drunken adventure in the past and move on!” Matt said. Everyone nodded in agreement.

“So we’ll be gone most of the day.” Matt said, looking at Val. She nodded and poured herself some coffee.

“Now, don’t go getting in too much trouble okay?” He said to her. She laughed and kissed him.

“I’ll try.” He smirked and looked at Kate.

“You too babe.” She giggled and they walked out the door.

When they were gone, Val sat down at the table and turned on the TV.

Kate went into the bathroom and took a long, hot shower. She closed her eyes and let the water run all over her body. When the water started to get a little colder, she finished washing herself. When she was finished, she turned the water off and stepped out of the shower. She picked up her towel that was on the toilet seat and dried herself off, then tied it tightly around her head and got dressed.

She pulled on her favorite ripped jeans and a black tank top. She let her hair down from the towel and ran her fingers through it to make it curly. Kate put on a little makeup and then went out to the living room.

Val was lounging on the couch, flipping through channels when Kate walked in.

“Yeah, that new hair-do looks great on you.” She said with a satisfied smile. Kate smiled back and sat down on the opposite side of the couch.

After a few hours of watching TV the girls were bored. Val texted Matt and asked him how much longer they would be. When he texted her back and said about another hour, Val let out a loud sigh. Kate raised an eyebrow and looked over to her.

“He said they won’t be done for like another hour!” Kate chuckled and went back to watching TV.

Val groaned and went to the balcony to have a smoke. Kate stretched out on the couch and closed her eyes. Just as she was about to fall asleep, her cell phone rang. She jumped up and looked at the screen. It was her dad.

“Hey daddy.” She said.

“Hey baby, how are you?” She sighed and sat up straight.

“I’m fine, how are you?”

“Well, I can’t lie to you, I’m not doing so great.” He said. Kate got nervous.

“Dad what’s wrong?” She said. Val had heard her on the phone and walked back in. Her father sighed before answering.

“Kate, now you need to understand, we did everything we could.” He started. Kate closed her eyes and hung her head.

“Dad no, please don’t say that.” She said close to tears. Val walked over and put her hand on Kate’s leg.

“Kate, Scott was released on Monday.” Kate’s world shattered around her. Tears rolled down her face and Val put her arms around her.

“I thought you said he was going to jail?” She said. Her father sighed deeply.

“We all thought he would but the judge has a soft spot for recovering drug addicts and recommended him to treatment instead.” Kate stood up and started to pace.

“Recommended? So that means he doesn’t have to go right? That he’s just free to do whatever he wants?” She shouted into the phone.

“Now Kate don’t get all upset alright? We’re doing everything we can to make sure he doesn’t come anywhere near you.” Kate let out a bitter laugh and sank back down.

“What should I do?” She asked quietly.

“Just stay with the people you’re with and I’ll keep you updated alright?” He said. She let out a shaky sigh.

“Sure dad.”

They exchanged ‘I love you’ and hung up the phone. Val, who didn’t really know what was going on just held her and let her cry on her shoulder.

Not long after that, the guys filtered in the room. They all stopped talking when they saw Kate crying on the couch. Brian pushed forward and walked over to her. He looked at Val and she just shrugged.

“Kate, what’s wrong?” He asked her softly. Kate calmed down and looked up at him.

“Scott’s not going to jail. He’s free to do whatever he wants.” She said quietly. Everyone in the room gasped except Val.

“Who’s Scott?” She asked. Kate looked at her softly.

“Scott is my ex boyfriend. He’s the man that beat me up right before I joined the tour.” Val’s hand flew to her mouth.

“Oh God.” She said. Kate took a deep breath and went into her bedroom. Brian stood up and followed her.

Kate was holding a pillow and crying so hard she was shaking. Brian went over and wrapped his arms around her. She turned and buried her face in his chest.

“Shh, it’ll be okay.” He said over and over in her ear. He rested his chin on the top of her head and let her cry. When she had calmed down she pulled away and looked at Brian.

“What if he finds me?” She asked quietly. Brian got off the bed and kneeled in front of her.

“He’s not gonna find you. We move around so much he won’t be able to.” She shook her head and new tears started to spill from her eyes.

“He’ll find me Brian. He’ll find me and this time he’ll kill me.” Brian shook his head and wiped the tears from her eyes.

“Kate I promise you. I will never ever let that son of a bitch near you again alright?” She hung her head and nodded slightly.

Brian wasn’t satisfied.

“Kate I mean it. He will never touch you again. He’s gonna have to go through me first.” She looked up at him. The look in his eyes was sincere. She nodded and smiled slightly.

He wrapped his arms around her in a tight hug.

“Do you want to be alone for a while?” He asked her. She nodded and he let go of her. As he stood up to walk to the door, Kate caught his wrist.

“Hey Brian?” She said. He turned around her nodded.

“Thanks.” She said quietly. He smiled at her and nodded, then walked out the door. After he closed it, he leaned against it and closed his eyes.

“Is she okay?” Val asked. Brian sighed and ran his hand over his face and through his hair.

“She’s a mess. But I think she’ll be fine.” They all shook their heads and stayed silence. Brian pulled out his cigarettes and walked out onto the balcony.