Love And Other Drugs

The dinner had been wonderful-Luxe had never had a turkey like that and it was her first time trying sweet potatoes. Everything was delicious and as she stood at the sink and rinsed off the dirty dishes that she was helping to wash, she couldn't help but smile. She had been seated right beside Andy's father, across from Andy, who was sitting beside his mother and his grandfather.

Luxe watched as Andy helped his elderly grandfather cut up his food and then listened as the older man told stories of when he was Andy's age. A lot different and he playfully called his grandson a hooligan, but they all laughed at it. Andy, his father and grandfather were all sitting in the den, watching the end of the game and then it would be time for them to hit the hay.

The two of them would only be here two days, leaving early in the morning the day after tomorrow and Luxe found that she didn't want to go back. Her condo was lonely, empty and she was enjoying being around a family who all loved one another and seemed to like her almost as much. Perhaps if Luxe had had a loving family things would be different for her, but then she would of never met Andy or the girls and she couldn't imagine her life without them.

As she rinsed and dried off the last dish, Luxe noticed that Amy was looking at her with a sly smile on her lips. She looked so much like Andy in that moment that Luxe had to do a double take.


"Well, now that that is done-how about a tour?" Amy asked, her blue eyes wide and holding an air of mischief. Luxe only smiled and looked around the corner-Andy was deep in conversation with his father while a commercial played through the football game.

"Sure, that would be nice." Luxe said as she walked towards the den to get Andy, but Amy only shook her head, her red hair falling in front of her eyes as she grabbed for Luxe's arm and tugged her towards the stairs.

"Let Andy stay with his father...he probably wouldn't find it very funny where I'm about to take you." Amy said and the two women began to walk up the stairs. Luxe noticed that the stairwell was lined with photos of Andy in various stages of life, the last photo at the very top a photo of him at the most recent Kerrang Awards.

"Where are we going?" Luxe asked and Amy only smiled at her over her sweater clad shoulder and led her down the hallway. Luxe soon was stopped in front of a door that was covered in posters on the outside and she giggled. She knew exactly what this was.
Andy's room.

"He's probably going to kill me, but I figured you'd get a kick out of it." Amy said as she quietly pushed open the door and the two women stepped inside.


The room was completely covered in posters-from bands to comic book characters and of course there was a lot of Batman. Andy's bed was pushed up against one wall, a small twin with red sheets and a Batman comforter that was neatly tucked in to place. There were shelves hanging on the walls, a break from all of the posters, and on each shelf was either an action figure or a piece of memorabilia.

Andy had quite a CD collection and as she shuffled through the pile of them, Luxe felt herself smile. She had never been able to picture Andy as anything but a rough and tumble rocker, but now she saw him for what he was-a twenty year old kid who made his dreams come true.

Andy had worked hard-it was obvious and as Luxe let her hands run over an old second hand guitar in the corner, she knew that his work had paid off. The two of them had butted heads in the past and he had called her spoiled and while she had fought him over it, Luxe knew that she really was pretty spoiled. She and the girls hadn't really worked that hard for what they got-they didn't get bumped around from one label to the next, they just got their deal and started recording.

Andy and the guys all toured around in a van for a few years, but the girls had toured in a bus this past fall. They had struggled for years while the girls had everything handed to them, but both bands were grateful.


"Andy was quite the collector..." Luxe said as she circled around the room and came to stand in front of Amy. The older woman was leaning against the doorframe, smiling softly at her and Luxe only smiled in return and pushed her long hair out of her face.

"Yeah, he has his father's penchant for keeping things. When he was little he used to take Chris' KISS action figures and create shows and concerts for them. It was really funny to watch. We may have the tapes somewhere up in the attic." Luxe laughed at this and she could just imagine Andy doing that. He had a flare for drama and Luxe could imagine him taking it out on a bunch of action figures.

"What's going on up here?" Someone asked from the doorway and Luxe jumped as she turned around and noticed that Andy was standing there, his skinny arms crossed over his chest.

"Just embarrassing you in front of Lucinda." His mother said and Andy only blushed as he looked around. He had completely forgotten about his childhood room and seeing Luce standing in the middle of it all was kind of surreal. Not even Scout had been to his childhood home-he had always gone out to LA to see her.

"God-I can't believe you kept all of this stuff." Andy said as he looked around, taking everything in. He had been so proud of this room-he had worked so hard on those action figures and here they all were, nicely placed on their shelves just waiting for him.

"Of course I would keep it! They all meant so much to you." She said as she came over to him, wrapping her arm around his shoulders as she kissed his cheek. It was nice seeing a mother acting like, well, like a mother. Luxe smiled, but on the inside she wanted to cry.


Why couldn't she have a family like this? Andy and his parents were the perfect family-loving, caring and always there for one another. Seeing Amy hug her son or seeing Chris clap Andy on the back-it made Luxe miss the family she never had. This house-this wonderful amazing house was filled with family love and evidence of Andy's parents support for his dreams.

Her home-her parent's trailer-was filled with nothing but crushed beer cans, empty vodka bottles and cigarette butts. Luxe only smiled as she followed the mother and son down the stairs and in to the den. Chris and Andy's grandpa were sitting there, talking about what sounded like music.


"Hey guys! You get the full tour Lucinda?" Chris asked, looking towards her and Luxe only smiled. She had seen enough of Andy's room to blackmail him for a year.

"I saw plenty."Luxe smiled at him as she took a seat on the couch and looked around. Chris had an acoustic guitar on his lap and was now handing it over to Andy. What was going on?

"Yeah...no more tours." Andy said as he took a seat down beside her, holding the guitar in his hands and he smiled at her. Why was he looking at her like that?

"...Grandpa wants to hear us sing. I was thinking about Broken...what do you say?" Andy said, smirking at her and Luxe felt a blush creep across the bridge of her nose.

"Sounds good to me." She said, sharing in his smile. The two of them cleared their throats and Luxe took a moment to look around.


Chris and Amy were both sitting in the recliner-Chris on the seat and Amy on the arm rest with her arms wrapped around her husband's shoulders. They were so cute and loving-the complete opposite of Luxe's parents. Maybe she and Andy could be like that when they got older-they weren't really dating officially, but it seemed like the more they hung out, the closer they got.

Andy's grandpa was smiling at the two of them, a glass of water in his hand as he waited for them to start. Luxe smiled at Andy and then closed her eyes. She needed to focus-it was strange not being on a stage, but as the music began to play, Luxe felt herself get lost. Together, she and Andy began to sing, their voices melting together perfectly.


The worst is over now and we can breathe again
I wanna hold you high, you steal my pain away
There's so much left to learn, and no one left to fight
I wanna hold you high and steal your pain
'Cause I'm broken when I'm open
And I don't feel like I am strong enough
'Cause I'm broken when I'm lonesome
And I don't feel right when you're gone away...

Notes

Two cute chapters to hold you guys over until the weekend. Glad you're all enjoying things so far...it's about to get bumpy though.

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