Chapter Four.
The next morning, Ben woke up with a pounding headache.
He just about managed to walk to the bathroom and chuck water over his face,
before lifting up his head and looking at himself in the mirror.
“Ohh no I look a state!” He muttered to himself, he
then sighed and walked out of his room to Paul’s’. He knocked on the door and
waited for a reply.
“Paul mate, open up!” He yelled, banging louder than
he had done before on the door. Obviously there was no reply. He pounded on the
door again and even started kicking it.
“Somebody’s alcohol went straight to their head last
night! Paul left remember? He’ll be back soon. Tim’s off to find him now”
Christian laughed, rubbing his eyes, then running his
hands through his messy hair. Ben looked at him in confusion then slowly
started to remember the events of last night.
“I mentioned Kaz didn’t I?”
Ben asked. Christian nodded.
“Shit! I’m such a dumbassed twat!” Ben cursed.
Christian nodded again. Ben glared at him.
“You’re not supposed to agree with me! You’re supposed
to offer me comfort and support and tell me everything’s alright!” he said
afterwards. Christian laughed.
“Yeah yeah” He replied, walking back to his room. Ben
stood in the hallway for a moment then went back to his room too.
In his car, Tim drove to Kaz’s street. He was the only
person Paul had told about Kaz. The only person who knew that
Paul hadn’t actually broken up with her before joining the group. He
also knew about Ellie.
When he arrived at Kaz’s house, he got out of his car
and walked to the front door. He rang the doorbell once and waited. It was
“Hey Tim” Kaz
greeted as soon as she’d opened the door. Tim smiled at her in reply and stepped in as Kaz moved out of the way.
“I’m right in thinking that he came here then, yeah?”
Tim asked. Kaz nodded as she shut the front door and lead Tim into the kitchen.
“Hey Paul. You feeling better?” Tim
asked straight away, sitting down at the table with him. Paul looked at him
then nodded with a nervous smile.
“Sorry” He apologised.
“It’s not me you need to be saying sorry to. There’s three guys back at the hotel who haven’t got a clue
what’s going on. I think you’d better tell them. But first, tell me what you’re
going to do” Tim suggested.
“I’ve been thinking about it for ages Tim, and I’m
seriously leaning towards quitting the group...” Paul replied honestly yet
guiltily.
“I needn’t ask for a reason from you, I think I know
pretty well and I won’t stop you. I think you’ve served your time in this band
long enough, and it was actually starting to show that it was all getting too
much. But you still have to tell the lads” Tim replied with a warm smile to
show that he understood.
“I know. I just don’t know how...” Paul said.
“I’ll leave it for a couple of days, I’ll tell the
lads I can’t find you but you’re probably safe. They’ll believe me, you know
how sensible you are, and they know it too. Alright?
I’ll be back ‘round in two days” Tim said.
“Are you sure?” Paul asked as Tim got up to leave.
“Of course” Tim replied.
“What about the gigs that are coming up?” Paul asked.
“We’ll have to say that you’re ill” Tim replied.
“But that’d be lying to the fans, I can’t do that!”
Paul said, sounding a little disappointed.
“You won’t be the one lying; after all you don’t want
them knowing you’ve left yet do you? Not without the lads finding out first!”
Tim replied.
“What do you mean?” Paul asked, confused.
“Well there’s a gig tomorrow and the day after that,
you’re not going to be there, therefore I’ll have to lie to the guys, and the
guys’ll have to lie to them” Tim explained.
“Okay...I feel terrible doing it though” Paul replied.
“It’s for the best. Think about yourself
for once” Tim said.
“Okay. Bye Tim” Paul replied, seeing Tim walking
towards the front door slowly.
“Goodbye. See you Kaz” Tim replied.
“Tra” Kaz said, once Tim had left, Kaz sat down next to
Paul at the table.
“He’s right you know” she said.
“About what?” Paul asked.
“You DO have to start thinking about yourself,
otherwise you’ll never be happy” Kaz replied.
“Well...I’ll try” Paul agreed. Kaz smiled at him.
“What time’s nursery then?” Paul then asked.
“Ohh, about
“Can I come with you when you take her there?” Paul
asked.
“Sure. It’ll give you two a little chance to catch up!
It’s only ‘round the corner mind” Kaz replied.
“That’s okay. I’ll pick her up aswell, maybe take her
down the park or something” Paul suggested.
“Yeah. I think she’ll like that” Kaz agreed. She kissed him
gently on the lips then pulled away.
“Do you think I’m making the right decision?” Paul
asked.
“To be honest, I don’t really know what the right
decision is. I mean, they’re both right. If you leave and stay with us, then
you’ll fill the gap in Ellie’s family and she’ll actually understand what it’s
like to have a mum AND a dad, but if you stay with the group, then you’ll be
fulfilling your dreams which is ALWAYS a good thing, and no matter what, you’ll
still get a chance to see us now and again. So I really couldn’t say” Kaz
replied, thinking that her answer was no good to him.
“I’d rather stay with you that stay in the group. In a
way, being with you IS fulfilling my dream, I mean, to have a family with
someone I love more than anything? That’s so much better than being able to
travel the world with a couple of lads who are REALLY starting to get on my nerves”
Paul said, almost thankfully.
“You’re completely sure about this?” Kaz asked.
“Positive” Paul replied.
“Good. Because I wouldn’t want you to make the wrong
decision just because of me” Kaz said with a smile.
“I’d do anything for you, Kaz” Paul replied to that
comment, standing up, pulling her up with him into a massive hug. She hugged
him back tightly, so glad to have him back in her arms. They stood for a while
embracing the moment then slightly pulled away, once they’d done so, Paul
realised that Kaz had tears in her eyes.
“What’s wrong?” He asked, a
concerned look on his face.
“I’ve just missed you so much, and the thought of
having you back just makes me so happy...” Kaz replied, starting to cry.
“Awh babes!” Paul said, pulling her into yet another hug. She
hugged him back again, tears rolling down her face, some dropping on to his
back. She managed to stop herself then they pulled away once more.
“I’ve missed you too” Paul whispered.
Eleven o clock came, and it
was time to wake up Ellie. Kaz went up the stairs and in around ten minutes she
was back down.
“She’s just getting dressed” Kaz smiled. A few minutes
later the sound of Ellie running down the stairs was heard, and she came
rushing into the kitchen. She was wearing navy jeans with a plain blue t-shirt
and black trainers, with a teeny tiny hoodie tied around her waist. Her hair
had been brushed and it remained down. She beamed at Kaz, and then at Paul, who
smiled back.
“Did you have a nice sleep?” Paul asked, not really
sure what to be saying. Ellie nodded excitedly.
“Why you so happy
this morning?” Kaz asked
curiously, giving her fake evil eyes.
“I was thinking last night before I wented to sleep
that I’m going to have a mummy AND a daddy like everybody else in nursery! AND my
now you’ve got your prince back you’ll be really really very happy from now
on!!” Ellie explained smiling up at Kaz. Kaz smiled back down, as did Paul.
Ellie’s happiness completely confirmed his decision. He couldn’t go back now.
“I’ll be back in a sec, alright?” Paul said to Kaz,
looking down at Ellie afterwards. They both nodded. He walked through from the
kitchen to the living room and pulled out his mobile phone. He dialled Mark’s
number and waited for an answer.
“Paul! Where the fuck are you
man? We’ve got a gig in five hours! You better not be too far away, or Tim’s
gonna kill you if and when he finds you!” Mark answered, a little angrily.
“Tim already found me. Listen, I’ve got something to
tell you, which I’d like you to tell the other two aswell, please?” Paul asked.
“What is it?” Mark asked.
“I’m not coming back. And you know Kaz? I didn’t break
up with her, we’ve been together through all this and you wanna know why?
Because I love her, and we...” Paul paused.
“We have a daughter. Her name’s Ellie. She was born a
month or so before I joined a1. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you all, I just
couldn’t handle the pain of not seeing them knowing that you guys would know why I was upset all the time.”
“You’re not coming back?” Mark asked a little
confused.
“Would you? I mean, after Ben having a go at me like
he did, running off in the middle of the night to a girlfriend you love to bits
who you haven’t seen face to face in four
years, seeing your daughter who’s grown up SO much without you there to
witness anything, and have her be happy to have you home?” Paul asked.
“I get it, Paul. And wow...I’m really sorry, if I’d
have known what was upsetting you so much all the time, I would’ve understood a
little better, obviously. I can’t force you to come back to the group, and yeah
you’re right. I’d do the same thing in your situation” Mark replied.
“Thanks mate. It’s just; I can’t take that happiness
away from her again. Not now. Not now that she understands that her daddy’s
back. I’ll keep in touch” Paul said.
“You’d better. Shall I just tell Ben n Chris
straight?” Mark asked, unsure of how to explain to them.
“However you want, or ask Tim to tell them” Paul
replied.
“Tim knows?” Mark asked.
“Tim knew all along. How d’you
think he found me here so quickly?” Paul replied.
“Ohh right. That sly bastard!” Mark
joked.
“See ya mate” Paul said quietly.
“Yeah, see ya...” Mark replied. They both hung up and
Paul made his way back to the kitchen.
“It’s done” He said to Kaz, kissing her on the lips
after pulling her gently with one hand around her waist towards him.
“What’s done?” Ellie asked as she stood facing them.
“I’m staying home, babes. For good” Paul replied,
kneeling on the floor to be the same height as his daughter.
“Promise? Y’know coz I can’t have mummy crying any more” Ellie
asked as if she were Kaz’s best friend or something. Paul laughed lightly.
“Promise” He replied. Ellie smiled then threw her arms
around Paul’s’ neck and hugged him. He hugged her back, happy to have his
daughter back in his arms.
“I love you daddy” Ellie said happily.
“I love you too, Ellie” Paul replied. They hugged a
while longer, then Ellie jumped out of Paul’s’ arms and ran over to Kaz who was
watching happily, almost crying again. Ellie grabbed her hand and dragged her
over to Paul, pulled her down on to the floor and hugged them both.
“One big family!” She yelled, Kaz and Paul laughed then whispered those
same words.
“So are the prince and princess going to get married
in a big castle with a horse and carriage like Cinderella?” Ellie then asked
after they’d all pulled away. Paul and Kaz looked at each other. Kaz was ready,
Paul was ready, but neither knew if the other were or not.
“Actually...That reminds me” Paul replied. He got up
from the floor and went to his suitcase which he’d left in the front hallway
over night. He rummaged around for a second and found what he was looking for.
Walking back to the kitchen, he played around with the black box in his hand, then hid it behind his back.
“Kaz?” He asked, kneeling back down on the floor with her.
“Yeah?” She replied, nervously.
“I know we haven’t seen a lot of each other in the
past four years, but even before I left I knew we’d be together forever. And as
they say, absence makes the heart grow fonder, and it certainly has for me, not
that staying with you would have changed how I feel right now.
I was going to ask you this on the day that I left,
but I didn’t think you’d approve, but now...I think I know that you’re probably
ready for it.
I guess what I’m trying to say is...Kaz Davies...Will
you marry me?” Paul asked, opening the box to reveal a gold engagement ring
with one of the biggest diamond stones on it that Kaz had ever seen.
“MY God! How the hell could you have afforded this before a1!?” Kaz asked in shock as Paul
nervously awaited her answer.
“Savings...So?” Paul replied. Kaz looked him in the eyes, Ellie
watched on, quite nervous herself. Kaz slipped her arms around his neck and
pulled herself towards him so that their foreheads were almost touching. She
continued looking into his eyes.
“You’ve just made me the happiest girl in the world,
and yes. Paul Marazzi...I’d love to marry you” Kaz finally replied, she smiled
then kissed him passionately before he had a chance to react. The kiss was so
passionate, Paul ended up falling backwards on to the floor, but Kaz just
followed as she continued kissing him. Ellie jumped up and down with
excitement. Kaz carried on kissing him, she didn’t want to stop, then again neither did Paul.
“Okay mummy, put him down! I’ve got a nursery to get to,
and you’ve got a lovely ring to put on your finger! There’ll be plenty of time
for that malarkey after the wedding!”
Ellie said sweetly yet sternly. They stopped kissing, looked ‘round at Ellie,
then laughed at her grown-up like attitude.
“You’ve been watching too much telly, missy! You’re
starting to act older than us!” Kaz replied. She got off Paul, eventually and
they both stood up. Paul took the ring out of the box, and placed it on Kaz’s
finger. Then kissed her softly on the lips.
“Excuse me? Didn’t you listen to a word I just said?”
Ellie said then giggled.
“Cheeky!” Paul commented, walking towards her, he
grabbed her gently by the waist, sat her on his knee and then began tickling
her.
“Daddy stop it!! STOPPIIIIIIIIT!!!” She yelled in fits of giggles.
“You’d like that wouldn’t you?” Paul asked, laughing
himself as he continued tickling her.
“Pleeeeease!!!” Ellie giggled.
“Not yet!” Paul replied, carrying on.
“Come on Paul, she’s got nursery to get to” Kaz
eventually said. Paul tickled for a few more seconds then stopped. Ellie
stopped giggling, then looked up at Paul and smiled. He smiled back down at
her, then she gave him a big fat sloppy kiss on the
cheek.
“That’s for tickling me!” She said, then immediately
after that she gave him a nice kiss gently on his other cheek.
“And that’s for coming back” she smiled.
“Thanks Ell” Paul replied. Ellie smiled in reply.
Everyone started getting everything ready, Ellie’s
lunch, Ellie’s coat and Ellie’s breakfast. Once everything had been sorted, and
Ellie had been dropped off at nursery by Kaz and Paul, Paul’s life could start
returning to how it had been before. The only difference being that he had a
daughter to look after now, which he loved so much and nothing but good could
come from it. He realised that walking around
He was happy, and that’s the way it was going to stay.