Title
: Shards -- Shattered View"I mean, you got her son shot. Fuck, I wouldn't have come all the way out here to lecture your ass."
"You knew!"
"Knew you were fucking a Backstreet Boy? Wasn't that tough to figure out." Bizarre was just sitting there calmly as Marshall went into shock.
"How long have you known?" He almost screamed the question.
"I've had my suspicions for a long time. I've met every girl you ever fucked more than once, and I never saw Alex? I'm slow, but not stupid."
"You knew."
"We've been over that, Em. Hey, if I was a bigot, would I be rapping with you?"
"You…knew."
"Slim, snap out of it."
Marshall blinked, then scowled. "How the hell did you figure it out? You can't tell me it was that easy. It took Dre six months, and he caught us in the act."
"First of all, don't ever say that again, because now I'm picturing it. Second, 'You might wake up with a guy on some new shit'? You told me the song was for Alex. Course, the clincher was a few days after the shooting."
"What happened?" Marshall almost didn't want to know.
"You got a phone call. I kinda forgot to give you the message." Bizarre pulled a piece of crumpled paper from his pocket. "Marshall, heard about AJ on the news. If you need someone to talk to, give me a call."
"Who the fuck left me that?" Because if it was Timberlake, Marshall was going to kill him.
"Elton John."
Well, he'd been close.
-----
"I'm sorry. Really, but," AJ burst out laughing. "Nicky, our little golden boy. Arrested for disorderly conduct."
"Shut up!" Nick was red faced. Kevin had already yelled at him, and now AJ was practically rolling on the floor. "You've done worse, Mr. Amnesia."
"At least I never called TRL and told people to vote for the wrong single."
"What did you just say?" Howie pulled of his headphones. "How did you know that?"
"He did, didn't he?" AJ thought he'd been getting good at sorting memories from dreams. Dreams had pictures, memories were just sound and sensation.
"Yeah." Brian looked at AJ suspiciously. "Have you been surfing fan sites again?"
"No…" He wasn't sure if they'd believe him. "It comes back, when I sleep."
"That's great." Nick had snapped out of his funk. "How much do you remember?"
"Don't get so exited, Nick. Audio only. Hell, I couldn't pick Amanda out of a crowd, but I know what she sounds like."
"That's…unusual." Kevin sat down his paper. "What other kind of things to you remember, because they're getting ready to blast open your wall safe since no one else knew the combo."
"Nothing like that. It's little stuff. A few sentences at a time." AJ remembered something he wanted to ask them. "Hey, why do people call me Johnny?"
-----
"Carter, I already have Denise riding me. I don't need you trying to help too."
"I got arrested."
"What the fuck did you just say?" Marshall wondered if he was having a flashback or something. He couldn't have heard that right.
"Don't be an ass. I got arrested! I need your help."
"You need my help?" This actually made getting up this morning worth it. "What the hell did you do, Carter? Shoot up a club?"
"No! Just come to the party Denise invited you to. I could really use some help here."
"What the hell can I do?"
"Just come." Nick hung up, and looked at Denise. "I don’t get it. I really don’t."
"You need advice, and he needs to be around normal people. That Dre person says that when they’re not in studio, he just avoids them all. I’m worried about him."
"Why?"
"I don’t want him to end up in Canada next time."
She left the room, leaving Nick to wonder, "Canada?"
-----
It wasn’t that he hated parties like this. It was just he hated ones where the majority of people there listened to the wrong kind of music. So, Marshall sat at the bar, and waited for Nick to find him.
"Sorry." Speak of the devil. "Have you been waiting long?"
"Naw. Can I ask you one question though?" A grin spread across Marshall’s face. "Is it true that you were crying when they cuffed you?"
"No!"
"Flashing that kind of gun in public is a little out of my area of expertise."
Nick’s eyes narrowed. "Don’t believe everything you read on the internet. I just want some advice, okay? How do I keep the judge from throwing me in jail because I’m a celebrity?"
"First of all," He looked Nick over. "Don’t dress like one. Have your PR people find you a suit. No white, you got it, Carter? You want to look like a normal guy, and nothing says Backstreet Boy more than those weird ass clothes you wear. And don’t act like you’re Richardson’s age either. A judge will be more lenient if they think you were just being a stupid kid."
"Be myself, dress like a real person." Nick wrote it down. "Anything else?"
"Take out the damned contacts and wear your glasses." Marshall finished his drink. "Can I go now, or is this all part of Denise’s sinister plan to save me?"
"Sinister plan." Nick stood up. "She’s been looking for you. I’d find her. She’s got that look."
"Shit." Marshall went to disappear into the crowd, but before he could, he was spotted.
"Marshall." Denise took his arm. "How long are you in town?"
"Listen, I told you, I want you to leave me alone. It’s over. I know that, but you don’t seem to get it. I only came here tonight to torture Carter, and now I want to go back to my hotel until I have to catch a plane Sunday."
"You’re going to be here all weekend?"
Damn it, why couldn’t he just keep his mouth shut. "I guess. Denise, just let me go home, a’right? I don’t need you mothering me."
"I think you do. It’s not like your own cares." She patted his shoulder. "Come over around one tomorrow afternoon. I promise Alex won’t be there."
"What are you going to do to me?"
"I have something I want to show you."
-----
"Alex, why are you still here?" Denise looked at the wall clock. "You were supposed to be in the studio twenty minutes ago."
"I can’t find my car keys." He was on his hands and knees, looking under the coffee table.
"Did you look in your coat pocket?" She fished them out of his jacket.
"Oh. Thanks, Mom." He caught them when Denise tossed them over. "I’ll stop by later."
"Call first."
"Call first?" AJ arched an eyebrow. "You got a date or something."
"It’s not a date." She pushed him towards the door. "Just, call before you come over."
"Yeah, sure." She closed the door, and AJ just shook his head. "It’s a date."
Thirty seconds after he drove off, Marshall’s rental pulled into the driveway. "Why am I here?"
"This." She held up a DVD.
"Oh no. I am not watching that fucking movie, and you can’t make me." The look on Denise’s face said, ‘Yes I can.’ "Why are you doing this to me? Just tell me that."
"Because someone needs to keep an eye on you." She put Olive Juice into the player. "Besides, you get to see Brian and LeighAnne being bad actors, and AJ as a DJ."
"I cannot believe I’m doing this." He threw himself onto the couch. "So, she really sucks?"
"Don’t quote me."
-----
By the time the door of the u-haul was pulled shut, Marshall was asleep. Mostly on her shoulder. Denise didn’t mind. He looked like he wasn’t sleeping well. It couldn’t be easy, living in that house, with whatever memories they had together. AJ had practically moved in with her after the accident, and it was like going back in time.
The front door opened. "Mom?"
"Alex, I told you to call!" She hissed the sentence, trying not to wake Marshall up.
"I forgot." AJ was smirking, staring at Marshall, asleep all over his mother. "Shall I leave the two of you alone?"
"Yes, and don’t get smart with me." She stuck a pillow under Marshall's head, and stood up. "Weren't you going to sleep at your own house tonight?"
"Hey," AJ held up his hands. "If you want to have your boyfriend here overnight, I'll go home. You don't have to send me to the movies like I’m twelve years old."
"He's not my..." Denise sighed. "It's not like that."
AJ took a moment to stare at Marshall. "He looks exhausted."
"He's working on three albums at once. I imagine it's draining."
"Three?" No one in their right mind worked on three albums at once. "Who the hell is this guy? He looks like a hood."
"His name is Marshall Mathers." Oh god, she hoped he was really asleep, or that would just about finish him off. "And he's not a hood. He's a decent man."
"Alright, Mom. Whatever you say." He kissed her cheek. "I'll go home, catch up on my past. Can I drop by tomorrow, or will Mr. Mathers still be here?"
"He has a plane to catch." She ushered her son to the door. "Alex…will you please call before you come over if you know he's here?"
"We don’t get along?"
"Let's just say the two of you were never friends."
AJ left, and she went back into the living room. Marshall was awake. "I look like a hood?"
"You look like a rapper." She sat down next to him, patted his hand. "I have a few things to tell you. That's why I really wanted you to come over."
"Are you trying to bond with me?" The idea scared him a little.
"Yes." She smiled. "He… some of it's coming back, Marshall. I think… I think he's remembered you already, and he just doesn't know it."
"You're fucking with me." He could tell by the look on her face that she wasn't though. "How the hell could he not know it? He saw me."
"It's coming back in... He calls it MP3 form. Just sounds. I think, if he hears your voice, he'll figure it out."
"I don't want that to happen." She looked at him sharply. "I almost got your son killed. You should not be inviting me over to watch movies!"
"Why not? You think it should be you with hole in you head. Well, it's not. I lost a big chunk of my son, and you're part of that piece. I'm not going away."
"You are something else, Denise." Marshall just shook his head. "Alright. You can try and save me."
"Good." She got up, took the DVD out of the player. "So, what are we doing next weekend?"
Marshall sighed. If she was going to make him suffer through her mothering, the least he could do was get a few kicks out of it. "We're watching 'Bones.' You watch my friend, see someone who can actually act."
To be continued….
Oh, and on another note. Coming soon, A Change of Face. An unrelated series in which Marshall is sometimes called Eminem, Nick still doesn't like his bandmate sleeping with a rapper, and AJ doesn't care what he thinks.