Page 92 of Give Me What I Want

None of us had noticed her open it, but there she was, only minutes after she had walked out, standing there with a small,shy,smile on her face. She tucked her lips between her teeth, stepped into the room, then puffed out her chest.

“Combined, the three of you are my perfect man. Alone, each of you make me feel like a better me, but apart...” Her breath caught and she swallowed hard. “Apart feels wrong. I don’t want a life without all of you at my side. I thought that you’d make me choose, and I can’t. I never will. So if you’ll take me as a woman in love with three men, then I’m all yours. And if not—”

“There is no if not,” Mav said quickly.

“There never has been,” Ro agreed.

“I’m a man in love with two men and a woman,” I said with a laugh. “Although, the love I feel for you is different, but... you already knew that.”

“We’ve known for a long time,” Mav said, then held his hand out to Bea.

She crossed the room to him and took his hand, then fell onto the bed and kissed him.

“You can collapse and crumble,” she whispered as she came up for air. “But this is not your end, it’s just part of the path that you must cross to become the next version of you. And guess what? I’ll love that version too. I’ll love every change, every evolution. Because I loveyou, the good and bad, the ups and downs.”

She looked at Ro and me next. “That goes for the pair of you too. We built this family seven years ago, we’ve been through so much, and now we start a new chapter. Are you ready?”

“Stupid question, Your Maj.” Ro was on her next, pulling her upright to kiss her tenderly. And then I took centre stage, spinning her, dipping her, and kissing her like we were in a Hollywood film.

Joel popped his head through the door just as Bea found her balance again, informing us that he’d heard the doctor say he was coming to check on Mav next.

When we had finished the tour, we had spoken with Garth about getting the security team we’d had with us for all those months on regular payroll, mostly for events, interviews, and days out, but hospital visits had made that list too. It was nice, to have a familiar face around as we had all panicked about the fate of our guitarist. He had been bringing us coffees and checking in frequently, always staring at Mav with so much worry in his eyes. They had grown close, and I found a strange comfort in the knowledge that there were more people out there who cared about him, cared about him as a person, not a rockstar.

“Better sort your face out, Queenie.” Ro gestured to her lips, then looked between me and Mav. Her signature red was smudged on all of our lips.

Bea disappeared into the bathroom attached to Mav’s private room, cleaned herself up, then tossed damp paper towels through the open doorway to us. Ro and I sorted ourselves out quickly, then I helped Mav, his body too weak to manage much, he was tired already. It was a painful reminder of what he had done, and the journey we’d now be on together.

The doctor came in, cautious and slow as he pushed open the door, then he heaved a heavy sigh, smiling at Mav. “It’s nice to have you back with us, Mr Swift.”

“Thanks,” Mav muttered, then closed his eyes. “Sorry for…”

“You don’t need to apologise,” Bea cut in and the doctor nodded his agreement.

“All that matters is that you’re here now. I need to check you over, and then…” he trailed off and forced a wider smile. “Let’s get you checked out.”

Mav cooperated, sluggish in his movements, but did everything he was asked to do. The doc nodded a lot, scribbled notes, and then turned to us. “He’s fine. I’d like to keep him in just to get him rehydrated, and I’ll need to—” He lowered his voice “—book him a psych assessment.”

“You don’t need to whisper; I know I need to see someone. It’s fine.”

The doc raised a brow at him. “You want help?”

“Of course I do, this was the stupidest thing I’ve ever done in my life,” Mav said, his voice wobbling.

“Oh. Great.” The doc’s face lit up. “I’ll get a consult then. You should be able to go home tonight, tomorrow at a push.”

“Thanks, doc,” Ro said, showing him to the door, and closing it behind him. “Was that weird?” he asked as he sat back down on the uncomfortable plastic chair, leaving the soft squishy one for Bea.

She ignored the offer though and perched on the edge of the bed, so I took it instead, grinning as I got comfortable.

“He’s probably had a lot of patients turn down help,” Bea said. “He was probably just pleased that he’d not have to argue with Mav.”

“If I had been offered help yesterday, I’d have turned it down,” Mav admitted. “It’s crazy, isn’t it?” He was speaking quietly, slowly “That I’ve been given a second chance. Are you certain though? That I’m not actually dead right now?”

“You’re not dead, Mav,” I said, then leaned forward and pinched his shoulder, making him grunt irritably. “See. Not dead, not dreaming.”

“Yeah.” Ro stood up and pinched him too, repeatedly. “Believe us?”

“Yes,” Mav snapped, the effort of it cracking his voice. “I get it, stop.”

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