Chapter 220

“Are you SURE you’re not related to my wife?” David asked.

John laughed.  “Only God knows the answer to that, brother.  All I know is that I can’t take anymore of this guy.”

Dan chimed in with, “Why don’t we call it a day, you guys?  I’m tired already.  I don’t think I could track anything else today.”

“That actually sounds like a really good idea to me, brother”, David said.  “I don’t think I could work anymore today either.  I think we all need to just cool our jets and relax.”  Mike and John echoed David.

“Why don’t we do Family Game Night or something like that?” Nicole offered.

“You know what, Nikki?” Brie said.  “That sounds like a great idea.  Why don’t we play Couple’s Monopoly?  We haven’t played that in ages.”

“Yeah, because you and David wipe the board with the rest of us”, Mike complained.

“You’re such a sore loser, Mikey”, Brie teased.

“Can’t you guys let someone else win for once?”

“We’re not going to LET anyone win”, David said.  “If you want to beat us, then step up, Mother Fucker.”

Fuzz sat at the table unconsciously scratching his arm.  He didn’t know WHY it itched so badly, but it did.  It had been bothering him for some time now.  It was uncomfortable to say the very least.  He wasn’t feeling like himself and he SURE wasn’t acting like himself.  It wasn’t like him to try and take over like he had.  He’d tried to mellow out in the years that he’d been away from the band.  The things coming out of his mouth weren’t things that he would have normally said, especially to David.  The main reason he’d gone looking for the band in the first place was to ask their forgiveness.  Then, out of nowhere, he’d lost several months and had a horrible itch that he couldn’t get rid of.  He wished he knew what the hell was going on, but he didn’t.  He looked at the guys.  “I think when you guys decide to break out the Monopoly that I’m going to head to bed that way I can be sure to be up when the ladies are making breakfast.”

The guys shrugged.  “If that’s what floats your boat, Fuzz”, David said.  “We’ll probably break it out here pretty soon.  Brie and I LOVE stomping these fuckers.”

Fuzz nodded.  “That’s fine.  I think I need a shower anyway.  So, I’ll just eat and head to my room.  I’m kinda tired anyway.”

Brie was kind enough to fix Fuzz a plate of what they had made for lunch.  It was a light pasta and chicken dish that she and Nicole had devised some time before.  The guys all loved it.  She set the plate down in front of Fuzz, and then went back to David’s side.

David and the guys talked about the new material that they were working on, but everyone kept a close eye on Fuzz.  They could all feel that something wasn’t right.  No one could quite put their finger on it.

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“Ha!  Park Place, mother FUCKER!  That’s gonna cost you”, Brie laughed at Dan.

“DAMN IT!” Dan yelled.  “How do you two always end up with Boardwalk AND Park Place?”

“We’re good like that, Danny.  Now, pay the woman”, David said.

Dan got the money owed to Brie and David, then handed it to her.  “This sucks.  We’re damn near broke now.”

“You should learn how to manage our money better, Daniel”, Nicole said.

David laughed.  “You two can bow out now and leave us to kick Mikey and Tina, and John and Kristen’s asses if you want.  That way you can bow out with some dignity.”

“Never!” Nicole said.  “You’ll get yours, David.  Just you wait!”

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Fuzz was having a hell of a time sleeping.  It wasn’t that the guys and their wives were making too much noise.  No, he had trouble sleeping quite often.  Some nights he just tossed and turned.  Others, like this one, he just lay in bed or in his sleeping bag and stared off into space.  And then there was the GOD AWFUL ITCHING he felt in his left arm.  It didn’t seem to matter what he did to treat it, it just kept itching worse.  He’d had it checked out before and there was nothing there.  But, SOMETHING was wrong with him.  He could feel it.  He just hoped that he wouldn’t have to keep suffering like this for too much longer and that whatever was going on that he didn’t compromise the band.

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After getting tired of stomping the rest of the Disturbed Family, David and Brie decided to call it a night.  They were both pretty well beat.  Brie didn’t particularly want to sleep.  She just wanted to get away from all the noise.  They curled up in the small couch in their room and watched a movie.  She lay down with her head in his lap.  “Baby, rub my head, please”, she asked David.

“What’s the matter, honey?”

“My head’s killing me.”

He massaged her scalp as the movie played.  “What brought on the headache?”

“All the bull shit with Fuzz.  I can’t stand that man.  He’s such a dick!”

“Why do you think we replaced him?  I don’t like him either, baby.  He likes to tell me how to write and what the lyrics should be.  Danny and them, they’ll give me suggestions, but they don’t tell me what to write.”

“Is that what the difference of opinion was that got him kicked out of the band?”

“Somewhat.  He’s also just a jack ass who doesn’t take ANYTHING seriously.  By the time we were ready to start work on Ten Thousand Fists, I’d had enough.  I talked to Danny and Mikey, and we fired him.  We’d asked John to help us with the bass stuff for that album, then we asked him to join the band.”

“That’s pretty cool.  But, I still don’t like Fuzz.”  She turned so that she could look up at him.  “Something just doesn’t feel right about him.  I know I’m sounding like a broken record, but, GOD!  It’s bugging the hell out of me, David.”

He sighed.  “I know, sweetheart.  It’s bothering me too.  I’ll call Matt in the morning and see what he what he dig up on Fuzz.  Will that make you feel any better?”

“It might.  It all depends in what Matt can dig up.”