Chapter 2: Waking Up

   When Richie awoke his mind was whirling and he had a pounding headache. He put his hand to his head. He saw the blanket and he ran his fingers over it.
 "Ava...," he thought.
 He forgot she was supposed to stay with him for the weekend.
 "Damn it," he grunted as he pulled himself to his feet.
 He quietly opened the door to her room. She was still asleep. He quietly walked to the other side of the bed and laid down beside her. He scooted close to her and kissed her forehead. He put his arms around her and held her as he tried to go back to sleep. It was barely daylight outside but he could see inside the room just fine. Looking over her and to her dresser he saw a picture of them together. The one he wrote on saying, "I'll always walk beside you."

   When Ava awoke she felt the warmth of her dad. It was killing her knowing that they were once just a happy family and now it's being pulled apart because her dad couldn't always be home. He had his own dreams but a lot of them were now for her, and she knew that. She felt bad because she didn't inherit the natural talent for music like her father. She felt like a total mistake because she took the modeling and acting talent from her mother. Why did her mother have to me Heather Locklear?! A woman who likes to brake hearts and get a divorce once she had a child. She felt just like another 'project'. She had two sisters and a brother but she was the only child from Richie Sambora. She told herself that she would never call another man dad other than her own father. She laid one hand on top of her dad's. She could feel all the years of hard work he had put into his life. All his struggles, the pain, everything. She knew he had worked hard to get where he was in life and she admired him for that.

   Richie felt her hand and opened his eyes.
 "Good mornin' darlin'," he said.
 "Goodmorning,"
 "Listen Ava, I'm sorry you had to-"
 "Dad, it's okay," she interrupted.
 "No, it's not, I'm a mess,"
 "I think it's time dad," she said as she looked him in the eyes.
Those baby blue eyes starring back at him made his heart melt. He let out a sigh.
 "I'll go as soon as it's final," he said.
 "dad-"
 "fine, I'll go but-"
 "Dad, I'm never gonna let go of you, don't worry about that,"
 "Thanks darlin'," he said as he kissed her head.
 "But you reek of alcohol,"
 "oh yeah, sorry, how about some breakfast and Starbucks after I get out, sound good?,"
 "Sounds great dad," She said with a smile.
 He hopped off the bed and walked towards the door. He stopped at the doorway.
 "Maybe you could drive me around for a change, since you just got your learner's permit,"
 "Okay," she said with a smile.
 He smiled back and walked out the door. He went to his room, grabbed a change of clothes, then went into the bathroom. He closed the door and turned on the water. As the water was heating up he began to undress, taking off his shirt first.
 "I can find someone else," he told himself as he looked down at his own body and the tattoos in the mirror.
 He was a little out of shape from the drinking and the pills but, he knew that if he tried hard enough he'd get his old body back. He began taking off his pants. Heather shot back into his mind.
 "Damn it woman get out of my head!," he said through gritted teeth as the pain crept back into his sober body.
 He wanted the alcohol and the pills. He needed them.
 "No, you don't need them. You'll be alright," he thought to himself.
 He looked back into the mirror and put his whole body into view.
 "You're a stud. Any woman fool enough not to fall to her knees every time she sees you is not worth your time," he muttered to himself.
 It had worked in high school, it should work now he thought.
 "You sexy beast," he said into the mirror as he put his hands on his hips.
 A smile swept across his face and he got into the shower. The hot water felt good as it ran over his body. All the nerves in his body began to relax under the water and steam. He let out a sigh of relief. He let the water completely soothe him.
 "mmm," he sighed as he looked up at the ceiling.
 All of a sudden a flashback of Heather and him came into his mind. He got mad, really mad. He punched the shower wall as hard as he could.
 "Are you alright daddy?" Ava called from outside the door.
 "Yeah darlin', I'm alright, don't worry," he said as he looked down at his red knuckles.
 He knew he got lucky it didn't break them, only bruised.