This Is How We Move On - Chapter 1
Danny heard the door of the studio open again so he looked around from his laptop where he was working on a new track to see Tom, Dougie and Harry standing there.
“I thought you guys had left already” he said out loud so the three of them could hear him when he looked back at the screen. He waited for a response bun instead he heard them whispering so he wheeled around his chair to face them.
“Maybe you should tell him”
“Why don’t you do it then? It’s not so easy you know”
“Uh, guys what is it?” Danny asked confused. He saw Dougie nudge Tom in the ribs hard.
“Ow, Dougie!” Tom screamed.
“Mate, just do it please” Harry said putting a hand on Tom’s shoulder.
“Guys what the hell?” Danny asked again.
He saw Tom take a deep breath and shift in his position before he started talking.
“Dan…we’ve…been…uh…worried about you” he said nervously looking at him. “We think you’re working yourself too hard mate”
“Mate, last time I checked we have a release date soon, I’ve just been…”Danny tried to explain but he was interrupted by Tom.
“Yes I know you just want things to work out alright with the songs you’re producing and all that, but seriously you need a break from all of this”
“What are you talking about? We’ve had plenty of days off” Danny tried to explain again.
“Which you’ve spent in here, recording and mixing and …I guess what we’re trying to say is that after your separation…you’ve been kind of…absorbed in your work”
“Oh no, we’re not going to have this conversation, ok?…have a nice weekend and close the door on your way out” Danny said matter of factly and turned to face his laptop again.
“Danny, c’mon…please tell me when was the last time you’ve done something other than being stuck in the studio?” this time it was Harry who spoke.
“No Harry, don’t you give me that crap right now, ‘cause you know very well that even after all I went through I still went to Australia and got involved into every outdoor thing you wanted me to do!” this time Danny was on his feet and yelling. He felt angry and at the same time hurt that his friends would insist on bringing this up.
“Mate we came back from Australia two months ago and you’ve been stuck in here!” Harry insisted “When was the last time you spoke to Natalie?”
The room was suddenly quiet and none of them said a word although Danny felt the weight of Harry’s words crushing his heart and making the air from his lungs escape. He found his seat again before speaking.
“Natalie and I haven’t seen each other, let alone speak for three months now” Danny sighed.
“Dan, she’s still your wife, you can’t just go on like that, you have to…” Dougie said and walked next to Danny to put a hand on his shoulder.
“It’s what we decided Doug” Danny said as if there was no other way around it.
“I understand mate, but you’ll have to speak to her eventually, to either fix things or actually get divorced and seriously, becoming a workaholic is not a way to deal with things”
Danny sat in silence for a while letting Dougie’s words sink in, realizing that he had been doing just that. He worked and worked so he didn’t have to think about his marriage. He had found that being in the studio and writing songs and being completely dedicated to the music did the trick for him and now he could say that somehow he wasn’t hurting so much. He could think about Natalie and understand that they were definitely better off, not that he liked being separated ‘cause he knew that he still loved her, but he liked the lack of arguments everyday and he enjoyed that bit of peace that came along with his music.
“Dan?” Danny recognized Tom’s voice and snapped out of his train of thought.
“So is this some kind of intervention?” asked Danny and Tom nodded
“I guess you could call it that way”.
“I thought you guys had left already” he said out loud so the three of them could hear him when he looked back at the screen. He waited for a response bun instead he heard them whispering so he wheeled around his chair to face them.
“Maybe you should tell him”
“Why don’t you do it then? It’s not so easy you know”
“Uh, guys what is it?” Danny asked confused. He saw Dougie nudge Tom in the ribs hard.
“Ow, Dougie!” Tom screamed.
“Mate, just do it please” Harry said putting a hand on Tom’s shoulder.
“Guys what the hell?” Danny asked again.
He saw Tom take a deep breath and shift in his position before he started talking.
“Dan…we’ve…been…uh…worried about you” he said nervously looking at him. “We think you’re working yourself too hard mate”
“Mate, last time I checked we have a release date soon, I’ve just been…”Danny tried to explain but he was interrupted by Tom.
“Yes I know you just want things to work out alright with the songs you’re producing and all that, but seriously you need a break from all of this”
“What are you talking about? We’ve had plenty of days off” Danny tried to explain again.
“Which you’ve spent in here, recording and mixing and …I guess what we’re trying to say is that after your separation…you’ve been kind of…absorbed in your work”
“Oh no, we’re not going to have this conversation, ok?…have a nice weekend and close the door on your way out” Danny said matter of factly and turned to face his laptop again.
“Danny, c’mon…please tell me when was the last time you’ve done something other than being stuck in the studio?” this time it was Harry who spoke.
“No Harry, don’t you give me that crap right now, ‘cause you know very well that even after all I went through I still went to Australia and got involved into every outdoor thing you wanted me to do!” this time Danny was on his feet and yelling. He felt angry and at the same time hurt that his friends would insist on bringing this up.
“Mate we came back from Australia two months ago and you’ve been stuck in here!” Harry insisted “When was the last time you spoke to Natalie?”
The room was suddenly quiet and none of them said a word although Danny felt the weight of Harry’s words crushing his heart and making the air from his lungs escape. He found his seat again before speaking.
“Natalie and I haven’t seen each other, let alone speak for three months now” Danny sighed.
“Dan, she’s still your wife, you can’t just go on like that, you have to…” Dougie said and walked next to Danny to put a hand on his shoulder.
“It’s what we decided Doug” Danny said as if there was no other way around it.
“I understand mate, but you’ll have to speak to her eventually, to either fix things or actually get divorced and seriously, becoming a workaholic is not a way to deal with things”
Danny sat in silence for a while letting Dougie’s words sink in, realizing that he had been doing just that. He worked and worked so he didn’t have to think about his marriage. He had found that being in the studio and writing songs and being completely dedicated to the music did the trick for him and now he could say that somehow he wasn’t hurting so much. He could think about Natalie and understand that they were definitely better off, not that he liked being separated ‘cause he knew that he still loved her, but he liked the lack of arguments everyday and he enjoyed that bit of peace that came along with his music.
“Dan?” Danny recognized Tom’s voice and snapped out of his train of thought.
“So is this some kind of intervention?” asked Danny and Tom nodded
“I guess you could call it that way”.