“What the hell happened to you?” Tex popped up from somewhere and stared at me like he’d never seen a wet person before.
“Der? What does it look like? I got wet. In the rain.”
“It’s been raining?”
“Like a bastard. Now excuse me if I don’t have time for social chitchat but I need to shower. The sooner as we get that fancy portable bathroom, the better.”
He kept staring at me. It made me really uncomfortable. Then I looked down and — holy crap! I grabbed my towel and covered myself. My t-shirt had gone transparent in the rain and, of course, since I was just hanging out at home, I hadn’t worn a bra. I looked as if I’d win last place in a wet t-shirt competition.
I grabbed my towel and ran out, intending to jump straight in the shower, but there was a knock at the door.
“Tex, can you get that?” I called. I was not in any condition to deal with visitors.
Tex didn’t answer. I cursed him under my breath. It had to be the architect and there was no way Tex was going to answer the door to anyone anyway.
“Tex!” I called again, hoping that he’d have the consideration to realise that I needed the shower.
Hell, I was annoyed enough with him for staring at me when he could’ve turned his head. My nipples were private and, even if they were pressing hard against the wet fabric as if crying out for attention, he shouldn’t have looked.
I clutched my towel tight hoping the guy wouldn’t linger. Why the hell couldn’t Tex have gotten him to mail the plans if he didn’t want to deal with him in person? And he was an hour early.
The guy standing on the doorstep gave me a strange look. He asked for Tex.
“He’s not available at the moment…” I hated lying and I could tell the guy knew I was just making excuses.
“Can I help you?” Tex walked to the doorway. “Ruby, you should jump in the shower.”
So, he did have a bit of consideration after all. I left him to deal with it and ran to the shower.
When I finished in the shower, I wondered what to do. I couldn’t put my dirty clothes back on. They’d be damp and mud-caked. But I didn’t want to run through the studio just wrapped in my towel while the architect dude was there either. It’d been warm enough under the shower but now the water had stopped, the chill got to me again.
I’d panicked and ran out without grabbing a change of clothes.
Maybe the guy had gone. He’d only needed to drop off the plans. I popped my head out to check if his car was still there.
Folded up on the porch outside the shower was a set of clean clothes. Tex must’ve put them there while I was in the shower. I made a silent promise to be extra nice to him and forgive him for looking at my nipples.
Once I was warmed up and decently dressed, I headed back into the studio, still feeling a bit shaky. The architect guy had spread the plans out on the table and Tex was actually looking at them. And discussing them.
I thought about a hot drink and asked them if they wanted one. I didn’t want to catch a chill. As the kettle boiled, I remembered the message I’d received while I battled through the rain. I got my phone out of the sodden pocket of my wet sweat pants.
The message was from Hannah.
She’d set everything up. With only four hours’ notice! My hand shook as I poured the water into my cup. I’d figured I’d have a bit of time to build up the strength for it. I was hoping for weeks. Months even. In fact, it probably could be deferred indefinitely. I put my phone away, not wanting Tex to accidentally see the message.
The architect rolled up the plans and put them back in the holder.
“You’re lucky you had this place as a temporary measure,” he said. “Was it a workspace?”
“Yeah, kinda.” Tex didn’t elaborate.
I wished I’d waited until the architect had gone before making coffee. He seemed to take it as an invitation to linger around making conversation. I knew how much Tex hated that and, since he’d rescued me with those clothes, I felt like I should take over the burden of socialising.
The architect walked around, looking at the place, tapping on the walls.
“It’s well constructed,” he said, looking at one of the ceiling beams.
“Yes,” I replied, searching my brain for the kind of small talk you make. “So, what kind of architecting do you do?”
He began telling me about the projects he worked on but I blanked it out. It was really rude of me but I’d only asked to be nice, not to get his full resume. Anyway, I really wanted him out of the place so I could start cleaning before Hannah and the others arrived. I didn’t want to look as if I was a bad housekeeper.
The architect took a sip of his coffee. I think he was only drinking it to be polite because he screwed up his face. He was probably a snob about coffee. I actually wondered if we had any hard liquor around so I could make my coffee Irish. That’d be the best way to get through the night. At least Tex seemed in a moderately good mood — for him.
I couldn’t believe how much the architect kept rabbiting on about his work. We didn’t care. That’s what politeness got you — people boring you to death with their stupid talk. I tried to stifle a yawn but Tex caught me and winked. That made the yawn become a snort that I tried to stop and then I almost choked.
The architect paused and pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose with his finger. He stared at Tex for a moment.
“You look familiar. Do I know you from somewhere?”
Tex stood up and took the coffee mug out of the architect’s hand.
“I think we’ve finished here, I don’t want to take up any more of your time.”
My heart sank. If there was one thing Tex hated, it was people recognising him. No wonder he got so prickly about talking to people. As soon as he did, they turned into drooling fan-boys.
“No, wait. That’s it.” The architect walked over, getting right up in Tex’s face as though he were an artwork to be examined. “You’re that guy, the one that was in that band. My daughter was a huge fan. Wait until I tell her… you wouldn’t mind posing for a photo?”
The guy took his phone out of his pocket without even waiting for a reply.
Tex shoved the guy out of the way and stormed into the sound booth. The door slammed behind him with enough force to rattle the entire studio. The architect froze to the spot.
I wanted to run after Tex but I knew he’d not let me in. That stupid man with his stupid talk. He’d ruined everything.
“You really should go,” I said.
“He’s a bit sensitive, isn’t he?”
“Well, to be fair, you acted completely unprofessionally.” I folded my arms. He was a tool and it was only a public service to let him know it.
“But I…”
“Dude, don’t even start. If you want to do this work, I suggest you keep it to business only. Now, hit the road.”
When he’d gone, I sat down to figure out if I could fix things before Hannah turned up. The whole meeting would be a waste of time if Tex was holed up in the sound booth.
I knew only one way to get him out. I’d have to cook something to tempt him with delicious smells. I cleaned up then started chopping vegetables for dinner. It would be a masterpiece meal. Well, as masterpiece as the microwave and one burner cook top we had allowed. A curry with lots of spices would be best. Not that I had a lot of spices but I had a packet of curry mix. That would be good enough. Tex loved spicy food and I was quite partial to it myself. By the time I got it simmering, my mouth was already watering. That would draw him out of his man cave if anything would.
I went into the other room and decided to dress in something nice. It’d have to be not nice enough to get Tex suspicious but definitely nice enough so that I didn’t look too shabby beside Hannah. I put on the pale blue tunic she’d given me then decided to style my hair up on my head, a simple twisted bun but definitely more classy than my usual ponytail.
A car pulled up outside. They’d arrived. All I could do wa
s let the whole of the world come crashing down and hope the pieces would fit back together.
My heart pounded with fear and my mouth dried out. I felt wrapped in a cloud of impending doom. Even if the outcome for this meeting was good, we’d be walking through a valley of shit to get there.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
I lured Tex out of the sound booth but I didn’t dish up the curry. I had a horrible feeling it’d end up being flung in my face if it was close to hand. As I waited for them to knock on the door, it felt like I couldn’t breathe. The air had become thick and hot. What was keeping them? Surely they should be knocking by now?
“What’s up?” asked Tex. “You’re acting weird.”
Before I could answer, the knock came. I froze. Tex froze. Then looked as if he was going to bolt back into the sound booth. I stepped in his way, blocking him from his path of retreat.
“Answer the door, Tex.”
His eyes flashed with an intensity I could barely stand.
“You’re expecting someone? Why are you looking all pretty?”
Even with the amount of stress and adrenalin flying around my body, I noticed he said I was pretty. Guys never thought I was pretty. I was smart and cranky, never pretty. But Tex had said it twice now.
Then the door opened and Hannah walked in.
Following her were two guys. One was tall and lanky in black leather pants, eyeliner and thick hair that pointed out in all directions. He slouched with his hands firmly planted in his pants’ pockets. The second guy was a ginger too, with a snub nose. Even though he tried to look serious, you could tell he’d burst out in belly laughs at any moment. I warmed to him straight away and, believe me, I don’t warm to people.
He gave me a look that was halfway between a grin and grimace, as though he’d rather stab himself in the eye than do this. I knew exactly how he felt. I tried to smile back.
I wasn’t sure which one was Brownie and which one was Devon.
“What the fuck is going on here?” Tex spat the words out. I didn’t know if they were aimed at Hannah or me or the world in general. As his death gaze moved from the two guys to Hannah to me, he backed away. I knew we’d have to get him to settle down before he’d even listen to a word. He looked like a cornered animal and it wouldn’t have surprised me if he’d bared his teeth and tore at us.
“Tex, it’s okay.” I tried to sound reassuring.
“You knew about this? You’re fired. Pack your stuff.”
I didn’t believe that he’d really fire me but his tone of voice and his expression bore into me as though he’d speared the centre of my soul.
“And you too, Hannah. Get out.”
Hannah just folded her arms and stared back. “Sit down, Tex.”
Surprisingly, he did sit down, with his arms crossed and not facing anyone, like a petulant teenager.
The ginger guy grabbed one of the chairs and swung it around within Tex’s line of vision. He sat down, leaning on the back of the chair.
“So, how have you been, mate?” he asked.
Tex gave a weak grin.
“Not bad.”
Then the two of them nodded to each other. It seemed that any issue Tex had, it wasn’t with the ginger.
I got the other chair and offered it to Hannah. That was the limit of our chairs, since we didn’t have company over that much. I should’ve thought of the chair situation beforehand but then I guess buying some more chairs would’ve been a bit suspicious to Tex. I leaned against the wall.
The ginger guy jumped up.
“Here, take my chair…” he stopped and I realised he didn’t know my name.
“Ruby,” I said. “I’m fine. I don’t need to sit.”
“I’m Brownie,” he said and offered me his hand. He was such an affable guy, it made me a little relieved to have him around. He could offset the surliness of Tex.
The other guy, who had to be Devon, leaned against the wall, staring at the pointy toes of his boots.
“Okay, now we’re all introduced, let’s cut to the chase. I’m not doing the festival so you can all save your words and go home.”
“I need the money,” Brownie said. “It’s okay for you. You wrote the songs so you get a big royalty cheque every time one of them gets played – and they’re getting played a lot since that movie came out – but I get bugger all. I want to get married and buy a house and any extra cash I can get, I need right now.”
“You could get a job. Ever thought of a novel idea like that?” But he didn’t have the snark in his voice that was normally there.
“Yeah, mate, I have. But this festival would pay big bucks. I could pay the deposit in one big hit, for a day’s work. There’s no other job I could do that’d pay me like that. I’m working as a bricklayer at the moment, a few more years of that and I won’t even be able to hold the sticks. And Dev’s a bit strapped for cash too.”
As soon as he mentioned Devon, Tex’s face blackened. There were issues there. Issues aplenty. The curl of Tex’s lip and the flash of his eyes shot a warning.
“I bet,” Tex said. “Devon’s created his own issues though.”
Devon’s face screwed up but he didn’t say anything. He kept staring at his feet. The way his hands tensed though made it clear he had plenty he could say if he wanted.
“You could do with the money yourself,” Hannah said. “It’s a couple of hours out of your life. That’s some damn easy money.”
“Easy money? Easy money? What would you know? Sure, for you it’s a few hours work. For these guys, it’s a few hours work. You have to be crazy if you think it’s a few hours for me. It’s going to open me up to all those freaks and crazies again. They want an autograph and then they want a photo with you then it’s something more. It never ends until they are trying to crawl into your skin and take you over.”
“They weren’t that bad, really,” said Brownie. “Sure, there are a few bad eggs but we had great fans. People who loved us, who saved their money so they could follow us from show to show.”
“Do you think I want to be responsible for that? For that level of obsession?” Tex’s jaw tightened and the words came out slowly.
“What about all the people who had tickets to see us play? When you walked out, you disappointed a lot of people.”
“That’s not what it’s about at all though, is it?” Devon hissed. “Do you really want us to cry for you? ‘Poor me, everyone loved me too much…’ Bullshit. You loved it. You revelled in it. This is about Julie.”
Tex jumped up, sending his chair flying from under him. It smashed against the wall, almost hitting my leg. Before I could react, he was at Devon, glaring at him, his hands twitching as though longing for violence.
“Don’t you dare even say her name, mate.” The words were forced out through gritted teeth. Then he grabbed Devon, pushing him back against the wall. Face to face, they both snarled at each other.
Devon pushed back, stronger than his skinny frame suggested.
“I was the one who loved her,” Devon yelled.
“You didn’t love her, you destroyed her.”
“I didn’t destroy her, she destroyed herself.”
Tex didn’t answer, he let go of Devon and paused, as though collecting his thoughts. Then he swung around. The crunch of his fist connecting with Devon’s face made my stomach heave. There had to be bones broken.
Devon grabbed him around the neck.
“Stop!” I screamed.
The sound of my voice must have shocked them because they both stopped with fists in mid-air.
“If you’re going to beat the shit out of each other, get outside. I’m not cleaning up the mess.”
Brownie jumped up, herding them towards the door. “You heard the lady.”
I heard a crash as one of them landed on the porch, then a smash. It sounded like they’d smashed right through the already-weakened boards. The shower would be wrecked.
Hannah stood up.
“I don’t know about you, but I’m g
oing to watch. Maybe that’s what they need, to have a fight and get it out of their systems. Like dogs or something.”
I followed her outside, even though the thought of two guys beating each other to a pulp terrified me.
“Don’t worry,” said Brownie, “if they get too carried away, I’ll break them up.”
Although he looked like no match for the other two physically, I had a feeling if he got between them, they’d listen to him.
In the darkness outside, I could only see two shapes on the ground, rolling around. I heard the sound of fist against flesh and a whole lot of grunting and groaning. If I didn’t know they were fighting, I’d have thought it was something sexual, like two animals rutting.
“Who’s Julie?” I asked Brownie. I wasn’t sure I wanted to know. The way Tex had said her name made me feel strange. There was a more raw emotion there than I realised Tex was capable of.
“Tex’s sister. His little sister.”
I nodded. His sister. I took a deep breath. I shouldn’t have felt relieved to hear that, after all it sounded like the whole situation around her had been dire, but just knowing he wasn’t pining away for a lost love made a tiny flicker of light glow in my heart.
“He was responsible for her. Everything he did, he did for Julie. She was his reason for everything. The band would never have even been more than a bit of fun if it had been just Devon and I, but Tex was a man possessed. Their parents died when he was young and they were both in foster homes. As soon as he was old enough, he worked like a bastard and got custody of her. He thought the sun shone out of her… you know... but she was messed up.”
Brownie pulled a cigarette out of his pocket and flicked his lighter.
“I’ve been trying to quit but, damn, I need one now.”
I could make out Tex struggling to get to his feet. I tried to act calm but I was terrified he’d get really hurt. That Devon guy pulled at him and Tex fell with a thud. That grass was full of thistles and old bits of wood, if the punches weren’t bad enough. And it’d been raining so the ground would be muddy.
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