I didn’t even bother with the bitch other than to toss her hand off of me and throw her a look of disgust. “Do something with them!” Micah nodded, looking none too pleased with the prospect of being left alone with the bitches. It didn’t matter though. “Why didn’t you stop and help her?” I asked Jer as we left the room.
“I feel fucking horrible that I didn’t, but she said she had it. It’s her job. I honestly didn’t know what to do. I don’t want anyone to think she’s not capable, and fire her or something.”
“It’s Everly. Let’s be real. She’s not firing one of the hardest workers on the crew. Besides, I don’t think she’d like the idea of Chelle outside loading a truck by herself at night anyway. We have security, but people are always getting through. What if one of those jealous bitches back there knocked her out to get her backstage credentials or something worse?”
“Shit, now I feel even worse for letting her go on her own,” Jer stated as we closed in on the side door where I thought the equipment truck had parked. As soon as I slammed the door open I started yelling out for her.
“Chelle, you out here?”
“Chelle?” Jer joined in.
“Yo man, what’s the emergency?” One of the drivers asked.
“We’re looking for the girl that brought the other band’s merch shit out here, you see her?”
“MJ was out a while go.” He chuckled. “Still not over the fact that the dude is really a girl.”
“Cute one too,” the other driver stated, and appeared ready to elaborate until he saw my face.
“Sorry man, she took off as soon as she got the pallet loaded.”
“Did you guys help her with that?” They both looked guilty as they shook their heads in the negative. “Jesus Christ, man.”
“Hey now,” the first guy spoke up. “MJ is capable of handling more shit than most of the guys on the crew. She had it covered; we kept an eye on her until she was done. I’m not going to be made to feel bad for letting the girl do her work. She’d probably yell at me if I tried anyway. Hell, Markus got his ass reamed by the guys after they realized she wouldn’t be working with them anymore.” Both drivers chuckled at that.
“Why the hell is that?” I asked even though deep down inside I was afraid of their answer.
“Shit, son, aside from her little incident with your drum kit that girl did more work in a day than three of those boys put together. She hustled harder than any of them. They had to replace her with someone who definitely didn’t offer up the quality work that Chelle did, so Smithy ended up having to hire two guys for the same job. Isn’t that some shit?”
“Damn,” Jeremiah hummed.
Why was I suddenly filled with pride for the woman? My reaction to just hearing how hardworking she was couldn’t be normal. I wanted to pick her up, hug her to me, and kiss her until both of our lips were sore. What the fuck? Is that what getting old feels like?
“Do you know where she went?” That one question was all it took to shift the attitude of the two men standing in front of me.
“Why the hell do you want to know?” The younger of the two men asked.
“Whoa, now!” Jer stated calmly as he held his hands up in surrender. “Evan was just worried, because I told him she was headed out here alone. We were worried, that’s all.”
“Sure don’t look like a worried face he’s wearing,” Bob - the second driver - stated with a touch of venom in his voice. “MJ is a good girl. She isn’t like the women we see you two prancing around with after the shows.”
“I fuckin’ know that!” The words had risen up from somewhere deep in my belly. I’d call possession if I had half a mind to really think about what it was that was driving me and this conversation forward. I paused a moment as the man’s smirk got to me. He knew, the bastard. I don’t know how he knew what I was feeling, but the smug look on his face painted a pretty obvious picture. “Look, I haven’t seen her in a few days. I just wanted to congratulate her on the job, and…” I didn’t know what followed that. I knew what I wanted, but I was still wrestling internally with what I could actually have, given the life I lead.
“Did you ever think maybe she doesn’t want to see you and that’s why she’s not been around when you’ve been looking?” He paused a moment. “Have you ever really gone looking, or were you just hoping fate would put her in your path so you wouldn’t have to go out of your way?”
Well, hell. The man had me there. I hadn’t actually put forth a whole lot of effort. I knew where to find Chelle. She was on the road crew bus, which still left me feeling uncomfortable, especially now that they all knew she was a woman. When she wasn’t there I knew where she worked. Not that I could get there while she was working because of the fans and the fact that I needed to be up on stage for most of her work time. My fingers started tapping out a rhythm on the side of my leg as I attempted to work through the questions floating around my own mind.
“I’m looking now,” I finally stated.
Bob nodded. “She’s probably already settled in on the bus for the night, son. Maybe you should try looking at a decent hour tomorrow and make sure she actually gets to hear what you have to say to her.” I nodded and turned to leave. “Evan,” Bob called out to me.
“Yeah?”
“Don’t go there if you aren’t willing to put in more effort. She’s a good girl. She doesn’t need the kind of heartbreak that will come on the heels of getting involved with someone like you.”
“Someone like me?” I asked, wondering what kind of an impression I’d managed to leave on our crew.
“Not like that, son. I just mean someone who is in the limelight and under intense scrutiny. She doesn’t need the whole world tearing her apart because she snagged their beloved drummer only to have that same man decide she’s not worth the effort the first time one of those women you’re used to throws themselves at you.”
“Those women I’m used to are tiresome, Bob.” That was my only answer as I walked away with Jer in toe behind me.
“She must be something else to have the gnarly truck drivers taking her back like that,” Jer finally said as we moved to head back inside. I stopped before we got to the door.
“I can’t get her off my mind, and it pisses me off that I don’t know why she’s been hiding from me.”
“You just admitted that you hadn’t really put forth a lot of effort to find her.” Jer’s chuckle cut off when I pointed over his shoulder. He turned in time to see the same thing I was witnessing. Chelle was climbing down out of the truck with her shoulders practically tucked up around her ears, as the drivers appeared to be teasing her about something. She gave Bob a hug, then the other guy, whose name I still couldn’t remember. We watched as she scooted off toward her bus never looking back at us as she went.
“You think she heard all of that?”
I tipped my chin up in acknowledgment. “She heard, and she stayed hidden until she thought we were gone. I just wish I knew what I’d done to earn that cold shoulder.”
“If it had been just tonight that she was hiding from you, I might say it had something to do with the parade of women she saw with Micah earlier. He announced to them that we were off to find you and get the party started.”
I turned slowly to face Jer, the blood having drained from my face. “What the hell did you just say?” Jer took a moment to explain what had been going on when he first took notice of Chelle earlier, and I ended up kicking the fucking brick wall - not my wisest decision ever. “You have got to be kidding me,” I seethed out. “Come on, it’s time to have a serious talk with that brother of yours.”
“Oh, so now that he’s cockblocking the pussy you really want he’s suddenly my brother and not your band mate?” I knew Jer was teasing, but I still punched him in the arm.
“It’s not like that with her, even if I can’t explain it, you asshole. Besides, unfortunately for you Micah is always your brother.” I huffed out a laugh before adding, “I can always find a new band.”
/>
“Fuck that!” Jer yelled out before we both ran off down the hall together to the room we’d left Micah in. He was about to get the line drawn for him the sand. I didn’t want anything else possibly messing shit up for me when I planned to go after Chelle. There was no sense in denying how I felt anymore. I wanted her. At this point, I probably wanted what she represented more since I didn’t know her all that well, but I wanted to get to know her. I wanted to taste the normal she offered. I needed to know what that dream would be like if it came true. When I walked back through the door, I expected to find Micah sprawled out on a freshly booze-stained couch with girls climbing all over him. Instead, all but one of the girls had disappeared and the one that remained looked highly annoyed at the lack of attention she was getting from Micah. She was sitting a full two couch cushions down from Micah, who was leaning forward with his head in one hand and his phone in the other. He seemed to be invested in whatever the other person was saying, and although it was weird to me that he was taking something so seriously, I didn’t care.
“Dude, seriously, get off the phone. We need to talk,” I said, matter-of-factly. Micah immediately held his hand up, signaling for me to shut up, but never glancing up to look at me. I looked back at Jer who returned my confused expression. Micah never took anything seriously. Still, I couldn’t bring myself to care about anything other than Chelle. I didn’t understand what I was feeling for her, or even why I would have feelings for someone I barely knew. I just wanted to make sure I actually had a shot with her to be able to sort all of those feelings out, which wouldn’t happen if I couldn’t get Micah to calm the fuck down with bringing so many groupies around.
“You’re not gonna believe this shit,” Micah said, finally hanging up the phone and snapping me out of my inner monologue. “That douchebag bass player from the opening band fucking OD’d after the show. He’s at the hospital right now.”
“Holy shit, no way!” the girl on the couch shouted, dramatically covering her mouth with her hand. I had entirely forgotten she was sitting there, and apparently so had Micah because he retorted with haste.
“Oh, for fuck’s sake, please get out of here. Whatever moment we might have had tonight clearly died almost a full hour ago.” He waved his hand in the direction of the door gesturing for her to leave. She not so happily obliged, tossing over a lamp and shoulder checking me as she stormed out. “Anyways, apparently they’ve already managed to kick him off the tour. Dude hasn’t even left the hospital yet and he’s already been forcibly removed from our tour. Sucks for the opening band, though.” He finished, completely unfazed by the girl’s exit from the room. I smirked to myself because although I still had to have a talk with Micah, I knew this was all going to come as great news to Chelle.
Chapter 5
~ Chelle ~
I can’t say that no one saw it coming, but Clay’s overdose still came as a shock to everyone on the crew. I felt the worst for Everly since she was the one to find him and the freaked out, barely legal girl he had been getting high with. The bassist for Fourth Down had been taken to the hospital to have his stomach pumped and from what I understood was now out of the band. It didn’t escape my notice that it meant the band now had a spot to fill and I had a brother who played bass well. I wasn’t sure if he would be accepted since his previous band probably left him with a bad reputation, but then again, beggars can’t always be choosers.
“Don’t even think about it, Chelle. Look at where joining a troubled band got me last time. I was a minute away from living the dream before they screwed it up for me. Why would I want to join another band that’s about to implode?
“They’re not about to implode. From what I hear he was only still on tour with them because he was under contract. They wanted to get rid of him.”
“It’s a bad idea.”
“Are you fucking kidding me, Dave? You’re not even going to try to take Clay’s spot in the band? I know you better than anyone, and I know you miss making music.” There was a tinge of hurt in his eyes when I said that last bit, but I knew he needed to hear it. David was an amazing musician. More importantly than that, being a musician was pretty much the only thing he felt proud of. It sounds cliché, but no matter what parts of our lives were falling apart at the time, his ability to channel his frustrations into his bass might’ve saved his life.
“Honestly, Chelle, probably not,” he said as I rolled my eyes. “I’m just glad we don’t have to deal with the piece of shit on our bus anymore. I definitely don’t want to jump into bed with three other guys that are probably just like him.”
“Well, luckily for you,” I began, leaning back against the bus. “I doubt anyone is quite as repulsive as Clay was. I could win the lottery tomorrow and that joy still wouldn’t quite top the feeling of knowing that his dumb ass got kicked off of the tour, and that I would no longer have to share such close living quarters with him. Don’t get me wrong, because I actually saw a few moments of humanity from him too, but still, I had to witness what I hope to be the worst of his sexual endeavors, and I’m still hearing pigs squealing in my nightmares.” We locked eyes for a second in silence before erupting into laughter. I laughed until I could feel my face turning red and tears starting to form in my eyes. Thankfully, he was matching my energy.
“Whew,” he sighed, wiping a stray tear from his right eye, still trying to shake the laughter. “I don’t even think you’re that funny, Chelle. I think this tour is making us crazy.” I reached out and slapped him on his shoulder.
“First of all, I am hilarious. Secondly, you’re deflecting.” I said, still smiling at him, but my tone suddenly more sincere. “This could be your big break. This all feels like it was meant to be somehow. Not to mention, you joining the band would be the best possible ‘Fuck you’ to Clay.” He smirked in a way that feigned contemplation, causing me to start laughing all over again.
~ Evan ~
I didn’t intend to find myself eavesdropping on them. I just knew I wanted to talk to Chelle, but on my way to her bus that morning, I overheard her and her brother talking about Clay. It took everything in me not to laugh at how much everyone hated the guy. There was no denying he really was an ass. I also overheard Chelle trying to convince David to replace Clay in Fourth Down, but I knew that him pitching the idea himself would get him nowhere. Roadies tried to con their way into bands that they toured with all the time. Filling in for a night when someone was sick would be one thing, but joining the band after the shit his previous bandmates pulled would be another battle entirely. Being a member of the headlining band had its perks though, so I decided to make a personal call to Masters Records and pull a few strings. After everything Chelle and Dave had to do just to make the tour, and then having to put up with Clay on their bus...I couldn’t even imagine the bullshit they had to see. It was worth the effort to try to set something up.
After my conversation with Miles Turner, our agent and Richard Price, the CEO of Masters Records, I felt more elated than I could reasonably explain why. They had agreed to give Dave an audition that night after the band got to see the talent the agency and label had sent out. I knew my excitement had more to do with Chelle than Dave, but I still couldn’t quite explain that. I barely knew her. Still, I had already decided to embrace the strange feelings and was walking back to the buses where Chelle and Dave were still talking. As I drew closer, I could tell that they had changed subject entirely and were discussing the different places that they could move once the tour was over. They were just discussing Portland when I interjected.
“Sorry to interrupt,” I began, both of them stiffening slightly when I rounded the corner of the bus, as if they’d forgotten the rest of the world existed. “I may or may not have overheard your conversation earlier about Dave taking the newly vacant slot in Fourth Down for the rest of the tour.”
“Well, you must be confused. I’m not considering taking any spot with that band. I’m content just helping out with the tour,” Dave said, rather curtly. H
e turned back to his sister and instantly tried to resume his previous conversation about Portland with her, while she looked past him to me.
“I apologize for my brother being a shit head. What were you saying, Evan?” Chelle asked, prompting me to continue.
“I was just about to announce that Dave has an audition tonight at 7 in front of both bands and their tour managers if he wants to take it and-”
“He’ll take it!” Chelle interrupted me excitedly.
“No, he won’t! Dammit Chelle, I already told you I didn’t want to do that.” Dave raised his voice slightly, but he wasn’t yelling. He appeared frustrated, but it didn’t seem to faze Chelle.
“You have to! You may never have another moment like this. You deserve it. Need I remind you, yet again, that you were always supposed to have a place on this tour? You need to get over yourself and whatever pride you’re dealing with to at least audition.”
“No offense to Evan over here,” Dave started, gesturing at me, “but I definitely was supposed to have a spot on this tour. That’s the problem. I’m so fucking sick of dealing with drug-addicted musicians who think that a tour is their ticket to more drugs and hookers. My band mates fucked up and I had to crawl my way back onto this tour as a fucking roadie. I already had to deal with Clay, I definitely don’t want to deal with the rest of his band doing the same stupid shit.” He was definitely closer to yelling now, but it still didn’t seem to faze Chelle. She looked empathetically sad now, as if she knew that the anger was just a guise. I went against my better judgment to continue.
“Dude, I’m really sorry about all of that. I know it may not change your mind, but you should know that the rest of the band is pretty fucking cool. They all hated Clay and his antics. The rest of the band is here because they really love the music. I hope you’ll give it a shot at the audition tonight,” I stated genuinely.
The Infinite Beat (T.I.E. Book 2) Page 6