“Cops tried interrogating him about what happened and I wanted to punch the officer in the mouth. He had just woken up for the first time and had all these questions thrown at him,” Luke said in a near whisper.
“Why don’t we go get dinner and talk about it?” Hal suggested, “There’s enough shit going on around here.” So we took Hal’s advice and found a mom and pop diner down the street and tried to talk about anything but the Raptor situation, and what we were going to do with the record.
“So what are we going to do about the record?” I accidentally slipped as I was taking one last bite of my salad.
Everyone was silent. I didn’t like silence, but I knew why. Because no one really had an answer.
“I think we should keep going and finish it up.” Vince opened up, his eyes meeting mine and nodded in agreement. “All we have to do is hire a studio drummer and then put off a tour. Maybe he’ll get better…”
“They just said he won’t!” Cale snapped, slamming his fist onto the table causing everyone sitting in their chairs to turn in our direction. “You two heard the doctor’s own fucking words!”
“Well then what do you suggest we do, boss?” Luke sneered. Luke was never the guy to get pissed off at Cale, so to see him ready to fight Cale surprised the hell out of me. “Since it’s always your way.”
“We could always try and call Trav,” Vince tried to suggest but Cale smashed down another fist down. “That was your shit Cale. You’re the one who punched him on stage in the middle of our set. You kicked him out all because Lucy…”
““Enough!” Cale finally stood from the table and stormed out, slamming the diner door behind him. I tried to stand up and go after him but Hal had a light hold on my arm.
“It’s not your battle, Bryn.” Hal said in a calm voice. “Cale’s still pissed about their ex-drummer kissing his ex-girlfriend and keeping it a secret for months.”
I put two and two together. I had known very little about that situation, but what I knew was Lucy was a part of it. “So Lucy cheated on Cale for months without saying anything?”
The rest of them nodded.
“Before he comes back and fires my ass for telling you this, I think we should tell you the full story about Cale and Tyler.”
Chapter 15: Tears Don’t Fall
All I could hear were the tires riding over typical Michigan pot holes the whole way home.
I had no words.
I never knew the whole story behind how their ex-drummer Tyler had gotten kicked out, but now I knew. And the worst part?
He was Ethan’s cousin. I’d been to his house for Christ sake. I only met him a few times here and there so I didn’t really remember him too well, but to be kicked out over having sex with Cale’s girlfriend? I was still trying to comprehend everything the guys told me at dinner. Cale dated Lucy for nearly 2 years when one night Vince said he saw Tyler and Lucy hooking up in the Ignite the Flames dressing room. They said Cale didn’t believe him, but he noticed that the two were talking more and paying attention to each other more, so he confronted Tyler before the set of their last show before summer and Tyler admitted to it.
Hal explained on the way back how he had to tear Cale away from Tyler after he punched him in the jaw and nose during the set because of his anger over Lucy cheating. Cale had spent the night in jail over the fight. Said right after he got out of jail that morning, he called Lucy and said it was over and that was that.
“Do you think Cale would let Tyler back in?” I asked Hal as we turned off the expressway at our exit.
Hal hesitated for a second, turning to me and said “It’s sticky. Cale’s one stubborn son of a bitch. He hates Tyler for lying to him, but before that whole situation they were like brothers. Tyler is a damn good drummer and a nice kid. He’d come back if the guys would let him, I know that for a fact.”
“I just hope everything works out okay,” I said honestly. In a perfect world Raptor would come out of the hospital without a scratch and we’d be back to work in a week. But we had to keep going, whether we got a studio drummer, or got Tyler back somehow. “Cale just seemed so…I don’t know the word…agitated?”
Hal chuckled as we pulled into downtown, nearing my loft. “That’s Pelton. If something is bothering him or eating at him, he doesn’t want anyone pushing his buttons or bringing it up. I’ve learned that over the years, but you’ll be okay.” He opened the passenger door for me and helped me out. “You want me to walk you upstairs kid?”
I shook my head. “I’ll be okay. Thanks for the offer Hal. What’s the worst that could happen anyways?” Telling him thank you again I walked upstairs and opened the door. At least no one broke in while I was gone I said to myself as I took of my clothes and threw them onto the bed. I needed a warm shower, try to wrap my mind around the shit I was dealing with.
I could just go home. The thought sprang into my head out of no-where as I stepped into the shower, letting the water run all over my body. And I could. Become a trophy wife, be the perfect little daughter my parents expected me to be, date a rich man’s son and BAM there would be my life in a nutshell.
But taking the abuse I had taken before all over again? Not a chance in hell. I had a new family now, in just a short time, which scared me a bit. I had so many questions filling up my brain I felt like it was about to explode. My parents had never called me or gotten ahold of me in any way since leaving; I was a little worried in a sense.
Turning my attention to how cold I was going to feel after my warm shower, I wrapped my body into a towel and found a hoodie and baggy sweatpants I picked up during one of our stops on the tour. The rest of the night was spent lying on the couch watching Magic Mike once again on HBO and episodes of True Blood I’d never seen. My mind turned its attention soon after the third straight episode to Cale. I wondered what he was doing that night. Was he back at his place with the guys or had he gone straight to the bar?
Me: Everything ok?
I didn’t hear back right away, which was far from surprising. About 10 minutes later my phone went off.
Cale: Yup
Me: Just yup? Today pissed you off that much?
Cale: That’s not even it Bryn
Me: Excuse me for checking up on my boyfriend
A few seconds later, Cale’s ringtone rang on my phone.
“Yup?” I answered, trying to mock Cale with my best pissed off expression.
Cale sighed loudly. “Bryn, I’m sorry for sounding like a dick. Just…I haven’t talked about what happened since after kicking Tyler out the next day and it still hurts ya know?”
My head hit the arm of the couch hard as I adjusted some pillows behind me. “But you don’t need to be such an ass about it. You could’ve told me. I wouldn’t have judged you. You acted like every boyfriend would after finding out their girlfriend cheated on them with their best friend.” Here comes the truth. “But I also know that you need to forgive him at some point and try to make amends. We’re short a band member and we might need Tyler to fill in for Raptor since he’s played with you guys from the start.”
“I…I guess you’re right.” Cale started to sound happy again. “I’ll give it a few days and I’ll call him just before we go back to the studio and see if he’ll agree to meeting up for lunch or something like that.”
“So what are you doing right now?” I asked, changing the subject.
“Well we stopped on the way home to grab some drinks and are having some old friends from school over. I needed to forget the fucked up day I had, babe. I wish you were here.” Cale groaned, and I shifted uncomfortably. He was having old friends over? The thought made me nervous. Old friends could mean girls who think Cale was free and single, which he was no longer. Old friends might be those same girls trying to lure him into his bedroom and ride him until he couldn’t take it anymore. He noticed my silence and asked “Why baby what’s the matter?”
“Just be careful,” I uttered. I turned the TV off and lamp beside me and said “I’m
going to go to bed.”
“Are you sure, Bryn? I could tell all of these people to leave and I can stay the night with you,” Cale replied quickly.
“No, no, no.” I debunked his idea instantly. “I need a night to myself.”
“I love you Bryn, you know that right?”
I beamed at those three words. This was the only time I smiled tonight. “I love you too, Cale. Goodnight.”
For the next week, I drove down with Cale, Luke and Vince to see Raptor. He was recovering very well from what the doctors said, even though the outlook on his hand was still grim. He had a full arm cast where he was shot, and spread all the way down to his fingers. When we first walked in and saw him with his cast and bandages after surgery, Raptor was already swearing and threatening the nurses, trying to make them let him go home early.
We had a full band meeting the third day we visited Raptor, talking about our plans as far as what we wanted to do with the record and touring. Cale was the first one to bring up Tyler, and Raptor seemed okay with it. But I could tell by the look in his eye it killed him that he wasn’t going to be playing drums or any instrument for a long time. I shouldn’t say never though.
“Better watch him around Bryn,” Was all he said, giving a protective smile. Why would they have to watch him around me? I was curious, hoping he wasn’t another Damon Charming.
Cale immediately put his arm around my waist as he said that, staking his claim. He had nothing to worry about though. I was his and he was mine, no matter what.
Vince sent the text around 1 that afternoon when we were heading back into town. They were completely on edge after that, not knowing what to expect. An hour passed and Cale was pacing back and forth in my bedroom, looking ready to punch the wall again.
“He might be busy?” I tried reassuring them.
“Not like him.” Cale snapped. “He has his phone glued to the back of his ass. I should’ve known this would happen. Fucker.
“Stop.” I tried calming him down. “It’ll be okay you need to chill.”
Before Cale could prepare a comeback, Vince's phone started ringing some heavy metal song. Everyone looked over and he mouthed ‘Tyler.’
“Hello?” He answered, turning away from the rest of us as he opened up my window facing downtown. “Tyler, how’ve you been pal?”
We all listened intently as Vince had a normal conversation with Tyler. When he walked towards us with a huge grin on his face after the call ended, I had a pretty good feeling about it.
“So, what’s the verdict?” Luke asked as we all squeezed on the couch.
“He’s meeting up with us at the studio on Monday!” He shouted in victory and the guys high fived each other, including me. “Says he missed us,” then he faced Cale. “And wants to talk to you too. Patch things up.”
Cale threw his hands up. “At this point I don’t even care.” I laughed at him and told him to suck it up, that it was just hopefully temporary. If it wasn’t, so be it, Cale had to learn to be nice to his ex-best friend. “What?”
“Be nice,” I scolded. “That’s the past. Neither of you have the girl you fought over so there’s no reason to fight now, right?”
Vince and Luke agreed with me. I watched Cale slam his hands into his pockets and pull out his phone, fumbling it around while it nearly hit the floor. “You guys heading back? I might stay with Bryn if that’s okay with you?” He turned to me and I nodded.
“We could just get a few pizzas from next door and you all can stay,” I suggested. The guys seemed pumped up about that idea.
“Hell yes!” Vince and Luke shouted in unison, bumping into Cale as they headed downstairs.
“You haven’t had enough of us yet?” Cale asked, picking me up so I wrapped my legs around his waist, nuzzling my face into his neck.
“Never,” I grumbled, leaving a kiss on the crease between his shoulder and neck. I unwrapped my legs just as quick and rubbed my stomach heading towards the door. “You’re all my brothers now that my only blood brother wants nothing to do with me again.”
Cale halted at the bottom of the stairs, causing me to bump into his back. “He hasn’t been returning your calls again?”
I gave him a hesitant look. “Yeah. Why’d you ask me like that?”
He shrugged his shoulders. “Just seems suspicious. Shows up at the meeting with Walker in Cali, is all friendly, and now he’s standoffish? I don’t like that Bryn. Maybe he…”
“Maybe he what?” I demanded. “You think he had something to do with Raptor? That’s not even possible; Brayden should be in Cleveland.”
“If I’ve learned anything about touring for as many years as we have, it’s anything is possible and anything can happen, Bryn,” Cale replied. “You told me he left at Christmas am I right?” I mouthed yes. “Maybe something snapped. Maybe he’s jealous of you, but honestly, I think he was one of the guys that beat Raptor up and shot him.”
I didn’t want to believe what Cale admitted. My brother responsible for tearing the band nearly apart, almost halting the recording process indefinitely? He wouldn’t. At least I thought so. I wasn’t going to rule anything out at this point. The idea was burnt into my brain as we all each ordered an individual pizza from Lozano’s and brought it back up to the loft. I couldn’t concentrate on anything else but my brother at this point, and hopefully ruling him out of this mess.
After a couple of days cooped up at the practice warehouse writing song after song, Monday finally came. The guys picked me up early in the morning and we drove to the recording studio. The van ride was silent. I kept wondering should I say something, make light conversation? But I paid attention to the scenery instead, trying to look forward to the day and our new, well, MY new band mate.
“Welcome again, you guys, to my humble abode,” Gates joked, shaking all of our hands with a smile on his face. “Tyler should be here in a bit, right?”
“Yeah, just got a text from him. He should be here in a few,” Luke replied, laying down on the leather couch beside him.
“Great, I can’t wait to get started. This is going to be awesome.” Gates rubbed his hands together and messed around with some of the sound equipment while I grabbed a bottle of water out of the fridge. The guys were making small talk while I hurried up to the bathroom before we got to work. When I got out, I could sense tension with Cale. Tyler must be here.
“Bryn!” Vince yelled from across the room, where everyone was standing. Making my way over I finally got to see Tyler in the flesh. It’d been at least a year since I saw him, but I had to take a second to catch my breath. His black hair was in a clipper cut, with some hair on top but short everywhere else. His brown eyes looked right in my direction and his lips perked up, as if he remembered me from Ethan. “This is Tyler Donahue. Ty, meet Bryn, our new guitarist who’s the best damn female guitar player out there.”
Amused by his introduction, Tyler inched closer and drew me into a hug instead of a handshake. “Sorry, I’m more of a hugger.” He grinned. “But it’s nice to meet you again, Bryn, since I only saw you a few times, am I right?”
“Yeah, feels like forever ago,” I replied awkwardly, trying not to see Cale’s reaction.
“Brought some new sticks.” Tyler said to the guys, grabbing them out of his duffel bag. “Hope that’s good.”
“All good, brother. Good to have you back.” Gates gestured towards the drum equipment in the sound booth.
While Vince was in recording his bass parts for “Never Again” and “Not Alone,” I was sitting next to Cale as close as I could when Tyler approached us and sat down on my other side. Cale tensed up and I placed my hand on his leg, letting him know he needed to chill out.
“How’ve you been?” Tyler asked Cale.
Watching Cale’s jaw open and close for a few seconds, he opened his mouth. “Pretty fuckin amazing. How about you?”
“Been better, but sis appreciated me being home for a bit,” Tyler joked, referring to his younger sister Arianna. “Nose and
jaw are still recovering though.”
That cheered Cale up almost instantly, unwrapping his arm from my shoulders and sitting back more relaxed. “Bet it hurt like a bitch, but you damn well deserved it and you know it.”
Tyler put his hands up in defense. “I can admit when I did something shitty like steal your girl away. I just want things to be like they used to be when we were the dynamic duo getting into trouble.” He brushed hair out of his face and continued, “I know you’re pissed, which is why you kicked me out. I can accept you might not ever like me again or still want to punch me, but I’m here because I love this band and I want to be a part of this and make Raptor proud.”
Cale’s face softened. “Okay enough of the sob shit dude, let’s shake on it and promise we won’t fight each other like that again!” They both stood up and shook firmly on their deal. Pointing in my direction, he cautioned Tyler and said “Just don’t steal her and we’ll be good.” Then they whispered something else and were practically on the floor laughing.
I was proud of the turnaround they had made in just a couple of minutes. While Cale was telling him tour stories from this past tour, I listened intently, remembering the crazy moments we had. When Cale told him about Damon taking me out in Chicago and trying to date me he thought that was the funniest thing in the world.
“That fuckers a womanizer. How’d you let him near her?” Tyler questioned Cale.
“I was drunk and not even there when she let him on the bus!” Cale defended himself. “She’s the one who saw some sort of good in that guy.”
“He’s a good guy, just shitty with women and uses them.” Tyler looked over at me and jerked his head in Cale’s direction. “Better off with him. Loyal as a puppy dog.”
I mouthed ‘puppy dog?’ towards Cale.
“He’s right.” Cale patted him hard on the back and flashed me a smile. “Pretty loyal guy if I do say so myself.”
It was around nightfall by the time we left the studio, only to come back the next week straight and do everything over again. I was getting used to the routine: getting up early, coming home late from recording. It was all so new to me, but I loved it and couldn’t get enough. Tyler was blending well with us and that pleased Cale and the guys more than anything.
Straight from the Heart Page 16