When the Dead Come a Knockin'

by B. L. Brunnemer

  “We get a preview!” Riley said cheerfully. I groaned as we neared the door.

  “I’m sure it’s going to be great, Sunshine.”

  “You’ll hear for yourself in a few minutes.” Zeke offered, I flipped him off over my shoulder. Not because he pissed me off, but because I was just that nervous about this. We walked into the almost empty bar and headed across the dance floor. Ryan was talking to Oliver when he spotted me.

  “Hey, Lexie! Just in time, get up here.” Ryan called to me before yelling for Ethan off stage. I groaned as I left the others, climbed the steps and walked through the backstage curtain.

  Ethan was pulling on his guitar when his eyes ran over my face, he smiled.

  “Perfect eyes, Beautiful. You’ve got a dark, pissed off look going.” I snorted at him as I took off my coat.

  “That’s not the makeup Snoopy, that’s just me.” I said dryly. He burst out laughing as I hung my jacket on a hook. I followed him out onto the stage with the others. I growled as I saw the others standing near the back of the dance floor. I wanted to kill Ethan. One of the usual bartenders was off stage on the other side at a big electronic board with a lot of sliders and buttons. Ethan looked over at me. “Did you warm up?”

  “Yeah, before I left Dylan’s.” I replied. Ethan nodded.

  “Okay, here’s what’s going on.” He pointed to the bartender. “All of our sound goes through that mixer board. Kevin over there is going to adjust instruments and vocals to get the best mix possible so that the vocals can be heard over the drums and other instruments.” I nodded. “Don’t piss Kevin off or we’re screwed.” Kevin chuckled, I grinned. “We already got my settings into the mixer, and now we need yours. So, we’re just doing your songs right now.” I groaned. Ethan chuckled. “Before you come out, I’ll introduce you as a guest singer, and we’ll start.” I nodded as he moved away from the microphone. I closed my eyes like Ryan told me to as the first notes of Angel’s Fall played. Then I sang, keeping my eyes closed. I made sure to follow Ethan’s corrections. When we were done, I opened my eyes to find Ethan grinning. “Oh yeah, this is going to work. You sound even better over a speaker, Beautiful.” I rolled my eyes at him. The next half hour we ran through my song list. The only time I opened my eyes was during Broken. In the end, Ethan turned to Kevin. “You need anymore?” The tall, bulky blonde man shook his head.

  “Nah, she’s easier to mix than you, man,” Kevin said as he grinned. I sighed. “I’ll switch settings as she walks on stage. Don’t hurry out. It’ll take a couple of seconds.” I nodded. I still couldn’t believe I was doing this. We got off stage as people started coming into the bar. My stomach was in knots as I started pacing backstage. Ethan smiled at me.

  “Lexie, relax we have an hour before we start.” Ethan pointed out. I sat down in one of the folding chairs near the open back doors.

  “You are going to sound great, don’t worry so much,” Ryan assured me. I gave him a tight smile. My phone vibrated. I pulled it out of my pocket and checked.

  Dylan: You sounded amazing Sunshine, Riley wants to come backstage for a bit. Are you guys busy?

  I looked around at the band and saw they were just talking waiting for the crowd to fill in.

  Alexis: Nope, come on back. Killing time.

  It wasn’t long before the curtain was pushed aside. Riley, Zeke, and Dylan walked over.

  “Lexie, you sounded great.” Riley all but gushed. I groaned.

  “So, you're deaf too?” I grumbled. Everyone burst out laughing. Everyone started talking about nothing. But as the noise from the bar grew louder, my stomach knotted more and more. Dylan held my hand and gave me a squeeze. I looked up at him, wanting to run away as fast as possible. He smiled down at me before leaning over to whisper in my ear.

  “You sounded beautiful. Ethan wouldn’t let you do this if you were going to stink.” I took a deep breath and let it out slowly.

  “Not what I’m worried about,” I grumbled. “I’m scared I’m going to let them down.” Dylan’s warm eyes ran over my face, an odd grin on his lips. “What?” The grin became a smile.

  “Nothing Sunshine.” He lifted my hand and kissed my knuckles. It was sweet. I took another deep breath and let it out slowly. Ethan checked his phone.

  “About that time,” Ethan announced. Zeke and Riley headed back out to the front of the bar. Dylan gave me a hug and a kiss on the temple before heading out. I turned to see Ryan looking away from Dylan and me. Ethan started pacing and spinning his rings. The others stood back and watched. I leaned over to Oliver.

  “What’s he doing?” I whispered.

  “His pre-show freak-out,” Oliver said. “He does it every time.” I watched as long as I could, but it was actually painful to watch. As Ethan went to pass me again, I snagged his arm pulling him to a halt. He looked at me; his eyes a little panicked. I tugged his arm leading him out the back doors and into the snow. I turned back to him and looked him in the eye.

  “Why are you freaking out?” I asked bluntly. Ethan bounced on his toes.

  “Cause I don’t want to fuck up.” He shot back at me like it was obvious. “I don’t want to suck and destroy the fan base we’ve managed to create.”

  “Ethan.” I began, making my voice calm and soothing. His chocolate eyes met mine. “You are an amazing singer. You have a panty dropping voice.” He snorted. “You know these sets inside and out, right?” He nodded. “You’ve practiced your ass off the last two weeks, right?” He nodded. I gave him an understanding smile. “Add that to your voice, that can make a girl squirm by the way, and you seriously can’t fuck it up.” His shoulders relaxed a bit. “You want this?”

  “Yeah,”

  “Then get out there, and bust your ass to give them a good show,” I told him emphatically. He smiled down at me, calm again. He nodded.

  “You’re right. I got this.” He said with confidence. Now that he was calm, I wanted to puke.

  “The only one here who’s likely to fuck this up is me.” I shot at him taking a deep breath. “You guys are fucking nuts bringing me into this.” Ethan’s eyes went wide before he wrapped his arm around me and brought me to his side.

  “Lexie, you have an amazing voice.” He reassured me gently. “It’s a mix between Amy Lee and Lizzy Hale. I’ve never heard anything like it.” I looked up at him like he was insane. “Lexie, would I ever embarrass you in public?”

  “I’m not worried about being embarrassed, Ethan.” I snapped, running my hand through my hair. “I’m worried about letting you down.” He snorted.

  “No way. You’d never let me down.” He said as he grinned down at me. “You’re going to go out there and sing your heart out. Not because you like performing, or singing. But because I need you too.” He gave me a squeeze. “And you never let your friends down.” I snorted at him. He was right. I hated to admit it, but he was. I nodded. We headed back inside to join the others. Oliver raised an eyebrow.

  “Done with the freak-out already?” Oliver asked, his voice surprised.

  “That’s a record,” Ryan added smiling at us.

  “Lexie has a way of telling you when you're being an idiot,” Ethan admitted. I snickered.

  “Yeah, I knock you over the head with the truth, repeatedly,” I admitted. Everyone chuckled. Ethan, Oliver, and Ryan put their hands in the center. I wasn’t paying attention until Ryan snagged my hand and put it in the center too.

  “Let’s go out there and kicks some ass!” Ethan said. They bobbed their hands then threw them up shouting ‘Under Fire.’ I watched as they headed out on stage. Ethan winked at me before he walked out, the crowd cheered. Oh, God. They were fucking insane. I paced backstage, taking deep breaths to keep myself calm. What the hell were they thinking asking me to do this? They were crazy! I couldn’t let them down, but... fuck! The first song ended a lot sooner than I would have liked. “Now, I’d like to introduce our guest singer. She’ll be popping on and off stage to help us out for the night. Let’s have a big round of a
pplause for Lexie.” Ethan’s voice ran through the speakers. There was applause. FUCK! I headed out keeping my eyes on Ethan as my heart raced. Ethan winked at me before stepping away from the microphone.

  “I can’t believe you're making me do this,” I grumbled. The crowd burst out laughing. Shit. Ethan was smiling as he stepped closer so the microphone would pick him up.

  “They can hear you, Lexie.” He said smiling at me. I looked up at him my eyes narrowed.

  “And now they all know you’re an ass that guilts your friends into doing shit they don’t want to.” I pointed out matter-of-factly, I might as well. They all heard me anyway. The crowd burst out laughing. Ethan was chuckling as he stepped back. I closed my eyes as the first notes of Angel’s Fall played. Then I sang, I sang the song the way it always sounded to me. I focused on nothing but the music and hitting the right notes. My heart stopped racing as I tapped my foot to the beat. Then the last notes were played I stepped back and finally opened my eyes. The fucking bar was full. My stomach instantly knotted. I turned and headed backstage; Oliver gave me a wink. Apparently, I wasn’t awful. Once I was off the stage, I took a deep breath. Holy shit that scary as fuck. Then the adrenaline rushed kicked it. It was kinda fun too. I paced back and forth through the next two songs. Then it was my turn again. I headed back out on stage keeping my eyes on Ethan. I took my spot on the other side of the microphone as they started playing Broken. Ethan kept his eyes on my face and sang. I kept mine on his. I couldn’t do this any other way. Then my verse came, and I was singing. The rest of the bar faded away, there was just us, singing together.

  When the song came to an end, I turned and walked off stage again. I paced backstage, not needing to take deep breaths this time. The longer we went without someone yelling out ‘you suck,' the better I was feeling about all this. I waited for another two songs. Then it was my turn again. I headed out feeling a little more comfortable about this. Ethan was smirking at me. I shot him a look. The crowd chuckled. This time I had to talk to the crowd. I kept my eyes closed.

  “This is a new one for the boys that I blackmailed them into learning because let’s face it. There is only so much screaming a girl can take.” There were laughs through the crowd. The boys started play Darkside. This song was hard for me. I had to hold notes for a while, perfectly. I blocked everything out but the music and my voice. When it was over, I was so relieved; I hadn’t fucked up. As I headed off stage, Ryan was grinning at me. Guess it sounded good. I went back to my pacing off stage. One more song and it was the loudest. It required a good yell at the end. I took a big drink of water as I waited for the next two songs to end. Then I was up again. I took a deep breath and headed out to the microphone. I closed my eyes again as the first electronic notes of Numb played through the speakers. Then I started to sing. I loved this song; it reminded me of my relationship with my Mother. It required backup vocals, but instead of Ethan. It was Ryan who backed me up with his deep, smooth voice working with mine. It was a song that needed everything you had. I thought of my Mother and gave it everything.

  This song pushed my range, which is why we left it for the end of my songs. So, when I had to yell, I hit it just right. Then dropped my voice right back down to where it needed to be. The last notes of the song played out, and that was it for me. I took a deep breath in relief.

  “That’s it for Lexie tonight, wasn’t she great!” Ethan’s voice rang through the crowd there was applause and several hoots from voices I knew. I finally looked at the crowd and was happy I had kept my eyes closed tonight. The place was packed. I gave them a wave then headed off stage. “We’ll be taking a short break, see you in fifteen.”

  When I made it backstage, I dropped into a chair almost limp with relief. The guys came off stage and laughed at me.

  “You did great, Lexie,” Oliver assured me as he opened a bottle of water. I didn’t know about great, but I think I managed not to embarrass them.

  “Thanks, Oli.” Oliver grinned at his nickname. Ryan stood across from me with that killer grin on his face.

  “You need to join the band Lexie, seriously.” He told me a matter-of-factly. I snorted.

  “Oh no. Not happening.” I shook my head. “I’m just helping you guys out.” My voice was getting raspy. I took a drink of water.

  “Go to the bar and ask for some tea,” Ethan said pushing his sweaty hair back from his face. “Otherwise you’ll lose your voice.” I nodded then got to my feet. Ethan pulled me into a sweaty hug. “Thank you so much, Beautiful.” I hugged him back.

  “No problem, I’m just going to bitch about it for a bit,” I grumbled. “And you owe me lots of jewelry.” He chuckled as he let go. I told them to kick ass on the next set, grabbed my coat then headed out to the front of the bar. I had just stepped off the steps when Dylan popped out of the crowd. Smiling he hugged me tight.

  “Sunshine, that was incredible.” He whispered in my ear. I squeezed him back.

  “I didn’t suck?” I asked, my voice uncertain. I hated how girly I sounded right then. He chuckled.

  “You killed it, babe.” The knots in my stomach loosened. I pulled back a bit to see if he was joking, he just leaned down and gave me a quick soft kiss that made my heart race. “Come on, everyone’s waiting.” Club music came on over the speakers. I got on my toes so I could reach Dylan’s ear.

  “I have to get some tea first, or I’m going to lose my voice.” I croaked. He nodded, took my hand and led me through the crowd to the bar. I ordered my tea as Dylan told me what he’d heard people saying about my singing. So far, it was all positive. Then he hesitated. My tea came in a big paper cup; I added honey.

  “What?” My voice was quickly disappearing. I started sipping, the heat soothing on my throat. Dylan gave me a tense smile.

  “The three bitches are making fun of your voice when the guys aren’t listening.” He shrugged, looking apologetic. “I wanted to warn you.” I snorted.

  “I don’t care what they think; they’re bitches.” I croaked. Shit. I focused on drinking my tea. He grinned at me.

  “Well, they’re pissing off my friends.” He said smiling now. “Jake has already told them to stop bitching.” I snorted. Jake was awesome. “They’re probably going to find another spot to hang out. But everyone is waiting for you first.” I nodded.

  “We can join them if you want?” I offered. He grinned at me.

  “If it gets too bad, yeah.” He agreed before leading me back through the crowd toward the back wall of the bar. When we stepped out of the crowd, I saw that everyone had put four tables together to form one long one. There was enough room for everyone to have their own seat. Though two of the three bitches were on their boyfriends’ laps. Everyone said hi. Jake jumped up and all but tackled me.

  “You killed it sweetness!” Jake squeezed me tight, and I hugged him back laughing. I couldn’t help it,

  “Thanks, hon.” He pulled back, his eyes running over my face.

  “Your makeup is starting to smear.” I reached into my pocket and handed him some tissues. He lifted my chin and started fixing it. I just let him. I didn’t have a mirror, and I trusted him not to make me look worse. When he was done, he leaned in. “If those bitches keep trying to tear into you, I’m going to pay someone to drop colorful drinks on those nice white shirts.” I snorted. It was so weird to hear the big jock talk about ruining a girl's clothes. Jake moved back to his spot so that the others could see me. Isaac picked me up in a big hug. I grunted as he squished me.

  “You did great, Red!” I smiled as he put me down.

  “Thanks, Cookie Monster.” He grinned big before heading back to his seat where Cece was. I put my coat on the back of an empty chair between Miles and Dylan.

  “Ally, you were wonderful.” Asher got my attention from across the table. I wrinkled my nose at him, he chuckled.

  “Lexie, that was great,” Thomas called down the table. I sent him a smile.

  “It sounded awesome,” Derrick added.

  “Even I
know that sounded good,” Aaron said.

  “Thanks, guys. You're too sweet.” I had just sat down between Miles and Dylan when Faith chimed in.

  “Well, she did go off key a couple of times.” Derrick snorted.

  “No, she didn’t.” Derrick shot down the table.

  “How would you know?” Faith shot back, eyeing him.

  “He’s been accepted to Juilliard, for the year after next,” I explained smugly. “They’re holding a spot specifically for him. I think that means he knows a shit ton about music.” Faith glared at me before whispering to Cece next to her. I ignored her and looked over at Dylan’s friends. “So, what trouble have I missed?” Aaron chuckled.

  “Jake almost got his ass kicked by some big guy,” Aaron said smiling. I looked over at Jake from across the table; he was laughing.

  “What happened?” I asked, dying to know.

  “A guy thought I was hitting on his sister,” Jake told me. “I had to tell him I was more interested in him than her.” We all chuckled.

  “You should have seen his face.” Derrick grinned down the table. “What he actually said was ‘I was trying to get to know her so I could find out if I should ask for your number.’” I burst out laughing. Jake looked like he didn’t regret a thing.

  “Hey, I got a phone number.” Jake pointed out smugly. “I’m ahead of all of you, except for Dylan.” I burst out laughing.

  “Shit, he’s right.” Thomas got up and looked around the bar. He grinned. “And there is Sara.” He looked around at us. “Someone wingman me?” Jake sighed.

  “You’re going to need my help,” Jake warned him, getting to his feet. “You about as smooth as sandpaper.” I chuckled as they headed off to get Thomas a phone number. Aaron, Luke, and Derrick were in a discussion about something I couldn’t hear, and the guys were talking to their girls. I looked up at Miles; he looked tenser than usual, almost rigid.

  “How was your afternoon?” I asked as Dylan’s hand found mine under the table. I put his hand on my knee. I don’t know why but I wanted my hands free around these bitches. Miles shrugged.