Believed (My Misery Muse)

by Betzold, Brei

  He showed me the picture of Devi sitting on the couch in their family room, baby Cait was sitting beside her kissing her belly. Devi wasn’t too impressed with the fact that she was already showing. This picture made me envious of her though, she had something that I never had—a family.

  “You guys are lucky,” I said quietly.

  “We are, but the thing is, we know it.”

  I knew some about Devi and Seth’s history, neither came from a happy childhood so it didn’t surprise me that they realized how lucky they truly were.

  “She,” I said pointing at Cait, “is going to be a heartbreaker.”

  “She’s not dating until she’s forty.”

  I giggled at the overprotective father Seth was when it came to his little girl.

  “What’s going on with you?” he asked nudging me with his shoulder.

  “Nothing.”

  He raised an eyebrow at me. “Liar.”

  “Beau realized he liked dope more than me, except when it comes to my paychecks, then he liked me fine.”

  “And?”

  “And I left him, I should have left him earlier but I thought I could fix him, ya know?”

  “Yeah I know,” Seth said sadly. “He’s not going to get near you again.”

  I smiled sadly up at Seth. “Sure he will, just not now. Where’s my room? I want to shower and change clothes, I smell like an airport and old lady perfume,” I said ending this conversation.

  Seth stood up dragging me with him. “Come on, I’ll show you.” He grabbed my bags that they must have sent up without me realizing and led me to my room. “My wife send anything else?” he asked over his shoulder.

  “She did, but with directions that I can’t give them out until we’re on the bus.”

  He nodded and opened a door to a bedroom that was much too large for one person. “Seth, this is too much,” I whispered.

  He snorted. “This is the smallest room out of the bunch.” He dropped my bags. “Let me know if you need anything,” he said before walking out closing the door behind me.

  I took in the room before running into the attached bathroom. The sight of the giant whirlpool tub had me skid to a stop. Oh, I was so going to put that to use.

  Sam

  I woke slowly stretching my body as I went while trying to figure out what had woken me up from my nap. Between the tour, my family stuff, and general band things I was averaging two hours a night. I leaned my head back against the couch, why couldn’t they just let me take a nap? I eventually realized that my cell phone ringing angrily on the coffee table is what woke me. I stared at it dreaming of picking it up and tossing it off the balcony, unfortunately my daydream was wrecked by the stupid thing ringing again.

  “What?” I barked when I answered.

  “Is she there? Is she okay? Her plane landed over two hours ago, did something go wrong?” I pulled the phone from my ear double-checking that it was in fact my brother calling.

  “What are you…?” Then like a light bulb it clicked—Jules. “I don’t know, let me check,” I grumbled.

  “Why don’t you know? Where were you?” he yelled.

  “I was sleeping, just hold on,” I said dropping my hand that held the phone and started to get up when Seth walked back into the main room.

  “Seth, is Jules here?”

  He nodded. “Been here about an hour.”

  “Is she okay?”

  “Yeah, just tired from traveling.”

  I nodded and picked back up the phone. “She’s here, she’s fine, now leave me alone.” Then I swiped the end button and dropped the phone on the floor.

  Seth was looking at me curiously, I just grunted.

  “Max?” he asked amused.

  I grunted again.

  “Why didn’t he just ask Dev, I texted her when she got here?”

  I just looked at him, like I had any fucking idea what was going on in my brother’s brain. Seth just shook his head at me then padded towards the kitchen. “Coffee?” he called and I grunted an affirmative.

  When I could smell fresh coffee, I rolled off the couch landing on my hands and knees and thinking of crawling my sorry ass towards caffeine when a pair of bare feet with the toes painted electric blue stopped right in front of me. I knew who it was with the butterfly and nautical star tattoo that adorned one foot the other had a script tattoo that said ‘Once upon a time.’ I followed the toned calf muscles up to a pair of jeans that were rolled up about half way up the calves. I followed noticing the blown out knee and other rips in some interesting places until they reached the soft swell of hips made for grabbing on to. Until I came to a torso covered in a tank top with the picture of Kurt Cobain printed on front that flowed around her breasts, hinting at what laid under. Her arms were completely covered in tats that led to a long neck that had stars swirling down from behind loose chestnut hair but I knew they began behind her ear. A mouth made to make angels weep with its plush bottom lip that made me want to bite and suck on it. Her slightly upturned nose that lead to the most beautiful pair of purple eyes. I never knew eyes could be the color of lilacs until I met the woman before me, and I’d never seen a pair similar since.

  “Jules,” I said hoarsely.

  She smiled down at me her eyes alight with mischief. “Sam, whatcha doing down there?”

  “Taking in the view.”

  She laughed softly. “Was it worth the trip?”

  “Definitely,” I murmured.

  “Come on, big guy, let’s go get some coffee.” She held out her hand, her nails painted in the same electric blue as her toes.

  I grabbed her hand and let her help pull me off the floor, then groaned when my knees popped. Jules tilted her head and looked me over. “Come on, old man, caffeine awaits.” Then she skipped off towards the kitchen. I watched her ass as I slowly followed until she turned the corner, I had to remind myself that she was the girl Max liked, and I didn’t do shit like that to my brother.

  The kitchen, like the rest of the suite, was pretentious with its gold plated everything, I was reminded why I hated coming to Vegas. I found Jules arranging herself on the counter sipping her coffee, eyes closed and a look of sheer ecstasy on her face. Max’s girl, I reminded myself once again. I looked over and found Seth’s eyes on me with a knowing gleam, I flipped him off and went to work fixing myself a cup of coffee.

  “What’s the plan for tonight?” Seth asked.

  “We have to meet up with the tour manager for dinner, then have drinks with a couple of label guys.”

  He nodded. “What about you, Jules?”

  Her eyes snapped open. “Huh?”

  Seth chuckled. “What are your plans tonight?”

  “Sleep,” she said eyeing her coffee.

  It was then that I noticed the dark rings under her eyes and her pale skin. She also seemed to be more jumpy than usual, though trying to hide it by acting as if everything were normal. I clenched my teeth, when I saw the bruising around her wrist, Max had told me, but it wasn’t the same as actually seeing it. I’d missed it earlier because of the tattoos that were there, but below where they ended, you could see the black and purple that looked to circle her tiny wrists.

  “You sure you’re going to be okay here on your own?” I asked trying to sound casual.

  “I’ll be fine, you guys do what you need to.”

  “We’ll leave one of the security guys here, in case you need anything.”

  She nodded then hopped off the counter. “I’m going to go get some work done.” Then she took off around the corner.

  “We’re going to have to keep an eye on her,” Seth said quietly.

  I nodded still watching where she had left as if I could still see her. “She’s barely holding on.”

  “If I see that guy I’m going to kill him,” Seth muttered into his coffee cup.

  “You’ll have to get in line,” I growled.

  “You okay?” Seth asked looking at me.

  “Yeah, fine.”

 
“Uh huh,” he mumbled.

  “There’s nothing going on.”

  “Uh huh.”

  “Max likes her and I don’t poach.”

  “Never said a word about her.”

  I put my coffee cup in the sink and went to my room; I wanted a shower before going out later.

  Chapter 6

  Jules

  Last night, after everyone had left, I curled up in the middle of my bed planning to watch a movie. I don’t remember much after that though. I stretched out on the bed and looked up at the ceiling trying to talk myself into getting up. Only I really didn’t want to, this was the first night I slept all the way through. The thought of leaving the warm cocoon of blankets wasn’t a pleasant one, but the need to relieve my bladder and for coffee were beginning to overrule the want to laze around in bed all day. Finally, I forced myself to unwrap from the blanket and run to the bathroom before I peed on myself. After finishing with my usual morning ritual, I went in search of coffee.

  I walked into the living area and stopped, I tried to take in the scene around me but it was too early and I hadn’t had nearly enough caffeine for this. I stepped around a thong and slowly headed towards the kitchen making sure not to step on any of the clothing that was tossed around the place. When I made it into the kitchen, I went directly to the coffee pot only to find it half full with cold nasty coffee. I grimaced and pulled the carafe out dumping the remains into the sink then rinsed it out before filling it up with water. After I had the water in the machine, I began hunting down coffee grounds. I finally found them in a cupboard on the other side of the kitchen. I sighed, grabbed the bag, and dumped the grounds into the basket and hit brew.

  I went back into the living room and finally took in the full damage. There were clothes scattered everywhere both men’s and women’s though from the amount of bras lying around, females definitely outnumbered males. I walked carefully around the dining room table heading back to my room. I quickly grabbed my cell phone and snapped a few photos, and headed back to the kitchen. The coffee pot beeped so I quickly made a cup and hopped up on the counter while I texted Max back. I knew he was going to be mad that I hadn’t called or texted before now. In all honesty, I’d forgotten so it wasn’t all that surprising to find eight texts from him. I quickly scrolled through them while sipping my coffee and replying that I was fine.

  My head snapped up at the sound of someone walking around I looked up to see Eli come around the corner without a stitch of clothing on. I quickly pointed my phone up and snapped a picture, but Eli didn’t even notice me. I sat there and watched while he opened the fridge pulled out a bottle of water and downed half of it at one time. He dropped his hand down to his dangly bits and gave his nuts a good scratch before draining the rest of the water. Then he dropped the bottle on the counter burped loudly turned around and walked back out, never once even noticing I was in the room and taking pictures. I hopped down and walked around the corner snapping a picture while he scratched his ass on his way back to his room. After he’d shut the door, I started giggling and that quickly turned into a full out laugh that had tears streaming down my face and me bent over gasping for air.

  When I was finally able to stop laughing and breathe, I went back into the kitchen and hopped back on the counter. I quickly logged onto Facebook and uploaded the pic of Eli scratching his ass with the caption: ‘I have 5 weeks of this to look forward to?’ and tagged Devi. A minute later, I had a comment from Devi that had me giggling again: ‘WTF is Eli doing?’ I quickly responded between giggles: ‘Hydrating after orgy?’ When Cin commented though, I lost it again and nearly fell off the counter, ‘OMG MY EYES.’

  That’s how Sam found me, bent over barely clinging to the counter laughing hysterically as Devi, Cin, and Mags commented on a photo of Eli scratching his ass while naked. My phone pinged again and I lost the battle of holding on quickly falling on my ass gasping for breath. Sam just looked at me like I was crazy, which of course caused me to laugh even more until I was in pain, clutching my side.

  “Good morning,” he drawled slowly.

  I just flapped a hand at him while gasping and crying on the kitchen floor.

  “You okay?”

  I attempted to give him a thumbs up, but I wasn’t sure if I was successful. I tried to calm myself down and take a deep breath, which hurt like a motherfucker. After a few minutes though, I was able to sit up and clutch my stomach. I looked up at Sam and nearly started the whole process over again, instead I took a deep breath and let it out slowly.

  “Eli,” was all I was able to say before I started giggling again.

  Sam rolled his eyes at my antics I gestured at my phone. “Look,” I gasped.

  He picked up my phone and swiped his finger across the screen turning it on. I watched as his face paled then turned red before he closed his eyes and started talking quietly to himself.

  My phone rang startling both Sam and me, he quickly handed it over to me and I hit the accept button without looking. “What the hell were you thinking?” Drake yelled.

  “Good morning to you too, Drake.”

  “Jules, why would you put that on Facebook?” he growled.

  “I could have put the picture of him scratching his balls instead,” I told him trying to suppress my giggles.

  “Jules,” he barked.

  “Drake,” I said back.

  “You can’t post shit like that.”

  “Already did.”

  “Why would you do that?”

  “Why would he walk into the kitchen in no clothes, scratch his balls, burp, and scratch his ass in the kitchen with me sitting on the counter?”

  “I’m going to kill him,” he muttered.

  “If it would have been me, would either Eli or Xavier even second guess posting that shit?”

  “Of course,” I heard him pause then curse. “Yeah, they would have posted it.”

  “Just be happy I didn’t video it.”

  “Can you remove it now?” he asked quietly.

  I looked over at Sam who was staring up at the ceiling running his fingers through his hair. “Sure, just wanted to show Devi what she was subjecting me to.”

  “I’m not sure who I want to strangle more, you, Eli, or her.”

  “Eli,” I told him resolutely.

  “Bye Jules.”

  I smiled. “Bye Drake.”

  I went back to my Facebook app and deleted the photo, but kept it on my phone. I knew better than to get rid of this kind of blackmail material.

  Sam

  I’d just wanted a cup of coffee, I had been up late once again schmoozing and now I needed to make some phone calls. I did not need to wake up to a trashed hotel room nor a picture on Facebook of Eli scratching his naked ass while walking through the trashed hotel room.

  Jules put her phone down on the counter and looked up at me trying to be contrite but I could see through the façade. While yes, it was amusing, and I can understand why she posted it. I was hoping that no one had shared it or god forbid that it ended up on Twitter. The old adage any press is good press was a lie, there was good press and then there was bad press. The last thing I needed to deal with was bad press and the stories they would run with this picture front and center.

  “You going to yell at me too?”

  I shook my head. “What’s the point, it’s already done.”

  She pushed herself off the floor. “Sorry, couldn’t help myself.”

  I poured myself a cup of coffee then leaned against the opposite counter she was once again hoisting herself on top of.

  “What’s with you and sitting on the counter?”

  “Dunno, it’s where I always sit in the kitchen. And I refuse to try and make it around the landmines of g-strings and used condoms out there.” She waved towards the living room. “I’m making camp in here.”

  I grimaced at the reminder of what waited for me outside the kitchen. I knew we made it in before the guys, but I had no idea what they had gotten into when they finally c
ame back. I was just praying that no one got married, and there weren’t photos of their night on town waiting for me.

  I sighed and rubbed my hands across my face. “I need to go check on the damage.”

  She gave me a pitying look. “Have fun, wear a hazmat suit.”

  I chuckled then went to check out the damage Xavier and Eli had caused on their night on the town. I vowed to myself that we would never stay in Vegas for longer than eight hours ever again while on tour. It just wasn’t worth the ulcer it was giving me.

  Chapter 7

  Jules

  I sat at the dining room table with my small needle nose pliers tightly braiding three pieces of aluminum wire together, I had an idea for a new bracelet. I was going to end up turning the braided piece into chainmail rings then weave them together for the design. I was so engrossed in my work that I didn’t notice the naked girl walking around the room until she bumped into the chair causing the pliers to dig into my thumb.

  “Fuck,” I yelped dropping the pliers and sticking my thumb in my mouth, not that it actually helped soothe the pain, it’s just something I always did. I looked over my shoulder to find a snatch in my face and jerked back banging my elbow on the table. I groaned and pulled my thumb out of my mouth so I could rub my now sore elbow.

  “Sorry,” the girl said, she sounded like she had a two pack a day habit for the past forty years. “Just needed to get my panties.”

  I glanced back at the girl as she shimmied her ass into a thong that left little to the imagination, her silicone breasts didn’t even move while she bounced around. She ignored me while wandering around collecting clothes and putting them on. When she was dressed, she walked out the door like it was a normal event to wake up in some strange hotel room naked.

  I went back to work pulling more wire from the spool when yet another naked chick walked out and went on a hunt for her own clothing. By the time the fourth girl came out, I’d gotten used to the strange turn of events my life had taken. I was able to ignore him and focus on my work.