Storm

by Mankin, Michelle

Even if giving them that freedom left you behind.

  Storm

  “WHAT ARE YOU guys doing?” Shield asked, standing in the doorway of the studio Cork and I were in.

  “We’re just messing around,” I said carefully. “Doing something personal while we wait for Saber to show up. Is he here yet?”

  “Nah.” Shield lowered his gaze, his lids hooding his eyes. “He had something to do.”

  Interesting. I wondered what that something could be. It must be really important to take precedence over band practice.

  I raised a brow. “He seemed in a fucking hurry for us to get here.”

  “He was.” Shield shrugged. “Then he wasn’t.” He gestured to my SG, and his braided bracelets slid along his arm. “Sounded good, the messing around you two are doing. Mind if I join you?”

  I started to say hell no. This was personal.

  The chords and the lyrics were about Lotus, my attempt to express the feelings that hammered deep inside my chest whenever I thought of her. Cork got it. He knew my situation, and he knew her. Understanding grew from knowledge, empathy too. I wasn’t sure Shield was capable of either.

  “Deep shit makes the best kind of music.” Shield took a step toward me, his sticks in his right hand. “That’s why Saber and I started the band in the first place. That and to piss off our old man.”

  Our father inspiring something good was surprising. So was Shield’s perspective on the formation of the band. Saber had made it seem like his creation.

  “But your song needs a little drum fill, don’t you think?” Shield hit me with pleading eyes.

  I remembered him doing that when we were kids, and I had my hand on the last Oreo. Although now there was a seriousness to his expression that hadn’t been there when the prize was only a cookie. His head was slightly tilted, his dark brown hair in his eyes, and inside his gaze was a weighted expectancy.

  I got the feeling that he wanted to be included in my heavy shit. Maybe that was projection on my part. He was my little brother. I barely knew him anymore, but that didn’t mean I didn’t want to know him or have him know me. I lacked the experience to facilitate that happening. However, I knew music, and inside the music, anything was possible.

  “I think you’re right.” I lifted my chin to Shield. “The song does need a drum fill.”

  “Righteous.” Grinning, he headed for his kit in the back of the room.

  I turned to Cork. “Can we start it all over again at the beginning?”

  “Sure.” His pick between his fingers, he pointed at me. “But I think the intro would be better this time with just you and the SG.”

  “I don’t know.” My brows inched together.

  “Unplugged effect, you mean,” Shield said from behind me.

  “Your voice and those words will be more earnest without any other instruments.” Cork gave me a look. “Then when Shield and I come in, we’ll add a punch to that earnestness.”

  Although I wasn’t the biggest fan of my voice on its own, his idea fit my theme, so I gave him a nod. “Let’s try it.”

  Lowering my head, I positioned myself at the mic, plucking the strings and filling the air with the music that had been filling my mind since breakfast.

  I closed my eyes and sang. “Her smile, her heart, her a beacon shining in the dark.”

  The feelings I buried deep, I unearthed thinking of her. My feelings weren’t land mines, but seeds that only needed replanting in the right soil to grow. The chaos inside me could be ordered. Something good could come from something bad.

  I’d made a mistake at the beginning, but we were together now. Lotus made me want to believe that love could overcome a lie. That love could overcome anything.

  I cracked open my eyes as I sang the oo, oo, oo, oo, oo on the second chorus.

  Saber had arrived, and he harmonized beautifully with the rest of us. He also added a pleasant little rhythm, using the sweet midnight-black Gibson strapped to his shoulder. Behind me, Shield tapped a light pattern on his snare. On my right, Cork continued his groove, his hips swaying in time to the beat. I was in front, something I rarely did, but it felt good.

  Then Lotus appeared in the hallway just outside our room. As if mesmerized by the musical synergy inside, she stood as still as a statue and stared. I felt it in two places, my heart and my dick, having those beautiful eyes of hers on mine.

  Her lips parted. Her cheeks turned a dusky rose, the same color as her perfect nipples when I sucked on them.

  But the song wasn’t ready. I wasn’t ready. It had to be perfect, the timing exactly right.

  Shaking my head at her, an apology in my eyes, I stepped forward and kicked the door closed.

  • • •

  Lotus

  Shocked, I stared at the door Journey had just closed on me.

  The music and his amazing voice on lead vocals had raised chill bumps on my arms. But why was he shutting me out? For all Saber’s faults, he never seemed to mind me being around in the studio.

  “Lotus,” Penny called.

  I turned away from the door to watch her hurry toward me, surprisingly graceful on her high heels. A stack of papers fluttered in her hand.

  “You forgot your copy of Cork’s contract.” She stopped, and the lime-green petticoat under the skirt of her polka-dot dress swirled around her calves.

  “Oh, sorry.” I took the papers from her. “I was a little discombobulated by all the zeroes behind the dollar sign, and then this,” I said, gesturing toward the closed door.

  “Cork got only slightly less than Journey. Oops.” She covered her cherry-red lips. “I shouldn’t have said that. Boss doesn’t like signing bonus amounts being discussed.”

  “I won’t say anything.” I reached for her arm with my free hand and squeezed gently to reassure her. “But wow.” I shook my head. “I had no idea it would be so much.”

  “That amount is a game changer for most people.”

  “It’s a lifesaver for Cork.”

  “For both of you.”

  “It’s his money.” My eyes filled. “I’m so happy for him. Even if the band goes nowhere, which is unlikely.” I gestured again to the closed door.

  Something as impressive as Cork’s signing bonus was going on inside that room.

  “They’re pretty good. I’ve heard people commenting since they started practicing.” Penny put her hands on her curvy hips. “You here to set up for the Nightingales’ launch party?”

  I nodded. “Is it in the big conference room?”

  “Yeah, your delivery guys just came.”

  “Awesome.” I turned, eager to get started, but she stopped me.

  “Soon on the girl’s movie night?”

  “Absolutely. Sunday’s my day off. Will that work for you?”

  “That’s perfect,” she said.

  “I’ll text you my address.”

  “I know your address.” She smiled. “It was on your brother’s contract, and so was your cell. I’ll text you so you have my number too.”

  I returned her smile. “Right. That sounds great.”

  Penny had an upbeat personality. She’d lifted my spirts on more than one occasion.

  Continuing down the hall, I saw Ramon and Linc and said hello. They returned my greeting but continued on their way. Taking in their board shorts and tanks, I had a feeling they were on their way to surf. Not me, unfortunately. Not today.

  I entered the conference room. Taking a quick inventory, I found everything that I’d ordered there. I put my buds back inside my ears, then opened boxes and unwound large bundles of long-stemmed flowers.

  By the end of the first volume of Tempest’s greatest hits, I was done, and stepped back to survey my handiwork.

  A tall wall with the name of the all-girl band spelled in flowers and succulents provided a compelling backdrop for photos. A couple of smaller vases on the conference table and on the side tables where the refreshments and the press packets would go unified the space.

  Crossing m
y arms over my chest, I nodded approvingly.

  Nicely done. I took a picture with my phone that I would upload to my business Facebook page later. I had very few followers and so far, only Ash as a customer, but it was a start. It was something to be proud of, like Journey said.

  Grabbing my bag, I exited the room. Inside the hallway, I didn’t run into anyone. I imagined most were in the largest studio, watching the Nightingales perform. I would have sneaked in to watch too, but I had a date with my bestie.

  As I passed the room OB Hardy was in, I heard voices inside, but not singing or music.

  Penny waved at me when I reached her desk, but she was on the phone. I returned her wave and pushed the bar to exit the building.

  Outside, the ocean roared only yards away, and the cry of gulls filled my ears. Scanning the low wall that hugged the shore, I found Sophia standing by the stairs that led up to the pier.

  “Hey,” I said, jogging to her like Penny had to me earlier, but I threw my arms around Sophia.

  Her complexion was ashen, and her pretty features were pinched. She looked like she could use a hug. I knew I needed one. She returned my embrace, sagging into me like I sagged into her.

  Everyone knows bestie hugs have miraculous powers.

  “Are you mad at me?” Easing back, she scanned my face for an answer.

  “No,” I said. “Were you really afraid I would be?”

  “A little.” She bobbed her head. “Okay, a lot. You just broke up with Saber, and I’m your best friend.”

  “We just broke up, but you were right all along. He was wrong for me.”

  Her eyes widened. “I’ve never heard you sound so certain about that.”

  “I spent the night with Journey. We talked. We’re going to see how we do together as a couple.”

  It was difficult saying the words, because though he thought I had a lot of faith, that faith didn’t come without fear.

  “Wow,” she said. “That’s a big development.”

  I nodded. From waking up in Journey’s arms to now, it had been a wow type of a day.

  “So, you and Saber . . .” I let that hang so she could fill in.

  “No we. I got drunk. He was wasted. We hooked up.”

  “You don’t like him?” I asked.

  “I never liked him. He’s authoritative, self-involved, and arrogant.”

  “Yeah.” I made a face. “I guess he’s all that.”

  “But he’s amazing to look at, like Pierce Brosnan in Golden Eye. And, of course, he’s brilliant in bed. Oh, sorry. TMI.” She shook her head, and her straight black hair fanned around her slender shoulders like a cape.

  “I never thought Saber was all that good at it.”

  “Really?” Sophia’s hazel eyes rounded, revealing her surprise.

  “I guess it depends on who he’s with.” I put my hand on her arm. “He and I didn’t have chemistry.”

  I sighed and gave it to her real. She was my bestie. She deserved that.

  “I think I wanted us to work more than anything. Some because Cork loved the band and looked up to him.” There was a caution to be heeded about Journey in that regard. “You said I wasn’t interested in Saber until I saw him with a guitar. That’s true, but it was more than just that. It was also because he was Storm’s brother. Being with him connected me to the past.”

  “Oh, honey.”

  “Yeah, I know. Pretty pathetic to continue to pine over my first crush, but I’m not doing that anymore. With Journey, it’s only him I’m interested in. No one else.”

  Storm

  “I NEED YOU to hold back a moment,” Saber said to me, his eyes meeting mine as I clacked the last latch on the case for my SG.

  “Been at it all day, man, no break except for that vending machine crap at lunch.” I gave him a look. “I gotta get some real food.”

  “You want to see Lotus.”

  “Fuck yeah, I want to see her.” I popped a brow.

  Did he not look at her when he was with her? Know her? Touch, taste, feel her?

  I lifted my chin. “But she isn’t your business anymore.”

  “Right.” His mouth flattened. “Unless it interferes with the band.”

  “Oh fucking hell. Not this again.” I rolled my eyes. “I thought you were gonna make an effort to lighten the fuck up.”

  “OB Hardy is performing in front of six thousand people soon.” He suddenly looked green under his golden tan, and my heart went out to him.

  Saber wasn’t as cocksure as he acted. And now that he wasn’t the competition for Lotus anymore, I remembered things about him. Good things. How he used to move in front of me when I was small and my old man laid into me. He didn’t stopped looking out for me until I hit the big growth spurt in my early teens.

  I placed my hand on his shoulder to steady him. “We’re going to rock the Surf Fest concert. It’s not going to be if we knock the people on their asses. It’s gonna be how hard they fall.”

  “You might be right,” he said, and some of his color flooded back.

  “I’m right.” I gave him a look. “Other people in this group can be right, not just you.” I couldn’t help but get in a dig. He deserved it and then some.

  “I hear you.”

  “Good. ’Bout fuckin’ time you listened. Can I go eat now?”

  “Sure. But after you and I go over the set list.”

  His cell phone rang, a shrill tone that made him cringe.

  He held up a finger. “Fuck. It’s my mom. Give me a minute.”

  “Okay,” I said, but he wasn’t listening to me anymore.

  “Mom, I’m in practice,” Saber said into his phone. “What’s going on?”

  He held one hand over his ear and stared blankly at me while he listened to her.

  “Not again.” He squeezed his eyes shut.

  Sadness, regret, and more than a little longing hit me. I could hear my mother’s voice, but I couldn’t make out the actual words.

  “Leave him,” he said with a sigh. “I’ve told you a million times, he’s toxic.”

  That was news to me. I listened more intently to the conversation.

  Opening his eyes, Saber nodded in response to whatever she said. “I’ve heard those excuses. It’ll be difficult for you. Different. I’m not going to sugarcoat it. But you can stay with Shield and me. Our place will be somewhere safe and familiar to land until you can get back on your feet.”

  He paused, then nodded again, even though she couldn’t see him. “Yes, tonight. If you’re ready, I’ll come get you right now.”

  He listened for a moment, then dropped the hand that had been on his left ear to his side. “Good. Finally. Best decision you ever made. I’ll be there shortly.”

  Ending the call, he slid his phone into the side pocket of his board shorts.

  “Fuck, fuck, fuck!” His arms went stiff, his hands clenching into fists.

  “What is it?” I raised my brows, noting Cork watching us out of the corner of my eye. The three of us were the only band members remaining in the room. Shield had taken off as soon as practice had ended, mentioning a hot date.

  “I don’t have the van. I need the van, but Shield has it for his date.”

  “Call him.”

  “No, man.” Saber shook his head. “This shit with them, with our parents, it messes with him. He spirals. I won’t allow it, not if there’s something I can do to avoid it. Lost one brother already because of all this fucking crap.”

  “Spirals in what way?” I went instantly alert. “Lose him how?”

  “Not your business,” he said, and I flinched like he’d sucker punched me again. “Said too much. It’s family business. I’ll just order a ride.”

  His eyes active, he raked a hand through his brown hair before he reached for his phone.

  “I can give you a ride,” I said, surprising myself by making the offer.

  Saber widened his eyes at me, then sighed. “That’d be great.”

  “We’ll have to go get my veh
icle. It’s parked at the apartment, but I need to drop Cork off anyway.” Shifting my gaze to him, I asked, “You got food at your place?”

  “Yeah.” Cork nodded. “I’m good. Help your . . . help Saber. Don’t worry about me.”

  I worked out the logistics in my mind. My mother, Saber, and me . . . three could fit in the Scout’s bench seat in a pinch. It would be tighter than with Lotus, Cork, and me, but it could be done.

  “Let’s go,” Saber said, pulling me from my thoughts as he exited the room.

  I followed him with Cork behind me. No one was in the hall. The lights were on dim in the corridor, and completely out at the front desk.

  Exiting the building, we were confronted with a stiff offshore breeze and an ocean that was a black expanse with foamy agitated breakers. The wind buffeted me, but not nearly as much as the stuff Saber had shared about Shield, or the stuff going on with my mom.

  We didn’t talk on the way to the apartment. Rather than walk up Newport and through town, we took a shorter but more perilous path, picking our way carefully over uneven sandstone by the crashing waves in the dark. When we reached a flight of stairs, as steep as the ones at the cliffs, we climbed them.

  Once we reached the street level above the beach, the apartment complex was only fifty yards away. I made sure Cork was safe inside his apartment before I went back downstairs to where Saber waited for me. I gestured to the Scout, getting in on my side while he got in on his.

  “Cool vehicle,” Saber said, settling in and buckling his seat belt.

  “Thanks.” I buckled mine and shifted in my seat to back out.

  At the end of the street, I braked at the stop sign, then turned left. Figuring this thing with my mom was going to take a while, I dug out my cell to call Lotus.

  “Hey, babe,” I said, registering disappointment but not surprise when I got her voice mail. She was on her shift at the Deck Bar. “It’s me. I know you’re working and can’t talk, but I just wanted to tell you that we’re done at the studio, and I just left Cork at your place.” I started to slow the vehicle at Newport, but the traffic changed to green. “I’m with Saber, running an . . . errand.”