by Jessa Wayne
Travis
I watched as my brother made his moves on Maddie while they sang on my stage, my guts tearing me apart. I knew what he was doing, and he was always so good at it; slowly fading me out and moving into my position. It was something he did my entire life. I wanted to jump up onto the stage and slam my fist into his face, but I didn't. I forced myself to stay put and just watch. If I learned anything growing up with Julien, it was that violence got me nowhere. I was already looking bad in Maddie's eyes because of my temper. No, if I was going to take him down, I had to do it the right way.
Maddie's eyes locked onto mine and I walked out the door as my mind already started formulating a plan. I leaned against the building and smiled when the door opened. When she ran out looking for me, I crossed my arms and waited.
"Oh," she said abruptly.
"Yes, I was expecting you."
"How did you know I would come running out to you?"
"I know you more than you think I do."
"Travis, can we talk?"
"I was hoping to, yes. What are you doing in there?"
"I think we already had this conversation." She crossed her arms and looked at me, annoyed that it was still an issue. "I'm going to sing with him during the Battle of the Bands."
"I think it's a bad idea."
"You think everything that pertains to your brother is a bad idea."
"You're right, I do. Because I know him."
"Travis, he's been gone for over five years. Why can't you let your old grudges go?"
"Is that what you think this is? Is that what he told you?"
"I can't do this." She put her hands up and lowered her gaze.
"Then why did you run out here to look for me? It was obviously not to appease me or try to make amends, and from what I witnessed in there, I'm pretty sure I know where your change of heart came from."
"No, Travis. It's not like that," she said quietly. "I came out to talk to you about Julien. I just want you two to get along. There is so much common ground between you. I don't know why you have to keep pushing on the same old issues you had problems with…."
"Stop," I interrupted. "You don't know what you are talking about, so you need to stop. Julien is a liar, straight up."
She shook her head, looking very disappointed.
"Maddie, you can't stand there and tell me he hasn't been talking shit about me. Probably about many other things too. Maybe he played the wounded victim?"
The door popped open, interrupting our conversation and it ended there as Julien walked up to us and smiled.
"Everything okay?"
"Terrific," I said in a low tone.
"I thought I was interrupting something. Anyway, we should get back inside, maybe go over the song choice for our opening act."
"Yeah, we should." Her eyes locked onto mine as she followed him back into the club. I clenched my teeth together as I watched the door close behind them, punching it with my fist.
I drove to the studio, pain pulsating in my knuckles and I found my mother in the lounge.
"I need to talk to you," I said, sitting next to her.
"Would you like some coffee? I just made some fresh. What happened to your hand?"
"Thanks. It's nothing."
I watched as she got up and grabbed a cup from the cupboard.
"What is it, Travis? You are upset. I don't like it when you're upset."
"I feel like my world is caving in around me. Ever since Julien came back."
"I've sensed that."
"Is it me? Am I walking on pins and needles, picking at the smallest things to keep our feud going or is the rest of the world the insane ones?"
"It isn't you."
I felt a sense of relief with her confession. She handed a cup of coffee and a cloth with ice to me and then sat down.
"When you and your brother were growing up, he was always the headstrong one. He always needed to be on top, no matter what it was. And Travis, he will never change being like that. He has always been the difficult one. I'm sorry you have had to endure the repercussions of that."
"Yeah, thanks. Look how far that gets me."
"The truth is, and I have learned this the hard way, you have to learn to go along with him. If he thinks he has the upper hand, he will be less apt to be destructive."
"So, give him what he wants to make life easier? Is that why you were so quick to jump to get him a record deal?"
"He isn't getting a record deal."
"Now, I'm confused."
"I'm merely going through the motions. As long as he thinks he is on the right track, he is happy."
"Until he finds out there is no deal."
"Well, you and I both know it can take years for talent to get signed." She grinned, and I caught on. "Besides, he changes his mind more than day changes to night."
"Well played."
"Now, what is it that I can help you with?"
"I've learned a thing or two about Julien myself over the years."
"And what is that?"
"Getting angry doesn't solve his issues. But, I did find out some information that will help expose him for who he truly is."
"Go ahead."
"I found out what he's up to. I just need to figure out how he's going to go through with it and why."
"What did you find out?"
"He's buying Desperado. He's angry that I am successful and he thinks I should let him have it."
"Is that what he said?"
"Right to my face."
"Sounds like your brother."
"He's also turning Maddie against me. I'm not sure what he's telling her, but she looks at me differently now, more cautious, like I'm going to strike out against her. It's killing me to see her that way."
"You have been angrier around Julien, and she has been witness to that."
"I'm thinking he told her that I was the one with the anger issues."
"So, what are you going to do?"
"I need to know where he's getting his money. He's making a lot of big investments since he's been home. First that big house, now Desperado."
"How is his credit?"
"Mom, you can't step out of the military after five years and get that much money from a bank. No one would do that. Besides, I did some investigating and found out the loan he is taking out isn't even half of what he needs to buy the club."
"That is peculiar."
"I wondered if you had a way to contact Iris Spencer."
"Julien's ex-girlfriend?"
"I know she sort of disappeared, but I also know she confided in you a lot when she was with him. Did she leave a phone number or anything with you?"
"She did. But I promised her I would keep it sacred and never give it to anyone."
"I think she might have some insight on what he's doing and how he's doing it."
"I'm sorry, Travis. I can't go back on my word."
I felt completely let down, and I knew it was no use in arguing with her or trying to convince her to do anything other than what she had promised.
"Now, I need to go back into the studio. If you could do me a favor, I need Studio Rocker's address to send some documents out to them. It is in my office, in my second desk drawer. You'll see a black address book in there. Look in the S's."
She smiled that same smile she used when she was up to something, and I was pretty sure I knew what that was.
"Sure thing. I'll get it right now."
Sitting at her desk, I found the book she described and turned the pages until I found Iris's phone number.
Mama, you're a genius.
"Thank you for meeting with me," I said, standing up. "I know it must not have been easy for you, given the apprehension in your voice when I called."
"It's good to see you again, Travis."
Iris sat across from me in that little cafe.
"Is everything okay? The urgency in your voice, you insisted on meeting privately with me. I hadn't heard or seen anyone from Nashville since I left."
"It's as good as can be expected with Julien back in town."
She fidgeted in her seat at the sound of his name. "Hmm." She looked down at the table.
"Thank you for meeting me halfway. I would have traveled all the way to Raleigh if I had to. Would you like some lunch? Maybe a drink?"
"Just ginger ale, thank you. I don't plan on staying."
"You look good, Iris. How've you been?"
"Travis, I appreciate your attempt at the small talk, but you don't have to do that. Just tell me what you want."
I looked at her, seeing the hurt in her eyes.
"I need to know what happened that night five years ago. Why did you leave so abruptly? Why did Julien leave?"
"It's in the past. I've moved on. I don't feel like drudging up old memories, especially ones that involve him."
"It's important, Iris. I wouldn't ask you if it wasn't. I don't mean to bring everything back up again, but I think it will help me."
"Why the sudden urgency?"
"As I'm sure you have already figured out, Julien is back in town."
"And he hasn't changed a bit; I take it? Still manipulative and destructive, I bet."
"Yeah. He does have a way of making people see things his way."
"That doesn't surprise me. Why change when you can get everything you want, right?"
"I think I can expose him for what he truly is if I can get all the facts."
"How will that information from that night many years ago help you?”
"I'm not sure if it will, but it's all I have to go on right now."
"What do you know about that night? Did he tell you anything?"
"I know you lost the baby. I'm so sorry about that. He said you left with just a note telling him you were sorry."
She snickered and looked away. "Of course, he'd say that."
"What happened, Iris?"
"Maybe I will take that drink."
When the waitress delivered two glasses of courage, she took a sip and grimaced as she swallowed it.
"I didn't leave because I lost the baby." She focused on the corner of the napkin she kept rolling around her finger. "He told me I had to get rid of it."
"Are you kidding me?"
"Why would I make something like that up? It's not like it matters now."
"He told me he was crushed when you lost it."
"Yeah, he would say something like that to look like the victim, wouldn't he?"
"I'm so sorry."
"I refused to get an abortion. I wanted that baby so badly." Her voice cracked, and she hesitated before continuing. "He, um, he got so angry at me for it. Told me it was my fault, told me he never wanted kids."
"Is that what the fight was about?"
She shook her head. "Part of it was, but somehow he assumed that because he didn't want children, he couldn't have fathered mine. He said I must have been cheating on him. Assumed it was with you."
"With me?" I looked at her, confused. Then it clicked. "I remember an accident he had when we were growing up, riding our four wheelers around the woods. He was showing off trying to climb a steep hill and flipped his. He got hurt pretty bad. After a few operations, the doctors told our parents he'd have a hard time having children when the time came because of it. I guess that just stuck."
"But why would he assume you and I were…."
"He was always trying to be better than I was. I guess this was just one more strike against me."
"Anyway, he um, I fell over the balcony and ended up in the hospital."
"You fell?"
She didn't answer. She couldn't look at me.
"Iris, did he have anything to do with that fall?"
She nodded and pressed her lips tightly together. "He struck me. He was so angry. That's why I left. I couldn't be with someone like him."
"I'm so sorry."
"Don't be. I'm okay now. Besides, you were always good to me. I never believed the things he said about you."
"Well, thanks for that. Now, I just have to try and convince Maddie."
"Maddie?"
"She's my girlfriend. Love of my life, or… was."
"He manipulated her, too?"
"Yeah. Amongst a few other things."
"So, how can I help?"
"I'm trying to figure out his financial situation. Being in the military doesn't give you enough money to invest in a house and a club."
"A club?"
"My club. Well, it was going to be. Hopefully still can be. He's trying to buy it out from under me. I just don't know how."
She gasped and covered her mouth. "I think I know how he's doing it."
"How? What do you know?"
"My college savings fund."
I stared at her, praying she wasn't about to tell me what played in my mind.
"When I started searching for colleges I found out my account had been drained. The bank said they had my signature on the withdrawal forms, but I never touched it. I assumed, after some investigation, that someone had stolen my identity and gotten away with it all."
"How much are we talking?"
"It was over a million."
"Wow. I didn't know you did so well for yourself."
"I didn't. My grandmother came from a wealthy family. She had put away some money for my father when he was growing up. He never went to college, so the fund was passed down to me, his only child, only I never got to use it."
"And you think he took it?"
"It makes sense. It disappeared sometime before I started looking for a school. I guess because I moved, I never got any of the mail that pertained to it. I wasn't aware of what happened until I called about using it. I recently hired an attorney to pursue the matter..."
"Son-of-a-bitch," I interrupted.
"I can't believe it. Julien stole my money!"
"Do you have any documentation from the bank?"
"I do. I kept all of my research, hoping I could use it to find out what happened."
Iris and I drove her car the rest of the way back to Raleigh, and I retrieved everything she had kept which was more than enough to bury Julien. When I flew back to Nashville, I called my lawyers and set up a meeting.
Chapter Eight
Maddie
I need to see you.
I stared at the text on my phone. My heart ached to see Travis, but my head was telling me no. I looked over at Julien as he checked the equipment on the stage. Pocketing my phone, I turned my attention back to the music in front of me. The lyrics were there, and my eyes were scanning them, but nothing was registering. My mind was on Travis no matter how hard I tried to forget about him.
My phone buzzed again.
"I'll be right back," I said. Julien never looked up.
It's important, Maddie. You are going to want to see what I have.
I walked outside and called him.
"Why are you insistent on making this harder than it has to be, Travis?”
"This isn't about trying to win you back, Maddie. Well, directly. Just give me five minutes. I am not dramatizing anything. Julien is not the sweet and innocent victim he makes you think he is. You need to see what I found before he hurts you too."
"What are you talking about? Julien wouldn't hurt me. We're singing together, that's all."
"Just let me show you what I have."
“What do you have, Travis?”
"I just got back from Raleigh."
"North Carolina? Why did you go there?"
"I met with his ex-girlfriend. I found out why she left."
"From five years ago?"
I shook my head. "Yes, it was five years ago, but this is big. Maddie, please. Just give me five minutes of your time."
"Unlike you, I'm trying to give him the benefit of the doubt. I can't understand why you can't do the same."
"He hasn't changed. I promise you, Maddie.”
I heard desperation in his voice, and it was just enough to convince me that he deserved a measly five minutes.
"F
ine. Where are you?"
I walked into the studio and found Travis in the office. He was buried in paperwork, and he was hastily writing on a notepad.
"You're five minutes starts now," I said, standing in the doorway.
He stood up and handed me a folder. When I opened it he started explaining what had happened.
"So there was a domestic dispute, and she lost the baby," I concluded. "He left, she left, they started new lives of their own and what? What is the big problem now?"
"Maddie," he exclaimed, perplexed. "He was the reason she lost the baby. He gave her an ultimatum. It was either him or the child. He took her college savings money and disappeared.
"Travis, you don't know that! That's her side of the story. Besides, it was five years ago. Let it go! It's obvious he's trying to make things better now. How do we know if he hasn't tried contacting her? Maybe he tried to make amends. We don't know the whole story, and frankly I don't care."
"There's more, Maddie."
"I'm sure there is. And I'm sure you can't wait to tell me all about it. You've been trying to sabotage your brother since he got here. I don't understand why, and I won't try to make sense of it. Travis, you aren't the man I thought you were."
"That's what he wants you to think."
"I'm going to go. Julien’s waiting for me."
The look on Travis's face broke my heart. Was I too hasty? I slowly walked toward the door until I heard his voice again.
"He stole from me, Maddie.”
Something in his voice made me stop. I turned back to him, his head was down, and he seemed defeated.
"What do you mean? What did he steal?"
"You."
"He had nothing to do with our break up."
"We were perfect until he came back. Think about it. Everything you feel against me right now is because of him."
I felt tears in my eyes. I didn't want to admit he was right.
"A lot of what he told me makes sense. Maybe I just didn't see it. I was too wrapped up in…."
"In what, Maddie? In being happy with me? Because that’s exactly how I felt with you."
"I can't do this right now. The show is tomorrow, and I have to practice. I have to keep my head clear."
He pursed his lips and nodded. "Did you know he's buying Desperado?"