Cocktails, Rock Tales & Betrayals

by Archer, Julie

  Edie made the receptionist aware of her arrival and came to sit down next to him.

  “I hope you're ready to answer lots of questions,” she said.

  “Probably not the same type of ones I get asked in press interviews, right? I'm not going to questioned about my preferred guitar brand am I?”

  Edie shook her head. “She's more likely to ask about family history of genetic conditions.”

  “Right.” He racked his brains, trying to think if there was anything he could remember that might affect the baby.

  A short, dark-haired woman with a broad smile walked down the corridor from the consulting rooms and addressed the waiting room. “Edie Spencer-Newman?”

  Edie jumped up. “Yes, that's me.”

  “I thought I recognised you from the picture in that magazine. Do come with me,” she said. “And is that your partner?” She looked at Alik.

  “I’m the father,” said Alik. “But we’re not together. I’m Alik Thorne, nice to meet you.” He didn’t want Edie to think otherwise either. He stood up, following them down the hallway. They went into a light, airy room, decorated in calming hues, with a desk, several comfy looking chairs, and a sofa.

  “Edie, I'm Patsy Crane, your community midwife. You'll see me at all your appointments throughout your pregnancy starting with today's welcome visit.” Patsy took a seat behind the desk and gestured for Edie and Alik to sit opposite her. She offered them some water and poured a glass for each of them. “Right, let's get started.”

  Patsy opened up the file in front of her. She admitted she preferred to handwrite her first set of notes as people tended to remember things later in the appointment and her computer system wouldn't allow her to go back.

  Alik couldn't keep up as Patsy fired questions at Edie. When was her last period? Have you been pregnant before? Are there any genetic conditions in your family? What do you do for work? They just kept coming.

  “And what about your lifestyle? Do you smoke? What about alcohol?” Patsy put her pen down and looked between the pair. “I am aware of your accident and that your pregnancy was discovered when you were admitted. There was a high level of alcohol in your bloodstream then, but I hope you've changed your ways.”

  Alik knew Edie had been religious about doing things right. Since she'd left hospital it was all clean-eating and juicing; nothing stronger than green tea had passed her lips in the past couple of weeks. He, on the other hand, had been out most nights and woke up with a hangover most mornings. He should probably turn over a new leaf too.

  Edie nodded. “Yes, Patsy, I have. This baby is important to me and I want to make things work with Alik. We could do with a fresh start.” She reached for his hand and squeezed it. She gave him a small smile.

  Patsy nodded. “Good, good. Now, just a few more questions.”

  Alik tuned out as Patsy concluded her interrogation. There couldn't have been anything that she now didn't know about Edie. The midwife took some blood, explaining that they would be used to check Edie's iron levels, blood group, and to screen for the risk of Down's Syndrome. He hoped everything would be normal.

  “Last few things and then we'll go and do a scan,” said Patsy.

  “Really? That happens today?” Edie looked surprised.

  “Of course, by the date you gave me for your last period, you'd be at least twelve weeks by now.” Patsy looked at Alik. “And I'm sure you'd like to see the little one, wouldn't you?”

  Alik nodded, a mixture of excitement and fear bubbling away in his stomach. That would certainly make things real.

  “Right, tell me when you're ready and we'll go down to the scanning suite. I need you to drink all that water and let me know when you're ready to pee,” said Patsy.

  Alik screwed up his face. “Too much information!”

  Edie gulped down the rest of her water and refilled her glass. She repeated the move and then declared she was ready.

  Patsy stood up and showed them the way to the scanning suite. Edie settled down on the bed. Alik stood beside her, not quite knowing what to do with himself or where to stand. Patsy sensed his awkwardness and pointed to a chair. He sat down and took Edie's hand as Patsy pulled up Edie's top and rubbed some gel onto her stomach. The midwife ran a small handheld device over Edie's tummy, her eyes fixed on the screen. She moved the device several times, each time reviewing what she saw on the monitor, without saying anything.

  “Edie, are you sure about the date of your last period?” asked Patsy, eventually.

  “Um, they are pretty irregular...”

  “Why? What's wrong?” asked Alik.

  “Looking at the size of the embryo and the heart rate, it would appear you are only seven weeks pregnant, not twelve.”

  Alik mentally calculated the dates in his head. And as he made eye contact with Edie, he knew she had been doing the same.

  He dropped her hand as if he'd been burned. “You bitch,” he hissed, getting to his feet.

  Patsy looked between the two of them. “I'm guessing this is news to you?”

  “Damn right. Could you leave us alone?” asked Alik.

  The midwife left the room, closing the door behind her. Edie grabbed some tissue and cleaned the gel from her stomach. “Alik, I can explain...”

  Alik faced her. “You don't need to explain; I know exactly what's happened. The baby isn't mine. It's Billy's." He looked up at the ceiling, trying to control his rising anger. “You lied to me, Edie. Again.”

  “But I only did it because...” Tears started to fall down her cheeks.

  “I don't care why you did it! You know what I gave up for you, what I lost. That was one of the hardest decisions I've ever made because I thought I was going to be a father. And now I find out it was all a sham.”

  “We can still be a family... I'm sure Billy would have wanted that.”

  “Billy wanted to fuck my girlfriend while she was still with me. Or did you forget that?”

  Alik paced around the room, wrestling with a myriad of emotions. The elation he had felt when he thought he was about to see his child was replaced by burning resentment. Edie watched him.

  “I need to get out of here,” he said, reaching for the door handle.

  Edie sprang up from the bed and stood in front of the door, blocking his exit. “Please stay, let's talk about this.”

  “I don't think there's anything to discuss.” Alik's face was contorted with rage. “Get out of my way.”

  He pushed her to one side and walked out.

  Chapter Fifty-Seven

  Alik had tried several times to get through to Caro on his journey up to London. But each time he called, it went straight to voicemail. He was desperate to talk to her, to tell her what he had just discovered. It needed to come from him. He had also tried to cancel the upcoming meeting, but Griffen insisted it was a crisis meeting and not showing up could jeopardise what might happen next for Blood Stone Riot. As Alik walked to their offices, along Carnaby Street towards Broadwick Street, his head was swimming. Distracted, he wondered what the area had been like in its heyday. He remembered reading that the likes of Kerrang and the long defunct Raw had had their offices at the end of the street, above some dubious-looking shops. He could imagine the journalists and bands enjoying the close proximity to Soho for debauched nights out and long boozy lunches. At the head of Broadwick Street stood the Numb Records premises, in a building that also used to house a number of women's magazines - some had long gone, but others were thriving in the digital age and had transformed their business operations as a result.

  Having pretty much come straight from the booking appointment, he hadn’t had chance to freshen up and, as a result, he looked dreadful. With at least a week's worth of beard covering his face, hair that had grown lank and straggly, and dressed in ripped jeans and an old, beaten-up, donkey jacket, it wouldn't have surprised him if someone had pressed a pound into his palm and told him to go and get a cup of tea. It was no wonder the security guard had confronted him as he entered
the foyer and demanded to know what he was doing there. After a brief explanation, he was pointed in the direction of the lift. Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted the receptionists sneaking a glance at him and whispering to each other.

  Griffen was already waiting in the same meeting room they had been in before when they first met Parker. He cast an eye over Alik's appearance and tutted. “You could have made an effort; this meeting could go either way.”

  A young intern poked her head around the door. “Can I get either of you a drink at all?” she asked.

  “Two coffees, please,” said Griffen, ordering on Alik's behalf. “And make his strong.”

  She disappeared, leaving them alone again.

  “What did you mean by 'this meeting could go either way'?” asked Alik.

  Griffen sat down. “Parker called me to discuss some options. I'm not sure you're going to like them.”

  Alik didn't get the chance to respond as the door swung open, admitting Parker Roberts followed by the intern with the drinks. She placed a tiny cup of espresso in front of Parker and two larger mugs of coffee on the table for Griffen and Alik, gesturing to the one that was meant to be stronger.

  Parker drained his coffee in one gulp, placing the small cup carefully back in the saucer, before steepling his fingers together and turning to Alik. “I am so sorry about what happened to Billy, such a tragic accident. I didn't get chance to speak to you at the funeral.”

  Alik nodded, sipping the too-hot coffee.

  “This does leave us with a bit of a dilemma,” Parker said. “The EP is due out soon and at the moment, Blood Stone Riot is a three-piece, which means we can't tour it properly or invest in a lot of heavy promotion. We have options of course. Replacement, which worked for the likes of Metallica, AC/DC and Slipknot, or we can sit on it. My preference is to find a replacement. The EP is ready to go and if you needed to do any live gigs, you can always get a backing track or hire a session musician. I can think of a few that would work.”

  Alik interjected. “We've worked way too hard on this to just let it rot in a studio somewhere, and Billy wouldn't have wanted that. But we can't just replace him like that.”

  Griffen nodded. “Alik's right, Parker, it should be such a waste to let the EP go to ground. And the contract...”

  Parker waved his hand. “We would work something out in terms of the contract.”

  Alik felt a knot of nausea gather in his stomach, like a heavy iron fist. The thought of replacing Billy, even though he knew it was the right thing to do, left a sour taste in his mouth.

  “There is another interim solution.” Parker reached into his suit pocket for his phone, placing it on the table. “This has come into my possession.” He fiddled about with the device, preparing it to play something. When the music filled the room, Alik was horrified. It was an extremely rough demo of ‘The Girl From The Blue’. Upon hearing it for the first time, as a listener rather than performer, he realised how the song had developed since he'd first come up with the idea. As the chords faded out, he was met with the familiar opening riff of ‘Poisoned Rationality’, his "break-up" song, and then after a couple of minutes ‘The Lost Boy’. He hung his head and wiped away a tear as the emotion of the song hit him.

  Griffen's face was unreadable.

  As the last strains of ‘The Lost Boy’ died away, Parker looked between the pair. “This stuff is good. It's different though, it's not Blood Stone Riot material.”

  Alik knew that. He had never intended it to be for the band, most of it was simply for him.

  “We could release this whilst you look for a replacement for Billy.”

  The word 'replacement' hit Alik again like a punch as he realised that the artist development manager was for real. That message was getting through loud and clear.

  Parker continued. “Look at Corey Taylor or Frank Turner, they both had successful careers in one band or genre and were able to flip it to appeal to an alternative audience. I know you already have some exposure with a different type of press from your relationship with Edie, which means you could build on that. I'm sure we can get an exclusive with Rick Hills at Aspire.”

  Griffen nodded. “That would seem to be a sensible option. Alik?”

  “I need some time,” he said. “How long have I got?”

  “The EP was due out at the end of next month. If we're going to replace it with the solo material, we need time to record those three songs and get a marketing and PR campaign around it.”

  “Olivia could help with that,” Alik said, although he wasn't anywhere near to making a decision. “I'll think about it,” he said, finally. “Do you need me anymore?”

  Parker shook his head. “I've got a couple of things to discuss with Griffen, but you know what you need to think about and I suggest you go and do that. Call me when you've made that decision.”

  Alik left the building, his heart heavy. He needed to speak to Nate and Dev about the decision, but he had a sneaking suspicion that Nate might have been the one who had made Parker aware of the new material. After that meeting and the events of the morning, if there was ever a time he needed a drink, it was definitely now.

  Chapter Fifty-Eight

  Caro was sitting cross-legged on her bed, leaning against a wall of pillows, a bottle of Jack Daniels propped against her thigh and the remains of a roll-up beside her in the ashtray. Her iPod was blaring a demo of Blood Stone Riot's EP and Alik's voice was singing only to her. Strewn across the duvet were the latest copies of The Goss, as well as bank statements and shift rotas from the club.

  She looked at the pictures in the magazine of Edie out at various events, showing off her barely-there baby bump, seemingly loving every moment of it. The accompanying verbage was full of sympathy about the tragedy of Billy's death and providing advice for the yummy mummy to be, particularly as she had just been announced as the brand ambassador of the new Bump! Maternity clothing range. And it was full of praise for Alik, supporting her after the terrible times she'd been through. There was some speculation that this was why he had seemingly split with Caro.

  Truth was they hadn’t spoken about it.

  Caro hadn't seen Alik since the funeral. Caro had said she was too busy. But she couldn't get the image of Edie and Alik out of her head. How she had discovered them kissing in the VIP bar. And how she’d run away as soon as she saw what was happening.

  Caro fired up a new browser window on the laptop in front of her. After a swig straight from the bottle, she tapped in a search string and reached for her credit card.

  Chapter Fifty-Nine

  Alik lifted his head from the pillow and wondered what had crawled into his mouth and died. As he came around, he realised he wasn't alone, and there were two other bodies in the bed with him. And they were all naked. Glancing around he saw some nondescript, generic student room, empty bottles and cans, and an overflowing ashtray.

  He carefully manoeuvred his way out of the bed, trying hard not to wake the two sleeping beauties - Christ, were they twins? - and stumbled across the room, thankful to find there was at least an en suite. Locking the door behind him, he took a piss and stared at his reflection in the mirror above the sink. He looked dreadful; red-rimmed, bloodshot, eyes, puffy face, definite signs of hangover and other recreational abuse. Seeing there was at least one clean towel in the room, he stepped into the shower. As the water pounded over his head, he tried to piece together the events of the previous evening. After the meeting with Parker and Griffen, he had headed into Soho and started drinking, alone. There he had got talking to a couple of American tourists who recognised him from the YouTube leak of the ‘Bleed Like Cyanide’ video. The next thing he remembered was a bar in Camden, lots of beer, a number of hot girls trying to give him their phone number - although not the ones currently in the bed he had slept in - following someone into a random house party, playing guitar, being offered poppers and God knows what else, then the rest of it was a bit hazy. And that was an understatement. How he had got from So
ho to Camden was a mystery, but clearly he had interested these girls enough for something to happen, but again he had no recollection of what. Reaching for a bottle of shower gel, he lathered his body, trying not to move his head too much.

  All he knew was that he needed to get out of the house. And quickly.

  Despite his attempts at stealth, both of his companions were awake when he re-entered the bedroom, and looking like they wanted a repeat performance of whatever had gone on.

  “Hey baby,” one of them said, lifting the duvet and giving him a full view of her naked body. “Why don't you come back to bed?”

  “It's cosy in here,” said the other. “Last night was so much fun.”

  Alik glanced around the room, trying to identify which jeans were his in the tangle of clothes that lay on the floor. He was relieved to see that his wallet and phone were still sitting on top of a chest of drawers. “Thanks, but I need to get off.”

  “But we can get you off.” The pair started cosying up and fondling each other.

  It was all Alik could do not to throw up as he hastily pulled on his jeans and grabbed what looked like his t-shirt from the pile by the bed. Snatching his belongings, he bolted from the room, checking the unfamiliar surroundings as he found his way down the stairs and out of the front door.

  Gasping in cool air in an attempt to calm his stomach, he made his way towards what appeared to be a main road. Checking his phone, he saw a dozen missed calls from Olivia.