by Joy Eileen
“No worries,” Chester replied. He moved so he stood in front of Gram and the rest of the band.
“Let’s go get something to eat. I’m sick of fucking being in the house. It’s lame as shit ever since that little piece left. What was her name again, big guy?” Gram asked, his gaze locked on Van as he smirked.
Jet, Kill, and D moved to get up, but before their seats scooted back, Van answered, “I don’t even remember her name.”
Gram rolled his eyes and then Van went in for the jab.
“All I know is she really wanted a baby. I hope you wrapped that STD infested sausage you call a dick up tight.”
Gram’s face lost some of its color. Amy and I were both witnesses to him plundering Bailey, and there was no condom anywhere near him.
“What the fuck ever. Let’s get out of here.” Gram turned and stomped out.
The rest of the band followed, except for Chester. He eyed us with longing. I felt sorry for him in a way. The JackholeS were different than most bands. The family atmosphere we were giving off must have been more appealing than the drugged up nights he was living in with his band.
“Night,” Chester muttered under his breath before moving to follow his band out.
“Holy shit, I’m so full,” D groaned, rubbing his stomach.
“I don’t think I can move,” Jet added, putting his head on Amy’s shoulder.
Pride zinged through me. It was nice being able to contribute. I knew they wouldn’t have cared if I lounged around all day while they recorded their record, but that wasn’t me.
“Sis, that was amazing. I missed your cooking so damn much.” Van pushed his chair back and grabbed his empty plate.
Kill put his hand on my leg to stop me from helping. “You cooked, we’ll clean.”
“I’m not going to argue with you there, Killer. I’m going upstairs to shower.”
“Wait for me. I’ll wash your back,” Kill whispered in my ear, making me shiver.
“I’ve got a couple more things to do on my website,” Amy told Jet when he took her plate.
“I’ve got this, Candy. Why don’t you go finish up?” Jet kissed her on the cheek before making his way into the kitchen.
Amy and I didn’t move. We watched the boys clean up instead. She pulled her cell phone out of her pocket and snapped a picture while their backs were turned.
“I want a copy of that,” I told her.
“It’s going on FaceNovel and Tweeter.”
“That’s actually something I wanted to talk to you about,” D said over his shoulder, making us both jump. “I want to get the band more of a social media presence. Lissa has someone, but I think it would be better to use someone who knows us. What do you think, Amy? Do you want to manage that?”
Jet turned around and crossed his arms over his chest. His eyebrows were drawn together and his mouth was pitched into a frown. It looked like he wanted to interject but didn’t want to interrupt Amy.
“I could totally do that,” Amy answered with a smile.
Jet’s frown deepened at her answer. She went to him and kissed his nose. “I’ll be fine. I know you think I’m overextending myself, but you’re about to get super busy, and I like having stuff to do. I promise not to stretch myself too thin.”
Jet kissed her, hugging her to his chest and fitting his chin on the top of her head. “Damn straight. I worry about you, and the only person who should be stretching you is me.”
Kill whacked Jet on the side with a towel before making eye contact with me. He shot me a wink, bringing an instant smile to my face.
“We’ll talk about the specifics later. I need to tell Lissa we want you to do it,” D said, walking around the couple.
“I’ll talk to her,” Van interjected.
“What the hell’s up with you and Lissa?” Kill asked as I snuggled to his side.
“Yeah, you have defended her all night,” Jet added.
“It’s nothing. I like her. She isn’t fake like Bailey, and she isn’t scared to go for what she wants like Jessie. I respect that.” Van rubbed his hand over his bald head, looking down at the ground.
Kill squeezed me. The whole band stared at him, speechless.
“I’m going to bed. Thanks for dinner, sis. I’ll see you guys in the morning.” Van took off up the stairs, his muscular legs taking them two at a time trying to escape.
“I can’t believe he’s still hung up over Jessie. I know she’s your friend and all, Faith. I just don’t understand why he can’t let her go,” D said, still watching the stairs.
“Jessie was the love of his life. They’ll find their way back to each other,” Jet answered, still holding on to Amy.
“I don’t think so. She’s gone. He needs to forget her and stop trying to find the opposite to keep his mind off her,” D replied.
“It doesn’t work like that. You’ll see.” Jet slapped D on the back, taking Amy’s hand and leading her upstairs. “Night. See you tomorrow.”
“Be out here by ten,” D yelled at their retreating backs.
“I wish everyone would stop acting like I’m in for some life-altering change when I meet some girl. It doesn’t happen that way,” D grumbled before following Jet and Amy.
“Man, Slick. I kind of feel sorry for him. He isn’t going to know what hit him when he meets her.” Kill chuckled, throwing his arm around my shoulder.
We made our way to our room like the rest of them, chuckling quietly.
The boys were committed to making the best record they could, which meant they were around even less. Amy locked herself in her bedroom, working on getting the boys’ social media up and running. Without any distractions, I cracked my laptop open and continued Skull and Hope’s story.
As I immersed myself back in Skull and Hope’s life, I realized just how much I missed writing. Kill was right, as he always seemed to be. I was meant to be an author. My eyes grew blurry after I pounded out an explosive chapter.
When my phone rang next to my leg, I jumped at the interruption. Jason hadn’t been able to reach me since I’d changed my number, but I still jumped when my phone rang, knowing it was a matter of time.
“Hey, Killer.”
“Hey, Slick. You miss me?”
I blinked my tired eyes. “Holy fuck. I didn’t even realize how much time has passed. Where are you?”
“I’m still at the studio. We have our first single done and ready to release to mainstream next week. We decided to go out and celebrate. Get dressed. Gunther’s on his way to pick you and Amy up.”
“Hell yeah. I’m so proud of all of you.”
My heart beat with pride. I didn’t know the profound impact of seeing the boys reach and achieve their dreams. Watching them get one step closer made me hungry for my own dream.
“Hurry up and get your sexy ass here so you can show me how proud of me you are.”
“Man, you’re bossy. I’m jumping in the shower now,” I told him, smelling my armpits.
“Tease.”
“How did you know my nickname in high school?”
“Ha-ha, see you soon. Love you.”
“Love you more, Killer.”
As soon as I hung up, I threw my clothes off and jumped in the shower. I was curling my hair when Amy came into my room and fell on the bed. She was wearing a short black dress that exposed one shoulder. Her hair was pinned up and she looked adorable, eating a licorice stick.
“I’m almost done,” I told her, motioning with the curling iron.
“Okay. I have so much to do, but I’m glad they’re forcing us to get out. I feel like all I’ve done this past week is work.”
“I know. I feel the same way. Can you believe our boys will have a song on the radio next week?”
We squealed and jumped around uninhibited since it was just us. My hair hung in big curls down my back, and I wore a red dress with tiny straps. I put on my black heels with cherries on them, finishing my look.
“We’re so hot,” Amy whistled, standing next to
me in the mirror.
I rolled my eyes at her, grabbing my black leather jacket, and headed downstairs. Gunther waited for us by the front door. He was busy glaring at something in front of him to acknowledge us. When the sound of women giggling assaulted my ears, I had a good idea what had Gunther on edge.
“What a moron. Do they know they’re throwing their careers away?” Amy said, not bothering to whisper.
When we reached the bottom of the stairs, my assumption was confirmed. The Cockfights were in full party mode. Each member had at least two girls draped over them in various states of undress.
“You’re idiots,” Amy told them, her little body shaking with anger.
“Are you jealous? Because there’s always room for more,” Gram offered, rubbing his finger around one girl’s nipple, making her moan.
“Yeah, that’s exactly it. I’m jealous.” Amy turned around and stomped out the door as Gram laughed.
I followed her, stopping when I reached Gunther. He shook his head one more time before presenting his arm to me and leading us out to the van.
“I miss Ray’s,” Jet whined after the waitress walked away with our orders.
“Faith, do you remember the first night we met you? When you took all those orders like a fucking pro?” Van asked, making us all laugh.
“That was the moment I fell in love with her,” Kill said, kissing me lightly. “You knocked Ryan on her ass when you repeated all those orders without having to write any of them down.”
“It was meant to be,” Amy said.
“Yeah, it was,” I answered, leaning on Kill’s shoulder.
The waitress sat our drinks down, and we lifted them high in the air.
“To family,” Kill said.
“To the JackholeS family,” I amended.
The boys cheered, clinking our bottles together. We drank and reminisced for the rest of the night. I laughed so hard my sides hurt.
“It wasn’t Ray’s, but it wasn’t bad,” D said when we walked out of the bar.
“Have you heard from Ryan?” Van asked.
“We text back and forth every day. She’s busy making Dax miserable,” I told him.
“Whatever happened to Matt?” Jet asked, climbing into the van.
We fixed our eyes on Kill, but he seemed to be avoiding us. “I’m not really sure.” Kill ran his hand over the back of his neck, a sure sign he was keeping something from us.
I decided to grill him when we got home on what he knew, but forgot when we walked into complete pandemonium.
“What the fuck?” D screamed when he saw two women doing lines off another girl’s stomach.
“Hey, man, come join the party,” Gram slurred. His hand was shoved up a girls skirt while another girl sucked on his neck.
“Lissa told you no more drugs,” Van hollered.
D stepped around us, his phone plastered to the side of his face.
“What the hell’s your problem?” Gram asked since the others were too far gone to know there was any trouble.
“We requested a drug free house,” Kill snarled, standing next to Van and Jet.
“I don’t get you guys. You have to be the most pussy rockers I’ve ever met.”
Gram’s eyes went wide when Van hurtled his large body across the room and slammed him into the wall.
“You’re fucking crazy,” Gram screamed.
“You haven’t seen crazy yet,” Jet answered behind Van, Kill right next to him.
“Here’s what’s going to happen,” Kill said. He kicked off all the paraphernalia on the table and stood on top of it. “Every one of you is going to get dressed and grab whatever the hell you brought. There’ll be cabs waiting for you. My associate Jet’s calling them for you. Get the hell out of here.”
Jet grinned at Kill, placing his phone back in his pocket.
“You can’t do that,” a girl screamed at Kill. Her boobs bounced when she stomped her foot on the ground.
Van leaned into Gram, causing his face to grow a new shade of red.
“He can do whatever he wants. Get out of here,” Gram wheezed out.
“You heard the man,” Jet cried, clapping his hands together.
Amy and I stood to the side. Women and men shuffled out of the house. Cabs were already lining up, waiting for them.
Just as the last cab drove away, Lissa came bounding into the house. Her hair, as always, was impeccable in its tight bun on the top of her head. D followed right behind her.
“What’s this, Gram?” she asked, surveying the wreckage to the house.
The TV had a vase through it. There was garbage strewn all over the floor and puddles of what I hoped was spilled beer soaking into the carpet.
“What’s wrong with you people? We’re rockstars,” Gram asked, stepping back when Van glanced at him.
“Lissa, you need to decide right now. The Cockfights or the JackholeS. I refuse to be around drugs. I’m an addict who has been sober for years, and I’ll remain that way. I understand drugs are part of rock’n’roll, but I won’t be around it. Especially in a place I’m supposed to be able to relax,” D stated calmly.
“I can’t believe this. You’re pathetic.” Gram held his arms up as if he was over the whole thing.
Before Van could reach him, it was Kill’s turn to grab him. “You need to shut the fuck up right now. If you disrespect my family one more time, I promise you’ll regret it.”
I walked up and put my hand on D’s shoulder. It surprised me to feel the tremors wrack through his body.
“Every rockstar’s an addict. Come on, Lissa, you can’t possibly be thinking of kicking us out. We’re rockstars. This is what we do,” Gram pleaded.
“You’re rockstars on a strict contract you agreed to. I understand you want to play and have fun, but your record’s already six months late. This is getting out of hand. This isn’t the first warning you’ve received for damaging the house.”
“So what are you going to do?” Chester asked, glancing at Gram to get him to shut up.
“I have permission from the label to move you to another location. Tomorrow you have a meeting with our lawyers where we’ll draw up another contract,” Lissa told him, giving him a look of revulsion.
“Thank you, Lissa.” Gram smirked like he’d won.
“Don’t thank me just yet. I’ve seen the contract. I guarantee you won’t like it. Go pack your stuff. You have two hours.” Lissa turned and walked toward the office.
“We don’t need them,” Gram countered, watching Lissa move to the study.
“Shut up, Gram. This isn’t just about you and your oversized ego. This is our dream too. Go get your shit together. We’re signing that contract tomorrow, and we’re going to follow it to the letter,” Chester said, slugging Gram on the shoulder.
Gram and the rest of the band made their way to their side of the house to pack. D stopped shaking when they moved away, but the strain on his shoulders was still there.
“Come on, let’s go to Kill and Faith’s room and watch a movie. I’m sure Lissa has a cleaning crew on their way,” Van said, making eye contact with D.
“Yep, this place stinks like shit,” Jet replied, grabbing Amy by the hand.
D stared at the wreckage. His eyes glazed over with pain. “My mom’s house used to look like this when she would have parties. It always happened when she would get custody of me. That’s when the checks would roll in.”
Tears burned my eyes. I hugged D from behind, pressing my face into his back. It was hard to picture him living in such conditions. He always exuded such control over every part of his life, all the way down to managing the JackholeS. It was easy to forget what he’d gone through. I moved to his side and squeezed his hand.
“D, we can leave. Hell, talking about Ray’s tonight made me realize how much I missed that life,” Jet said.
Van and Kill nodded in agreement.
“No. I didn’t work this hard to get your asses a record deal just to let some douchebag wannabe rockstars ru
in it. Lissa’s getting rid of them. Let’s go watch that movie.” D let go of my hand and moved up the stairs.
We looked at each other, questions on what we should do on all of our faces.
“You heard the man,” Kill said, breaking the silent stare off and grabbing my hand to follow D.
Chapter 8
The boys sat at the table, notebooks scattered in front of them. Their single was going to be released the next day, and they were a flurry of excitement and nervousness. They were in the studio day and night, trying to get the album done on time. The single was the first step. Between their connections and the labels, the single was going to be all over the airwaves.
While I cooked, I listened to the boys toss ideas back and forth.
“Faith, have you thought about singing with us?” D asked, scribbling something down in one of the many books in front of them.
“You guys already have too many songs to choose from as it is. Why don’t we do it the next album?”
“Maybe that’s what we’re missing. Maybe the songs aren’t coming together because it doesn’t feel like we’re doing a set at Ray’s,” Van said, grabbing D’s notepad to study it.
“Why don’t you come tomorrow and we can put down a vocal track or two? Just so we have it.”
My whole being craved for me to tell them no. Give them an excuse, or remind them this was their album, their dream. Everything died on my tongue when I saw the eagerness on their faces. I wasn’t going to let them down. The big girl panties were creeping up my legs.
“All right, I’ll come and sing a song with you tomorrow. But, Kill, you owe me dinner afterward.”
“And it better be somewhere good. Don’t let our star eat crappy food,” Jet put in, sending me a wink.
“I would never.” Kill had a look of horror on his face. “Tell them, Slick. Tell them how good I take care of you.” He stood up and kissed me on the cheek, helping me carry the finished dinner to the table.
“He’s good to me. You all are.” I kissed Kill back, standing close to feed off his body heat.