Broken Sound (20 page)

He threw his phone to the couch and cursed.

“I’m sorry about this shit,” Danny said.  “I figured now would be a good time to jam.  Let it all out.”

Davey crossed his arms.  He looked at the guitar, the smooth black neck and pearl white diamond inlays.  The metallic blue colored body. 

“Fresh strings,” Danny said.  “Just tuned her up this morning.”

“You know how to get to my heart,” Davey said, pointing to an outlet for Danny to plug in.

“Well, I know it’s guitars and sex.  I figured I’d try guitars and if that didn’t work...”

Davey shook his head.

“What?” Danny asked.  “I’d leave then.  Guitars or nothing.  Where’s your girlfriend?”

“Which one?” Davey asked sarcastically.

“Playing the field?”

“Not even close,” Davey said.  “I know what I want and I know what I need to do.  They just don’t mix.”

Danny plugged the guitar in and tossed it to Davey.  He caught it and threw the strap over his shoulder in one smooth movement.  Danny turned the amp on, turned up the gain so the feedback squealed across the hotel room. 

It made Davey shiver with excitement.

“Fire away,” Danny called as he sat on the arm of the couch.

Davey strummed a few power chords, letting the crunch of the sound reverberate around the room.  He climbed the neck chord by chord and when he reached the twelfth fret, his fingers twitched, ready to unleash a sound filled hell. 

And that’s what he did.

Davey found himself moving around the neck with ease, mixing different solos from different Chasing Cross songs, letting all his annoyance and aggression out.  He bent a few notes as high as he could go, forcing the string under the other strings, making the guitar cry for mercy.  The small amp didn’t do much justice for the actual sound and by the time Davey stopped, he felt beads of sweat forming at his forehead.

He wanted to keep going.

He wanted to be on stage.

In front of thousands of people.

“Fuck,” Davey said.

“Fuck,” Danny repeated.

“Nice little amp.”

“Nice little set there,” Danny said.

“Okay, let’s write some stuff.”

“We’re supposed to be doing an acoustic album, remember?”

“Yeah, yeah,” Davey said.  “You take the acoustic and I’ll let this run clean.  I’ll add some reverb and play lead against you.”

“Works for me,” Danny said.

They weren’t able to play more than a minute before Davey’s phone rang.  He looked, expecting it to be Peter.

It wasn’t.

It was Anna.

“Anna,” Davey ended the jam session.  “I wonder what she wants...”  Davey answered the phone and said, “Hey, love.”

“Davey, it’s Anna.”

“I know that,” Davey said.  He could something in her voice.  Cold.  Robotic.

Was she hurt?

“I need to talk to you.”

“You have me on the phone.  Is everything okay?  Can I come over?”

“No,” Anna barked.  “No.  I... I don’t ever want to see you again.”

Davey swallowed.  This wasn’t like Anna.  She wouldn’t sound like this. 

Then Davey reminded himself that he and Anna hadn’t met all that long ago.  Maybe the night together, triggered something in her head. 

“Anna, what’s going on?”

“Pay me or I’ll tell everyone about us,” Anna said.  “Okay?”

“Pay you?  Pay you what?”

Danny snapped his fingers and Davey shook his head. 

“You know what I want,” Anna said.  Her voice cracked and she cleared her throat.  “You know what I want, Davey.  What you did for Cassy, do for me.  Give me money.”

“You’re going to push me in a corner for money, Anna?  This isn’t like you.”

“You don’t know me,” Anna said.  “You don’t know a thing.  If you don’t give me money, right now, I’ll make the story ten times worse.”

“Is that so?” Davey challenged.

His blood heated up and his nerves were tingling.  Something was very wrong but why would Anna be like this?

“Yes,” Anna said.  Her voice started to break again and she stopped and took a few breaths.  “Imagine what everyone will think then... you have a baby with a fan and then pay her off while you’re fucking me.  You’ll be just... just like... your father...”

Anna whimpered and let out a cry.

Davey felt his eyes widen.  Anna was in danger.  That was the only explanation.

“Okay... okay, Anna, just calm down.”  Davey played into it.  “Just tell me what you want.”

“I want what you did for Cassy.”

“I’ll bring you a thousand dollars then,” Davey said.

He didn’t believe for a second Anna would do this, not to pay off her debts.  Could she be that honest and cold at the same time?

“A thousand dollars,” Anna repeated.  She then let out a small cry and said, “More than that!”

“More money?” Davey asked.  “Whatever you need, Anna...”

Davey moved through the hotel room, getting ready to leave.  He had to get to Anna’s house, but he had to play it off.

“I want ten grand,” Anna said.  “Ten grand today.  Right now.”

“Can I come over?” Davey asked.

“Throw the money on the porch and text me.”

The phone went dead.  Davey looked at the screen and then ran to the door.

“Davey, everything okay?” Danny called out.

“I’m not sure.  I think Anna is in trouble.”

“Is it Cassy?”

Davey shook his head.  “I don’t think so.  This is something else.  Keep your phone handy, in case I need you.”

With that, Davey left the room. 

He made it out of the back of the hotel without being recognized, thanks to management allowing Chasing Cross to use any and all doors (emergency or not) to access and exit the hotel.  Fans knew the band was on tour and while the big buses were long gone, all it took was a few social media posts to stir something up about the band’s location. 

When he got into his car, the urge to get to Anna as fast as possible was overwhelming.  Getting a ticket or into an accident wouldn’t solve anything sooner.  He arrived at Anna’s and parked a few spots up, just in case.  He looked around for other cars and of course there were other cars.  It was a nice neighborhood.  He tried to remember if any of the cars weren’t there the last time he was there.

But what would that prove?

There were too many variables. 

Davey sighed and looked in the backseat of the car.  He wished he brought something with him, in case Anna was serious about the money or if she was in trouble.  He looked at the house and it looked normal.  Calm.  Peaceful.

At the front door he hesitated knocking and tried to look in the windows but again he saw nothing out of the ordinary. 

He finally rang the doorbell and then started to knock.

“Anna?  Can I come in?”

He heard shuffling and then Anna’s voice. 

“Leave the bag and go,” her voice said.

She sounded weak and afraid.

“The bag is on the porch,” Davey said.  “I just need to see you, for a second even.”

“No.  Go away, Davey.”

Davey rang the doorbell again.  He knocked again.  He thought about kicking the door then he remembered Anna saying it was her grandparents house.  He didn’t want to damage the house, unless he really had to.

“Please, Anna,” Davey said.  “I don’t feel comfortable leaving money on the porch like this.  Someone could steal it.”

“Davey...”

“Listen, Anna, I know you have debts.  The ten grand won’t cover them.  So I put more in the bag.  But I need to see you and hand you the bag.  I won’t come in.”

Davey pressed his ear to the door and heard the sound of more shuffling.  It sounded like two bodies rubbing together, perhaps forcefully.

He prepared himself as he heard Anna turn the lock on the door.

“Thank you,” he said.

The door opened a sliver and when Davey saw the look coming from Anna’s crystal blue eyes, he felt every emotion come to him.  Her eyes were beautiful, bright, and innocent, yet they had red circles around them.  Fear poured from her.

“Give me the money,” she said, her tone robotic.

“Sure, Anna,” Davey said.

He nodded then shook his head, wanting Anna to say something.

She shook her head and mouthed something that would change Davey’s life forever.

Eddie.

Davey kicked the door, knowing it would knock Anna down.  She fell to the floor and screamed as Davey jumped over her.  He looked left and as he looked right, he saw Eddie coming at him.  He spun and managed to get out of the way. 

Eddie wasn’t taller than Davey but he was thicker.  Born with natural muscle, he held his size, but when he turned and looked at Eddie, he could see how terrible he looked.  A man strung out on drugs, desperate for what he believed was going to be his last fix.  His eyes were deep, almost hollow. 

“Get the fuck out of here,” Davey said.

“Davey, don’t,” Anna said.

“Shut up!” Eddie cried.

He produced a knife and pointed it at Davey, then at Anna.  He took a step towards Anna and Davey charged again.  His mind told him it was a stupid move but his heart knew no boundary for Anna and her life. 

Davey tackled Eddie to the ground but couldn’t locate the knife. 

The two men scuffled and threw punches that didn’t connect with much of anything.  Eddie forced himself on top of Davey, growling, his mouth literally foaming, his face becoming that of a killer.

“Where’s the fucking money?” Eddie asked.  “Give me the money and I’ll leave.”

Davey grunted and threw his right elbow, connecting with Eddie’s jaw.  His head snapped back and he reached for his face.  Davey threw a hard left, hitting Eddie’s nose, causing it to explode.  Eddie fell to the floor.  Davey looked for Anna who remained in the same spot, in shock.

“Where’s the knife?” Davey asked.  “Anna?”

Anna looked at Davey but she wasn’t fully there.  He could see the look in Anna’s eyes, that hopeless look of death and fear.

Davey swung his foot but Eddie caught him.  He twisted Davey’s ankle, sending a wicked pain through Davey’s entire body.  He didn’t want to fall but he couldn’t control it as he went down.  Eddie clawed at him, acting crazy.  Davey realized then that maybe Eddie was high as a kite.  He kicked Eddie a few times, knocking him away. 

As Davey climbed to his feet, he saw the knife on the floor.  He was too far away to get to it and Eddie was already there. 

“Shit,” he whispered.

Davey reached for Anna and helped her up.

“I didn’t want to,” Anna said.  “He made me call you...”

“Call the police,” Davey said.  “Now.”

Davey started to turn and felt and intense pain in his shoulder.  When he spun, he saw the bloody blade in Eddie’s hand.  His eyes went wide and as Eddie started to swing again, Davey put his hand up just in time to block it.  But Eddie moved with a sickening speed.  He was a man who had nothing against stabbing someone.  The knife came at Davey again with Anna screaming in the background.  It punctured the right side of Davey’s chest.  He looked at the knife and screamed. 

Eddie laughed and Davey swung his left hand, colliding with Eddie’s face.  Eddie stumbled back, pulling the knife out.  He turned and all Davey could see was the horrific image in his mind of Eddie killing Anna.  All the pain in Davey’s body rested for a minute, long enough for him to tackle Eddie one more time. 

As they fell, he heard the thud of Eddie’s head hitting the coffee table. 

Then everything fell silent.

Deadly silent.

He rolled to his back and turned his head.  Eddie was out cold.  He looked for Anna and then heard her yelling into the phone.  Everything started to throb and blur around him.  Taking breaths started to hurt.  Davey tried to roll to his left, wanting to get to Anna but she was already there. 

On her knees.

“It’s okay,” she said.  “Help is coming...”

“Anna,” Davey whispered, “did you mean...”

“Nothing,” Anna said.  “He made me say everything.  Davey, I think I’m falling in love with you.”

Davey tried to lift his right arm but felt nothing but surging pain.  He groaned and moved to his back. 

“I love you, Anna,” he said. 

He closed his eyes, telling himself if was only for a minute, just to get the pain to go away, but his eyes wouldn’t open again for a long time.

(21)

Anna held the car keys in her hand, still shaking each time she looked at the floor.   The blood had long since been cleaned up, the hardwood floors of her dream house looked as beautiful as ever, but the haunting ghosts of what occurred could still be heard in her mind.