Higher Octave (Heavy Influence #2.5) (7 page)

I stood in the middle of
the kitchen, looking at the glasswares that sat in the dish rack,
the sun’s reflection on them bouncing light all around. The vase on
the counter was filled with red roses I’d not noticed
before.
Notting
. A
loaf of bread sat opened in front of the toaster, and I walked over
to it and twisted it closed, tying it off. I’d left it
opened.

It made me wonder where Notting and my mom
were. It looked as if they didn’t even set foot into the kitchen
all day. Only my mess was visible; nothing of theirs. I was
curious. Did they leave it like that on purpose? Where they tired
of picking up after me? I chucked ruefully. I’m sure they were.
Come to think of it, I hadn’t picked up after myself, ever. I
always had someone picking up behind me. First my mom, then hired
hands. They were probably finally sick of it. I stepped to the
dishwasher and opened it. There was nothing inside. I rinsed my
coffee cup and the plate I’d used, and put them in the dishwasher.
I then followed up by wiping down the counters.

I had to move out. I had to get my own place
if I was going to stay in LA.

My room was still my room, sort of. All the
furniture was the same, minus the personal touches: the posters,
books, guitars, cords, desktop computer and…the pictures of Aly. I
stood staring at the shelf where her framed images used to exist
and emptiness gutted through me. I missed her.

I stared at the door at the other end of the
room, the door that led to the backyard. The door that Aly would
sneak through when we were just teenagers. I walked to it, opening
it, and dirt and debris scattered into the room. No one had opened
the door in years. I walked out past the hot tub, toward the back
fence, where the gate was: the gate that Aly would use to get into
my backyard. The gate that our parents built together so us kids
could roam between houses when we were little. I turned, staring up
at Aly’s house, and wished she were inside of it. I would have sent
her a text to come over via our secret path, long forgotten by our
parents.

I itched to send Aly a message, or to call
her, to hear her voice. Those thoughts reminded me of the text I
sent to Sienna, who never replied. I stalked back into my room and
called Marty.

“Jake?” he answered, surprised to hear from
me. I looked at the clock. Oops, it was late for him. He sounded
groggy.

“Yeah. Sorry man, did I wake you?”

“No. Just watching TV.”

I paced the room. “I have something I need
you to look into.”

I explained to Marty about my interview with
Glen and Sienna’s book deal. I wanted him to find out exactly what
was going on with her. I told him she lived in Miami and I gave him
her address.

“Do you want me to fly there? Is that what
you’re asking?”

I wasn’t sure. “Um. Do you want to?” I
scratched my head. “No, that would be out of line. Don’t you
think?” I kind of wanted him to.

“Jake, I don’t know about that. Showing up
unannounced and then grilling her about her life? She didn’t tell
you because she wants to be left alone, is my guess.”

My stomach sank, and I sighed. “Marty,
Sienna and had an affair.”

There was silence, and my heart raced at my
direct admission.

“I’m not surprised to hear that,” he replied
flatly.

Ouch.
“Was it obvious?”

“You guys were pretty close there. I’m just
not surprised, that’s all.”

I laid back on my bed, raking my free hand
down my face. “I don’t know what happened. I knew it was wrong and
so did she, but we couldn’t help ourselves.” I closed my eyes,
suddenly feeling tired. “I’ve done some pretty shitty things,
Marty, but you know that. I’m sure when the masses find out it was
all true, they won’t be surprised either.”

“Aly might not ever speak to you again. For
real this time.” His voice was gravely.

“She knows.” I wanted to sleep. I grew
weaker with each confession. “That’s why she’s not speaking to me
now. That’s probably why she’s choosing to marry Nathan, because
I’m a fucking scumbag.”

Marty and I discussed the Sienna situation a
bit more, and I told him to contact Mr. Todd. First, to try banging
on his door, and if he couldn’t get him that way, to leave him a
note with one of the doormen. David Todd would know exactly who to
contact to get dirt.

7

Little pink flowers budded
on the tree limbs over my head as I sat on a cement park bench,
down the street from the house I’d just rented, waiting for Gabe to
drop off the keys to me. I’d taken the jaunt down the hill from my
mom’s to grab some coffee, and didn’t really feel like walking
back. I needed to clear my head. Bobby and I’d been stuck in the
studio, recording song after song, and we’d finally finished nearly
two weeks later. I’d stood in front of the house on
16
^th
Street, proud of my choice. A two-story contemporary home with
dark wood accents, high ceilings and a hot tub; clean lines and no
fluff, just as I liked it. The only things that were missing were
the canvases of Aly. I’d contemplated having Marty send them, but I
just didn’t know how long I’d be there.

The home was fully
furnished. All I had to do was grab my shit from my mom’s and move
in. I was stoked to have a place of my own, finally, though my
mother didn’t see it that way, since I’d be leaving on tour again
at some point –
“Why waste the money? How
much are you spending anyway? It’s got to be upwards of at least
eight thousand a month. It’s ridiculous for you to spend
that.”

It was also ridiculous for me to have bought
a place in New York across from Central Park and to be paying for
it without having set foot in it for over three years. I shrugged
at the thought as I sipped my coffee, making my way over to the
park.

The location was perfect.
Close enough to walk to downtown Manhattan Beach, with its grocery
store, bars, restaurants and clothing stores. Everything I needed
was within easy walking distance from my new home. My mom’s was
just a little too out of the way, up and down a couple of hills. I
didn’t need to be living with my
mommy
. I wouldn’t need Gabe or her to
drive me around on bullshit errands. The highlight was that most
people would leave me alone – there were no paparazzi in Manhattan
Beach.

A screaming child and laughter caught my
attention on the nearby playground, and I glanced over to see what
all the shouting was about. Boys teasing and roughhousing, innocent
laughter echoing all around from the children at play. I scanned
the gated area, and my heart lurched into my throat when I saw
Grace. I sunk into the bench, turning away, wondering if she saw me
too. I never did call her; I wanted to, but I thought better of it.
Reasoning with myself that I was too busy, that Gabe was right. I
was no good for her. I snuck another look. Now, there she was
again, tempting me. She was smiling and talking with some other
woman, totally oblivious of my regard for her. I glanced around the
street, looking for Gabe’s car and looked at the time. It was 11:30
AM. He’d be pulling up any moment. When he did, I jumped into the
car as quickly and stealthily as I could.

He looked at me strangely, cockeyed. “Is
everything okay?”

“Yeah, why?”

His eyes bounced between mine. “I don’t
know, you’re out of breath and acting like you’re hiding from
someone.”

I laughed it off. “Nah, I was just up at the
house, staring at it, and lost track of time.”

“I would have met you there…”

“No it’s okay. I wanted to get some
exercise. Been sittin’ too long. I forgot what the sun feels
like.”

Gabe lifted his hand, dangling a set of keys
between his fingers. “Here you go. Tracey said to let her know if
there’s anything else she can do.” Tracey was the realtor who’d
found the place for me.

I smiled as I squeezed them in my palm.
“Thanks, man.”

“You want me to drive you over?”

I hedged. I wanted to see
Grace and I didn’t want her to leave the park. “I’m gonna walk down
to say hello to some friends while I have it in me.”
Not a lie.

He nodded. “Okay, then.”

I watched as Gabe drove
away and turned, walking toward the playground. I at least owed
Grace the reason why I hadn’t called; it’s not like I would be
lying. With my coffee cup in hand, I’d decided I’d use it as my
excuse to be
walking by
. The closer I got, the more my nerves took hold, and the more
beautiful she became. Her long black hair blew around in the
breeze, and she had an easy smile on her face as she pointed and
conversed with whom I assumed was her son. He had the same dark
hair and bright eyes as she did.

I smiled and waved, trying to get her
attention. Finally, a blonde woman pointed at me, getting Grace to
look in my direction. She lit up like a siren as soon as she
realized who I was and waved. My stomach tumbled with furor. I was
stoked she was happy to see me. I unlatched the green gate and
ambled toward her. The other moms were openly captivated about what
was about to go down, whispering between each other, trying not be
obvious.

These mothers weren’t the
kind you’d put a mom label on, at least in my opinion. These three
ladies all looked like they belonged on
The Housewives of Beverly Hills
. They
were all attractive in their own right, fit and color-coordinated
in their workout gear. Grace wasn’t wearing tight-fitting spandex,
like the other moms. She wore a flowing, calf-length, teal and
white patterned dress. Her slender shoulders and arms had more of a
tan than the last time I saw her. She was obviously getting out
more.

“What are you doing here?” She beamed.

“Just walkin’ by.” I held up my coffee cup
and pointed up the hill. “I just rented a place right over
there.”

“Really?” Grace said, surprised.

The Moms whispered to each other, and I
smiled in amusement, wondering what they were saying. By the sly
looks on their faces, they’d be asking Grace all sorts of questions
after I left.

“I decided to stay a while,” I shrugged,
smiling.

She looked confused for a split second, but
then gestured over to her friends, who were staring at me, still
smirking. “Jake, this is Lisa and Heather.”

“I know you,” Heather said, wagging her
finger at me. Her thick eyebrows dominated her smooth face. When
she smiled, it barely moved. “My son loves your music. I bought him
tickets to one of your concerts.”

I guessed her son must be in high school,
and I just nodded with a stupid grin on my face. I had no idea what
to say to her other than, “Sweet.”

Lisa’s giggle drew my
attention over to her. “Nice to meet
you
…Jake.” Lisa’s eyes raked over me,
making me look to Grace to steal her reaction –
was I seeing things?
Grace’s eyes
went wide, and she looked away, holding back a laugh, noticing
Lisa’s suggestive tone.

Grace cleared her throat. “It’s good to see
you.” She smiled at me sweetly and pointed to the bright blue and
green fort contraption. “I gotta get going. He has swim class.
Ethan!” she called out to her son. He peeked up over the side of
the blue bridge. “We’ve got to go. Swim time!”

“Yay! Swimming. I get to go swimming!” he
hollered to the kids around him as he slid down the yellow slide,
running in his red tennis shoes. He skidded to a halt right in
front us, looking up at me. “Who are you?”

My smile couldn’t get any bigger. “I’m
Jake.”

“I’m Ethan.” His bright eyes darted to
Grace, no longer interested in me. “Mommy, let’s go!” he tugged on
her hand, and she ruffled his black hair.

“Let me grab my bag.” She looked over at me
with a dutiful toss of her windblown hair.

“What are you doing later?”
I didn’t mean to ask her in front of her friends
or
Ethan, but I didn’t
see any other chance at getting her attention.

She looked at me cautiously, biting her lip.
“Let me grab my bag,” she repeated, evading having to answer
me.

I looked over at Ethan, who was bouncing in
anticipation over at the gate, and I walked toward him. I didn’t
want to watch what was going on between Grace and her friends.
“’Sup buddy?”

“Nothin’” He rocked on his heels, staring
down at his shoes. “My shoes are new.”

I nodded. “Are they fast?”

His head tossed upward, and his breath
caught. “How did you know?” he whispered at me with big eyes.
“Don’t tell my mom. She doesn’t like me running too fast, but I
can’t help it, it’s my shoes.”

My heart swelled at hearing
his fantasy.
Wow.

“Okay, let’s go,” Grace chimed, swinging her
oversized burlap bag over her shoulder. “I’m parked over
there.”

I unlatched the gate, and Ethan took off
running. “Don’t go too fast!” I shouted, and he slowed down. I
looked at Grace. An easy smile crossed her lips, but she didn’t
look at me, keeping her eyes on her son as he stopped at the side
of a white Lexus SUV parked at the curb. She held out her arm, keys
dangling from her hand, and clicked to open the doors as we stepped
closer.

“Get in!” she instructed happily, and Ethan
pulled at the handle.

“How old is he?”

“Four. He starts Kindergarten this
fall.”

I nodded, impressed at his maturity. “He’s
very well-spoken.”

Grace’s eyes gleamed at my compliment. “He’s
in preschool. I usually have him there every day, but today I just
wanted to spend some time with him.” She bent into the car, saying
something to Ethan that I couldn’t decipher, and then shut the
door. “It was great running into you.”