Last Song (Chasing Cross Book Five) (A Brothers of Rock Novel) (rockstar contemporary romance) (4 page)

BOOK: Last Song (Chasing Cross Book Five) (A Brothers of Rock Novel) (rockstar contemporary romance)
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(5)

 

Rick did his best to
simply blend in with the crowd. He stood in line wearing a black baseball cap
and black sunglasses. Thanks to not shaving for days now his black facial hair had
already grown in thick. Nobody would - or should - recognize him. Luckily, they
didn’t. If he really wanted to press the issue, he could have had security
detail with him. A private escort into the building. Hell, he could have hung
out with the rest of Chasing Cross before the show.

But he wanted to be a fan
tonight.

He wanted to be a
spectator.

He wanted to see the new
Chasing Cross. The replacement drummer.

The replacement drummer.

That’s what everything
phrased it as. The words bothered Rick but he reminded himself that he was the
one who quit the band. Without him drumming, Chasing Cross needed a
replacement. Or they could have just stopped playing all together. They could
have called off the rest of the tour and did some serious soul searching. They
could have tracked Rick down and forced him to... to what?

That was the question
that burned inside Rick.

He really didn’t know
what he wanted Johnnie, Danny, Davey, and Chris to do. He knew that Chasing
Cross was more of a business than a band right then. They were a brand, a way
to earn a very good living, but now Rick had what he wanted. A house with a
garage. The papers were signed and a moving truck had already picked up his
stuff from a storage unit and was to delivery everything by the time he got
home from the show. On top of that, a quick few phone calls had a slew of
musicians stopping by within the next few days to try out and jam with Rick.
Rick really didn’t call it a
new
band
, he just simply said he wanted to jam out and have a little
fun.

Once in the arena, Rick
began walking the concourse, looking for his section number. The first table on
the right was a Chasing Cross table. The merchandise table was packed with
people standing four deep. There was no real line and everyone stood shoulder
to shoulder, gently bumping each other as if it was the end of the world and
they wanted the last piece of bread.

Rick kept walking.

The next table was for
Fallen Tuesday. The line there was almost as big as the one for Chasing Cross.
Rick paused for a second and looked at some of the people in that line. It wasn’t
just kids and young adults, it was everyone. Hell, a lot of the people in the
Fallen Tuesday line wore Chasing Cross t-shirts. There was definitely something
to be said for that, but Rick wasn’t sure what.

He walked again and
didn’t stop until he found his seat. He climbed concrete steps for what felt
like miles upon miles until he came to the very last section of the arena.
There were only six rows in the section, he had the first row. When he looked
up, he was close enough that it appeared like he could touch the top. He sat
and put a foot up on the railing and gazed upon the stage. It was all shapes at
this point, the distance took away any real chance of seeing anything. Flags of
accomplishments set by the local sports teams hung from the arena ceiling.

On each side of the stage
and above it were large screens. Those screens would display the concert, for
fans like Rick who couldn’t see. It meant Rick would have a chance to see the
replacement drummer up close quite a few times.

Perfect.

The arena filled in and
Rick almost regretted coming. He wanted a drink. A real drink, not a nine dollar
light beer in a cheap plastic cup. He knew that backstage there were real
drinks. Lots of them, too. Drinks... women… drugs... anything a rockstar needed
could be had backstage.

When the arena was
completely full Rick started to feel agitated. Sitting around, waiting, well,
it just plain sucked. Fans did this all the time? People paid money for this?
Casually, Rick looked around him. To his right were three women, all huddled
together, all wearing brand new Chasing Cross t-shirts. At forty dollars a pop,
they were cheap but the women didn’t care. The band, the music, it was all
worth it. As Rick looked around the arena, he saw the same thing everywhere.
Fans celebrating. Fans laughing. Fans wearing Chasing Cross shirts - or Fallen
Tuesday shirts.

Then it happened.

The show began.

The lights were cut in
the arena and the crowd erupted. The cheering and swell of noise was so much that
Rick put his hands to his ears. He felt his heart racing but chose to ignore
it.

What the hell did it
matter?

He had been to a million
concerts in his life.

But never like this,
Rick. Never like this...

A voice came over the
speakers and screamed one important question.

“ARE YOU READY TO...
RRRROOOOCCCKKKKK?”

The crowd cheered even
louder.

Then came the kick of the
bass drum. The thump so powerful and so loud it shook everything inside Rick.
The second the kick happened, a light came on over the drums, revealing the
drummer for Fallen Tuesday behind his kit. He held a drumstick in the air and
continued to kick. Then came the sound of a rumbling bass, followed by a light
on the bassist. Rick knew it was just an open note, something anyone could have
played, but in the moment of the show, it was everything.

Rick took his hands from
his ears and leaned forward.

Next came the guitars,
with the first with a power chord that filled the speakers with a scream. The
second guitar came in with a bended note high up the neck that came down with a
slide filled with reverb. The effect was the sound of something crashing to the
ground. Except it was a musical note and that crashing ended with a chord that
matched the first guitar.

The final light came on
to an empty mic stand.

Rick flickered a smile.

Had something happened?

In that moment he hated
himself. Did he really just almost think - or wish - some kind of bad fate for
a band? Rick sat back and shook his head. When the mic stand came into view on
the screen, Rick noticed the actual mic was missing. He wasn’t sure if most
fans would recognize this or not.

The swelling of music
continued and just when it got to a breaking point, the lead singer of Fallen
Tuesday - Luke – appeared in front of the first row of seats. Right in the
middle of the crowd. He stood and waved his hands, bringing the crowd back to a
wild roar.

Then he started to sing.

The band started to play.

And everything was in
perfect sync.

Luke jumped the barrier
to the floor, right into the middle of the crowd on the floor, singing as he
walked and pushed his way towards the stage. It took through the first verse
and chorus to get to the stage and when Luke made it there, he climbed up,
turned around, and opened his arms.

He didn’t need to say a
thing... they were Fallen Tuesday.

Rick caught himself
shivering for a few seconds, his skin breaking out in goosebumps. What Luke had
done was a total rockstar move. Something like that brought the fans to a whole
new level. They weren’t just at the show then, they were part of the show. They
were in the middle of the show. It had nothing to do with fancy setups and
screens... it had to do with the band becoming part of the crowd and the crowd
becoming part of the band.

Rick leaned forward and
put his elbows on the railing in front of him. He hoped Chasing Cross was
watching this...

The show continued and
Luke refused to stay in one spot. The lead singer of Fallen Tuesday moved
corner to corner on the stage. He reached for the closest fans and pointed to
the ones miles away. He found the fans who had the worst seats possible and
made sure they received some love. Those who sat on the side of the stage
didn’t have the best view, but that didn’t deter the band at all. During one of
the songs, Luke got the two guitarists (Rick vaguely remembered them being
named Jake and Gary... or was it...
Gray
?)
and took them to the side stage. They stood together, playing an entire verse
so the fans on the side got a piece of the show too. That’s what made a band
huge. It was the same kind of stuff Chasing Cross did.

Fallen Tuesday played for
about an hour. When the last song came to an end, Luke told the crowd it was
their show. That they should be cheering for themselves, because they came,
they danced, they rocked out. Guitar picks, bass picks, drumsticks, and shirts
were thrown into the crowd. The band stood with their arms around each other and
took a bow. Jake patted Luke on his chest, smiling, and said something that
obviously nobody heard.

Rick knew what it was
though.

It was something about
playing with Chasing Cross.

That’s when it really hit
him that someone else was going to sit in his seat.

His seat.

His drums.

His... band...

For the next thirty
minutes Rick sat and watched as the stage was set for Chasing Cross. When the
cover was taken off the drums, the cymbals glistened from the stage lights like
they were brand new. Rick refused to believe he was jealous. No way. He wanted
this.

The stage was set and the
fans started to cheer for no reason they just began to cheer. Then came the
chanting.

Chasing Cross! Chasing
Cross! Chasing Cross!

Rick stayed huddled in
his seat, in his own hell, waiting. The lights went out and the crowd sounded
twice as loud as it did for Fallen Tuesday. The sound started, the recorded
voices of the band talking over some random music. It started with Johnnie (of
course) and went band member to band member. When Rick heard his own voice, he
shook his head.

How long was that going
to be there?

How long until Luke got
his own recording?

Better yet... how long
could Luke pull off singing and drumming?

The lights on the stage
were mostly dim but there was just enough light that when Chasing Cross took to
the stage the fans could see them. The silhouettes caused an even bigger stir.

Then came Johnnie’s
voice.

“How’s everyone doing?”
he screamed.

The crowd exploded.

Rick felt his heart ache.

He couldn’t believe he was
actually sitting in a seat at a Chasing Cross concert.

“Are we ready?” Johnnie
asked.

The voices of the rest of
the band, including Luke, all gave their answer.

Yes!

Then Johnnie asked the
crowd. “Are you ready?”

The cheered and cheered.

“I don’t know,” Johnnie
said. “Danny, what do you think?”

“They don’t seem ready,”
Danny said.

Johnnie asked again and
the crowd grew louder.

“Now that’s better...
let’s go.”

A four count from the
drumsticks sounded and just like that a Chasing Cross concert began. The first
one without Rick in the band. The music blared and sounded damn good. On the
screen, they showed Johnnie as he readied to sing. Behind Johnnie was Luke, sitting
at the kit, hitting beat after beat after beat.

Rick’s fingers tingled
and his mind raced.

It became the first time,
in years, that Rick actually realized he had a heart… and it was breaking.

 

**

 

Sarah stared at the
liquid as it danced around the bottle. She laughed and shook her head, holding
her stomach because it hurt from laughing so much. She put her hand out and
shook it, knowing that one more glass of wine would be the difference between
being Dr. Harrisey and being a hungover vet dealing with ornery cats and sick
puppies.

“Come on,” Susie teased.

“No way,” Sarah said.
“Not on a work night.”

“You had two glasses of
wine.”

“I feel like it was ten.”

Susie laughed and poured
herself another glass. Sarah put her hand down and found Molly’s head. It
wasn’t hard to find, wherever Sarah went, Molly followed. When Sarah sat on the
couch, Molly jumped up and plopped down next to her. Then the dog slowly
climbed on top of Molly. When Sarah got Molly she told herself Molly wouldn’t
be allowed on the furniture. That lasted until the first thunderstorm rolled
through and Molly whimpered. Sarah held her on the couch and that was the end
of that rule.

“You need,” Susie said
and pointed at Sarah, “to go out and have some wine with someone else.”

“Do I?” Sarah asked.

She sipped what was left
of the glass she had.

The wine was good. A
little dry and bitter, but it had an amazing taste.

“You do,” Susie said.
“Come on. You deserve it. You should find a nice man and let him spoil you.”

Sarah looked down at
Molly and the dog’s big eyes stared back.

“What do you think?”
Sarah asked.

Molly let out a long
sigh.

“See?” Susie asked.
“You’re asking dating advice from a dog. A spayed dog at that. She doesn’t get
it...”

“Oh, stop it,” Sarah
said. “Can we change the subject?”

“Why?”

“Because every time you
get drunk you try to marry me off to the first man you can think of.”

Susie scowled. She sat
down on the couch. Sarah watched with wide eyes as the wine danced along the
rim of her glass. It didn’t spill. Crisis adverted.

“Am I drunk?” Susie
asked.

“No,” Sarah said. “I’m
just messing around. But you always bring up dating.”

“Because I want you to be
happy.”

“I am happy, Susie.”

“I know you’re happy...
but you’re not happy, happy.”

“Happy, happy?” Sarah
asked.

“I don’t know how to say
it...” Susie turned towards Sarah and bent her right leg, tucking it under her
left leg. She balanced her left arm and her glass of wine on the couch. She
looked down at Molly and then to Sarah. “There’s no room here.”

“Because of Molly?”

“Molly, and you.”

BOOK: Last Song (Chasing Cross Book Five) (A Brothers of Rock Novel) (rockstar contemporary romance)
7.49Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
ads

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