Love Evolution

Love Evolution

By

Michelle Mankin

Copyright © 2012 by Michelle Mankin

Cover design by Larry Hill

Cover photo by Rhonda Robbins

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be produced in any form or by electronic or mechanical means, including informational storage and retrieval systems-except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews-without permission in writing from the author.

The characters and events portrayed in this book are fictitious or are used fictitiously. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead is purely coincidental and not intended by the author.

Dedication:  To all the rock ‘n roll musicians whose creative talents give depth, color, and volume to our lives…

Evolution (
ev
’
e-loo
’
shen
) n.
 
Gradual process in which something changes into a different and usually more complex or better form.

Prologue

Avery tucked her well-worn journal back into the front pocket of her low slung skinny jeans. Once painted on, they were noticeably loose now. She opened her hand, and the fistful of dirt she held trickled through her fingers, falling like a macabre drizzle onto the wooden coffin below. She stared with unseeing eyes down into the grave, deadly still, as images of Justin drifted through her mind like a movie reel. 

She was a haunting vision on that windy fall day. Her striking, long, copper- streaked hair swirled around her shoulders like gossamer tendrils around a ghostly apparition. Her head was bowed, chin almost touching her chest. Tears streamed down her pale freckled cheeks, over her full lips, and down her chin, landing silently on the front of her gray t-shirt. She wondered what she was going to do without him. Squeezing her eyes shut in agony,
she turned,
a solitary figure leaving behind the graveside of her twin brother.

CHAPTER 1 

Justin
’
s death devastated Avery, for with him went not only the person she loved most in the world, but also her plans for the future. Everything revolved around their music. She had no other marketable skills. She didn
’
t even have a high school diploma. T
he two of them had left home
together before they could graduate. Without Justin there was no band and no way forward that she could see.

Since the funeral, Avery had been down the same worn path in her head too many times to count. She couldn
’
t make money appear out of thin air, no matter how much she wanted to. All but a meager portion of her savings had been used up on memorial expenses for her brother.  She had no regrets, though, needing the closure the small private service had provided.

Avery would never forget the day Campanella
’
s guy came to visit. She had been at Club Indigo warming up. Justin was late. That wasn
’
t like him. Justin was a lot of things but he was never late to rehearsal and that worried her. 

“
Avery Jones?
”

She looked up with a sinking feeling in her stomach.
“
Yes, what
’
s going on?
”
Nervously, she twisted her shirt cuff in her hand. She didn
’
t know this guy. He gave her the creeps with his dark ball cap shadowing his face and a black trench coat concealing who knows what.

The man glanced around the room. Satisfied that they were alone, he said indifferently,
“
Mr. Campanella sent me to tell you your brother
’
s dead.
”

Avery felt like someone had just punched her in the stomach. Her head swam. She felt like she couldn
’
t catch her breath.
“
What?
”
she managed to ask.
“
No! He can
’
t be dead! I just saw him this morning. I don
’
t believe you.
”

He shrugged.
“
What did he think was going to happen when he started fooling around with the boss
’
girl?
”

“
Show me!  Take me to him!
”

He shook his head.
“
What do I look like, I
’
m stupid or something? Where he is, no one
’
s going to find him. Not you, not anybody. The best thing you can do is forget about him. By the way,
Mr. Campanella expects you to make good on your brother
’
s debt to him. He expects to have his money in three weeks. We
’
ll be in touch.
”

As he exited the club, Avery sank to her knees, her body wracked with sobs. She was rocking back and forth on the floor, practically incoherent, when the owner of Club Indigo found her. Frank immediately called her roommate, Jeff, who came and took her home.

As the days passed the grim reality of Justin
’
s death began to set in, and Avery sank deeper and deeper into a quagmire of despair. It was a hopeless situation without any remedy. Campanella
’
s thug had been right, they would probably never find Justin
’
s body, and she would probably never know the exact details of his murder. The police didn
’
t care about missing drug addicts and because Campanella
’
s influence was rumored to extend all the way to the NYPD, Avery couldn
’
t go to them to press charges. Jeff eventually convinced her to go with a suicide cover story.
“
Avery,
”
he cautioned,
“
you can
’
t go around telling people your brother got knocked off by the mob. It
’
s just too dangerous.
”

The memories made her head pound like a bass drum. It always did when she dwelled too long on the difficult spot she was in. Inevitably, she careened into an emotional tailspin. Unable to focus, she pulled out her guitar, taking another musical time out from the harsh reality her life had become.

*****

As he climbed the last flight of stairs to Avery
’
s fourth floor walk-up apartment, Trevor Barnes brushed aside
the
unruly lock of hair that always fell into his eyes. With his wire rimmed glasses, he looked a lot like a middle
-
aged absent minded college professor. As Avery
’
s agent he
’
d been negotiating with Seattle
’
s RDA Records on the twins
’
behalf when he heard the unfortunate news of Justin
’
s death. Just like that, the deal memo had been withdrawn.
‘
Such wasted potential,
’
he thought. Because of his fondness for Avery, he had worked tirelessly to
curtail
his long list of appointments so he could head back to New York ahead of schedule.

Trevor knocked on the door. One of her roommates, the tall skinny one named Jeff, opened the door to let him in.
“
How is she?
”
Trevor asked.

“
Better than she has been, I think. She was a total basket case at first. Now she
’
ll at least come out and eat something when we bug her. She spends almost every day back there in her room. 
All we hear is the wailing of the guitar or the slapping of her jump rope against the floor. It
’
s starting to freak me out.
”

Trevor shook his head, brow furrowing with worry.
“
Ok. I
’
ll try to talk to her.
”
Clapping Jeff on the shoulder, he headed back to the bedroom she and Justin had shared. He couldn
’
t even see her at first because the light was so dim. He switched on the overhead light and entered the small windowless room.
“
Hey kid, how are you?
”

She sat cross legged on the unmade bed, blinking her eyes to adjust to the light. Glancing up at him, she looked nothing at all like the Avery he knew. She
’
d haphazardly pulled back her hair with one of those
scrunchy
things girls use, and it appeared as if she hadn
’
t washed it in days. Her pale face was blotchy from crying, and she had dark circles under her expressive emerald eyes. 

Avery reminded Trevor of her twin. She had the exact same green eyes. The facial features were similar, too. Only in her, the overall lines were softer and more feminine. Together they had been a dynamic musical team with Justin
’
s deep and melodic voice a perfect foil to Avery
’
s sweet and sultry one. His steady acoustic rhythm work had provided a perfect contrast to Avery
’
s chaotic electric guitar riffs.

Trevor deeply regretted being absent when Avery had needed him most. He had gone on
this
trip thinking everything was going so well for them. Sure
,
he had been worried about Justin
’
s drug use, but it wasn
’
t something he hadn
’
t seen before. In retrospect, he kicked himself for minimizing it, wishing he
’
d insisted on Justin
’
s getting help.

Even though he successfully represented other groups, the two of them had always been the ones closest to his heart. He loved the way Justin had protected and looked out for his sister.   Avery
’
s vulnerability brought out that kind of protective instinct in everyone who knew her, including Trevor. He planned to use every resource at his management company as well as his contacts in the industry to help her, but first he had to get her out of this room.

Trevor carefully moved aside all the pictures of Justin that were scattered on the bed. Sitting down, he put his arm around her and drew her to his side. He wanted to reassure her with his presence, as well as with his words. Her body felt so fragile and defenseless.
“
Come on, Avery. You need to get some fresh air. Justin wouldn
’
t have wanted you to fall apart like this. We
’
re going out to get you something to eat. Then we are going to start making plans for you- plans that would have made your brother proud.
”

*****

Later that week, after an exhaustive search, Trevor finally had a lead for Avery with Stephen Adams, a friend from his Sony days. Stephen currently managed Brutal Strength, a mega rock group with multiple hit singles and several platinum records already under their belt. They were going through a rebuilding phase following the recent rehab of their lead singer, Marcus Anthony, and the subsequent departure of their longtime guitarist, Keith Smith. Word was they were having a difficult time replacing Keith because he
’
d told everyone Marcus was impossible to work with. Trevor hoped to pull some strings to get Avery a tryout with them.

“
Stephen, hey, yeah, it
’
s Trevor Barnes. Long time
,
I know. How are things in Vancouver? 
Great.
We need to get together and catch up. Yeah, I heard about that. That
’
s why I was calling. I think we might be able to help each other out. I have a client who I think might be a real good fit for your group.
She
…
what?
Hey,
you're
breaking up. Where are you?
Lion
’
s
Gate Bridge, that figures. The
kid
’
s
name is Avery. She... shit! You
’
re breaking up again. I said Avery Jones
...
huh?
Nineteen, I know that
’
s a little younger than you
’
re looking for. It could be a good fit for the band- expand their appeal to a younger fan base. I can
’
t hear you again. Sorry. It might be my cell phone. I hate the reception on this thing. OK, I
’
ll send over a demo. See you Wednesday at Black Cat Records.
”

Trevor booked the flight as soon as he got off the phone with Stephen.