A Sound Like Hope (Fallen Tuesday #3) (4 page)

“
You
mean someone else to take care of him,
”
Emily said. She sat at a stop sign, gripping the wheel tight with one hand,
trying to keep herself together.

“
No,
I didn
’
t say that.
”

“
That
’
s what you mean though,
”
Emily said.
“
I can
’
t do it on my own. He doesn
’
t listen to me or respect me. So bring in help.
”

“
Look,
I know this is hard for you,
”
Tim said.
“
But this might
be best for Nicholas. He
’
ll
be paired with someone who has had a tough life, like him. There
’
s a sense of understanding, you
know?
”

“
Yeah,
”
Emily said.
“
If that helps, sure.
”

“
It
’
s something to think about. I
have to meet with the other lawyer and the judge. I
’
m hoping nobody will have to come to court and turn
this into a big fiasco. It should just be paperwork and promises.
”

“
Promises?
”
Emily asked.

“
If
it doesn
’
t work out, then I
’
m afraid there will be nothing
more I can do. Nicholas might have to
…”

“
I
have to go,
”
Emily said.

Tears filled her eyes as she ended
the call. There she sat at a four way intersection. That is what her life had
become. A four way intersection, with every path available and no idea where to
go.

*

The room was filled with tension
and Jake had yet to arrive. Trent stood, playing some songs on his bass as a
way to keep his mind and body distracted. Jake
’
s
absence only made things worse. Trent wondered if Jake was with Chloe, getting
sucked back into her web of lies because of her pretty eyes and outgoing,
willing attitude.

“
Where
the hell is he?
”
Mack asked
as he stood behind his drum kit.
“
This
is a waste.
”

Everyone looked at Trent.
“
I
’
ve
got nothing to say. I wanted to come back here, play some tunes, meet with
Frank, get on the radio, and sort this shit out. Time to move forward.
”

“
Christ,
”
Gray said.
“
What a disaster.
”

Trent hit a few notes and then
turned the volume on the bass down. He leaned back against his tall stack of
speakers and folded his arms.
“
Hey,
Gray, how
’
s your brother
doing?
”

Gray took his guitar off and
slipped his hands into his pockets.
“
Good,
from what I hear. He writes a lot. It's strange for me. I
’
m used to him either calling or
disappearing.
”

“
So
he
’
s sticking everything
out?
”

“
Has
no choice,
”
Gray said.
“
Ending up in a coma from an
overdose is sure to scare a person, right?
”

“
I
’
d hope so,
”
Trent said.

“
Can
we call Frank?
”
Mack asked.

“
You
want to call Frank?
”
Luke
looked shocked.

“
Maybe
he
’
s with Jake. Maybe he
…”

Just then, Jake walked in. He let
the door shut behind him before he put his guitar case down. He looked around
and folded his arms.

“
What?
”
he asked.

“
Bro,
we
’
ve been waiting,
”
Gray said.
“
We wanted to get a little
recording done before we meet with Frank.
”

“
Meet
with Frank about what?
”
Jake asked.

Trent pushed from the speakers.
“
I need to talk to him. We have
to get on another radio show.
”

Jake scoffed.
“
You weren
’
t there, man. That last show sucked for us.
”

“
Yeah,
I heard. I take the blame for that.
”

“
Good
to know.
”
Jake bent and
opened his guitar case. He pulled out his guitar and put the strap over his
head. He went to his amp, plugged in, and started to tune up.

“
So
that
’
s where we leave
everything?
”
Trent asked.

Jake looked at him.
“
Leave what?
”

“
Seriously?
”

“
Hey,
let
’
s just play,
”
Mack said.

“
I
agree,
”
Jake said as he
stared at Trent. He turned off his guitar tuner and hit an open chord with tons
of gain and sound.

Trent smiled. Jake was a damn
prick. Nothing more and nothing less. In the band, it worked. When he and Trent
could put the past behind them, they came up with some of the best Fallen
Tuesday riffs and ideas. But right now, staring at each other, Trent felt more
apt to take his bass off and swing it at the smug look on Jake
’
s face.

Luke stepped to the microphone and
Gray strummed on his guitar. When Mack started to kick at his bass drum, there
was finally enough noise to silence the raging voice in Trent
’
s mind, but that didn
’
t mean he could look away from
Jake and not think thoughts that should have been in the past.

Trent had stood just like this,
staring at Jake, so many times, wondering when Jake and Chloe last slept
together. Trent didn't want a girl to come between the band, so when Jake
showed interest in Chloe, Trent let her go. It stung to see them kiss and know
that they were hooking up before and after practice. One night, Trent crossed a
line, just to prove to himself that he could get her back if he wanted, and it
had been his biggest regret since.

“
Count
us,
”
Luke said to Mack.

Mack hit the sticks together four
times and the band began to play.

It was musical perfection as the
guitars came together and the drums pounded. Trent
’
s bass was the chunky rhythm behind it all. This
was power. This was what the fans wanted. When it came time for Luke to sing,
it all came together. There was no one like Fallen Tuesday right now and Trent
was painfully aware of how fast those moments could come and go.

After running through that first
song, Trent was sweating from his heart racing. The second the song ended, Luke
looked back and gave a thumbs up. Everyone looked at each other, smiling. Even
Jake and Trent. Out of respect.

“
One
more,
”
Mack called out.

“
Do
it,
”
Luke said.

Just like that, Gray started
playing the loud riff to a new Fallen Tuesday song. It took Trent a second to
remember what to play, but the band played the song with ease and when it
ended, Mack jumped up from the drums.

“
We
need to get back on the road,
”
he announced.
“
Seriously.
”

“
Calm
down, man,
”
Gray said.
“
We have to finish the album.
”

“
We
will,
”
Mack said.
“
On breaks from touring. That
’
s what we have missing right now.
When Luke got sick, we just cancelled everything. It
’
s like we left something out there."

“
I
agree,
”
Jake said.
“
I
’
m
ready to tour.
”

“
My
voice is fine now,
”
Luke
said.
“
But Gray is right.
We have to play this carefully. We
’
re
not just some small band anymore, guys. Everything we do and say is
…”

Luke looked at Trent and Trent took
his bass off.
“
Yeah, we get
it. Everyone knows everyone
’
s
business.
”

“
I
wasn
’
t saying a thing,
”
Luke said.

“
Sure
you were,
”
Trent said.

Trent was stopped by Gray.
“
Come on, man. Don
’
t let all this get the best of
you. Not here, not now.
”

“
Let
’
s just quit while we
’
re ahead,
”
Luke said.
“
Take
a breather and get Frank here. Why don
’
t
we all meet down at the soundstage in a little while? We can practice a little
more, jam out for a couple hours, maybe even write a new song or two.
”

“
I
’
m good with that,
”
Gray said. He kept his eyes on
Trent.
“
You?
”

“
I
like that,
”
Trent replied.

They packed up the gear they could
take with them. The big items like Mack
’
s
drums and the stacks of speakers and amps all stayed in the studio. The band
had the studio rented out as long as they needed. The soundstage had another
setup with their equipment. It was one of the many perks of finally making it
big. Money bought a lot of cool things, but the coolest was the ability to have
so many instruments that they could play music whenever they wanted to.

In the early days of the band, they
all had one guitar or one bass or one set of drumsticks. Mack used to tape a
broken drumstick together until he could afford to buy a new set. Hell, it was
being poor and breaking a couple strings that made Trent into the bassist he
was for Fallen Tuesday.

The studio cleared out except for
Trent and Jake. When Trent realized they were the only two in the room, he
laughed and shook his head.

“
Do
you think they did this on purpose to us?
”
he asked Jake.

Jake rolled up a couple cords and
placed them on an amp.
“
I
don
’
t know, man. I don
’
t really care right now either.
”

Being alone with Jake was always
uncomfortable, but music usually made things easier. Unfortunately, there was
no music to be made right now. Instead, there was the past to dig up and Trent
knew there was no avoiding it.

“
For
the record, I had no idea she was coming back around,
”
Jake said.
“
I
’
m pissed off.
”

“
Yeah,
you really seem it,
”
Trent
said.
“
She make you run
late today?
”

Jake smiled.
“
My personal business is mine.
”

“
Yeah.
Well, my personal business has been played out across the internet, radio, and
television. Yet nobody knows the real story.
”

“
Is
there where I
’
m supposed to
ask about the real story?
”
Jake asked.

“
No.
You don
’
t care, remember?
”

Jake stiffened and folded his arms.
“
Look, Trent, I don
’
t know where we are supposed to
go in all this. I thought it was long gone, man, but I guess it
’
s not.
”

“
You
don
’
t get what I did,
”
Trent said.
“
For you. For her. For the band.
”

“
That
’
s right,
”
Jake said.
“
I
forgot
…
we have
Trent
the hero
in the band.
”

Trent stepped toward Jake. They
were alone. Anything could happen. Maybe the two of them needed to work this out
like men. Or maybe the right thing to do was to talk and walk away, but right
now, the former seemed like the better choice.

Before he could act on his anger,
Mack was there to stop anything from happening.

“
Holy
hell,
”
he said.
“
You two need to cut this shit
out. We
’
re leaving. Both of
you get out of here before you do something stupid and hurt the band.
”

“
The
only one doing something stupid right now is Jake,
”
Trent said.

“
If
you have something to say,
”
Jake said,
“
then just come
out and say it.
”

“
Or
don
’
t,
”
Mack said. He was big enough to
drag both Trent and Jake out of the room if necessary.