A Sound Like Hope (Fallen Tuesday #3) (6 page)

“
Tell
me about it. I want nothing to do with it, which is why I was outside in the
car. I took myself out of that situation.
”

Frank patted Trent on the back.
“
Well it isn
’
t going to just disappear, or so
it seems. What do you and him need to do to hash it out?
”

Trent smiled.
“
Go back in time and not sleep
with the same woman.
”

“
Damn,
”
Frank said.
“
I don
’
t think we can arrange that.
”

“
Then
we just remain as is,
”
Trent said. He looked at Frank again.
“
I
really to want to get out there with the band. Show my face. Let the fans hear
my voice. This rehab story, and all the others, need to die out.
”

“
They
will, with time. Like I said.
”

“
Just
see what you can pull together for me,
”
Trent said.

“
Will
do.
”

Luke jumped from the stage and
looked at Frank and Trent.
“
Am
I interrupting?
”

“
Nope,
”
Frank said.
“
Just talking music. Touring. The
band.
”

“
Touring,
”
Mack said as he and Jake came off
the stage.

Gray followed suit and now it was
the entire band and Frank talking.

“
I
’
m ready,
”
Luke said.
“
The
recording sessions are going great. My voice is perfect.
”

“
No
complaints here,
”
Mack
said.
“
I love the road.
Keeps me sane.
”

“
We
need to get this album done,
”
Frank said.
“
The record company
is down my throat for obvious reasons. It
’
ll
be good to tell them I was with you guys and how awesome you sound.
”

“
Why
don
’
t we take a picture?
”
Luke asked.
“
Throw it up online.
”

“
Really?
”
Mack asked.
“
We
’
re
one of those bands?
”

“
Of
course,
”
Trent said and
stood up.
“
Let's show the
fans we
’
re jamming and
smiling.
”

“
Get
together,
”
Frank said.

Luke, Gray, and Mack lined up. It
left Jake and Trent on the end. Trent smiled and shook his head as he put his
arm around Jake. Frank took the picture and gave Luke his cell phone back.

“
Let
’
s go celebrate a little,
”
Gray said.
“
Dinner and drinks. Have a little
fun.
”

“
I
could use a drink,
”
Jake
said.

“
As
long as it
’
s the band,
”
Trent said.

“
Worried
about a visitor?
”
Jake
asked.

“
Christ,
”
Mack said.
“
You two again? I swear, we
should just clear out the room and let you two have at it.
”

“
Hey,
Gray,
”
Jake said,
“
is Carina invited tonight? What
about Amy, Luke?
”

“
Don
’
t go down that road,
”
Trent said.
“
You
’
re picking a fight, man.
”

“
If
I wanted a fight, I
’
d have
one,
”
Jake said.

“
Is
that so?
”

Trent faced Jake. Trent wanted to
take that first shot so bad to see where it would go. All those years of
standing there with the lingering tension. A little fight could solve
everything.

But, again, before he could do a
thing, he felt someone grab his wrists and put them behind his back.

“
Not
now,
”
Mack said.

“
Let
me go, man,
”
Trent said.

“
Yeah,
let him go,
”
Jake said.

“
Come
on, guys,
”
Luke said.
“
This is bullshit.
”

“
Remember,
Jake, he
’
s holding me back,
”
Trent said.
“
Take your free shot if you want.
”

“
I
’
m good,
”
Jake said.
“
I
should get going. I have a phone call to make. See what
her
plans are."

Trent ripped his hands free. Mack wrapped
his arms around him, but Trent threw an elbow and broke free. He was then chest
to chest with Jake.

“
Break
that up,
”
Frank ordered.

Mack grabbed Trent by the shoulder
and spun him around.
“
Can
you control yourself?
”

Trent had his lip curled.
“
It
’
s
all good.
”

“
There
’
s no women tonight,
”
Luke yelled.
“
Okay? It
’
s our night out. At least I think so. Damnit.
”

Luke walked to the stage and kicked
over a mic stand.

Trent looked around and put his
hands to his hips.
“
Look, I
’
m sorry. This is stupid. It
’
s all stupid.
”

“
Then
work it out,
”
Gray said.

“
One
thing I swear,
”
Mack said,
“
this band won
’
t break up because of a woman. I
’
d sooner see one of you go down
to drugs
…
oh, shit, Gray.
Sorry.
”

“
I
get it,
”
Gray said.
“
This shit just has to stop. And
now.
”

“
Fine,
”
Trent said.
“
It
’
s
done. I
’
m done. Jake, you
do what you have to do. I just don
’
t
want any of us to go back down that road. That
’
s
all. I don
’
t want her to be
at practice. Or out with us. That
’
s
at least the respect you could give me, man.
”

“
Fair
enough,
”
Jake said.
“
You don
’
t even know where I
’
m
at with this myself.
”

Trent swallowed a ton of pride in
that moment and offered his hand to Jake. Jake looked at Trent
’
s hand and then around the room.
Everyone nodded, waiting.

Jake took Trent
’
s hand.

“
It
’
s done,
”
Jake said, shaking Trent's hand.
“
Fine with me.
”

“
Now
let me buy you a drink and you can tell me where you
’
re at with all this,
”
Trent said.

“
To
hell with that,
”
Mack said.
“
Drinks are on me tonight.
All night. All drinks. Now let
’
s
get the hell out of here.
”

“
Let
me get on the line with someone to drive you around,
”
Frank said.

“
Rockstars,
”
Mack said and laughed.

Trent smiled. It was still a lot to
take on, but he knew one thing. A couple drinks would definitely help to take
the edge off.

(5)

Emily finished cleaning up from
dinner and set the dishwasher. There was a built in timer and she set it to
start in six hours. It would run overnight and she would wake to clean dishes. It
was the closest thing to a fairytale Emily had in her life. She cleaned the
table and then walked up stairs to check on Nicholas.

She knocked on the door and waited
for him to respond.

It felt strange knocking on a ten
year old
’
s door like this.
Emily felt like she should be able to just walk into the damn room. It was her
house after all. She could come and go from any room as she pleased. Yet she
stood and waited for Nicholas to answer her.

He didn
’
t answer.

It didn
’
t take much to pull at the frail strings of Emily
’
s mind these days, especially
when it came to Nicholas. She instantly had two terrible thoughts. Nicholas may
have snuck out of the house. He could easily open his window and jump down to
the lower roof and then to the backyard. In fact, that was how Emily figured
Nicholas got out of the house to set Mr. Hacher
’
s
barn on fire.

The second thought was much worse.

She feared that Nicholas was going
to - or already had - harmed himself. She quickly opened the door.

Nicholas had a t-shirt just about
over his head and he quickly fought to pull it down over himself as he stood in
his underwear.

“
What
the hell?
”
he cried out.

Emily turned her head.
“
Sorry. I was just coming to
check on you.
”

“
Get
out of my room,
”
Nicholas
yelled. His face was a shade of dark red.
“
Can
I get some privacy?
”

“
I
didn
’
t mean to upset you,
”
Emily said.
“
I wanted to
…”

“
What?
”

“
Did
you do your homework?
”

“
I
’
m not in school anymore.
”

Shit
.

Emily nodded.
“
Sorry. I forgot.
”

“
What
do you want?
”
Nicholas
asked.

“
Do
you need anything before bed?
”

“
Yeah.
You to leave my room.
”

“
Nicholas,
this is my house. I
’
m kind
enough to let you live here.
”

“
Then
kick me out,
”
Nicholas
said.
“
See if I care.
”

Emily bit her tongue, knowing her
words needed to be chosen carefully. She didn
’
t
want Nicholas to feel as though he wasn
’
t
welcome there, but at the same time she didn
’
t
want him to walk all over her.

Most people had years to prepare
for this. If Emily had been Nicholas
’
s
mother, she would have had ten years to get ready for this. Instead, Emily was
on a crash course. And frankly, she was crashing more than getting through the
course.

“
Well,
have a good night, Nicholas,
”
Emily said.
“
Just please
remember what we talked about today, okay? I want you here. I
’
m happy you
’
re here. You just have to listen
…”

“
To
the rules,
”
Nicholas said.
“
Yeah, I got that. Can I enter
that skateboard competition?
”

“
You
set a barn on fire,
”
Emily
said.

“
So
that
’
s a big no. Thanks a
lot.
”

“
Nicholas
…”

“
Goodnight.
Emily
.
”

Nicholas turned off the light and
walked to the bed. Emily backed away and shut the door. It hurt when he called
her
Emily.
It was never Aunt Emily anymore. Not since he moved in with
her. It was always
Emily.
As though Emily meant nothing to him. In her
heart, Emily knew Nicholas loved her, but the way he acted and talked, it was
hard to believe. Even still, Emily couldn
’
t
imagine giving Nicholas up.

Standing in silence for a few
minutes allowed Emily to listen and make sure Nicholas wasn
’
t trying to sneak out of the
house. She didn
’
t hear any
noise and while the urge to go back into the room and say something else bugged
her, Emily retreated and went downstairs. She collapsed on the edge of her
couch and put her fingers to her lips. Things had been going so well for her
before Nicholas came crashing into her life. She had worked with Terri for so
long, and then she had been asked to become co-owner of the fitness center.
Terri even let her live in this nice house for next to nothing. It had been
Terri
’
s aunt
’
s house, before she recently
moved to Florida to enjoy better weather and hopefully better health. All Terri
wanted was the taxes to be paid and the house to be taken care of.

It was as if life had been setting Emily
up for Nicholas to come into her life. She was being offered this challenge, or
opportunity, and now all she could do is wonder why.

Emily settled back and tried to
watch television. She kept her cell phone handy in case Terri needed her for
anything, but Emily knew Terri wouldn
’
t
bother her right now. That, however, annoyed Emily. If she was part owner of
the fitness center, that meant helping when needed, no matter what. Terri had
such a big heart but it wasn
’
t
helping Emily to feel isolated and alone. Tomorrow would bring another day of
classes to teach and phone calls to field regarding Nicholas
’
s legal troubles. Maybe Tim had
been right. Maybe there was a program for Nicholas to be part of. He could be
mentored by someone that could break through his shell. She couldn't help but
feel like a failure, but if it would help Nicholas, if it would save him from
the dangerous cycle he was in, then it would be worth it.

Emily went back to the steps and
crept upstairs to check on Nicholas. She told herself he wasn
’
t an infant and that he didn
’
t need to be checked on four
times a night, but this was still so new to her. She turned the doorknob and
opened the door just a little. At first, she thought Nicholas was snoring. But when
she listened closer, she realized Nicholas was... crying.

She listened to him as he tried to
hold it back and not make noise. The wet sniffling sound. The shaky breathing.
When he swallowed, she heard his lips smack together.

Emily touched her chest and took a
step into the room.

“
Nicholas,
are you okay?
”
she
whispered.

“
What
are you doing in here?
”
Nicholas asked.

Emily watched his silhouette scramble
to wipe his face. He was sucking in deep breaths of wetness, swallowing all his
emotions down.

“
It
’
s okay,
”
Emily whispered.
“
I
’
m right here. You don
’
t have to be afraid of me.
”

“
I
’
m not afraid of anything. Get
out of here.
”

“
Nicholas,
I just heard you
…”

“
I
was sleeping.
”

“
You
were crying.
”

“
Shut
up, Emily,
”
he said.

“
There
’
s no shame in crying, Nicholas.
If you
’
re upset, you can
talk to me. I want you to talk to me, okay? I
’
ll
never get mad at you. If you keep all that emotion to yourself
…”

“
I
’
m not a baby,
”
Nicholas said.
“
I
’
m
not like you. Why don
’
t you
go cry somewhere?
”

Emily took a shaky breath.
“
Nicholas, you have to stop
getting so angry at me. I didn
’
t
do
…”

Emily held back. She reminded
herself not to point fingers at anyone. It didn
’
t
matter who did what and why right now. This was about how fragile Nicholas was
right now.

“
Just
go,
”
Nicholas said.
“
You don
’
t understand it.
”

“
What
don
’
t I understand?
”
Emily asked.

“
Just
leave me the hell alone. Emily.
”

Emily backed out of the room again,
feeling even more defeated. She didn
’
t
shut the door yet.

“
Nicholas,
if you need anything, please come talk to me. I
’
m
very sorry for however you feel, but I want you to know that I cannot help you
unless you talk to me.
”

“
Good,
”
Nicholas said.
“
I don
’
t want to talk to you. Close the door.
”

Emily pulled the door shut and
found herself once again standing in the dark, listening. Before she had been
listening to hear if Nicholas was trying to break out of the house. Now she
stood and listened to hear if Nicholas would cry again.

Even if he didn
’
t cry, Emily found herself
unable to control her own emotions.

Something needed to be done to help
her nephew.

*

The five guys were huddled around a
table with empty beer bottles and shot glasses in the middle. Trent watched the
rest of the band - his brothers - as they talked. It seemed petty and
ridiculous that a girl could cause such a problem between grown men, but whenever
Trent looked at Jake, he realized that damn memory would always be there. The
rest of the band would never understand it, and that was fine, but he and Jake
needed to find a better way to handle it.

Mack leaned toward Trent and elbowed
him.
“
Your eyes are going
to start spinning soon. What the hell is going on up there in your mind?
”

“
Just
thinking about music, life, the usual stuff, is that alright?
”

“
No,
man. Not when we
’
re out
like this. This is to talk about the crazy things that have happened in our
life. The tours. The shows. Finding that spark of inspiration.
”

“
I
don
’
t need inspiration,
”
Trent said.
“
I
’
m
ready to play. Right here, right now.
”

“
Careful
with those words,
”
Gray
said.
“
We can arrange for that
to happen.
”

Trent looked to his left and eyed a
small stage at the back of the bar. This wasn
’
t
a usual hang out for the band but it was a nice, laid back kind of place. The
town had gotten used to the celebrities and rockstars who lived there, so only
a handful of people had come up to the band so far and asked for an autograph
and picture.

“
That
’
s tempting,
”
Trent said.

“
Very,
”
Jake said.

“
Maybe
we can make it happen,
”
Luke said.
“
Not tonight,
but soon. It would be fun to play all the small places in town. Imagine all the
people taking videos and uploading them online.
”

“
Is
everything online anymore?
”
Mack asked.

The rest of the band laughed.

Trent gripped Mack
’
s shoulder.
“
Welcome to the present, Mack.
Everything is online. I don
’
t
think we could go into any other town and get away with taking a piss without
someone posting about it.
”

“
Man,
I don
’
t know how much I
like that,
”
Mack said.

Trent laughed again and finished
off his beer.

It felt good to laugh and drink.
All his worries started to shake off his shoulders.

“
I
’
m dry,
”
Trent said.
“
I
’
ll be back. What else do we
need?
”

“
Just
order another round,
”
Mack
said.
“
They have a tab
running.
”

“
I
hate to see that total,
”
Jake said.

“
Not
me,
”
Trent said.
“
Mack
’
s buying, remember?
”

Jake smiled.
“
Then order up two more rounds.
”

Trent went to the bar and waited.
He looked up at the televisions and saw there were soccer and baseball games on.
He never really took much interest in sports, because his early teenage life
always revolved around music. Funny how that one person who inspired him to
write a song was the same person that could possibly ruin his dream.