A Song For Us (Fallen Tuesday Book Two) (A Brothers of Rock Novel) (19 page)

“Christ, Mom,” Gray said. “I’ll
figure this out. Okay? I’ll call the police. I’ll call the hospital. I’ll fix
this. When did he show up?”

“I don’t know, Gary, I wasn’t
watching the clock.”

Gray cringed. He hadn’t meant the
question literally. What was it… five minutes ago? Ten minutes? Two hours?

“Of course you couldn’t know,” Gray
said. “What did he look like? What did he say?”

“It’s Peter. You saw him in the
hospital. He looked like that. Weak and tired. He looked desperate for a
shower. I don’t know how he did it. He could hurt himself, Gary.”

No shit…

“I know that,” Gray said. “I’ll do
my best, okay?”

“What did you say to him? You know,
I’m just as angry as you, but I controlled myself. Right now, maybe he needs
love instead of scolding.”

“I guess it’s too late for that
now,” Gray said.

“You attacked your brother.”

“Did he tell you that?”

Gray’s eyes were upon the bathroom
door. It was slightly open. A little steam poured out into the hallway. That’s
where he should have been. In the shower with Carina. Not dealing with his
brother, again.

“He told me you came to see him and
made things very clear.”

“All I did…”

“So he decided to leave the
hospital and take care of some things.”

Gray swallowed hard. “Then I’m
sorry. I should have showed restraint with him. With him. Let me make some
calls, Mom.”

It sucked to hear his mother hang
up crying, but Gray pushed those feelings away. He started with the hospital
and then called the police. They would look for Peter. While that answer didn’t
quite satisfy Gray, there was nothing else anyone could do.

Gray rushed into the bathroom and Carina
poked her head from the shower. Her hair was soaked and the water on her face
glistened, dripping down to places hidden by the shower curtain. It hurt… it
literally hurt Gray.

“I have to check on something,”
Gray said.

“What’s wrong?”

Gray gave Carina the quick story
and then left her apartment for Peter’s. There, he found no signs of Peter. The
apartment stood and smelled the same from the last time Gray had been there.

Back in Carina’s apartment, he found
her in her bedroom, in a towel, looking in her closet. He stopped and thought
about his life. This was his future. His love for Carina and his love for
Fallen Tuesday was his future. She had made it very clear how much she hated
living in Liering, and for Gray there was nothing in Liering to take care of. His
mother would always be the same. And for Peter…

“Hey, what did you find?”

Gray walked to the doorway and
folded his arms. “Nothing. There’s nothing I can do right now. I called the
hospital and I called the police.”

“What do you think he’s doing?”

Gray took a deep breath. “I don’t
want to think about it, Carina. It’s going to make me feel like hell.”

“Maybe I can help with that,” she
teased.

Carina pulled at the towel on her
body. It opened and fell. She smiled. Carina took Gray by the hand, led him to
the bed, and showed him what he missed in the shower.

(19)

Gray wanted to be just another
patron the place. He told Carina he wanted his own seat and wanted to slip into
the crowd. She loved him for that, but there was no way Gray from Fallen
Tuesday was going to be able to walk right into a place and not get noticed, so
that meant backdoor treatment and Chuck greeting them.

“Here to take care of a few
tables?” Chuck asked with a smile.

“Not tonight,” Carina said. “Is
Angie here yet?”

“Out front. Having a drink.”

Carina looked at Gray.

“You should go then,” Gray said.
“Join your band.”

“It’s not a band. It’s two women.”

“Singing and playing… it’s a band.”

“You’re becoming a pain in my ass,
Gray,” Carina said.

“For the rest of your life,” Gray
warned. “I’ll be fine. I’m sure Chuck here will get me to a table.”

“Of course,” Chuck said. “I’ll slip
you right through. Nobody will see a thing. I promise. I have security, if you
need…”

“No,” Gray said. “I’m not that kind
of guy. If someone wants an autograph, that’s fine. Just as long as it doesn’t
take away from the bands on stage. They deserve the attention and respect.”

“Such a sweetheart,” Carina said.

She kissed Gray and then walked
through the kitchen of the restaurant, listening to the whistles and catcalls
from those she used to work with. It was a great feeling, but it quickly turned
into fear when she exited the kitchen and saw the stage. She’d be up there soon
enough, playing the piano… and singing.

Carina got to the bar and ordered a
drink. She looked at Angie and tried to smile.

“You look nervous as hell,” Angie
said.

“The drink will help,” Carina said.

“Not too many or you’ll end up like
a true rockstar up there.”

Carina doubted a beer or two before
the gig was going to do any harm.

“You know, this is all for fun,
right?” Angie asked.

“I know,” Carina said. “But it
means a lot to me. And I have a question for you.”

“For me? What’s up?”

Carina turned to face Angie. “I
don’t think I’m going to be in Liering anymore.”

“Why?”

“Gray wants to get a place
together. But he has to be near the band and the studio.”

“Oh, Carina, that’s amazing.”

“It is,” Carina said. “What about
you though? If I leave, I feel like I’m leaving you. You’ve been the only real
friend I’ve had since I came here, Angie. You don’t have your band either.”

“I’m okay,” Angie said. “I can get
along with whatever I need to do. There are plenty of musicians out there. I
don’t have a commitment to Liering either. I liked it here because of the band.
We were close to Boston for bigger gigs. I’ve always wanted to live in the city
though, New York City.”

“That’s good,” Carina said. “What
about us? This music thing?”

Angie downed her drink and stood
up. “Looks like this is our first gig and our farewell show.” Angie winked. “We
go on stage in fifteen minutes.”

Those fifteen minutes went by very
fast for Carina. Faster than she ever thought possible. She managed to finish
her drink and then casually strolled near the stage. She needed Angie to be the
one to lead off. She couldn’t do it on her own.

Angie touched Carina’s arm, scaring
her, and then led the way up on stage. She moved with an easy flow, without a
single nerve bothering her. She had played so many shows to so many people who probably
didn’t remember her that it was nothing to fret. Carina respected Angie for
being such a strong woman.

“Hey there,” Angie said into the
mic.

A few people started to clap.

Carina sat behind the piano. She
looked out and spotted Gray, sitting in a corner with a smile on his face.

“You may remember me,” Angie said.
“You may not. I was in a band for a while, but jamming with a bunch of men…
that didn’t go over so well.”

There was a little bit of laughter.

“So I recruited the best damn
songwriter in the world,” Angie said and pointed to Carina.

The applause was greater. There
were so many of the regulars who knew Carina, not to mention the people who
worked there.

“And here we are,” Angie said.

She looked at Carina and nodded.

For a second Carina thought her heart
was going to literally pop. Her heart hadn’t pounded this hard since the day
she came home to find someone storming from her apartment.

Angie started playing first,
nodding at Carina. The second Carina touched the keys on the piano, life
returned to normal. She was still in shock that she was actually performing a
show, but the nerves slipped away so fast.

Once the first song ended and
everyone applauded, that was all the fuel Carina needed. She met eyes with Gray
and smiled at him. Angie then led into the next song… and the next… and the
next… The show actually went by too fast for Carina. As they played their final
song, she started to feel regret. Regret that she waited so long to do this.
Regret that she felt so nervous to do this.

The song came to an end and Angie
turned and pointed to Carina.

Carina could be wrong, but she
swore she never heard so many people applauding before. She stood from the
piano and waved. Angie was even clapping. The spotlight was on Carina and
nobody else. She walked to Angie and hugged her.

“You did great,” Angie said.

“I wish we could do that again,” Carina
said.

“Maybe we will. Just enjoy it
tonight though.”

Angie put her arm around Carina and
they left the stage. As Carina moved through the small crowd, people were more
than willing to tell her how good the show was. How they had no idea Carina
could play piano and sing. Angie got lost somewhere in the mix of things, but Carina
needed to get to Gray.

She moved through the crowd and
then froze. She spotted Gray as he stood next to the table where he had been
sitting. A man stood in front of Gray and for a second Carina swore she must
have fallen and smacked her head on the stage. This was a nightmare. All she
could think about though was the safety of Gray. Against her will she forced
herself to keep walking. When she got close enough to Gray, she called his
name.

“Gray!”

“What the hell is wrong with you?”
he screamed at the man.

Don’t yell… he’ll hurt you…

“Don’t get on me like that, Gary.”

Gary? What…

“You’re in trouble for this,” Gray
said. “This was stupid, Peter. Stupid.”

Peter?

Carina took a breath and touched
her chest. Gray turned and saw her.

“Hey, there she is,” Gray said.
“You did so good, baby. That was amazing… hey, what’s wrong?”

Carina looked at the man, at Peter.
Gray touched her shoulder and she pulled back. Peter looked at her. Those eyes.
That look.

“Carina? What’s wrong?”

“Gray… that’s your brother?”

“Yes, why?”

Carina stared and thought about her
words. What to say. How to say it. Then what to do next. She continued to take
steps away from Gray, away from Peter.

“Carina, talk to me, baby.” Gray
was there again, right against her.

“That’s him,” Carina said. “Peter
is him.”

“Him? Who?”

“Gray, Peter’s the one who broke
into my apartment. The one who took the money from under my bed. I have to go.
I have to get out here.”

“Wait for me,” Gray said. “I’ll go
with you.”

“No, don’t. Take care of your
family. I’m leaving.”

Carina pushed at Gray and then
turned and ran. She prayed that Gray wouldn’t chase her down and stop her.

He didn’t.

*

Gray was dumbfounded. He watched Carina
storm away. He wanted to go after her, but he had other questions first. When
he turned and looked at Peter, the amount of hurt and anger was unreal. He
grabbed him by the front of his shirt and started to drag him. Peter was lucky
they weren’t somewhere private because Gray wanted nothing more than to punch
his brother.

Once he got Peter outside, Gray
thought about tossing Peter against the back of the building. But he considered
all Peter had just gone through, so he let him go and made fists, keeping them
at his sides.

“Are you high right now?”

“No, I swear,” Peter said.

“That woman that ran away from me…
what did you do her?”

“Her? I don’t know.”

“You broke into her apartment. You
took money from under her bed.”

Peter’s head dropped. “That…”

“Tell me what you did,” Gray shouted.

“You asked how I survived,” Peter
said. “That’s how I survived, okay? She was probably one of the only people in
the building that looked normal. I thought she would have something valuable in
her place. I found a box of cash. Thousands of dollars.”

“Christ,” Gray said. He backed up
and shook his head. “My junkie brother stole money from the woman I love.”

“You know her?” Peter asked.

“Yeah, I know her. And I’m telling
you something right now, Peter. Hear it once. I don’t want to speak to you
again. I don’t want to see you again.”

“Gary… Gray…”

Gray went nose to nose with Peter.
“Not until you’re in rehab and cleaned up.” Gray took out his cell phone. “I’m
going to call the police and the hospital right now. Then I’m going to leave.
I’m going to find the woman I love and take her away from the hell you put her
in.”

“Gray…”

“No. You don’t get what you did to
her. She’s afraid every time someone knocks at the door. The money you took
from her was her way to get out of Liering and chase her dream. You took that
from someone who deserved it because you’re an asshole, Peter.”

“I’m sorry,” Peter said. “I’m so
sorry. I went to see Josh tonight. I saw him. He was strung out, Gray. Higher
than high. He had no idea who I was. I have no idea who I am right now. I thought
about… doing it again. But I stopped. I came to tell you that. I came to tell
you I was tempted but I stopped.”

“Then get help,” Gray said. “I
can’t do this for you. I can’t force you. I can’t be involved anymore. I love
you, Peter, but you need to do this for yourself.”

Gray hugged Peter and then made the
calls he said he would.

He raced to Carina’s apartment,
fearing he would find her gone. When he saw her car still parked, relief came
over him. He rushed up the steps and made it to her apartment just as she
opened the door. Carina came out with a bag on her shoulder and a rolling
suitcase.

“Carina, what are you doing?”

“Gray. What are you doing here?”

“I’m here for you,” Gray said.
“Baby, I had no idea. Please. Come here.”

Carina shook her head. She was
afraid.

Gray approached with caution and
once he got his arms around her, he knew everything would be okay. She began to
cry and Gray held her right there in the hallway.

“I can’t believe Peter did this,”
Gray said. “Hurting me, my mother, that’s one thing. But you, Carina.”

“You didn’t know,” Carina said.
“Neither did I. I saw him standing there with you and it all came back.”

Gray looked down at Carina. He
wiped away her tears. “How much was in that box?”

“To me it was a lot.”

“How much.”

“A few thousand,” Carina said.
“Maybe more. I don’t know.”

“Shit.”

“It was more than money though. I
couldn’t get out of the place that scared me the most. Until I met you, Gray. I
thought I had a chance. But he’s your brother. How can I ever see him?”

“You won’t,” Gray said. “Peter has
two choices right now. Clean up or wind up down that road again. I’m done. I’ve
done all I can. I called the hospital and I called the police. It’s up to him
now. My life is right in front of my eyes. Nothing will get in the way of that,
ever.”

“I really do love you, Gray,” Carina
said.

“Then let’s get out of here
tonight. Right now. I don’t want to be the big shot rockstar, but screw it.
I’ll call for a private jet.”

“I couldn’t ask you to do that,” Carina
said. “Your family…”

“Carina, you are my family now,”
Gray said. “You are everything to me. And the rest of my family is five hours
away. Luke. Mack. Trent. Jake. And Frank, even though he’s a pain in the ass.”

Carina flashed a quick smile. “I
don’t know what to say right now. I feel childish for running like I did.”

“You were afraid and that’s okay.
Plus, I didn’t get to tell you the good news. You’re being requested to the
studio.”

“Me? Why?”

Gray smiled and told Carina about his
phone call with Frank.

Carina wept again, hugging Gray
tight. Witnessing Carina shed her fear and look so happy proved to Gray that
nothing would be greater in his life than spending every second making sure she
stayed that way.

“Wait, I need something,” Carina
said.

She left her bags and went back into
the apartment. She came back out carrying her keyboard.

“It means something to me,” she
said.

“That’s why we’re taking it then.”

Gray took the keyboard and both of Carina’s
bags. She closed the apartment door and Gray swore it would be the last time. She
would never know that fear or pain again.

Outside, Gray made the phone call
to Frank.

Less than an hour later they were
in the air, Carina’s head resting on Gray’s shoulder. Gray played with her
fingers, especially the ring finger of her left hand. Carina’s love had changed
him, and for that Gray promised himself he would spend the rest of his life
thanking her for that.

*

Carina stood on her toes on the
ladder, biting her tongue. She needed just another inch…

“Are you trying to kill yourself?”

Carina looked down at Gray as he
stood with his arms folded. In the background, Fallen Tuesday blared from a MP3
player hooked up to the stereo in the large living room. They had eight songs
recorded and the band asked Carina to listen to the songs and give any
suggestions.