Broken Sound (13 page)

“Okay, then we stop the intro riff right there,” Danny said.  “I’m figuring we should come up with something for the verses.  Two guitars pounding at the same time might overwhelm on the vocals.”

“Yeah,” Davey said.

“Maybe you can just not play then.”

“Sure, man.”

“Maybe you can stick the neck of the guitar up your ass for a little bit.”

“Okay,” Davey said.

“What the hell, Davey?  Come on man...”

Davey snapped his head.  “What?”

“You’re not even listening to me right now. I just told you to shove a guitar up your ass and you said
Okay
...”

“Shit, I’m sorry Danny.”  Davey put his guitar down and leaned back on the couch.  He rubbed his face and then growled.

“We need to go out tonight and have a few drinks,” Danny said. “Loosen up and let go.”

“That’s the last thing I need,” Davey said.  “Not with my mind racing.”

“Racing, why?  You talked to Peter, right?”

“Yeah.”

“What did he say?”

“I had to get my mouth swabbed for spit and they’ll do the same with Donald.”

“There you go then, you’ll have an answer.”

“But is it right?”  Davey slid to the edge of the couch.  His legs were bouncing, his nerves pinching over and over. 

“Is what right?”

“This whole thing.  It just... feels fucked up, okay?  And the weirdest part is I can’t stop thinking about Anna.”

“The woman in your room?”

“Yeah.  The woman in my room.  The woman who Chris told everything to.”

“You can’t blame Chris for that.”

“I don’t,” Davey said.  “It’s my own fault.  I should have had her leave before I left.  It gave the wrong impression to everyone.”

“Tell you what, let’s finish some of this song and then go call your woman.”

“She’s not my woman,” Davey said.

“Yet,” Danny added and smiled.

It was enough for Davey to grab the guitar and start playing with the chords of the new song.  They didn’t name the song or attempt to write lyrics to it, that was all Johnnie.  They figured, if anything, they could get a rough demo recorded to send to Johnnie. 

Davey moved up and down the neck with his eyes shut, finding the sound.

“There it is,” Danny said.  “Right there.  Where are you on that...”

“An octave up,” Davey said.

“Play it like that, lightly though.  You know?”

“Better yet, play arpeggio.  Here, watch.”

Davey started to pluck the chords, note by note, down and back up, switching position when Danny switched on the chords. 

That was the sound. 

The rhythm coming from Danny now and the added voice of music from Davey playing an octave higher.  It would be enough to soothe the listeners ears but gave plenty of room for Johnnie’s lyrics.

“This is great stuff,” Danny said.

“Yeah, it actually is.”

“Hey, you know Rick is going to want in on this.”

“I know, but right now he can’t do a damn thing.  He’s the one who messed up his arm.  Send this to Johnnie and when it comes time to actually record we can always let him come in with a third part.”

“Three guitars?  That’ll be too much, won’t it?”

“I’m not getting in the middle of it,” Davey said.  “I’m in enough messes as it is.”

Davey smiled and Danny plucked a note and bent it. 

“Well, tell you what,
big daddy
, let’s run through this thing up to the chorus and see where it takes us.  Then you can start cleaning up some messes.”

“I feel bad, dude, if I ditch you tonight.  It’s Saturday.”

“Are you kidding me?” Danny asked, laughing.  “With Rick in a cast, you wouldn’t believe the women that come after him and us now.  Trust me, we’ll be fine.”

“Just don’t get into trouble,” Davey said.

“Same goes for you.”

(14)

Anna barely touched her coffee and Ashley took notice of it pretty fast.  What Ashley didn’t know was that Anna also hadn’t had a decent meal in days.  She wasn’t sure how she felt or how to collect her emotions.  Something about Davey remained a fantasy in her mind, but it went beyond the fantasy of sex with a rockstar... it was about comfort and security.  Anna hated to think of herself as a person out for money, but she couldn’t help but picture herself with Davey and being able to shed all the debt Eddie left her.

But she had to remind herself time and time again that they got drunk, played guitar, and actually slept in bed.  Together, in bed, but not
together
...

“What are you thinking right now?” Ashley asked.

“That’s the thing,” Anna said, “I don’t know.  I’m just so... annoyed and confused.”

As if on cue, the house phone began to ring.

“There you go,” Anna said and shook her head.  She closed her eyes and shook her head, wanting the phone to stop.  The ringing turned into a voice...
paaayyy-meee... paaaayyy-meee...

“I’ll take care of this,” Ashley said.

“Don’t...”

Ashley took the phone and answered it.

“Hello?  No.  She’s not here.  I don’t know when she’s coming back.  She’s trying to work to pay you people.  Oh yeah?  Is that so?  Did she tell you that her drug addicted ex-boyfriend did all this?  So you’re telling me your company allows people to use a card for cash advances illegally?  Oh, it wasn’t illegal?  I beg to differ, ma’am.  The person who used the card wasn’t on the account.  Yeah, okay.  I’ll pass the message.”

Ashley slammed the phone down and cursed.

“It’s useless to talk to them,” Anna said.  “They’re just workers.”

“You should just settle,” Ashley said.  “They’ll take less.”

“You have to have something to settle with first.”

“Let me loan you some money then.  Between Nick and I... he just got promoted and my business is taking off...”

“Never,” Anna growled.  “I did this.”

Ashley sat down and took Anna’s hand.  “No, Eddie did this.”

“I let him.  I knew he used my cards and I never reported it.  These banks have every right to harass me.”

“But it’s not fair to you.”

“I wasn’t fair to myself.  You told me about Eddie time and time again and I didn’t listen.  I guess this is my punishment.”

“Is that what you think?  Oh, Anna, no.  You’re not punished.  You don’t deserve this.”

“I can’t lose this house,” Anna said.  She felt a sudden rush of emotions and hurried from the chair.  She needed her back to Ashley so she could collect herself.

“You’re not going to lose the house,” Ashley said.  “I won’t let that happen.”

“You can’t control it.  Neither can I.”

“Why don’t you...”

“I just don’t want to talk about it anymore.  Please, Ashley.”

Anna returned to the table and watched as her best friend sucked it up and kept her mouth shut.  Her face looked enraged, wanting to unleash hell on someone.  Anna hoped she would save it for the gym.

“Fine,” Ashley said.  “Tell me about your night the other night.  Who’s the lucky guy?”

“First off,” Anna said, “I swear to you, I didn’t sleep with anyone.  Well, actually...”

“HA!” Ashley yelled.

“No, no, wait.  I slept with him but we didn’t do anything.”

“You slept in bed with someone?”  Ashley curled her lip.

“Don’t give me that look.”

“What look?”

“I know it sounds... weird... but it was actually really hot.  The way he carried me to bed.  The way we promised we wouldn’t sleep together.”

“You talked about all this?”

Anna nodded.  She smiled for the first time in days. 

“So you met a guy and talked about stuff instead of doing stuff?”

“Basically,” Anna said.  “I know it probably sounds corny but it was what I needed right then.”

“If you say so,” Ashley said.  “He sounds like a serial killer.”

“A serial killer?  Really?”

“Yeah.  Some creep hugging you while you’re sleeping.  You’re lucky you didn’t end up as a lampshade or something.”

Anna laughed.  “Stop that.  You have no idea who he is.”

“Do you?”

“Actually, I take that back... you do know who he is.”

Ashley’s eyes widened as she sipped her coffee.  She put the cup down and said, “Okay, now we’re getting into some juicy details.  Spill.  Please.  I need something good.  Being home with little Nicky and all those cartoons are killing me.  Then at work it’s the same business jargon nonsense.  I need drama...”

Anna scoffed.  Drama?

I went to a hotel room with Davey from Chasing Cross.  We drank, he made me play guitar, then we cuddled.  I found out the next morning he has a kid and had to go to see the kid... or something like that.  But since then I can’t stop thinking about him.  My heart is aching for him and I can’t figure out if it’s the fantasy of the rockstar or because I tripped and fell for him, which I didn’t mean to do.

Anna opened her mouth, thinking all that would be a piece of cake to say.

It wasn’t.

“Come on, who is it?” Ashley asked.

“Swear you won’t laugh?”

“No.”

“I hate you sometimes.”

“I know you do.  Just tell me.”

“Davey,” Anna muttered.

“Davey?  And I know Davey... how?”

“I’m sure you have some of his music in your car, on your phone.”

“My car...”

“Chasing Cross,” Anna said.  “Davey from Chasing Cross.”

Ashley froze.  She blinked but didn’t speak.  She puckered her lips for a few seconds and then exhaled a breath. 

“What?” Anna asked.

“Nothing,” Ashley said.  “Go on...”

“What do you mean
Go on
?  That’s the story.  Davey from Chasing Cross.  He came into the restaurant with some woman and then came back a little while later after I was done with my shift and wanted a drink.  I sat.  We talked.  We drank.  He asked me to go to his hotel...”

“And you believe it was a guy from Chasing Cross?” Ashley asked.

“I know it was,” Anna said.  “See, this is why I didn’t want to tell you.”

“I mean, what do I say to that?”

“I don’t know.  The band is still in town.  I got to meet the bassist, Chris, too.  That’s when the drama started.”

“The drama?” Ashley asked.

Anna proceeded to spill all she knew.  How Davey talked about his father.  About seeing the piece of paper on the counter with the address and directions.  And how Chris spilled the beans about Davey’s other life.

“So he’s married or something?” Ashley asked.

“Not that I know of.  He swore he was single.  But he was so... I don’t know... persistent about saying he was single.”

“Like maybe trying to convince himself he was?”

“Yes, that’s it.  Convincing himself.”

“Shit, Anna, I don’t know what to say.”

“You don’t believe me.”

“I... well, sure I do.  You’re my best friend.  It’s just a little crazy to hear.”

“Crazier to be there,” Anna said.  “Trust me.  He’s so sexy.  And just so... something.  I can’t stop thinking about him.”

“Is it him or the band?”

“That’s what I’m battling,” Anna said.  “He called me but I never called him back.”

“Wait a second,” Ashley said.  “Davey from Chasing Cross called your cell phone?”

Anna nodded.

“And you didn’t call him back?”

“No.  I don’t know what to do.  I can’t get involved if he’s with someone.  Or going through a breakup or something.  I can’t handle anymore stuff, not after Eddie.”

“So you just shut down then?  You do realize that everybody has situations.”

“Eddie had drugs and gambling.  And now I’m going to get involved with a rockstar?  You should have seen the woman he brought to the restaurant.  Tall, dark hair, bitchy eyes.  Made for a rockstar.”

“Says who?”

“Says me.  Leave it at that.”

“But you can’t stop thinking about him.  It’s killing you inside, isn’t it?”

Anna didn’t respond.  Ashley shot her hand out and grabbed Anna’s coffee. 

“It’s full.  You won’t even drink coffee because your stomach is churning.”

“Shut up.”

“Call him back.  Right now.”

“No.”

“Prove to me he’s Davey from Chasing Cross.  Call him and tell him come over.”

“Are you insane?” Anna yelled.  “He has a family.  He has a band.  And he certainly doesn’t need me.”