Chase the Road (A Brothers of Rock - GONE BY AUTUMN - Novel) (5 page)

The final part of the soundtrack
came, a blaring siren sound.

Asher looked back at Blake and
nodded.

Then Blake counted the siren sound
…

Three
…
two
…
one
…

He brought both sticks down at the
same time, hitting two cymbals at once, hitting the bass drum. Asher hammered
an open chord and the sound was real and raw.

Then Ryan asked,
“
Are you ready?
”

The curtain slowly started to lift.

The place was booming with
electricity.

Asher and Blake worked the same
pounding sound. Ryan asked over and over if everyone was fucking ready to do
this. Gabe and Tanner came in with little riffs and sounds.

When the curtain was halfway up, it
stopped. Then to the surprise of the fans, the curtain let go from the top and
fell down to the front of the stage. The second that happened, the band went
right into a song.

Blake couldn
’
t help but stare out to the crowd as he played. It
was unbelievable. Probably the greatest sight possible for a rockstar.
Other
than Maya
’
s
beautiful body
…

That was the first and only thought
Blake had about Maya during the show.

The band played three songs to kick
off the show. When they stopped, Blake stood up. The band all started to wave
and get the crowd - and keep the crowd - fired up. Blake threw his drumsticks
into the crowd and grabbed fresh ones.

Ryan grabbed the mic and went right
into another song, singing the chorus, getting the crowd to sing with him. He
sang it twice and then held the mic over the crowd. They sang, and sang, and
sang, repeating the chorus four times before Ryan took the mic back and the
song actually started.

They played another set of songs
before slowing the show down. The first was one of two ballads, the sound
bigger than anything possible thanks to the stage and the sound. The songs had
a greater meaning to Blake. He thought about the times the band wrote the
songs, what they were about, and what they meant to the fans.

The two ballads were heavy during
the second chorus until the end of the song. Crying guitars, screaming solos,
drums that carried the songs to the end. And when the last note was hit, it
rang out and Ryan sang the chorus one last time by himself. A spotlight on
himself, the guitars dying out with some feedback, and then the lights going
out across the arena.

As the crowd went wild again, Blake
stood from the drums. He ran to the side and grabbed an acoustic guitar. He
really wasn
’
t paying much
attention, but he did when a hand grabbed him by the arm.

“
Hey!
”
a voice yelled.

Blake looked up and saw Maya
standing there.

Holy shit
…
she
’
s here
…

It shouldn
’
t have been that much of a shock. Maya was always
at the shows. The opening nights. The fifth show. The tenth show. The last
show. But she hadn
’
t been
there at the beginning of the show. She hadn
’
t
been there for the pre-show fun stuff.

Blake pulled away and went to the
stage. He didn
’
t say a word
to her.

The rest of the band got acoustic
guitars, which led into a three song set of a five guitar part harmony and
vocal range that left the arena almost in silence. None of them could sing as
well as Ryan could, but their five voices did sound really damn good all
together.

The acoustic part was a chance for
everyone to get a little break. But the second they finished it off, Blake tore
the guitar off himself and threw it to the side of the stage. He ran to the
drums, sat down, grabbed sticks, and just started to play. As he ran through a
little drum solo, the rest of the band got their instruments and hit an open
chord, letting Blake finish up his moment in the spotlight.

“
How
about some love for Blake!
”
Ryan screamed into the mic.

The arena went wild again.

Blake stopped and gave a four count
before the next song started.

Gone by Autumn played a show that
lasted well over two hours. The last song they ran through two different times,
not wanting to end the show. Ryan jumped from the stage and passed the mic
around, keeping the music going and going. He climbed back on stage and held
the mic to Asher
’
s guitar
as Asher ripped his final solo of the show.

Ryan then turned into a tornado of
a rockstar, running all around the stage, keeping the last few minutes of the
show as exciting as possible. When the final note was hit and the show came to
an end, Blake stood, threw his sticks into the crowd again, and then joined the
rest of the band at the front of the stage. They all stood there, waving,
bowing, looking out to the crowd.

It left Blake
’
s heart insanely heavy. The idea
that tens of thousands of people bought tickets to come see Gone by Autumn play
some music for a couple hours was amazing.

They left the stage for good. The
house music kicked up. The audience started to leave.

That was it.

The show was over.

Reality waited for Blake as Maya
stood there, clapping and jumping, hugging everyone in the band. She was always
the most excited person at a Gone by Autumn show.

Ryan grabbed a bottle of water.
Asher, Tanner, and Gabe all went for beer. They worked their way toward the
backstage area, except for Blake. He stepped down the steps on the side of the
stage. He was just a couple feet away from Maya. Around him, the tech and
roadies were quick to get their job done. They had to pack everything up, get
it on trucks, and then those trucks would travel to the next city for the next
show.

But right now, it was like time
stopped. The movement and the sound all around Blake kept going, but staring at
Maya was something else. He wanted to be angry. He wanted to be jealous. He
wanted to explode at Maya.

“
Sorry
I was a little late,
”
she
said.
“
I had
…
uh
…”

“
Yeah,
you
had uh
,
”
Blake
said.
“
You never miss an
opening show.
”

“
I
didn
’
t miss anything.
”

“
You
’
re right. But this is kind of
how it starts, right? Half the show tonight, the entire thing tomorrow. And it
just keeps going from there.
”

“
Really?
Is that what you think?
”

“
I
don
’
t know what I think,
”
Blake said.

He finally got the nerve to walk
and made a quick left to get around Maya. Because, he told himself, if he got
near Maya, he
’
d grab her
and kiss her like he had done before. Except this time, there would be so much
anger and passion mixed together she wouldn
’
t
know what to believe. And he didn
’
t
want to do that to her relationship. He didn
’
t
want to be
that guy
. To break people up. To barge in on something that
had been there such a long time.

“
Blake,
wait up,
”
Maya yelled.

Blake waved and kept going.

He went right backstage to find the
two bands hanging. He went right to the first person he saw, guitarist for
Willow Son, Ryker.

“
Hey,
bro, that was some killer playing tonight,
”
Blake said.

“
Yeah,
it was something. Felt good to be back up there.
”

“
Killing
it?
”
a voice said.
“
This guy fucking killed it.
”

Drummer for Willow Son, Brantley,
brought Blake a beer and threw an arm around him.

“
Hey,
man,
”
Blake said.

“
You
’
re pretty crazy up there,
”
Brantley said.
“
Almost stole the show a few
times.
”

“
Blake
’
s an attention whore,
”
Asher said and laughed.

“
Yeah,
right,
”
Blake said.
“
Who
’
s the one that
’
s
been on magazine covers?
”

“
You
made a cover,
”
Tanner said.
“
With your depressed face
and look.
”

“
Fuck
you,
”
Blake said.

“
Man,
I can
’
t wait for the next
show,
”
Brantley said. He
was dead drunk.
“
Just
…
getting up there and
…
man, we should play together.
All ten of us. Like just takeover a stage
…”

Blake saw Maya coming at him from
the corner of his eye. He took Brantley
’
s
arm off him and gave it to Gabe.

“
Keep
him up,
”
Blake said with a
laugh.
“
He
’
s going to fall over.
”

“
We
got him,
”
Colby, lead
singer for Willow Son, said.
“
Don
’
t worry. He
’
ll talk about music, then tell
everyone he loves them, then pass out. It
’
s
the Brantley special.
”

Blake took his beer and aimed his
sights on the first door he could find.

He was outside two seconds before
the door flew open again, Maya on the hunt for him.

“
If
you have something you want to say, then say it,
”
she yelled.

Blake looked at her.
“
If I had something to say, I
would say it. But I
’
m
walking away. Get the picture?
”

“
And
ignoring me? You don
’
t
text. Call. You run away when I come near you.
”

Blake lunged toward Maya.
“
What do you want from me then?
You have someone to take care of you. Go to him. You don
’
t need to be here. You obviously don
’
t want to be here.
”

Maya swung her hand and slapped
Blake across the face.

Hey, at least she touched me
…

“
You
’
re an asshole, Blake. You think
I need more of this? More guilt. More bullshit over
…”

Maya choked up and looked away.

“
More
what?
”
Blake asked.

Maya looked at him again, a fire in
her eyes. She came at Blake, grabbing him by the shirt and pushing him back.
Blake could have resisted moving, but he went with it. Maya put him against the
brick wall and just stood there, arms
’
length away.

It definitely drummed up some old
memories as she just stared at him.

“
Just
…”
she started to say but
stopped.

Blake curled his lip. He could see
her eyes resisting so badly. All he had to do was say something two months ago.
Or say something right now. Or just fucking do something about this.

“
Just
what?
”
Blake asked.

Maya opened her hand, touching
Blake
’
s belly. Blake didn
’
t want to admit to himself what
the touch did to him but it was pretty evident with what was happening in his
pants.

“
Just
nothing,
”
Maya said.

She let Blake go and turned. Before
turning, he saw tears fill her eyes.

Maya stormed away and Blake was
alone.

He made fists and took a few deep
breaths.

What the hell do you want, Maya?
Just tell me
…

(5)

Maya woke to the bed moving. The
clock glowed that it was four in the morning. She had tossed and turned from
ten until midnight. Then she got out of bed without waking Hunter and went into
the living room. She crashed on the couch and sat there watching videos of Gone
by Autumn on her laptop, headphones over her ears. She stayed there until two
in the morning and finally forced herself back to bed. The last time she saw
the clock, it was five minutes until three in the morning.

And now she was awake again. She
looked over her shoulder and watched Hunter climb from the bed. He was naked.
Another early start for him, having to run his schedule by the time of the
clients he worked with across the world.

Normally Maya would roll over and
watch him get dressed. Or at the very least, make it known she was awake. Wish
him a good day. Tell him to have fun. Then Hunter would laugh and make a
comment about having fun.

Instead of that, Maya closed her
eyes. She kept in the same spot and remained there. She listened to Hunter grab
some clothes and then go into the bathroom right off the bedroom. The shower
turned on and Maya opened her eyes. She sat up in bed and looked at the sliver
of light coming from the bathroom door.

Nothing made sense.

That
’
s
all there was to say.

Hunter was so busy lately. Gone by
Autumn was rolling right along, kicking ass for all their shows, with the
exception of Blake who was completely and utterly distant. The first show Maya
missed was probably the hardest, but Hunter had arranged for a romantic dinner.
It couldn
’
t have been
avoided. And plus, the guys were in Tennessee for two shows and then going down
to Mississippi. Maya couldn't just be there all the time. It wasn
’
t fair to Hunter. To their
relationship. To anything happening
…

What exactly was happening?

Maya pulled the covers up to her
chin and felt out of place. This wasn
’
t
her bedroom. This wasn
’
t her
bed. This wasn
’
t her
apartment. Hunter joked once about Maya moving in, but made it clear that his
apartment would never change. It had a look and feel to it that would remain
the same.

To Maya, she kind of hoped that if
she were to move in with someone they would either get their own place or merge
their places together into one. Enjoy the flirty compromises over dumb little
things.

But that wouldn
’
t happen here. Maybe it would
never happen at all. In fact, Maya remembered hearing once that Hunter
’
s father had an apartment in New
York City for himself and then a house in Long Island for both him and Hunter
’
s stepmother. It was all
strange. Different. It didn
’
t
make Maya feel good at all.

A light outside the bedroom door
turned on and flooded through the bottom of the door. Maya took the covers off
her body and crept to the door. She opened it just a few inches and saw Hunter
standing in the hall with a black towel around his waist, a cell phone attached
to his ear.

“
Hey
Mark, it
’
s all good,
”
he said.
“
I
’
m
showering now. Then I
’
ll
get into my office and call in.
”
He paused for a few seconds.
“
Yeah,
this isn't going to fall through. Don
’
t
worry about it. I
’
ll talk
him off the ledge.
”
Hunter
laughed.
“
No drinks tonight
for me, Mark. I
’
ve got
company. Yeah, she
’
s here.
Well, of course she
’
s here.
She
’
s not part of the band
or anything, you know? Kind of pointless for her to be on the road. I mean,
five rockstars, one woman
…
it kind of writes itself. Really something I don
’
t
feel like dealing with. So I told her to keep her ass here.
”

Hunter laughed again and Maya shut
the door in silence. She walked back to the bed and climbed under the covers,
colder than before. This type of cold couldn
’
t
be cured by blankets or even the sun. This was a chill right down to her bones.
She figured by now the guys were just getting ready to get some sleep. Well,
all but Blake. He kind of liked to be dorky and cute and watch the sun rise
…

Maya could barely keep her eyes
open.

“
Hey,
not yet,
”
Blake said and
nudged his elbow at Maya.

She lifted her head off his
shoulder and yawned.
“
How
do you do this every morning?
”

Blake laughed.
“
I don
’
t do this every morning. Just some mornings. Come
on, we
’
ve been up all
night. What
’
s another ten
minutes? Look, there
’
s a
little bit showing now.
”

The clouds in the sky were already
starting to reflect some of the sunrise light. The sky was mostly dark, and the
color on the clouds were a dark purplish color. That alone was pretty enough
for Maya. She just wanted to get some sleep.

She put her head back on Blake
’
s shoulder. Her hand was on the
ground, her pinky resting against Blake
’
s
pinky. She lifted her pinky and curled it around Blake
’
s.

“
Don
’
t fall asleep, okay?
”
Blake asked.

“
Cross
my heart,
”
Maya said and
yawned again.

She closed her eyes, but she didn
’
t fall asleep.

“
Do
you think we have a chance at this?
”
Blake asked.
“
I mean, Sam
wants to get out there and get more shows.
”

“
You
’
re worried about it?
”
Maya asked.

She smiled, loving that Blake
showed his vulnerable side with her.

“
I
don
’
t know. I don
’
t know if we have enough songs.
”

“
You
guys have plenty of songs,
”
Maya said.
“
And they
’
re all good. That
’
s what matters. Believe me. I
’
d tell you if you sucked. I
could be in art school right now. I
’
d
be in my final year. Doing all the normal things
…
going to class. Having a beer on a Thursday night. Having girls nights or
something.
”

“
Is
that what you want?
”
Blake
asked.

Maya opened her eyes and saw Blake
looking down at her. She stuck out her tongue and choked.
“
No.
”

Blake grinned.
“
Be honest. If I
’
m messing anything up for you
…”

“
No,
Blake. I know what I want.
”

“
Oh
yeah?
”

“
What
’
s that
…
?
”

Maya loved flirting with Blake. It
was strangely romantic. But sometimes they both froze up. Like they wanted to
let things linger. But maybe right now, she could just say it.

You, Blake. I love you. I mean,
I think I love you. No, I do love you. Like
…
love love..

“
Look,
”
Blake said.

Maya lost her words and her urge.
So she sat there, head on Blake
’
s
shoulder and stared out to the horizon. In silence, they watched the sun bring
light and life to another day. The purplish color then turned pink, then turned
a light orange, before turning yellow and finally leading to a blue sky white white
clouds.

Another day had come.

Maya slowly put her hand over Blake
’
s.

“
That
was beautiful,
”
Maya said.

“
Worth
it, right?
”

“
Definitely.
”

They looked at each other again.
Blake brought his head forward and put it to Maya
’
s.
“
Dinner tonight?
”

“
What?
”

“
You
and me. Let
’
s go out.
Again. Just us. Grab a bite.
”

“
Something
fancy and romantic?
”

“
Is
that what you want?
”

“
Nope.
”

“
Pizza?
”

“
As
long as it
’
s Louie
’
s, I
’
ll be there.
”

“
You
’
re a tough sell.
”

“
I
have to be.
”

Blake lifted his head and kissed
Maya
’
s forehead. They
lingered in a little window of awkward silence, both knowing that if they even
just kissed once, it would turn into something much hotter.

So Maya took her hand away from
Blake and stood up.

They parted ways in different cars.
They
’
d go home and sleep.

Maya spent the rest of the day in a
blur, looking at the clock, waiting for the night to come again. The good thing
about crashing at five in the morning was that Maya didn
’
t get up until noon. So that put her at about an
eight hour wait until she and Blake could go out.

The feeling was intense inside her.
That fluttering feeling that wouldn
’
t
go away. Feeling nervous. Mouth dry. Heart racing. Worried about her hair;
something that never happened. There were times when Maya told herself it was
just Blake. They were just hanging out. They
’
d
eat, laugh, probably kiss a little. Who knew where it was going to go? It could
be something serious, something fun, or something disastrous.

By the time eight rolled around,
Maya had changed twice, played with her hair three times, and finally just
settled on the same jeans and hoodie she always wore. It was her go-to comfort
thing and, again,
it was just Blake
…

His car was old, made noise, and
the right speakers didn
’
t
work. The radio cut in and out so Blake didn
’
t
even bother turning it on.

They got to Louie
’
s closer to eight-thirty and sat
at the back corner table. It was right near a storage area that had pizza boxes
floor to ceiling. Ceiling fans spun, kicking around the smell of grease and
cheese with a hint of garlic. The benches were bright orange and cracked. The
table top fake wood, beat up, carved up with keys.

Where Maya sat there was a carving
that read
Anna loves Jake
. Above that was an arrow pointing down to Anna
and above that it read,
Whore!
.

Maya smiled.

Guess Anna and Jake didn
’
t last.

“
You
’
re quiet,
”
Blake said.
“
What
’
s wrong?
”

“
Nothing,
”
Maya said.
“
Still out of whack from the
sunrise adventure.
”

A young guy brought two sodas, two
straws, and a pizza.

“
It
’
s fun, right?
”
Blake asked.
“
Just a reminder of life and
time.
”

Maya sipped her soda and couldn
’
t believe she had nothing to
say. This was all too serious, even if it wasn
’
t.

“
Did
you talk to Sam at all?
”
she finally asked.

“
Yeah,
”
Blake said.
“
We
’
re
getting a loan to get a van now. Not sure if it
’
s
big enough for all our stuff, but it
’
s
something. Asher said he knows someone who can make like a magnet or sticker or
something to put on the side of the van.
”

“
A
Gone by Autumn van?
”
Maya
asked.
“
That
’
s really cool.
”

“
Yeah.
We
’
ll just be playing dive
bars though. For like ten people.
”

Maya reached across the table and touched
Blake
’
s hand.
“
Eleven people
…”

“
Yeah?
”

“
I
wouldn
’
t miss a show for
anything in the world. Ever. I promise.
”

“
I
doubt that,
”
Blake said.
“
You
’
re going to have your own life someday, Maya.
Someone like you
…”

“
Someone
like me?
”

“
Yeah.
You
’
re funny. Beautiful. I
mean, you
’
re not going to
mess around with us for the rest of your life, are you?
”