Higher Octave (Heavy Influence #2.5) (10 page)

“Soon, I promise. I’m not staying long,
though. I’ll be there for a couple weeks before I leave for
Europe,” I explained. “You need to make arrangements to come with
me.”

***

I stared at the number next
to the name ‘Joe’ on my screen. Marty explained that
Joe
didn’t have a last
name – just another reason for me to feel a little freaky about
using Joe to find out about Sienna. But if anyone could find out
about what Sienna was up to, it would be someone in Mr. Todd’s
camp.

It was the first night I’d be staying in my
new home, and I felt strange walking into the dark house. Moonlight
cast through the highly placed windows in the living room, but
didn’t shine bright enough for me to really see anything. I had no
idea where the light switches were. I turned on the flashlight
feature on my phone and located the switches, turning them on. It
was cold. and I searched for the heater. I slowly walked around the
darkened house, turning on all the lights. and thought about Aly. I
didn’t want to think about her, but I had no control. I counted
down the days until she graduated. That would be the next time I’d
see her.

It was early, just past 7 PM, and I made my
way up the stairs and thought about the album covers I’d seen that
lined Grace’s stairway wall. She must be the graphic artist that
did all those covers. I had to confirm my assumption. I hopped onto
the bed and kicked off my shoes, sinking into the pillows as I
called Gabe.

“Jake?”

“Yeah.”

“All good?”

“Yep. I have a question. Does Grace design
album covers?”

“Yes. That’s how I met her. Driving Dave
Grohl to a party. Grace was there.”

Huh. “Thought so,” I said as I moved from
the bed to take my pants off. “I just had dinner with her.”

“How did it go?”
Argh.
I rolled my eyes.
Gabe sounded like a father.

“Fine.” I picked up my duffle bag and dug
out a pair of sweats. “Look, I told her I was stuck on Aly. We
talked about Phillip. We’re friends. I don’t want anything from
her. So you can relax.”

“Good.”

I punched the speaker button and tossed the
phone on the bed as I struggled with sticking my legs through my
sweats. “Why didn’t you tell me she designed album covers?”

“I didn’t think of it.”

I chuckled. “Alright, man. Talk to you
later.”

“Take care.”

***

Morning rolled around, and
it was as if a star exploded in my face. I squinted, looking at the
window as I stumbled over to it, muting the sunlight with dark grey
shades. I took a piss and located my phone to check the time. It
was just after 9 AM. I’d stayed up until 2 AM writing a new song,
all inspired by my walk with Grace. I was stoked on the melody, and
spent the morning playing around with it. I was almost tempted to
name it just that –
My Walk with
Grace.
Maybe I would.

It was Monday, and time for me to call Joe.
The number rang to a factory set voicemail.

“Hey, yeah, David Todd gave me your number.
I need some info on someone. Please call me.” I left my name and
number.

Joe called right back, and
I wasted no time in giving him Sienna’s name, last known address in
Miami, and her phone number. She never did text me back, so who
knew if that number was still valid. His accent was Spanish in
inflection; perhaps he was Puerto Rican, I thought. I explained to
Joe that I wanted to find out what Sienna was up to with her book
deal, and what she’d planned to expose as
the truth.

Three days later, I received a call,
informing me that he had the manuscript and asking me for my
address. I gave him my mom’s address. I didn’t want anyone to know
where I lived. I then asked Joe how much to pay and how to get it
to him, and he informed me that Mr. Todd took care of it.

My blood ran cold. I didn’t want to owe Mr.
Todd anything. As if my blood running cold was a warning, two days
later, Mr. Todd showed up on my doorstep. He held a copy of
Sienna’s manuscript, her new address, and pictures of her and the
people she was interacting with on the day they were taken—which
was just a few days prior.

“Mr. Todd.” I bowed my head, forcing a
smile. He totally caught me off guard, but I didn’t hesitate to
invite him in, even though I was supposed to be leaving to meet
Grace at the beach. “I’m a little confused as to the hand delivery,
Mr. Todd. Thank you, thank you. Please, please let me repay
you.”

“Jake.” Mr. Todd stepped around my living
area, inspecting everything. He’d come in alone, leaving two big
bodyguards outside. “I was planning a trip here anyway. I have
business at Universal. I flew in early, and I’m glad I did. Your
mother is a lovely woman. It took me a day to find you here. She
wouldn’t give me any information about your whereabouts.”

I gulped. Why was I nervous? I didn’t do
anything wrong. “You can understand.” I laughed it off.

“Of course, of course.” He unbuttoned his
suit jacket and sat down, tossing the manila folder onto the coffee
table. “Some interesting information in there. I didn’t read it of
course, too much fluff. I had someone else read it and give me the
Cliff’s Notes.”

“And?”

He eyeballed me, leaning back into the white
fabric chair, crossing his legs. “You have some drama in your life.
I had no idea.”

“Why would you?” I shrugged, trying to act
casual, but my mouth was so dry I could have spit out cotton balls.
“You want something to drink?”

“No, no. Thank you. I have to get going in a
minute.”

I wanted to shout at him to spill his
fucking guts. I was completely coming apart inside as he smirked at
me, almost laughing, like he knew. “Mr. Todd. Thank you, but you
didn’t have to do any of this…paying Joe and coming here personally
to deliver that.” I pointed at the thick envelope, which was
screaming for me to pick it up. “There’s nothing in that book that
I’m worried about. I know I’ve done some fucked up things, and the
only person I really care about knows every sorry detail of my
life.”

“That would be Alyssa Montgomery? Correct?
The young lady that used to live with you.”

“Yes,” I confirmed. A curious thought popped
in my head, and I decided to get personal. “Mr. Todd. Are you
married?”

“Yes. I am.”

“How long?”

“Thirty-years.”

I nodded, impressed, totally not expecting
that answer. “Nice. Gives me hope.” I got up, grabbed the envelope
and opened it, taking out the thickly-bound paper. Pictures fell
onto the table. “Are you sure you don’t want me to pay you for
Joe’s work?”

“Yes.”

I was still curious about Mr. Todd’s life,
as I stared at pictures of Sienna and what looked like her older
sister, with a kid and a dude. “Do you have kids?”

“Yes. Three.” I nodded, and he got up,
smiling down at me. “Only one of them is by my wife.”

I tried not to look shocked
by his admission, but who knows what my face really looked like. I
frowned and nodded, trying to look like I didn’t give a shit. He
looked proud, and he probably thought I was that type of guy too,
based on the information in the book Sienna wrote, probably
confirming my affair with her. But that was different than
blatantly cheating on your wife.
Sure
…I was just fucked up, fucking my
dead best friend’s wife.
Ugh – fucking
loser move.
I hated even thinking about
it.

We said our goodbyes, and I walked him out.
As he stood next to his car, he asked me one last question. “When
are you going to Europe again?”

“I’m actually going in
June.”
After Aly graduates
college.

“Good. I’ll be having Sloan join you.”

Sloan was Mr. Todd’s assistant, or some
fucking thing like that. He was probably boning her. I groaned
loudly after his car had pulled away. I didn’t want to object or
start an argument, so I just nodded in agreement, and he told me
he’d be in touch.

What the hell was that about?

10

It was a hot spring day, with barely any
wind. I’d rushed to change into a pair of board shorts and a
t-shirt, throwing on a trucker hat and dark shades. It was 2:30 PM,
and I was a half hour late. I stood on the Manhattan Beach Pier,
searching the area near the south side lifeguard tower, near the
water. I spotted Ethan in his little yellow baseball cap and red
shorts. Grace was wearing a white sundress and a woven straw floppy
hat – just like she’d described. I trotted down the stairs and
kicked my flip-flops off, trucking across the sand toward them. I
hadn’t seen Grace since our dinner together, but Ethan recognized
me immediately as I approached.

“Jake!” he screamed, running toward me with
a bucket in his hand.

“Hey, buddy.” I grabbed the top of his small
head and gave it a playful jiggle.

“Mommy, look who’s here!” He sounded
surprised. She must not have told him I was joining them.

Grace stood near a beach chair and a couple
of bright blue and white towels. She waved with a big smile. Her
beautiful eyes were covered by dark shades. Ethan collapsed near
the towels and began shoveling sand into a big blue bucket. Grace
and I said hello and hugged each other, and she engaged Ethan
before we could say anymore to each other.

“Honey, why don’t take your buckets over
there? The wet sand will be better.” She pointed to the wet sand
just several feet away from us.

He nodded and grabbed two
buckets, talking to himself, planning out his steps. He was totally
in the zone. “I’m gonna be a builder like
Bob the Builder
!” he proclaimed, and
turned dashing towards the wet sand.

Grace turned to face me, and I plopped down
on one of the towels, stretching out my legs. They were white, and
it was embarrassing.

Grace sat in the beach chair next to me,
removing her big hat, and pulled her dress up over her head,
exposing a body that I didn’t expect. She was fit and toned. I
shamed myself for wanting to look at her and distracted myself by
removing my own shirt. I’m not sure what type of body I thought
she’d have. She was slim, and looked great in clothes, but bikini
ready? Even twenty-year-olds didn’t look as fit as her. I was
impressed.

“Well done, Grace,” I admired. “I think you
get out of the house more than you say you do.”

I could see her blush as she placed the
wide-brimmed hat back on her head. “Oh, stop. I have a few machines
in my house, and I do yoga to a video.”

“Ah, no human contact,” I mused, giving her
a hard time.

“Nope.” She laughed, too. “Humans are
overrated.”

We made small talk as we watched Ethan play
in the sand and interact with other kids. I felt antsy, like I had
to unload what just happened with Mr. Todd.

“Have you done any more research on me?” I
asked, laying out flat on my back, tucking my arms under my
head.

She sniggered. “No.”

“So you know about my drummer. He died.”

“Yes. I’m sorry.” Her tone was
consolatory.

“When you were lurking the net, did you read
anything about me and his wife, Sienna?”

“Yes.”

My stomach sank, disturbed. “Do you believe
it?”

“To be honest with you, I read it and
thought what the hell, and then didn’t think any more about
it.”

“It’s true, and you’re only the third person
I’ve told.”

Her mouth hung open for a
second before she clamped it shut. “Why are you telling me
this?”
I sighed. “I don’t know. Probably because I need to tell someone
who doesn’t know me, before the entire world finds out the truth. I
know it sounds fucked up, and it
is
, but I can’t change what happened,
and we both just kinda lived in the moment.”

“I certainly say you did, but I’m not
judging you.”

“You sure?”

“Yeah. She was probably lonely. I know all
about lonely.” Her voice trailed off at the thought. I hoped she
wasn’t lonely anymore. “And he was sick, right? She was probably
starved for human contact.”

I thought about what she said, and that’s
exactly why we did what we did.

“Sienna’s written a book, and it’s gonna be
published soon. She didn’t tell me or anyone else I know. I found
out through a journalist, of all people. She actually won’t talk to
me anymore. She said she wanted to start a new life and wished me
well, disappearing one day from the last rehab facility we were at
together. I was totally cool with it. We’d stayed in touch from
time to time, then she told me to leave her alone, that it was just
too hard for her to hear from me. That hurt, but I understood. Then
I heard about the book…and fast forward, I just got the unpublished
manuscript right before I came to meet you. That’s why I was late.
The delivery was unexpected. Our affair will probably be in
there.”

She nodded. “Wow. You didn’t lie about it,
did you?”

“Nope, not really, more like skirted the
issue. We both just ignored it at every turn. Plus, we were both in
rehab. I had limited contact with the outside world, and it just
faded out.”

“And you’re worried the love of your life
will find out? Alyssa?” My stomach sank at hearing Aly’s name.

“She knows.” I pulled the hat off my head
and covered my face with it. The story was just too upsetting to
recall. “I told Aly the truth right when she asked me. That was the
real nail in our coffin. Aly was the only one who knew the truth
for three years. She never said anything to anyone. I can trust her
like that. She’s unlike any chick I’ve ever known. She’s loved me
through some fucked up shit, and she’s driven, smart and didn’t
settle with me. She’s following her dream of finishing school and
finding out what she wants to do with her life.” It made me love
her more for not taking the easy way out. “And I just admitted my
shitty indiscretion to my friend Bobby, who was in my band. He’s my
best bro and…now you.”