Straight from the Heart (22 page)

Vince and Luke agreed with me. I watched
Cale slam his hands into his pockets and pull out his phone,
fumbling it around while it nearly hit the floor. “You guys heading
back? I might stay with Bryn if that’s okay with you?” He turned to
me and I nodded.

“We could just get a few pizzas from next
door and you all can stay,” I suggested. The guys seemed pumped up
about that idea.

“Hell yes!” Vince and Luke shouted in
unison, bumping into Cale as they headed downstairs.

“You haven’t had enough of us yet?” Cale
asked, picking me up so I wrapped my legs around his waist,
nuzzling my face into his neck.

“Never,” I grumbled, leaving a kiss on the
crease between his shoulder and neck. I unwrapped my legs just as
quick and rubbed my stomach heading towards the door. “You’re all
my brothers now that my only blood brother wants nothing to do with
me again.”

Cale halted at the bottom of the stairs,
causing me to bump into his back. “He hasn’t been returning your
calls again?”

I gave him a hesitant look. “Yeah. 
Why’d you ask me like that?”

He shrugged his shoulders. “Just seems
suspicious. Shows up at the meeting with Walker in Cali, is all
friendly, and now he’s standoffish? I don’t like that Bryn. Maybe
he…”

“Maybe he what?” I demanded. “You think he
had something to do with Raptor? That’s not even possible; Brayden
should be in Cleveland.”

“If I’ve learned anything about touring for
as many years as we have, it’s anything is possible and anything
can happen, Bryn,” Cale replied. “You told me he left at Christmas
am I right?” I mouthed yes. “Maybe something snapped. Maybe he’s
jealous of you, but honestly, I think he was one of the guys that
beat Raptor up and shot him.”

I didn’t want to believe what Cale admitted.
My brother responsible for tearing the band nearly apart, almost
halting the recording process indefinitely? He wouldn’t. At least I
thought so. I wasn’t going to rule anything out at this point. The
idea was burnt into my brain as we all each ordered an individual
pizza from Lozano’s and brought it back up to the loft. I couldn’t
concentrate on anything else but my brother at this point, and
hopefully ruling him out of this mess.

After a couple of days cooped up at the
practice warehouse writing song after song, Monday finally came.
The guys picked me up early in the morning and we drove to the
recording studio. The van ride was silent. I kept wondering should
I say something, make light conversation? But I paid attention to
the scenery instead, trying to look forward to the day and our new,
well, MY new band mate.

“Welcome again, you guys, to my humble
abode,” Gates joked, shaking all of our hands with a smile on his
face. “Tyler should be here in a bit, right?”

“Yeah, just got a text from him. He should
be here in a few,” Luke replied, laying down on the leather couch
beside him.

“Great, I can’t wait to get started. This is
going to be awesome.” Gates rubbed his hands together and messed
around with some of the sound equipment while I grabbed a bottle of
water out of the fridge. The guys were making small talk while I
hurried up to the bathroom before we got to work. When I got out, I
could sense tension with Cale. Tyler must be here.

“Bryn!” Vince yelled from across the room,
where everyone was standing. Making my way over I finally got to
see Tyler in the flesh. It’d been at least a year since I saw him,
but I had to take a second to catch my breath. His black hair was
in a clipper cut, with some hair on top but short everywhere else.
His brown eyes looked right in my direction and his lips perked up,
as if he remembered me from Ethan. “This is Tyler Donahue. Ty, meet
Bryn, our new guitarist who’s the best damn female guitar player
out there.”

Amused by his introduction, Tyler inched
closer and drew me into a hug instead of a handshake. “Sorry, I’m
more of a hugger.” He grinned. “But it’s nice to meet you again,
Bryn, since I only saw you a few times, am I right?”

“Yeah, feels like forever ago,” I replied
awkwardly, trying not to see Cale’s reaction.

“Brought some new sticks.” Tyler said to the
guys, grabbing them out of his duffel bag. “Hope that’s good.”

“All good, brother. Good to have you back.”
Gates gestured towards the drum equipment in the sound booth.

While Vince was in recording his bass parts
for “Never Again” and “Not Alone,” I was sitting next to Cale as
close as I could when Tyler approached us and sat down on my other
side. Cale tensed up and I placed my hand on his leg, letting him
know he needed to chill out.

“How’ve you been?” Tyler asked Cale.

Watching Cale’s jaw open and close for a few
seconds, he opened his mouth. “Pretty fuckin amazing. How about
you?”

“Been better, but sis appreciated me being
home for a bit,” Tyler joked, referring to his younger sister
Arianna. “Nose and jaw are still recovering though.”

That cheered Cale up almost instantly,
unwrapping his arm from my shoulders and sitting back more relaxed.
“Bet it hurt like a bitch, but you damn well deserved it and you
know it.”

Tyler put his hands up in defense. “I can
admit when I did something shitty like steal your girl away. I just
want things to be like they used to be when we were the dynamic duo
getting into trouble.” He brushed hair out of his face and
continued, “I know you’re pissed, which is why you kicked me out. I
can accept you might not ever like me again or still want to punch
me, but I’m here because I love this band and I want to be a part
of this and make Raptor proud.”

Cale’s face softened. “Okay enough of the
sob shit dude, let’s shake on it and promise we won’t fight each
other like that again!” They both stood up and shook firmly on
their deal. Pointing in my direction, he cautioned Tyler and said
“Just don’t steal her and we’ll be good.” Then they whispered
something else and were practically on the floor laughing.

I was proud of the turnaround they had made
in just a couple of minutes. While Cale was telling him tour
stories from this past tour, I listened intently, remembering the
crazy moments we had. When Cale told him about Damon taking me out
in Chicago and trying to date me he thought that was the funniest
thing in the world.

“That fuckers a womanizer. How’d you let him
near her?” Tyler questioned Cale.

“I was drunk and not even there when she let
him on the bus!” Cale defended himself. “She’s the one who saw some
sort of good in that guy.”

“He’s a good guy, just shitty with women and
uses them.” Tyler looked over at me and jerked his head in Cale’s
direction. “Better off with him. Loyal as a puppy dog.”

I mouthed ‘puppy dog?’ towards Cale.

“He’s right.” Cale patted him hard on the
back and flashed me a smile. “Pretty loyal guy if I do say so
myself.”

It was around nightfall by the time we left
the studio, only to come back the next week straight and do
everything over again. I was getting used to the routine: getting
up early, coming home late from recording. It was all so new to me,
but I loved it and couldn’t get enough. Tyler was blending well
with us and that pleased Cale and the guys more than anything.

Gates was an amazing producer and told us
what sounded great and not so great and what we could work on. It
paid off though, because by mid-October we were all finished
recording our full album, before mixing. I even got to sing
alongside Ace Patterson, who sang a song with us called “Live
Free,” and it was badass. I couldn’t wait to perform it live with
him if we got the chance; he was such a cool guy. I fell in love
with his Boston accent as soon as I heard it, but I wouldn’t have
told Cale that or he’d hurt the guy.

We went out to the Hard Rock in Detroit to
celebrate with the whole gang, including Raptor and Gates.

“Here’s to a platinum record, lady and
gentlemen!” He shouted, raising his glass of soda, waiting for us
to raise ours.

“Hell yes!” The guys bellowed, and I chanted
in return, clanging our glasses together and chugging our drinks
down.

“Cheers to having Tyler back in the group
after all the shit that went down!” Raptor yelled towards Tyler,
patting his shoulder with his freshly uncovered arm, minus the hand
brace. “Missed ya bro, I’ll still be on the side watching you guys
kick fucking ass coming up.” We weren’t planning a major tour until
after January with the holidays, but there were talks about
co-headlining with Angels from Hell, fronted by Kallie Cooper, one
of the hottest lead singers in the scene. I’d heard about her from
people on the last tour and her voice was intense. It reminded me
of the lead singer of Halestorm. Their new album was coming out
about the same time as us, in the middle of November.

“Thanks for inviting me back. It’s good to
patch things up with Cale and get back to work,” Tyler slurred.
“Now let’s get drunk!”

Watching the original crew get drunk was
definitely a sight. I sipped on my Pepsi while the guys ordered
shot after shot, not once offering me one because they didn’t want
to get in trouble. But with the way they were shouting at everyone
in the restaurant, I was sure we were going to get kicked out. When
“Whole Lotta Love” came over the speakers in the restaurant, Cale
shouted and tried to scoop me out of my seat.

“You remember this one?” he half asked, half
slurred. I barely understood him. I cocked my head to the side and
he spoke louder, but only more incoherent. “We sang fis at
kayreohkee B.”

That was when he opened his mouth to sing.
I’d heard drunk Cale sing, but not like that. He was in rare form
that night. Trying to lace his fingers through the belt loops on my
pants to bring me closer, I let him have his way just once. With
the chaos of being in and out of the studio and writing, there
hadn’t been much time for us to spend together just the two of us.
My chest bumped his and he unlaced his fingers, raking them through
my hair.

“Are you going to stay with me tonight?” I
stepped onto my tip toes and whispered in his ear. I tilted my head
back as he nuzzled his face into the side of my neck, leaving
alcohol kisses down to my collarbone. I tried not to feel turned on
by the touch of his lips, but it was damn near impossible now,
feeling tingly in between my legs.

Cale lifted his head and stared into my
eyes. “Mmmm…” He groaned, contemplating the idea. “You sure you can
handle all of this tonight? I did drink a little too…”

Putting a hand on his chest, I stopped him.
“I know you had too much to drink bud. I’m going to take care of
you and make sure you don’t have a hangover in the morning.”

“Ohhh, take care of me, huh?” He teased. “I
could think of a few ways…”

“I didn’t need to hear that!” Vince
staggered up beside us, covering his ears. “We need to get you
back, you’re too drunk.”

Cale stepped back and puffed out his chest.
“You’re worse than me, dude! Who’s driving anyways?”

I semi raised my hand, not drawing attention
to myself. “Obviously me. You boys have had way too much to drink
and I’m not dying at 18 because you’re completely intoxicated and
don’t know any better.”

The guys snickered and started pushing each
other around before Gates broke them up in his drunken stupor.

Once I saw a manager walk in our direction,
phone in hand, I pushed the guys towards the exit, giving an
apologetic smile in the manager’s direction. Outside, the guys were
making more noise and practically falling onto the sidewalk. Now
that we were away I couldn’t stop the giggles.
I was about to be
kicked out of a frickin restaurant!
I giggled to myself.

“See the look on that guys face!?” Raptor
said, standing on the edge of the sidewalk. “He looked ready to
call the cops on us!”

I had to lean against the building to hold
myself up from giggling so hard. I don’t think I’ve ever felt more
nervous in my whole life. “Not cool. We need to get home.” I
scolded.

“Yes mothhhherr,” Luke whined, jolting the
other guys along to the van. We gave Tyler a ride home as well
because he was in no condition to drive.

It was a change of pace having Tyler sit up
in the passenger seat. He wasn’t like the others, and left the
radio station at 101.1 WRIF, my favorite. When an old Motley Crue
song came on, he started drumming along with his fingers on his
legs like Tommy Lee, staring out the windows.

“So my cousins a complete dick, huh?” He
turned to ask me, his voice sounding tired.

So he must’ve found out about our big
breakup incident…but I knew he would’ve because they were cousins
and he’d been home lately, so the word was going to spread at some
point. Frowning, I replied “You heard about the video?”

“Yeah he told me. I got home after getting
checked at the hospital and saw him sitting on my couch, half
asleep with beer bottles from my stash surrounding him. I joked
with him though, I said ‘So the girl rejected your proposal?’ and
he looked up at me and said ‘I fucked up big time cousin and I lost
her.’ I’ll admit it was funny to see my prim and proper little
cousin in trouble because everything came so easy to him.”

“He came to the show here,” I admitted. “In
Detroit. Wanted to apologize and tell me he didn’t record the
video.”

Tyler’s brown eyes met mine. “You believed
him?”

“Guess so.” I replied, “I wanted to believe
him from the start, but I guess hearing it sober did it for
me.”

After that, the van was completely silent,
minus the radio. Craning my head back, I saw everyone was asleep,
with a hint of snoring. I remembered where Tyler’s house was,
pulling into the mile long driveway.

“Thanks for bringing me back home B, I
really appreciate it.” Tyler smiled weakly as he stumbled out of
the car.

“No problem Tyler, just get some sleep.” I
told him, and he nodded, pulling me into a warm hug. I’ll be damned
if I didn’t feel his bulging arm muscles practically smother me and
I loved it. I pulled away just as quick, telling him we’d see him
later and hurried back into the van.