Straight from the Heart (5 page)

“
Of course. I will be front row cheering
you on. I’ll always be your biggest fan, B. Always.”

“Make sure you don’t forget about us Miss
Bryn.” Louisa snapped me out of my daydream, as I was packing up
clothes for the tour. Cale and the guys were picking me up in a
short while and my body had been filled with all sorts of nerves.
Good and bad.

“Of course, Miss Lou, I wouldn’t forget you
guys. You’re the ones that gave me a chance when I left my mom and
dad. If it wasn’t for you and Alberto, I’d be out in the street.” I
admitted, giving her a long hug. “Thank you for letting me stay in
the loft and letting me work for you guys.”

“The job and place will always be open for
you sweetie when you get back in a few months.” Louisa promised. “I
may not be your mom, but I’ll look after you like you’re my own
daughter, and love you just as much.” Those words nearly brought me
to tears. She kissed both cheeks and I said goodbye to Alberto Sr.
and Jr., who promised me a true Italian dinner the night I came
back. I laughed and agreed.

I studied myself in the reflection of the
window outside. I tied my long hair into a high 80’s style ponytail
and put on a light coat of eyeliner to make my eyes pop. I had gone
to the mall the day before and bought a few pairs of skinny jeans
and some t-shirts that would help me blend in. If I was in a band
and going to be up on stage every night I might as well fit in with
the guys.  Within a couple of minutes I heard the sound of
pounding bass coming down the main street and knew it was the guys
with the bus.

I saw Cale open the door, hopping off the
bus to greet me. “It’s not fantastic, but it’s ours. We bought it
when Raptor and I started the band. Pissed our parents off we spent
all our money on this bus, but it runs like a charm.” He grabbed my
bags and guitar, putting them in the hatch on the side of the bus
that I assumed held the rest of the equipment. I still had no idea
what I was doing.

“It’s nice, though. Like a home away from
home, right?”

“Exactly. We pretty much have everything,
DVD player to watch movies, Xbox, kick ass music; it’s a big party
until we come back home and back to the real world.” He shut the
compartment by the wheels one last time and extended a hand. “Want
a hand up?”

I took his hand as he helped me up the
stairs to the bus. The inside was just as amazing as the outside.
Slick black leather seats sat on both sides of the bus and a flat
screen TV was displayed against one of the walls. “Bryn Schaefler
this is Hal Reynolds. He’s our bus driver and guard so to speak
when we have girls fawning over us.” I grinned, not knowing if he
was completely serious about the girls “fawning” over them.

Hal must’ve been in his late 30’s. His
muscles were bigger than both my legs combined, and his head was
shaved. “It’s nice to finally meet you. Maybe you’ll keep these
boys in line. Crazy fuckers we’re dealing with,” he joked, and
shook my hand.

“Don’t worry, I’ll give them a piece of my
mind, Hal. It’s nice to meet you,” I replied, following Cale as he
led me back towards Luke, Raptor and Vince, who were fighting over
some solider war game on the Xbox. Their heads shot up when they
heard me speak.

“Hey Bryn, welcome aboard!” Luke said, his
eyes never peeling away from the screen.

“Thanks guys. Having fun with that?” I
asked, as Vince shouted a string of swear words after his guy died
on screen.

“Shit, fuck. Sorry. I’m usually the one who
kicks their asses at this shit.” Vince gave me a sheepish look as
the others threw their controllers down.

“You’re scaring her off already with that
shit man,” Cale laughed, making his way further back, and showing
me the bunks. They were tiny as Hell, twin sized with little wiggle
room, but it was still freedom. I would take what I could get.
“Yeah, the beds are small; they’re definitely not made for two, but
give it a couple of nights and you will get the best night’s sleep
you’ve ever had.” He put his hand on the small of my back and
grinned like a possum. When I glared at him, he removed his hand.
“Sorry, sorry.  I promise that won’t happen again.”

But I wished it would.

We arrived in Detroit late afternoon on our
first day after stopping at a burger joint near the concert hall
the show was at. My head was pounding, trying to remember all of
the new music I was expected to play in front of hundreds, maybe
thousands. This was my big debut. The whole drive I had my head
phones in, iPod blaring with “pump me up” music.
What if I screw
up a solo? What happens if I trip on stage and fall on my ass?
Maybe the crowd won’t like me
. I couldn’t let all of these
thoughts get to me like this. I had to focus on playing an amazing
show. To get me on the right foot and become the greatest female
guitar player ever.

I wished.

Lying on my top bunk, I looked out the
window, seeing a crowd of dozens already lined up, waiting to see
the bands tonight.
This is real,
I told myself.
I’m
finally living my dream.

Hal parked the bus in with the other buses
that belonged to our fellow tour mates, and I jumped down from my
bed, sifting through my bags for an outfit to wear tonight. Every
little piece of clothing I brought with me was courtesy of Hot
Topic and a vintage store next to it. Oh my mother would kill me if
she saw the things I was doing and wearing. Peeking around the
corner to make sure the guys were still off-loading all of the
equipment, I changed into what I wanted to make my big debut
in.

I researched Everlasting after Cale offered
me the spot in the band and they were nuts. Like thrashing around
the stage nuts, practically banging their instruments with every
ounce of passion that could pour out of them. I knew these were
guys that loved what they did, and sang their hearts out and cared
for their fans. All I could do was just try to act the same
way.

Stepping off the bus, Hal whistled at my
outfit. “Look at you, young one. Gonna break some hearts?”

I laughed and high-fived him. “That’s the
plan. Break hearts and break faces by the time I’m done playing.
The guys are inside already?”

He nodded. “Yeah, they’re in the dressing
room. You go right straight past the buses and through that black
door. Take a right and it’ll have the band’s name on it. We’ve
played here before, so I know the place quite well.”

“Thanks, Hal. See you in a bit.” I waved and
weaved through the hustle and bustle of roadies and groupies. I
could feel eyes boring into me from left and right. I didn’t know
if I should be happy about that, or watching my back.

Passing the bus for Ignite the Flames, I saw
someone leaning against the door of the bus, smoking a cigarette,
aiming the smoke in my direction.

“First show?” The guy asked, taking one last
puff of his cigarette and throwing it onto the pavement. He was
good looking to say the least. It was like I was staring at Jax
Teller from Sons of Anarchy in the flesh, minus the whole biker
jacket thing going on. Wow, I could hardly contain myself.
Down
girl…you have a show to play.

Turning towards him, I put my hands on my
hips. “How’d you guess?” I asked, cocking one hip to the side. I
was showing a little too much leg, but I knew that’s how a lot of
girls dressed when on stage. I figured I might as well follow
suit.

Jax look-a-like smirked and gestured toward
my outfit. “It was easy, love. The outfit for starters, the way you
carry yourself, like you’re a stuck up pageant queen or some
shit.”

I gave him an indignant look. “Do you get
all of the girls like that, saying they’re stuck up pageant
queens?”

“Of course,” he winked, taking steps towards
me and outstretched his hand. “Damon Charming, Ignite the
Flames.”

I took his hand, shaking it with a tight
grip. His grey eyes were shooting laser beams into my system and
all of a sudden, I felt throbbing between my legs. I knew what that
meant. I wasn’t that inexperienced, despite being a virgin. His
eyes met mine and I smiled in return. “Bryn Schaefler,
Everlasting.”

“Bryn Schaefler huh?” He pulled out another
cigarette and lit it up right in front of me. “I heard about you.
New lead guitarist. Cale seems to think you’re a frickin’ prodigy
or something.”

Cale really said that about me
. He
must have been bragging to the world that he nailed me, not
literally. I shrugged my bare shoulders. “Yeah I guess I’m pretty
good.”

He took another puff and handed the butt
over to me. I shook my head and he placed it back into the side of
his mouth so he could talk. “Well, pretty good gets you nowhere,
darling. You’ve got to shred those notes like fuckin’ butter. Move
those fingers like you’re screwing the guitar bare back.” I stood
there with my mouth gaped open. I didn’t know how to react to that.
Sure he was pretty damn gorgeous, but I’ve never been around
someone who swore so much to my face. Showed how much I got around.
“But good luck. I’ll be watching you.” He winked again, and I
mouthed “bye”, looking back a couple of times his way before
finally making my way inside the venue.

This was where the chaos began. Dozens of
people were in the hallways, making sure equipment wasn’t missing,
guitars tuned. It was like a high school drama production. Complete
madness. I followed the directions Hal gave me, and turned right,
finding Everlastings dressing room within minutes. While knocking,
I grinned when I heard Poison’s “Nothin’ but a Good Time” blaring
inside the dressing room. I wiggled my hips to the beat of the
music as I waited for someone to open the door for me. Just as I
was about to knock again, Cale opens the door, shirtless, and
wearing a pair of black jeans that lay just below his waist. What
was it with me and guys? I had to get a grip; these were my
friends, not eye candy. But I couldn’t help myself. It was obvious
he worked out with the way his six pack was displayed in all its
glory, and his hair was tousled around, hiding his amber colored
eyes.  

“About time, slow poke. Pre-party was just
getting started!” Cale said, gesturing to the rest of the guys
drinking out of tall glasses and the excess beer cans splattered on
the floor. He must’ve finally noticed what I was wearing, because
the look on his face turned from happy to see me to sour in mere
seconds.

“What?” I questioned him. “Am I wearing the
wrong thing to go on stage? Is my skirt too short or something?” I
pulled down my black tutu so it covered some of my butt and crossed
my arms in front of the tight red corset I could barely squeeze
into. Most of my cleavage spilled out of it, so I had to be careful
and not let anything fall out tonight. Would this be something I
would normally wear? Hell no. I thought briefly back to the days my
mother would have our driver take me to the designer stores an hour
away just to buy dresses when I got a single stain on one. She
never believed in keeping clothes for long.

Cale licked his lips, placing his hands on
his hips. “Just not what I expected from a girl who used to wear
only pretty dresses. But truthfully, you’ve got the looks that kill
tonight.”

Walking into the dressing room, he shut the
door behind me. “She reminds me of Lucy a little bit.” Luke came up
and gave me a hug and kiss on the cheek. Cale shot daggers in
Luke’s direction and looked about ready to strangle him.
“Seriously, I mean with that red corset thingy or whatever it’s
called…”

“Who’s Lucy?” I wondered, wishing I wouldn’t
have asked that question out loud.

“No one,” Cale snapped. “Plays bass in
Ignite the Flames,”

“And Cale’s ex-girl,” Luke piped in again.
Out of reflex, Cale punched him in the arm, causing Luke to fall
back a few feet.

“Shut the hell up, Luke, or I’ll rip your
balls off and feed it to the line of fans outside this venue.” Cale
pointed a finger at his chest, and Luke put his hands up in
defense.

“Sorry, softy. Don’t be so uptight.” Luke
shook his head, turning his attention over to me. “By the way,
Bryn, you look like the hottest chick I’ve ever seen right now
wearing that. I’m just saying.”

“Thanks Luke.” I replied with a chuckle,
flattered in some strange way. I sat down on one of the chairs next
to the beat up leather couch.

“’Thanks Luke’ he’s just sucking up, B,
because he likes you.” This time I couldn’t help but laugh out
loud. Cale was unbelievable. Ever since meeting him, he’s been
either like a big brother as sweet as can be, then the next minute
being a complete asshole. I didn’t get it.

So I called him out on his bluff. “You’ve
been saying that about everyone Cale. You’re way too moody. You
need to loosen up. Live a little bit!” I decided to reach for the
bottle of vodka next to me and poured some into a glass. I chugged
the sour taste down, letting it burn in my throat as I stood up
shaky on my heeled boots and swayed to the music. “Don’t need
nothin’ but a good time…” I banged my glass against the rest of the
guys’ glasses as we took one last drink and smashed them onto the
long table in front of us. Cale slumped down onto the couch with a
pissed off, or jealous, expression. I couldn’t tell which.

“Heyy come on, Pelton. Hot stuffs right,
loosen up. Maybe screw one of the groupies after the set.” Raptor
slapped Cale on the back and handed him a can of beer.

He snatched the can of liquid away and drank
it down in seconds. Meeting his eyes with mine, he winked and said
“Maybe I will.”

This was so surreal. I was standing on the
side of the stage watching The Nemesis, one of the other supporting
acts on the tour, perform. I could see the thousands of people
chanting along and throwing their fists in the air to every word
the singer was shouting through the microphone. Their music
reminded me of Pierce the Veil, one of my favorite screamo bands.
The lead singer had long blond hair that was being thrown every
which way as he spun with the mic stand, and growled with such
passion and dedication. The guitar players were playing back to
back as they shredded the notes, killing it on stage. I practically
stood there with my mouth open in amazement, hoping I could pull
that same kind of energy off tonight.