A Road to Let Go (Fallen Tuesday #4) (16 page)

“
You
should judge me,
”
Jake
said.
“
Everyone does. I can
take it. Don
’
t be afraid if
I prove you wrong.
”

“
Or
maybe you
’
ll prove me
right.
”

Jake laughed. He stood up and
backed away.

Mel hated to do it, but she had to
drive away. She made it a few seconds before the looked in the mirror. Jake was
already on his phone, but he was looking right at Mel.

She blushed, alone in her car.

(14)

Jake made a phone call before Mel
could disappear.

Frank answered on the second ring.

“
Are
you alive?
”
Frank yelled.

“
I
just called you,
”
Jake
said.
“
I
’
m talking to you. What do you
think?
”

“
Heard
you disappeared last night?
”

“
Eh,
took a night to slip away.
”

“
Slip
away? Is that smart?
”

“
I
don
’
t know,
”
Jake said.
“
Just needed time on my own.
”

“
Anything
you need to tell me?
”
Frank
asked.

Jake opened his mouth.
Yeah
…
Chloe is pregnant
…
“
I need a favor.
”

“
You
need a favor?
”

“
Well,
not really a favor, but I need a plane.
”

“
A
plane? What the hell is going on, Jake?
”

“
Just
get me a plane. We
’
re
entitled to it, right?
”

“
Sure.
”

“
Good.
”

“
We
’
re having a meeting
…”

“
What
time and where?
”

“
As
soon as you get here. The practice stage. I have some news to share and I
’
d prefer to share it with the
entire band. That does include you, Jake.
”

Jake rolled his eyes. This was
Frank
’
s attempt to be like
a father.

“
Yes,
sir,
”
Jake said and
laughed.
“
I
’
m leaving right now.
”

“
Leaving
where?
”

“
I
’
ll be there soon.
”

Jake ended the call with Frank
yelling into the phone. Smiling, Jake tapped the phone off his hand and shook
his head. It really had been one hell of a morning. Filled with good and bad,
with plenty more still to come. He knew there would be a lot more bad to come,
but something inside him hoped that the good would come with Mel. He was truly
hoping that she'd show up at their concert the next night.

As far as Chloe went
…
all Jake could do was speak the
truth. He could try and defend himself but it felt weak. Technically he hadn
’
t slept with anyone. The ironic
part was that he woke with a woman in his bed, but the housekeeper of the hotel
had been the one he kissed.

It was funny and it was messy. At
the end of the day though, Chloe was carrying his child. That much Jake knew
and needed to keep close to his heart.

A little while later Jake pulled
into the lot of the practice stage. There were five cars. He looked at all the
cars, making sure there were no extras -
meaning Chloe wasn
’
t there
- and then he
parked.

Opening the door to the practice
stage was the closest thing to opening the door to an office. The large, open
space echoed with the sounds of even the smallest footsteps. The large stage
was filled with instruments and Jake took notice of the new lighting. He
pointed and looked at Luke.

“
What
’
s up with that?
”

“
What
’
s up with you?
”
Luke called out.

Frank sat in a metal folding chair,
one leg on top of the other. Mack stood on the stage with his arms crossed.
Gray sat with his feet dangling off the stage to the floor. And Trent was
huddled in a corner, looking nervous and guilty.

“
The
lights?
”
Jake asked.

“
Had
them put up this morning,
”
Frank said.
“
Figure when
you guys practice you can get used to the lights for the tour. Start actually
practicing the shows.
”

“
That
’
s awesome.
”

“
Where
were you last night, bro?
”
Mack asked.
“
Not our
business
…
but
…”

“
Look,
I needed a night out,
”
Jake
said.
“
I
’
m sorry. I talked to Chloe and I
got the truth.
”

“
The
truth?
”
Frank asked.

“
Chloe
’
s pregnant, Frank. Okay? That
’
s what
’
s going on right now. She
’
s pregnant. It
’
s
mine. I confronted her and made her take a piss test. She took it, it was
positive, and then we got into a fight. I left and went to a hotel bar. I got
drunk, slept, woke up, and here I am.
”

The story was full of holes, but
Jake wasn
’
t worried about
it right now. He looked at Trent and could see something was going on. Trent
made a quick nod of his head like he wanted to talk to Jake.

“
Good
night then?
”
Luke asked.

“
I
’
m here, okay?
”

“
You
got Chloe pregnant?
”
Frank
asked.
“
What in the Christ
is wrong with you, Jake?
”

Jake looked at Frank.
“
What do I say? It happened.
”

“
Hold
on,
”
Frank said. He stood
up.
“
I
’
m playing catch-up here. This
woman comes to town
…”
He
put up a finger.
“
She
screws with Trent and gets him in trouble. Then she turns her sights on you,
Jake. You let her in and now she
’
s
pregnant.
”

“
Welcome
to the saga of Chloe,
”
Mack
said.
“
It
’
s been going on for years.
”

“
Thanks,
man,
”
Jake said.

“
What?
”
Mack asked.
“
Am I lying?
”

“
Calm
down,
”
Trent said.
“
The only thing that matters is
everyone stays calm and on the same page.
”

“
You
guys had me believing she wasn
’
t
pregnant,
”
Jake said.
“
I thought I had her in a corner.
But she took a test. It came up positive.
”

“
Damn,
”
Frank said.
“
I mean, this is just
…
are you with her at least,
Jake?
”

“
With
her?
”
Jake asked.
“
She
’
s in my damn apartment. She won
’
t leave. I
’
m forced
…”

“
Can
we talk about something else?
”
Luke cut in.
“
I
’
m sorry but I can
’
t do this. I can
’
t go through this again. I
’
m sorry.
”

“
I
agree,
”
Jake said.
“
I want to talk music. Touring.
Anything to get my mind off this mess.
”

“
Okay,
”
Frank.
“
Okay.
”
Frank opened his suit jacket and put his hands to his hips. He walked to the
stage and jumped up. He turned.
“
We
’
ve got a confirmed thirty tour
stop as of this moment.
”

“
Thirty?
”
Mack asked. He grinned like a
kid on Christmas morning.

“
No
shit,
”
Gray said.

“
That
’
s just the beginning talks with
venues and promoters. You guys are obviously the headliners.
”

Jake nodded. He liked this.
A
lot
.

“
I
’
m trying to start and end the
tour locally,
”
Frank said.
“
But with the success of these
radio spots and small concerts, we were thinking of expanding on that. Arena
shows and small shows in the same markets.
”

“
Is
that smart?
”
Trent asked.

Frank shrugged his shoulders.
“
Take a risk, right? Plus, the
smaller shows can offer us to do more charitable stuff. If you want.
”

“
Of
course,
”
Luke said.

The rest of the band agreed. It was
a great idea. Anything to give back to the fans and local organizations that
needed help with funding.

“
Good,
”
Frank said.
“
With this tour, guys, it
’
s going to be up to you. How
long can you last on the road?
”

“
I
’
m ready,
”
Mack said and reached for a drumstick and began to
twirl it.

“
Just
wait a minute,
”
Frank said.
“
Business wise, you guys go
out there and kill it and it
’
ll
be one of the top grossing tours of the year. I
’
m
talking competing against the biggest pop tours and the guys who have been
doing it for thirty years. But it comes with a price. You have to hit the road
for two years
…
what
’
s that going to do to the band?
To your personal lives? Just think about that for a second. Not to mention having
to also keep writing new music.
”

“
Money
will make the tour more comfortable,
”
Jake said.

“
Let
’
s set a limit for right now,
”
Luke said.
“
We get sixty cities or something
like that for the spring and summer.
”

“
International?
”
Frank asked.

“
There
’
s interest?
”
Trent asked.

Frank smiled.
“
Yeah. Big time.
”

“
Holy
shit,
”
Jake whispered. He
swallowed hard.

An international tour.

He smiled and for some reason he
thought of Mel. Her beautiful face popped into his mind.

“
One
thing at a time then,
”
Luke
said.

“
As
long as we
’
re on top of the
world,
”
Mack said,
“
we
’
ll
do what we want.
”

“
What
if the cities want more than one show?
”
Frank asked.
“
I think they
’
re going to sell out in minutes.
”

“
Double
up,
”
Gray said.
“
Right?
”

Gray looked at the band and they
all nodded.

“
Fair
enough,
”
Frank said. He
took off his suit jacket and dropped it to the floor.
“
That leaves one last thing to do.
”

“
Which
is?
”
Jake asked.

“
You
need an opening act.
”

“
Wow,
”
Trent said.
“
We get an opening act.
”

“
That
’
s right,
”
Frank said.
“
Now
…
I have a bunch of bands you can
listen to. I have a list of shows coming up and even a couple that are playing
tonight. I want you guys to take this seriously, okay? Remember what it meant
when you were picked up by Chasing Cross.
”

“
Changed
our lives,
”
Jake said.

“
Well
it helped that Luke played drums for them,
”
Mack said.

“
Maybe
our drummer should break his arm or something,
”
Gray said.

“
Dude,
”
Mack said.

Everyone laughed.

Frank pulled out a MP3 player from
his suit jacket after picking it up off the floor. He tossed it to Jake.

“
Everything
is on there,
”
Frank said.
“
Hook it up to the speakers in here
and go crazy. Then call me and I
’
ll
start making calls.
”
Frank
looked at his watch.
“
Right
now I have a conference call with the record company. I
’
ll pass along the touring thoughts you guys gave
me. But I
’
m going to be
honest
…
I
’
m not going to push for a really
long tour here. The money, the business, the idea is great, but it could kill a
band. We
’
ll find ways to
take breaks and do it that way.
”