Chase the Road (A Brothers of Rock - GONE BY AUTUMN - Novel) (11 page)

“
That
’
s just Asher,
”
Blake said.

“
He
didn
’
t like that I had so
many guy friends.
”

“
But
that was just you,
”
Blake
said.
“
You had girlfriends
though. Just not close, right?
”

“
No.
Not my thing. I don
’
t know
why. Maybe after dealing with shows, tours, and seeing groupies for so long, it
wore on me.
”

“
That
’
s a good reason,
”
Blake said.

“
Hey,
would I be a terrible person if I went to the cabin for a bit? Just to eat.
Shower. Think.
”

Blake turned and faced Maya.
“
Maya, no. You shouldn
’
t be here like this. He knows
you
’
re here. I bet he wants
you to go to the cabin and be comfortable. Try to take a breath and catch
yourself.
”

Blake could see Maya hesitating. Of
course she would be hesitating. She feared the worst. But this was the worst
right now. Waiting. Almost hoping but never wanting the truth to come.

Gently, Blake tugged at Maya
’
s hand. He got her to leave the
hospital room. Outside the room the band waited. There was a bit of a crowd at
the hospital now, the rumors swirling that Gone by Autumn was actually here.

“
What
can we do?
”
Tanner asked,
looking straight at Maya.

“
Let
’
s go to the cabin,
”
she said.

“
What
can I get?
”
Gabe asked.
“
Food? Beer?
”

“
Beer,
”
Maya said.
“
Lots of it. Please.
”

Asher smirked.
“
You got it. You two go to the
cabin and we
’
ll meet you
there.
”

Blake had rented a car and had Maya
in the passenger seat.

They arrived at the cabin thirty
minutes later. The dark, dirt road led right to the front porch of the cabin.
There was a small light always left on, just enough to give a path to the front
door. Blake had only been to the cabin a handful of times. None of them alone
with Maya.

Then again, they weren
’
t going to be alone this time
either. Soon enough, Gone by Autumn would show up with beer and food.

Blake rushed around to Maya
’
s door and opened it for her. He
opened the backdoor to the car and started grabbing bags. His bags, Maya
’
s bags, even an old guitar case,
because how can a rockstar travel anywhere without a guitar?

They walked to the door and Maya
dug in her purse for the key to the place. Blake stood, holding the bags,
feeling the weight increasing by the second.

“
Shit,
”
Maya said.
“
I hope I didn
’
t forget
…
no, wait
…
shit
…”

Maya looked up at Blake and
grinned.

“
What?
”
he asked.

“
I
found the key. Don
’
t worry.
We
’
re not locked out.
”

“
That
’
s good. Can we get inside? I
’
m going to drop everything soon.
”

Maya stared at him, smiling.

“
What?
”
Blake asked.

“
You
’
re really here.
”

“
Why
wouldn
’
t I be?
”

“
I
mean, after what we have kind of been going through
…”

“
Maya
…
I made a promise to you
…”

Maya nodded and came at Blake. He
was unable to move and his hands were full, making it impossible to keep Maya
from doing what her eyes hinted at what she intended on doing. When her lips
grazed Blake
’
s, life shot
through him, head to toe.

The kiss was quick, but Blake had a
feeling the night was going to be anything but that.

(11)

Sam dropped his briefcase on the
table and put his hands out.
He had gotten the damn thing from a yard sale
for a dollar. It served no real purpose other than making Sam look more
businesslike and smarter.

“
What?
”
Blake asked as he stared up at
Sam.

Sam loosened his tie and snapped
his fingers at Ryan.
“
Pour
me a scotch. No ice.
”

“
Excuse
me?
”
Ryan asked.

Sam grinned. He opened the
briefcase and took out papers. He flicked through them with his thumb and
smelled the air.
“
Do you
smell that?
”

“
Smell
what?
”
Asher asked.

It was almost four in the afternoon
and the band was getting ready for another show at The Jack. It had become sort
of their place to play. They packed it with loyal fans, played two hour sets,
and everyone went home happy. The place made money. The band made money. The
fans went home knowing soon enough they wouldn
’
t
be able to see Gone by Autumn on a small stage like that.

“
This
is it,
”
Sam said.
“
Time to move up the ladder.
”

“
What
the hell are you talking about?
”
Blake asked.

“
Touring
commitment contract,
”
Sam
said.
“
Whatever the hell
you want to call it. Simply put
…
we
’
re going on the road for
two months. Up and down the east coast, guys. Then out to Pittsburgh,
Cleveland, and back down. The little tour ends with a show at The Jack. And we
just keep pushing.
”

The room went silent.

The band had done some traveling. A
week or two at a time. There was a month long commitment a little while back,
but it was more traveling than playing, which turned out to be a bust. Not to
mention the van broke down halfway through and the emergency repair ate most of
the money the band made. Gas, supplies, food, booze, it all bled the money dry.
But it was damn fun to be out there. Playing shows. Gaining fans.

Everyone could feel the popularity
of the band swelling. Thanks to Sam and Maya offering more and more stuff
online, the fans were watching concerts, listening to music, and learning the
songs. A steady process.

“
We
’
re hitting the road for a couple
months,
”
Ryan said and
handed Sam his requested drink.

Sam threw the drink back in one big
gulp and slammed the glass down.
“
On
fucking tour!
”

That
’
s
when the band started to cheer.

On fucking tour.

They hugged, slapped fives, and
started arguing about setlists.

Blake looked over his shoulder and
spotted Maya near the door to the loft. She had her coat on, keys dangling from
her thumb. She smiled, a half smile, her eyes big, beautiful, but worried. He
made a move to break away from the band, but Maya shook her head.

She then mouthed,
Stay. Have
fun. Congrats, Blake. I
…
I have to go
…

Blake watched Maya leave before he
got to mouth something back to her.

I love you
…

Blake stood from the couch and
collected all the empty beer bottles.

“
Another
round?
”
he asked.

“
One
more!
”
Asher yelled.

He looked at Maya.
“
Need one?
”

“
Still
good,
”
she said.

Her first three had gone down fast
and smooth. The last two had been slow. Drinking wasn
’
t going to take anything away from Maya and Blake
knew that. When she drank, she got deeper in thought. It was almost like it let
her open her mind and heart a little more. Which meant Maya was a very
emotional person when she drank.

Blake went to the kitchen and
grabbed five beers.

The fire in the living room
crackled and popped. Gabe stoked the fire, keeping it alive, keeping the cabin
nice and warm. It was a cool night outside, damp from a passing shower, so the
fire was the perfect setting for everyone to hang out.

Blake dealt out the beers and Ryan
put his beer out.

“
Let
’
s give this one to Ted,
”
he said.
“
The grumpiest, yet coolest old
man I ever met.
”

“
Hell
yeah,
”
Asher said.
“
That guy hated me. I have to
admit something, Maya. I knew we
’
re
crazy close, like brother and sister, but there was one time
…
you were wearing these shorts.
You made them yourself and you had the pockets hanging down, right? And you
bent over to get something and they came up and I saw your undies. Red ones. I
’
ll never forget it. And Ted
caught me. Christ, that was the scariest thing I ever saw in my life.
”

“
You
checked out Maya?
”
Gabe
asked.

“
Once.
Red panties, man
…”

“
Yeah,
thanks,
”
Maya said.

Blake felt a fire of jealousy go
through him.

“
For
Ted,
”
Gabe said.

“
Ted,
”
Tanner added.

“
The
man who gave me drumsticks,
”
Blake said.

“
To
keep your hands off me,
”
Maya said with a giggle.

“
Yeah,
that
’
s right,
”
Blake said.

They tapped their beer bottles
together and then let the night roll on. They told old stories, laughed, drank,
and tried to keep the mood alive and well. Blake noticed Maya checking her
phone every couple minutes to make sure it hadn
’
t
magically turned itself off. Goddamn he wanted to just wrap his arms around her
again and hold her tight. Take her right in front of the fireplace and keep her
warm, in more than one way.

“
Hey,
wait a second,
”
Asher said,
almost ten deep now.
“
Where
’
s the other guy?
”

“
The
other guy?
”
Blake asked.

“
What
’
s his name
…
Shooter.
”

“
Hunter,
”
Maya said.

Blake curled his lip.

“
Yeah,
”
Asher said.
“
Where is he?
”

“
London.
”

“
London?
”
Asher asked.
“
Is that a chick
’
s name
…”

“
Jesus
Christ, Asher,
”
Ryan said.

“
The
city, idiot,
”
Maya said.

“
He
should be here,
”
Asher
said.

“
He
’
s not,
”
Maya said.

“
He
’
s in London,
”
Asher said in a horrible
British accent.
“
Look at
me, I
’
m Hunter
…
in London
…”

Everyone laughed. Except Maya.

“
Guys,
”
Blake said.

“
What?
”
Gabe asked.
“
Asher
’
s right. Who the fuck is that guy then? If that
were me
…
and Sabrina
…
I
’
d
fly across the world ten times for her.
”

Blake looked at Maya.

She looked at him and looked away.
“
It just didn
’
t work out.
”

“
Whoa,
”
Tanner said.
“
You two are
…
done
…
?
”

“
He
’
s not here, okay?
”
Maya said.
“
You guys are. I love you all for
it. Can we leave it at that?
”

“
Yeah,
we can,
”
Ryan said and
popped up.
“
We should get
going. Car
’
s waiting
outside for us.
”

“
You
can stay,
”
Maya said.

“
No,
”
Ryan said.
“
You stay. Do your thing. We
’
re here if you need us though.
But you should take time. Try to clear your head.
”
Ryan took Maya by the hand.
“
When
…
you know
…
it happens, Maya, just focus on yourself. The
memories and all that. We
’
ll
take care of everything for Ted. I
’
m
sorry this is happening.
”

Maya blinked a tear from her eye.
She stood and hugged Ryan, then Gabe, then Tanner, and finally, Asher. Asher
picked her up and twirled her.

“
Hey,
do you still have those red panties?
”
he asked.

Maya smacked Asher in the face, somewhat
gentle, but enough to make the slap sound.

“
Asshole,
”
Maya said.

Asher laughed.

The four of them walked to the
door.

Ryan opened it and looked back at
Blake and offered a sly grin.

That
’
s
when Blake stood. Maya turned and faced him.

“
Where
are you going?
”
she asked.

“
What?
The car out there
…”

“
You
’
re not staying?
”

“
You
want me to stay?
”

“
Of
course I do, Blake. I don
’
t
want to be here alone. This place freaks the hell out of me. You guys used to
make me watch those slasher horror movies. This is like the setting for all of
them. I can
’
t be here
alone. I can
’
t
…”

Maya
’
s
bottom lip quivered.

Blake grabbed her and pulled her
close again and hugged. His chin rested on the top of her head. He watched as
the headlights to the car started to move and eventually disappeared.

The band wasn
’
t waiting and never had intentions
of doing so.

Blake had a million questions
racing through his mind and he feared the answer to all of them. Because each
one
…
they
’
d continue to change everything
he knew. But for now, he was happy just holding Maya.

*

Maya had to pull over two
minutes into her drive home.
It started to rain, offering a stupid cliche
to all this shit going on and making it even easier to cry. She wiped her eyes
and gasped for air. She gripped the steering wheel tight and looked out the
windshield. The wipers weren
’
t
on and it was just a stream of water racing down.

She knew what was going to happen.
The band was amazing. They were going to get on the road and never look back.
Rightfully so. They were talented. Far more talented than the success they had
so far. Maya knew that when it was going to happen, it was going to be
explosive. This steady little climb was about to give.

The last couple weeks had been wild
with Blake. Every night they were together. Every night he held her, loved her,
touched her,
fucked her
, and then just stared at her. Playing with her
hair, his fingers gently touching her back, seeming as though he never blinked.
It was insanely romantic and Maya knew she loved him.

But there was so much in front of
him. The road. The tours. The fans. The years of music and success. Blake wasn
’
t going to just be the drummer
for Gone by Autumn, he was going to be
the drummer
for everything.

Maya wiped her eyes again and
forced herself to laugh. She never thought she
’
d
fall like this. She
’
d be
this close to one of the guys. But the second she and Blake met, it was instant
fire. There was no stopping them from getting into bed, and it seemed there was
no way for Maya to stop her heart from falling in love
…
and now there was no way to stop it from breaking.

She turned on the wipers and
started to drive again. She kept her hands tight on the wheel as she drove
through the rainstorm. When she parked and walked into her apartment, she was
soaking wet. But she didn
’
t
care. Maya went for a drink and sat at the table. She remained there in the
dark. Thinking. Convincing herself that she could get over Blake. That she
could let him go. That he could be the rockstar he was meant to be.

That this thing wouldn
’
t hurt her for the rest
of her life
…