Fully Automatic (Bullet) (25 page)

Chapter Twenty-eight

BRAD AWOKE THE
next morning to the sound of a spoon scraping a bowl.  He shifted and then realized he wasn’t in his bed.  He fluttered his eyes, trying to get his bearings.  Oh, yeah…his new home in a tiny apartment in Denver, sleeping in a cot.

Aside from the occasional discomfort around the middle of the cot when he
’d shifted too quickly, it wasn’t bad and he’d slept pretty well.  He thought it was partly due to exhaustion and the beer.

He rolled on his side and tried to go back to sleep.

After several minutes, he rolled on his other side, but it wasn’t happening.  He was thinking too much about the next few hours, the entire day, the next week—and so much was depending upon him.

So much for sleep.

As he sat up, he realized he’d slept well definitely due to the beer.  He wasn’t hung over, not by a long shot, but his mouth was dry.  Zane was on the other cot in the living room, Ethan on the couch, and both were completely out.  He was wearing his jeans but no shirt.  He found yesterday’s t-shirt on the foot of the bed and grabbed it, sliding it on.  Then he got up and went to the kitchen.  He would put the cot and bedding away after he had some water and a few cups of coffee.

He was glad he’d had the presence of mind to prep the coffee pot the night before.  He got the coffee brewing
by pushing one button and then poured a glass of water, guzzling half the glass.  Then he sat at the table.

He couldn’t sit
and wait.  He got up and folded up the cot and the bedding, tucking them into the closet in the living room.  By the time he got back to the kitchen, the coffee was ready.  He poured himself a cup and then sat at the table again, trying to decide what he should do first.  He’d grab his phone in a few minutes and go through the list he’d been making in the Notes app.  First, though, he was going to enjoy his first cup of coffee in his new place.

He’d been wondering if it had been Valerie or Nick he’d heard in the kitchen, but he’d already deduced it was Val.  Nick didn’t get up this early in the morning.
  He wondered why she was up so early.

He was halfway through
that first cup when she came out of her room into the kitchen.  She was dressed and ready for the day.  He asked, “What’s up?”

“I’m going to spend the day looking for a job.”

“Already?”  And he thought
he
was feeling desperate.

“A good idea, don’t you think?”

He smiled.  Yes, it was a great idea, and he
had
been thinking about it.  “I was gonna wait for a day or two, but I really can’t put it off when you’re so motivated.”

She
shrugged.  “I need a head start.  I don’t have much experience.  So what are
you
doing up so early?”

He hadn’t checked the time.  He didn’t know it was
that
early.  “Can’t sleep.  Too much on my mind.”

He heard Ethan make a hacking noise from where he lay on the couch.  There was no full-blown wall between the kitchen area and the dining room, so they could see him from the table.  He muttered,
“Kinda hard to sleep with your goddamn blow dryer making noise.”

Ethan’s lack of gratitude—
especially
for this girl who obviously worshipped the ground the asshole walked on—rubbed Brad the wrong way.  “Shut the fuck up, Ethan.  She’s doing this whole band a solid.”

Ethan grumbled into his pillow, but he made sure that time they couldn’t hear what he said.  Good thing, because Brad wasn’t in the mood.  Val forced a smile.  “Well, I guess I better get started.”

“Hold on.”  He stood up and pulled out his wallet.  He’d had keys made the day before and had forgotten to give Val and Ethan theirs.  He took out one for Val.  “Here’s your key to the apartment.  Good luck.”

She took it
and put it in her pocket.  She told him
thanks
and then left.

Brad hadn’t been kidding—if Val was going to look for work, he couldn’t very well just sit on his ass.  So he finished the cup of coffee and made his way into the shower.

He didn’t plan to search for work all day, but he drove around the neighborhood.  He was going to look for work he knew.  He found several lube and oil shops and filled out applications, whether or not they said they were hiring.  By mid-afternoon, though, he was done, and when he got home, he was halfway glad the guys were still sleeping.  It allowed him time to do his computer things.  The one splurge he’d wanted was internet access, and they’d gotten it.  It was the one thing he felt like he couldn’t live without.  He didn’t need an Xbox or a television, but to book their shows, he needed a computer.  It had turned out to be his greatest networking tool.  He could do it with his phone, but it was a pain in the ass.  He’d set up a Facebook and Twitter account for the band, but he hardly did anything with them.  They had some fans and followers, but nothing worth going nuts over yet.  He’d post a snippet of a song once in a while or someone would post a video from a show for them, but it wasn’t a lot.  His own page, though, he used to network.  He was friends with a lot of guys in bands, and they all stayed connected.  When there was a show, they’d spread the word like wildfire.  Fully Automatic already had a reputation as being reliable, and it worked in his favor.  If a band dropped out of a gig six weeks before show time, people would contact Brad, and if Brad said they could make it, they would.  In spite of Ethan’s occasional teetering, they’d never let another band or an audience down yet, and Brad didn’t plan to start.

So…he didn’t h
ave many problems booking shows, but he needed his computer to do most of the work.  It was the one thing he’d purchased since their move that could have been viewed as an indulgence—but it really wasn’t.

Later that afternoon, he started getting concerned about Valerie.  He considered calling her, but he wasn’t ready to start freaking out.  The guys finally awakened one at a time
, and Brad let them know that they had more things to work through, but he wanted to make Valerie comfortable and pampered when she got back.  Ethan bristled a little (and all Brad could figure was it was because it hadn’t been
his
idea), but he said nothing.  “I’m gonna start dinner.  Who wants to help?”

Nick said, “I can.  I had to cook a meal or two at home.”

Brad hoped his look at Zane and Ethan was pointed.  “That means it’s your turn next.”  Ethan rolled his eyes but said nothing.  Brad was expecting him to start pushing back, but he hadn’t.  Not a word.  He had to give Ethan credit—in spite of the huge chip on his friend’s shoulder, the guy was keeping it together.  He was taking Brad’s direction too, even when it pissed him off.  Brad had to give him huge kudos for that.

And he made a promise to himself so he’d quit worrying—if Val wasn’t back by the time they were ready to eat, he’d call her cell.  Until then, he was going to chill.

* * *

It turned out
to be a good thing that he hadn’t called her, because she showed up a few minutes before the food was finished.  She said a quick
hi
and then went to her room.  She looked exhausted and her face was flushed.  When she returned, she was wearing a t-shirt and her shoes were off.  She poured herself a glass of water and asked, “Do you guys know where the nearest laundromat is?”

Nick couldn’t resist the opening and turned from where he stood at the stove.  “You need one already?  Damn…you’re worse than any of the other girls I know.”

Brad, used to his witty retorts, told Valerie, “We’ll have to look it up.  Maybe we could pick a day for laundry.”

“Another thing I didn’t think of.”

“You look tired.  Sit down and relax.  We’ll be eating in a little bit.”

She nodded, sitting at the table, propping her chin in her hand.  “It smells good.  What are you making?”

Nick, completely deadpan, answered her.  “Something exquisite that will make you feel like you’re home again…an exotic taste with just a hint of delicate cheese that will transport you to another world.”

Brad couldn’t help but smile.  “Hamburger Helper.”

Val laughed.  “Well, I’m not complaining.  It sounds lovely, Nick.”

Nick bowed.  “Anything for the lady.”

“And we’re having a salad and baked potatoes with it.  These guys eat like there’s no tomorrow, so I figured we needed to make a lot.”

Nick started waving around the large spoon in his hand.  “Don’t expect this every night.  Brad’s a slave driver.  I can’t work with him anymore.”

While Brad started getting out the bottles of salad dressing out of the fridge, Ethan walked in the kitchen from the big bedroom where he and Zane had been working on a song.  “Val.  You look beat.  What the hell were you out doing all day?”

“I was looking for work.”

“Doing what?  Singing not enough for you?”

“Oh, it’s plenty, but I want to make sure we can pay our bills.”  He nodded and then started rubbing her shoulders.  Brad
busied himself with dinner tasks, because Ethan’s actions were pissing him off.  Why couldn’t the guy go on the prowl for his usual make and model?

Who was he kidding?  It was inevitable.  He knew it in his gut.

In spite of his fear that there was a budding relationship between the two people who were likely his best friends on the planet, the meal that night was exactly what they needed.  After their disheartening first day and night in their tiny, dingy apartment, the second had given them hope.  They talked about what each did for the day and then focused on what would be happening at the end of the week and then beyond—the hopes and dreams that had brought them here in the first place.  Brad looked around the table and, for the first time in a long time, felt like he was surrounded by family.

Chapter Twenty-nine

AFTER DINNER, VAL bowed out, but not after offering to clean up the kitchen, enlisting Zane and Ethan’s help.  She’d had a long day and just wanted a shower and to go to bed.  They’d been having such a good time that Brad was disappointed, but he understood.  She’d been hiking around the neighborhood looking for work all day, a process that could be both physically and mentally tiring.

Much as he hated missing her company, Brad knew this was the perfect opportunity to discuss other arrangements he and the males of the house needed to make.  Whether or not they wanted to have women over, they would all enjoy a
n occasional night sleeping in the double bed, and it wouldn’t be fair to be haphazard about it.  He wanted to stop any potential arguments before they would start.

As they settled in the living room, Nick asked, “What movie we gonna watch?”

“We’ll figure that out soon enough, but first…something we need to get out of the way.”  Brad held out a small pocket calendar, one the size of a checkbook with a picture of a dog on the front.  It was a two-year calendar, and they were more than halfway through the first year of the calendar, but that was why Brad had found it so cheap at the dollar store.  He held it up for the guys to see and said, “We need to create a schedule for the other bedroom.”

Ethan said, “What do you mean exactly?”

“I mean we’ll rotate.  Every fourth day will be your turn in there.  I don’t give a shit what you do in there, but on your night, it’s yours, no one else’s. That means, too, that we’ll be rotating what night we get the couch.”

Zane said, “Maybe to make it easy we could have the couch the night after we have the bedroom.”

“Good idea.”

Nick’s eyes lit up.  “So…we can bring chicks over on the night we have the room?”

Brad nodded.  “That’s the idea.  I think you can go three days without, right?”

“Fuck that.  I just won’t do it
here
on my off nights.”  He put a serious look on his face, one of the ones that usually indicated he was half joking.  “I just have to start lining up some dates.”  Nick whipped out his phone, pulling up his contacts list.

Zane asked, “You trying to find Angelica?”

Brad shook his head.  He’d often wondered if Angelica really existed.  She was a mysterious girl who happened to take care of Nick at more than one of their concerts, but she was nowhere to be found when it was time to party.  But he knew Nick and knew the guy had incredible luck when it came to the ladies.  He figured he must have had some great pick-up lines.  The guy was never hurting for a girl.

Nick didn’t miss a beat.  “Hell, yeah.  She gives good head.”

Ethan laughed.  “What makes you think she’ll wanna fuck your scrawny ass again?”

“They all want Nick again once they’ve tasted him the first time.”

Back to business, Brad said, “Okay.  You’re fourth.”  It was probably only fair, considering Nick had had the bedroom the night before anyway, but he wasn’t going to say anything.  It had just worked out that way.

Ethan
asked, “So who’s tonight?”

“Me, I guess.”

Nick said, “That’s cool, though, right?”

“What?”

“Guests.”

Zane
piped in.  “Fuck, yeah.  I thought that was the whole point.  If we can’t invite our girlfriends, why bother setting up a schedule or even having the room to ourselves?”

Nick said,
“You don’t need a girl to take care of your needs.”

“Maybe
you
don’t.”

Nick confirmed
that he was okay with Brad’s schedule.  “Yeah, I’ll go last.  That’ll give me time to put it to good use.”

They all heard a cabinet door close in t
he kitchen and looked toward the sound.  Val was getting a glass out, wearing a robe with a towel wrapped around her head.  Brad had no way of knowing how much she’d heard, but he knew for a girl that none of it could have been savory.  She moved to the sink and started pouring water into the glass, not looking at the guys.

Brad knew she’d overheard them, though.  There was no way she couldn’t have. 
“Sorry you had to hear that, Val.”

She walked
into the living room.  “Please, don’t be.  We’re gonna have to get used to living together, and just ‘cause I’m a prude doesn’t mean the rest of you have to be.”

Nick rolled his eyes but half laughed.  Zane said,
“Hey…what’s fair is fair.  You can have guys over too if you want.”

Well, in a fair world, Zane was right, and Brad wouldn’t say a word, but he’d die if Val started traipsing guys into her room whenever she felt like it.  And, if she did it frequently, he knew it wouldn’t be long before the guys started complaining that it wasn’t fair that she had her own room.  He suspected, though, that Val wouldn’t even dream of it.  To the best of his knowledge, she was still a virgin.  But the other guys didn’t necessarily know that
, and he wasn’t going to be the one to tell them.

She smiled and blew him off. 
“I’m gonna go do a little writing and then hit the hay.  I’m tired.”

Ethan
asked, “Sure you don’t wanna hang?  Bradley here was gonna put a DVD in his laptop.  Movie night.”

“Thanks, but you guys can resume your conversation.”

“We’re done.  Don’t go.”

“Thanks, really.  I’m just tired.”

After she left, Brad said, “Okay, so how’s this sound?  Me, then Zane, Ethan, and Nick.  And we’ll rotate that way from now on.  And I like Zane’s idea, that you have the couch the night after you have the bedroom.”  The guys nodded.  “And I know you guys are gonna accuse me of being a hard ass, but it needs saying—cots and bedding in the closet after you get up.  This place is way too small to leave that shit out all day.”

“Bradley, why the fuck you feel the need to be a dictator all the time?”  Ethan put the emphasis on the first syllable, indicating in no uncertain terms that he thought Brad was a
dick
.

“Man, don’t give me grief.  We gotta have ground rules.  Otherwise, we’ll wind up wanting to kill each other.”

He looked at Brad through half-lowered lids.  “Too late.”

Brad had just about had it.  Zane said, “Come on, guys.  Ethan, Brad’s right.  This is the democratic way of doing things.  It’s only fair.”

Ethan rolled his eyes.  “Yeah, I guess so.”

He didn’t apologize, but at least he chilled out.  Brad would settle for that.  “Anything else we need to cover?”

Zane said, “I think we’re good.”

Nick said, “Movie time!”  Brad got out his laptop and slid it over to Nick.  Nick had a movie collection online and had a
compilation of bad horror movies he liked to share.  Brad got the last six-pack of beer out of the fridge and settled on the floor.

They started watching
the movie—dumb by any standard, but Nick made it funny.  The guy had so many zingers, it was hard not to enjoy the movie.

And that was why it didn’t escape Brad’s not
ice that Ethan left for a while.  He realized Ethan might have just been using the restroom, but he had a feeling it was something else, something involving Valerie.  And he bit his tongue and tried to shut off the part of his brain that still wanted her…because she wasn’t his and never would be, and the sooner he admitted that to himself, the sooner he could let her go.

* * *

By the end of their first week, Brad was feeling better about his whole life.  He managed to get an interview, followed up with a job.  He fucking hated changing oil and lubing cars, but it would help pay the bills until they could make serious bank with the band.  If they could get a good following, they could record a quality EP instead of the shitty one they’d done during a practice session—but that was a far-off dream.  For now, he lived for the shows.

And the two shows they played that weekend were incredible.  They
got better and better as a band, every time they played together.  Brad knew it was just a matter of time before they broke big.  He had to be ready—and have them all prepared—for that moment.

They were all chilling out Sunday afternoon.  It had been a long week, but he could tell by the general mood that they all felt good about it.

They ate hamburgers and fries around the kitchen table, celebrating their first week.  They were settling into a routine, getting used to working and living with each other, and they weren’t killing each other.

He had an idea for a song, and he needed a strong bass line to go with it, so he asked Zane to help him work it out.  They went to the big bedroom and started working out a cool
chorus.  Nick asked to borrow the laptop to pick out some movies for later.

After a while, he and Zane got tired, wanting to return to it the next day, and Nick said he’d picked out three great movies for the
afternoon.  One was actually a comedy on purpose.  So the three of them sat around the silly little laptop, and, after a while, Brad dozed off in the chair.  His belly was full and he knew, starting the next day, he was going to have to start playing responsible adult again.  For now, though, he wanted to chill.

He woke up sometime during
the second movie, and as the day grew later, he, Nick, and Zane started talking about dinner.  “Where’s Ethan and Val?” Zane asked.

Even though
Brad had been sleeping, he was under the impression that they were gone.  At a couple of points during the afternoon, the front door had opened and closed more than once.  He shrugged and considered texting his friend, but somehow he knew.  He got up, trying to look nonchalant, but he wanted to beat the shit out of something.  Instead, he wandered to the bathroom under the guise of using the facilities, but he glanced down the hall and confirmed what he already knew—Val’s bedroom door was open.  She wasn’t there.

The other bedroom door was open.  Ethan was nowhere to be found.

They were together.  He didn’t know what they were doing or when they’d be back, but he knew they were together.

That called for a bottle of liquor.  They had one or two somewhere.  As long as he didn’t get drunk, he’d be okay, but he needed something to drown it out.  And, as he took a swig, only pretending to watch the movie, he wondered when the wounds would start to scab over so he could get on with his life.