Sheet Music - A Rock 'n' Roll Love Story (22 page)

“Do you think Bonita knows what we do in here for hours each day?” she asked.

Michael tipped his head back and laughed loudly.  “Annie, she’s the one that changes the sheets!  Trust me, she knows.”

“Oh, God.  She must be so disgusted with me.  I mean, I’ve been here almost a week and I’ve barely left this room.”

“Disgusted?  I don’t think so.  Honestly, she’s thrilled I’m happy and finally have someone to share this house with me.”

“Really?”

“Yes.  Believe me.  She understands.”

Annie had about six weeks to recover at Michael’s house before he and Thrust hit the road for the fall leg of their tour.  The first two weeks were bliss but the rest of the month she spent trying to disguise from Michael the intense pain, both physical and emotional, she was suffering.  He did his best to tend to her needs and thought her recovery was progressing on schedule.  He hired a visiting nurse to visit twice a week to monitor her and Bonita did her best to keep a wary eye on her medication intake.

What no one knew, was the amount of medication Annie was sneaking whenever she could.  When Bonita would question the number of empty pill bottles and the frequent need for refills, Annie would come up with another lie.  She would say the bottles were accidentally dropped down the sink or into the toilet; with the contents spilling or simply misplaced.  Bonita wasn’t buying her explanations and said so to Michael.  But he took Annie’s side and insisted she couldn’t be lying.

With each day, her memory of the accident was improving too; which meant, sleeping was nearly out of the question for Annie unless she was heavily medicated.  Every time she closed her eyes, she was tortured with reoccurring nightmares of the accident and Sammy’s dead body slumped in the seat beside her.  She was also having flash-backs of the accident in her parents car too.

Michael was sound asleep when Annie’s screams woke him.

“Stop!  Slow down!  This isn’t funny anymore,” she cried in her sleep.  “Sammy, you’re going too fast!  Watch out!”

Michael rolled over to face her.  Gently he tried to rouse her.  Instead, she bolted upright in bed, clawing at the sheets.  Her arms flailing wildly in the air.

“My God, Sammy stop it or we’ll crash!  Please!  Turn the wheel!  Shit!”

Her voice was so loud it echoed off the walls in the room.

“Annie,” he called out to her.  “You’re having another bad dream.”

She was quietly whimpering with her head slumped forward; lost in the scene that continually played in her head.  Suddenly her arms began thrashing at the bed linens again.  “I’ve got to get out!  I’ve got to get out,” she screamed.  Her cries were blood curdling as she began to scramble off the bed.

Michael was unsure if she was still sleeping or awake.  Apprehensive she would hurt herself, he spun his naked body around on his knees behind her and grabbed her around the waist.

“Where are you going?” he asked.

“I’ve got to get out!” she repeated with even more urgency.

“Out from where?  Do you want to get out of the room?”

Hearing the noise, Bonita and Manny arrived outside Michael’s bedroom door.  “Is everything all right, Mr. Michael?” Bonita asked, rushing into the darkened room like a concerned mother.

Michael held his grip around Annie’s waist.

“Let me out!  Unlock the door!  God, I’ve got to get air!  I need air!”

Her hand side-swiped the flesh on Michael’s cheek and scratched a two inch line with her fingernail, drawing blood.

“Bonita, open all the windows and the French doors to the balcony!  She’s having another nightmare.”

“Sammy!  Wake up!  We’ve got to get out!”

“Annie!  You’re not in a car!  It’s only a dream.  You’re here, in bed, with me.  It’s okay.  You’re safe.”

Gently he shook her.  “Manny, go get me a cold face cloth.”

The elder man quickly disappeared into the bathroom and returned with a cloth drenched in cold water.  The light from the bathroom illuminated the bedroom and the blood on Michael’s face.

When the cold of the cloth hit her forehead, Annie stiffened in his arms.

“Take a breath, babe.  Can you feel the air coming in from the windows?  Relax.  You’re safe now.  It was only a bad dream.”

Annie’s hands reached for her head.  Her shoulders slouched and she began to cry.

“Shall I call her doctor?” Bonita asked.

“No.  I think she’ll be okay now.  At least she’s awake,” Michael answered.

“Do you want a bandage for your face?”

“Why?”

“You’re bleeding,” Bonita answered.

Michael touched his cheek and smeared the blood away.  “No, I’m fine.  I’ll get her back to sleep and see you in the morning.  Okay?”

Bonita and Manny nodded and headed for the door.  “I really wish you’d let me call her doctor,” Bonita said.  “I think he needs to know what’s going on.  This is getting serious.”

“Bonita, I will handle this,” Michael stated firmly.  “And I’m sorry she woke you,” he called from the bed, as the door closed.

“Annie, are you okay now?” he asked, his voice smooth and comforting.

She nodded.

“Do you want to talk about it?”

She violently shook her head.

“It’s okay,” he answered, rocking her back and forth in his arms.  “You don’t have to.

When the sun came up, they were still in the same position, leaning up against the headboard.  A shiver from Annie woke him.  He pressed his face against her neck and kissed the skin.  “Good morning,” he sighed.

She sat forward and turned to look at him.  Then she saw the red mark on his cheek and reached to touch it with her finger.  When she did he smiled.

“Did I do that to you?” she asked.

Michael shrugged. “Yeah, you were having another dream.”

“Oh God!  I’m sorry.  I didn’t mean to hurt you.”

“I know.  It’s all right.”

Her eyes filled with tears.  “The dream was about the accident.”

“I know.”

“I can remember the whole thing now.”

“Do you want to tell me what happened?”

She nodded and pushed the hair from her face.  “Sammy was speeding, showing off,” she said her voice nothing more than a whisper.  “He was showing me how his sports car handled at high speeds.  I told him to stop messing around - begged him, but he wouldn’t listen.  Then an animal bolted from the bushes and ran in front of the car.  Sammy swerved to avoid it and lost control.  I tried to grab the wheel,” she cried.  “I did everything I could, but we were going too fast.  I couldn’t stop the car.”

Michael leaned forward and held her tight.  “It’s okay, Annie.  It’s not your fault.”

“I thought he was sleeping, Michael, but when I turned his head toward me - I just knew he was dead, then I panicked.  I was desperate to get out of that car, but my leg was pinned and the pain was just too much.  I saw his phone and I tried to call you.  I could hardly breathe.  It hurt so much - everything hurt, then my head…I don’t know.  At that point I must have passed out.”

Michael held her in his arms until she stopped crying.  It became a painful nightly cycle; as she relived the horror of that night and also the memory of the accident which killed her family.  All of this deepened her need for medication.

By the end of the second week, Michael’s attention from Annie became distracted by the practice schedule of his band.  At first, the guys had agreed to meet in the music room at Michael’s house, but he was overly cautious of the noise they were making and disturbing Annie.  This caused endless feuds between them.  Brian wanted to turn the amplifiers up and Michael was constantly turning them down.  Finally they voted to move their sessions to their rehearsal studio in a town several miles away.

It didn’t matter to Annie.  With the extra medication floating in her system, she was managing to sleep through almost any amount of racket.  The days she stayed alert, she was plagued with guilt issues over Sammy’s death and the break-up of her band.  In an effort to ease her conscience, she decided to contact Gary and schedule a meeting.  She hadn’t seen him since her stay in the hospital and she hoped they could discuss some of the issues resulting from their disqualification from the contest.  To her surprise, he agreed to visit her at Michael’s house the next day.

“You don’t mind if Gary comes by tomorrow for a visit, do you?”

“No, as long as you don’t give him the security code for the front gate.  Have Bonita buzz him in and make sure he doesn’t go advertising the address.”

“Michael,
I
don't even know the code to the gate, so how could I give it to him?”

“Good point.”

“Will you be around tomorrow afternoon?” she asked.

He thought for a moment and scratched his head.  “Not until later on.  I’ve got some shit to take care of at the band office concerning the tour but I’ll be home after that.  Why?”

“No reason.  I was just wondering.”

Gary arrived after lunch the next day and they sat in the family room.  Annie wasn’t sure if Michael would want her giving tours so she didn’t offer and Gary never asked.  He seemed quite interested in all the awards Thrust and Michael had acquired over the years and content to stay in that one room.

They chatted about every member of White Rush and Gary promised to bring them all back with him the following week for a visit.  He reassured her none of them held any lingering anger or resentment over their disqualification.  Gary did admit to feeling bitter at first but was too relieved that she had survived the accident to continue feeling any negative emotions.  But before their visit ended, he left a bit of additional news.

“So, how are things between you and Mike?” he asked with apprehension.

“Great.  He’s been wonderful to me and my recuperation.”

Gary made a face that spoke volumes to Annie and left her with an uneasy feeling in her gut.  “Why do you ask?”

Gary shook his head as if he didn’t want to continue the current topic of conversation.  “I just wanted to make sure you’re happy.”

“Why wouldn’t I be?” she answered with suspicion.

“Look, Annie.  I’ve been hearing things about Michael, that’s all.”

“What kind of ‘things’?”

“That he’s been seeing other women while you’ve been laid up here.”

“That’s bullshit.”

“Maybe so, but how would you know?”

Annie bit her tongue and sucked in a deep breath.  She quickly thought back over the last few days trying to remember Michael’s nighttime whereabouts.  There was no way he was cheating on her, she thought.  No possible way in hell.  She wouldn’t allow herself to even consider it.

“What exactly do you mean by that comment?” she questioned Gary, trying to keep the anger out of her voice.

“I’ve upset you and that’s the last thing I wanted to do.  On the other hand, I refuse to sit back and watch him screw you over and walk way.”

“You’re assuming something you have no proof of.  Michael loves me.  He wouldn’t do something like that and walk way.  You must be confused or something.”

“Okay.  Fine.  Believe what you want, Annie.  All I’m asking is for you to be careful and mindful of his reputation.”

Gary’s words hit Annie like a ton of bricks.  It took every ounce of strength she had to maintain herself and not let Gary know how upset he had made her.  Their conversation was cut short by the sound of the front door.  Michael breezed in and quickly crossed the room to give Annie a kiss.

“How’s it going, Gary?” Michael asked without emotion.

“Fine.  How about you?”

The two men shook hands and eyed each other with suspicion.

“Annie tells me that Flesh won the contest?” Gary asked.

“Yeah, they did.  We hit the road with them in a few weeks.”

Gary nodded and glanced back at Annie.

Michael’s eyes drifted back and forth between Annie and Gary.

A cold shiver shot up Annie’s spine.  The thought of him kissing another woman while she slept in his bed made her stomach churn.  Thinking the worst, she dropped her eyes from his and turned toward the window behind the leather couch.

He knew her moods too well.  “Are you okay, babe?” Michael asked.

“Yeah, Gary was just filling me in on some stuff, that’s all.”

“Okay, just don’t get too tired,” he said, his eyes settling back onto Gary and narrowing slightly.  “Don’t go upsetting her, man.  She’s been through a lot, you know.”

“I’m well aware.”

Michael held Gary’s stare for a moment before heading for the doorway.  “If you need anything, let me know,” he said, exiting the room and entering the kitchen.  A few minutes later, lightening fast guitar licks, that had made him famous around the world, could be heard echoing in from the music room.

Gary stayed a while longer until Annie began showing visible signs of exhaustion.  He kissed her good-bye and prepared to show himself to the front door.  Michael was in the kitchen when he caught a glimpse of Gary moving through the foyer.

“Hey, Gary, I’d like to talk to you before you leave,” Michael said.

Gary turned and followed the sound of Michael’s voice back into the kitchen.

Taking a plastic bottle of water from the refrigerator, Michael turned and faced Gary, while breaking the seal on the container.  “Listen, Gary.  I wasn’t thrilled when Annie said you were coming by to visit, but I’d never deny her contact with friends.  However, if your visits are going to upset her, then I’d rather you didn’t come again.”

Gary studied Michael’s face and the coldness in his eyes.  “Why?  Are you afraid of what I might tell her?”

“What the hell is that supposed to mean?”

Gary shook his head.

Michael leaned against the refrigerator and took another gulp of water.  “Look.  All I’m saying is her emotional state is hanging by a very thin thread.  Did she mention the nightmares about the accident she has almost nightly?”

“No.  It didn’t come up in conversation.”

“I figured as much.  I’ve been trying to get her to agree to see a therapist but so far she refuses.”  Michael swallowed more water, then wiped his lips with the back of his hand.  “Let me bottom-line the situation for you, Gary.  I’ve got my hands more than full getting prepared for the Fall leg of our tour, plus I’m trying to get Annie healthy again.  The last thing I need is for you to cause any regression in her recovery.  Know what I’m saying?”