The Loneliest Tour (4 page)

“
You
heard me. Come on out and celebrate.
”

“
Celebrate
what?
”
Masie asked.

“
You
don
’
t know?
”

“
Know
what?
”

“
Goddammit,
”
Drake said. There was some
noise in the background. Thumping music. People yelling.
“
Hold up,
Mase
.
”

Masie shut her eyes and gritted her
teeth. Drake was the only person who called her
Mase
besides Ian, and
Ian had gotten it from Drake. She hated it no matter what though.
Mase
…
that
’
s what she felt like carrying in
her purse to chase away guys like Drake and Ian. Of course, that was mace, but
it sounded the same and it was insanely annoying.

A heavy thud sounded on the other
line.

“
Okay,
Mase, here we go.
”

“
Yeah.
”

“
You
didn
’
t go out with the
other girls?
”

“
No.
They left. Kind of without me.
”

“
Cat
fight shit?
”

“
Hardly,
”
Masie said.
“
Colin told them he and I were
going out. So that
’
s what
they thought.
”

“
Fucking
Colin,
”
Drake said.
“
What a guy, right?
”

“
Yeah,
he
’
s a piece of
…
work.
”

Shit. He
’
s a piece of shit, Drake.
Like you. Like Ian.

For some reason, Jett popped into
her mind again. She wondered if he was still in the studio. What it was like in
the Willow Son world. If they were as sad and pathetic as Crutch Fail.

“
You
sitting down, Mase?
”

“
I
’
m sitting down,
”
Masie said.

“
The
hard work has paid off,
”
Drake
said.
“
Portis talked to
Harry and we
’
re all set.
”

“
Harry
…
?
”

“
He
manages Willow Son. We
’
re
going on a west coast tour. Crutch Fail is opening for Willow Son. It
’
s all political because of what
happened with their guitarist. He owes Portis big time and Portis is cashing
in. And we
’
re benefiting.
”

“
Wait
…
a tour?
”

“
Pack
your bags, Mase. Make sure you know your moves and shit. It
’
s going down.
”

“
When?
”

“
Be
ready to have some fun by tomorrow night.
”

“
Tomorrow
night?
”
Masie yelled.

“
You
heard me. We
’
re having a
…
a party, I guess you could call
it. Inviting a thousand VIP guests to see Crutch Fail play. Then Willow Son is
going to play a small set. The rest of the night is going to spent drinking and
partying. It
’
s fucking
happening, Mase.
”

Masie stared across the room.

A tour? With Willow Son?

That meant seeing Jett over and
over
…
and over and over
…

“
I
’
ll hit you with my details
later,
”
Drake said.
“
Just wanted to get your
reaction.
”

“
I
’
m in shock. Complete shock.
”

“
Well,
don
’
t be. After what the
guitarist did
…
Willow Son
is lucky that Portis is giving them a shot. This is good for all of us. I gotta
bolt.
”

The call went dead.

Masie bit her lip and opened the
browser on her phone.

After what the guitarist did
…

She knew it wasn
’
t her business to start digging
around, but there were two guitarists in Willow Son.

Jett and Ryker.

Maybe Ryker got in trouble or
something.

A quick search brought up a
headline that made Masie
’
s
stomach turn.

WILLOW SON GUITARIST - JETT -
YELLS
“
I
’
M NOT AN ADDICT!
”
AS HE
’
S HANDCUFFED FOR
…
BUYING DRUGS!

Masie shook her head.

She couldn
’
t get involved with anything like that. No way. She
had learned her lesson already.

She was still paying dearly for
that lesson.

(4)

Jett sat with the guitar on his
lap. A guitar pick between his teeth. He ran his hand through his hair as he
listened to the track playback for the third time. It sounded good ,but maybe
not completely solid. Ace, the tech behind the board faded out the guitar and
then came over the speaker.

“
What
do you think, man?
”

Jett shrugged his shoulders and
took the guitar pick from his mouth.
“
I
’
m not sold on it.
”

“
Okay.
What do you want to do then?
”

“
Go
get a coffee, Ace.
”

“
You
sure?
”

“
Yeah.
Go. Take a break. We
’
ve
been at this for too long already.
”

Jett looked over his shoulder and
Brantley stood and stretched with his drumsticks over his head.

“
What
’
s wrong with it?
”
Ryker asked.

“
I
don
’
t know,
”
Jett said.
“
Maybe I
’
m being picky. I
’
m
just
…”

Jett stood up and put the guitar
down. He walked toward one of the walls and stood there, hands at his sides.

“
Talk
to us, bro,
”
Colby said.
“
You know the deal. No hiding
shit anymore. No holding back.
”

“
I
know we get judged on everything we do,
”
Jett said.
“
But this feels
deeper. Like whatever we put out next will be under the scope even more. You
know?
”
Jett looked back at
the band. At the guys he considered brothers. They were his brothers, man. All
he had. Everything else had been taken.

“
I
get it,
”
Van said.
“
Critics are cynical assholes no
matter what.
”

“
I
feel like every note I play is just
…
a chance to let you guys down. Let the fans down.
”

“
Fuck,
”
Ryker growled.
“
You can
’
t think like that. Did you hear that guitar? That
’
s solid, Jett. That
’
s not guitar playing from an
addict or a recovering addict.
”

“
I
know that,
”
Jett snapped.

“
Then
stop acting like it. If you play the part, they
’
re
going to hang you for it. Unless
…”

“
Ryker,
”
Colby said.

“
No,
”
Ryker said.
“
Unless you want to use it as an
excuse. Because you
’
re
hiding everything.
”

“
Bro,
don
’
t do it,
”
Jett said.

“
I
just did,
”
Ryker challenged.
“
So come on, Jett. Come on.
”

Jett turned, hands in fists.

“
Whoa,
guys,
”
Van said.

Ryker put his guitar down.

The two guitarists inched closer.

Are we really going to do this?
Jett thought.

Ryker gritted his teeth.
“
My guitarist, my best friend, my
damn brother
…
he wouldn
’
t be acting like this. You
’
re acting guilty.
”

“
Get
him out of here,
”
Jett
said.
“
Right now. I can
’
t hear this shit.
”

“
No,
no,
”
Ryker said, putting
his arms out.
“
You need to
hear it. You need to do something about it.
”

“
I
’
m going to knock your teeth out,
”
Jett said.

“
Do
it. Right now.
”

Jett held back. He didn
’
t want to fight his own
bandmate.

But then Ryker pushed him. Two
hands to the chest and a shove. Not super hard, but enough that Jett stumbled
back. Jett then threw a fist forward. He connected with Ryker
’
s jaw, sending him spinning.
Ryker fell into an amp and caught him.

“
That
’
s enough, guys,
”
Brantley said.
“
We
’
re
supposed to be getting ready for the show.
”

Ryker stood and pushed by Jett and
left the room.

“
Dammit,
”
Jett said. He flexed his hand.
He looked at Colby.
“
I didn
’
t
…”

“
You
know what?
”
a voice boomed.
“
Try this out.
”

Jett saw Ryker behind the
soundboard. He rubbed his jaw and then dialed up the new song. It kicked off
hard and strong, just like a good Willow Son song was supposed to.

The song slowly started to get
louder
…
and louder
…
and louder.

Ryker stood behind the glass, his
head bobbing. He pointed to his ears and then pointed at Jett.

Jett stood frozen.

The song played loud enough that it
started to hurt Jett
’
s
ears.

Then came the guitar solo.

Ryker turned everything down except
for Jett
’
s guitar solo. The
gain filled notes screeched throughout the entire studio, note after note, all
working together like the way an artist paints a picture, or an author puts
words to a page to tell a story.

When the solo ended, Ryker hit a
button and everything stopped.

It was silence, except for the
ringing in Jett
’
s ears from
the intense sound.

Ryker put his hands to the board
and stood behind the glass.

“
Well,
that was quite the show
…”

Jett turned his head and saw Portis
standing in the doorway. Next to him was a tall, skinny woman, wearing some
kind of pass around her neck, a notebook and a tablet in her arms. She was
typing something on the tablet.

“
We
good?
”
she asked Portis.

“
Yes,
of course. Come on in. Let
’
s
get settled.
”

“
What
the hell is this?
”
Jett
asked Colby.

“
Guys,
”
Portis said.
“
This is a dear friend of mine.
Sasha, online blogger and writer for five of the best ezines I
’
ve ever read. She wants to do a
little feature piece on Willow Son. Getting resigned, getting into the studio,
and getting on the road.
”

Jett felt his heart climb into his
throat. He looked at Portis. They weren
’
t
supposed to be doing this stuff right now. Jett was supposed to be in the background.

Portis stepped toward Jett and
leaned like he was reaching for a guitar. He whispered,
“
Her boss is an asshole. And hates me. So he told
her to run a story about Willow Son or she
’
s
fired. She called me and I told her I
’
d
do this. You have to run with it. Just give her something.
”

Portis stood tall and cleared his
throat. He adjusted his tie and faced Sasha.
“
I
’
m sure you understand my need to
stay right here, Sasha. For the band
’
s
protection. Their manager is out at a meeting. One I should be at right now.
But I
’
m giving it up for
you.
”

Sasha grinned. She wore thick
framed glasses and stood as tall as Portis. She seemed like she had a
no-nonsense attitude about her.

The second Ryker walked into the
room, she looked at him and asked,
“
What
happened to you?
”