A Road to Let Go (Fallen Tuesday #4) (24 page)

“
If
anything changes, call me. But I
’
m
going to need more money if you need me.
”

“
I
understand,
”
Mel repeated
in a whisper. She leaned against the table and stared at the door.

“
You
hear me?
”
Jon asked.

“
Yeah.
Can I ask one thing?
”

“
Sure.
”

“
Is
it worth it?
”
Mel asked.
“
Doing all this?
”

Jon sighed.
“
For some it is. For others, it isn
’
t. I can
’
t be you, Mel. Just with what you know. Your father
left. He kept going. He changed his name. Off the hear. Then again, you might
find him and he might have a damn good reason for it all.
”

“
Yeah,
”
Mel said.
“
That makes sense.
”

“
Goodbye,
Mel.
”

The line went dead.

Mel dropped the phone to the table
and hugged herself. She shivered and felt alone. Tears filled her eyes as
confusion filled her heart and mind. There was no clear cut answer to anything.

The door opened and Mel spun
around. She hurried to wipe her eyes as Jake came through the door carrying two
bags of food.

“
Hey,
”
he said.
“
Good morning.
”

“
Morning,
”
Mel said, clearing her throat.

“
Hey,
what
’
s wrong?
”
Jake asked.

He put the food down and grabbed
Mel by the arms. He pulled her close and touched her face.

“
Nothing,
”
she said.
“
Just thinking about things. Sometimes
the more I learn, the more I wish I never asked questions."

Jake smiled.
“
How poetic. You
’
re an artist at heart. That
’
s what you should do today.
”

“
On
top of not working for a couple days?
”
Mel asked.
“
This is rare. I
never get two days off.
”

“
Enjoy
it,
”
Jake said.

“
Hey,
where did you go?
”

Jake dug food out of the bags with
a smile on his face.
“
Made
a couple calls and arrangements. Had a ride pick me up and then I got us some
breakfast. Sit and eat. Because then I have to go. We have a radio interview
and then the show tonight. You
’
ll
be there, right?
”

“
Of
course.
”

“
Good.
Because there
’
s something
after the show
…”

“
Something
you need to talk to me about?
”
Mel asked.

“
Yeah,
”
Jake said.
“
Just let me work out a few more
details and then we
’
ll
talk.
”

Mel shook her head. She had no idea
what he had up his sleeve. It intrigued her and turned her on at the same time.

As they ate breakfast, they shared
flirty glances. When they finished, Jake cleaned up and then cornered Mel at
the counter.

“
I
need a favor,
”
he said.

“
What
’
s that?
”

“
I
need a shower.
”

“
Are
you going to wear the same clothes?
”
Mel asked.

“
I
’
m a rockstar, sweetheart.
”

“
Which
means?
”

“
Well,
that means, I can pull off the same, smelly clothes look. It's part of the
image." Jake laughed. "Actually, we
’
re
all so used to touring that we keep bags of clothes and guitars with us.
”

“
You
brought clothes and a guitar?
”
Mel asked.

Jake smiled.
“
Just a bag of clothes. I took
care of that arrangement too. I left the bag outside your door. I didn
’
t want you to feel like I was
imposing.
”

Mel touched Jake
’
s face. He was the only one that
made her forget about everything. Work meant nothing. Her dumb adventure to
find her father had no purpose when she looked into Jake
’
s eyes. Even the idea of living life with no real
direction
…
it felt okay as
long as Jake was there.

“
You
’
re not imposing,
”
Mel said.
“
But there
’
s a rule about the shower.
”

“
A
rule?
”

Mel nodded.
“
I don
’
t
get much hot water.
”

“
I
’
m not planning on spending an
hour in there, Mel.
”

“
I
need a shower too,
”
Mel
said.
“
And there
’
s only enough hot water for one
person
…”
Mel moved to her
toes and kissed Jake
’
s
lips.
“
Or maybe two people
at the same time
…”

(22)

Being with Mel in the shower, under
the hot water, touching her, feeling her wet body slippery against his was
amazing. They playfully washed each other and then ultimately came together
again.

Leaving the shower after the water
became freezing was torture. Then after dressing, Jake had to leave the
apartment. He kissed Mel a dozen times and the second the door clicked shut, he
froze and shut his eyes.

What the hell are you doing?

Jake wasn
’
t sure what he was actually doing, other than
falling for Mel.

A car waited for him outside and
when he climbed into the back and shut the door, he grabbed his phone. He
needed to call Chloe and settle all of it. Then he needed to make the
arrangements to fly to Washington with Mel. And then, once all that was figured
out, he would tell her everything about him and Chloe. If by some chance he and
Mel were becoming more than what they were, she had the right to know everything.

Jake's guilt began to gnaw at him. He
’
d slept with Mel without telling
her about Chloe. Although he probably should have cared more about Chloe
finding out, he couldn't help but feel worse for Mel. She was innocent in the
whole mess.

The feelings he had for Mel were
the feelings that Chloe desperately wanted him to feel about her. But since
meeting Mel, Jake realized that he had never felt that way about Chloe; not
then and not now.

The car took Jake to the radio
station where the rest of the band waited outside. Arms folded, all their eyes were
upon Jake as he climbed out of the car.

“
There
he is,
”
Mack said before
whistling.

When Mack started to clap, the rest
of the band did the same.

“
Wait,
”
Luke called out,
“
is this his walk of shame?
”

“
Me?
”
Jake asked.
“
Not even close, brother. Not
even close.
”

The guys all patted each other on
the back, laughing. For some reason they were all in a great mood. They
laughed, joked, and walked into the radio station feeling ready to take on the
world.

The event was just like all the
others.

The radio show host asked a handful
of questions and the band answered them with honesty. The guy pulled out a few
zingers, touching on the subject of Gray
’
s
brother still in rehab and pushed Trent pretty hard about his recent past and
run in with the law. Jake watched with a keen eye as both Gray and Trent
answered the questions without getting annoyed.

The rest of the questions were
about the album and the upcoming tour. The Fallen Tuesday web site had made an
official announcement that a tour was in the works and that dates would be
announced soon.

After a short break, the band went
right back into the room and back on air. They all had guitars for the three
songs they played. Two were new and they threw an old one in between. It was a
quick set, but it was fun. Jake smiled the entire time he played and he swore
he saw everyone else smiling too. Maybe everyone in the band was always this
happy and it was him who was finally finding peace in his life.

One night with Mel and all seemed
right with the world.

It scared him a little.

After the radio show, Jake found
himself alone in a room with food and drinks. The rest of the band was in the
hallway signing some autographs for staff members of the station. Jake stood
with his hands in his pockets, staring at a blank wall. When the door opened
and Trent whistled, Jake snapped his head to the right and nodded.

“
You
good?
”
Trent asked.

“
Not
sure,
”
Jake said. He
pointed to his head.
“
A lot
going on up here.
”

“
Women
do that sometimes,
”
Trent
said.

“
Women,
yeah. Do you ever wish you could
…
I don
’
t know
…
change things?
”

“
Nope,
”
Trent said.
“
Every step takes us somewhere.
Good and bad.
”

The rest of the band started to
pile into the room, and the conversation went toward something less serious as
they ate.

Frank came into the room a little
while later, staring down at his phone. His thumbs were moving and then he put
the phone away. He looked at the band with a smile on his face.

“
That
was good, right?
”
he asked.

“
Wonderful,
”
Jake said.

“
Sarcastic?
”
Frank asked.

“
Not
at all. The guy brought up some stupid stuff, but I guess that
’
s expected for the moment right
now.
”

“
Exactly,
”
Frank said.

“
How
are things with the tour?
”
Luke asked.

“
Moving
forward,
”
Frank said.
“
We
’
ll
judge the buzz now that it
’
s
online. People are going crazy, begging for you guys to come to their town.
”

Jake smiled. He was so thankful
that the fans were so excited. They were the ones willing to spend the money
and support the band.

“
We
have about twenty minutes until you leave,
”
Frank said.
“
Limo will be
out back. It
’
ll take you to
the parking lot about fifteen minutes from here. Then you take the stage, and do
your thing.
”

“
And
that
’
s it for a little
while?
”
Trent asked.

“
Unless
I book something in between. I
’
m
leaving the doors wide open.
”

“
Good,
”
Mack said.
“
I want all of this to happen,
and soon.
”

Frank
’
s
phone started to ring. Frank spun around and opened the door as he answered it.
Jake followed Frank out into the hallway. There were a few people lingering around,
but Jake needed to talk to Frank. He bumped into Frank
’
s shoulder and nodded.

“
Hey,
Tommy, I
’
m really sorry,
”
Frank said.
“
Let me get right back to you.
One minute. I swear.
”

Frank ended the call and looked
annoyed.

“
Sorry,
”
Jake said.

“
This
better be good.
”

“
That
plane I called you about. I need it today. Tonight. Whatever.
”

“
Where
you flying?
”

“
Don
’
t talk so loud,
”
Jake said.
“
I have to go to Washington to
help someone.
”

“
To
help someone? Do I know this someone? Does the band?
”

“
This
has nothing to do with Chloe,
”
Jake said.
“
It
’
s for a friend.
”

“
Heard
you left the Gone By Autumn show last night with a friend
…”

“
Yeah,
”
Jake said.
“
And is that anyone
’
s business?
”

“
I
guess not,
”
Frank said. He
put a hand to Jake
’
s arm.
“
I don
’
t want to chase you around the world, Jake. Okay? I
love you guys. We
’
re so
close to this album being released. A big tour. Everything pointing up. I don
’
t want it ruined.
”

“
Frank,
there
’
s a woman I know who
is trying to find her biological father,
”
Jake said.
“
She can
’
t afford to go to Washington to
see if he
’
s there. I can
afford it. I
’
ve done enough
dumb shit in my life that I want to do something good for someone right now.
”

Frank
’
s
lips pursed together. He stared at Jake for a few more seconds.
“
I
’
ll
have a plane ready. I
’
ve
already made the call. I
’
ll
get the details worked out.
”

“
Thank
you,
”
Jake said.

“
Now
turn around and sign some autographs.
”

Jake nodded. He turned, smiled, and
met with the rest of the radio station crew. The band came out into the hallway
and it quickly filled up. Everyone talked, joked, laughed, and reveled in the
limelight. One of the radio hosts came into the hall with a handful of Fallen
Tuesday shirts and wanted to know if the band would sign the shirts for an
auction the radio station was having. The band couldn
’
t turn that down. They also took a few pictures of
just the five of them, had them printed on the spot, and signed those.

Time flew by and when Frank gave
the call that it was time to leave, Jake was surprised. The band was ushered out
of the studio to the waiting limo.

“
Rockstars,
”
Mack said as he reached for a
drink in the back of the limo.

It was standard to have the limo
stocked with beer and whiskey.

Jake opened a beer and drank.

Luke held up his bottle and called
for a toast.

“
Say
it,
”
Trent said.

“
I
don
’
t know what to say,
”
Luke said with a smile.

“
The
lead singer is finally quiet,
”
Mack said.

“
I
’
ll talk,
”
Jake said as he raised his bottle.
“
To all of you. And I guess to
me. For the shows. The songs. The road. The fans. The music. Everything. For
sticking it out no matter what. We are brothers.
”

“
Here,
here,
”
Mack yelled.

The band nodded and took a drink.

“
Now,
”
Luke said, looking at Jake.
“
to bring up a shitty subject
…
what
’
s going on with Chloe?
”

“
I
don
’
t know,
”
Jake said.
“
I talked to her and she wouldn
’
t give me an answer. So I left
the apartment and took care of my own business.
”

“
With
another woman,
”
Mack said.

“
With
someone I really like. She
’
s
coming to the show tonight. And then I have to help her with something
…”

Jake went into the story about Mel
’
s father. He wasn
’
t sure what the rest of the band
was going to think, but when he finished talking, he was surprised to see four
sets of attentive eyes still upon him.

“
That
’
s a lot to take on,
”
Luke said.
“
Just don
’
t mess it up, Jake. Talk to her about Chloe. Get
Chloe the hell out of your apartment and out of your life for good. End it.
Move on.
”

“
I
agree,
”
Trent said.
“
If she claims she
’
s still pregnant, man, tell her
she has to take another test. Besides, she has to know that if she is trying to
hide it, we will all learn the truth when she doesn't get any bigger."

Jake nodded.
“
Yeah. I hate the thought of it.
I hate it all. I just want to be left alone when it comes to her. But I know I
did this. So I
’
ll face the
music.
”

“
Just
don
’
t hurt anyone,
”
Mack said.

“
Since
when do you have feelings?
”
Jake joked.

The entire band laughed. Smaller
conversations began and they faded into the background of Jake's mind as he
thought about Mel.

Tonight he was going to be a
rockstar first, and then he would board a plane and be off to Washington with her.

It was going to be something
…

*

Mel showed up at the concert with
Alex. Jake had sent her a quick text, telling her to go to the back of the
stage where they would get right in. The parking lot was full of people. The
stage was right in the middle of the parking lot. Mel had never seen a concert
like this before.

“
Here,
come off to the side,
”
Alex
said.

She took Mel
’
s hand and walked to the side of the stage until
they were in front of the security. From their vantage point, Mel could see
some of the backstage activity, but it was mostly people rushing around with
instruments or wires. There was so much that went into making this show happen.
Mel thought about the night before at the club and how intimate it had been.
After
the show had been intimate too
…