A Road to Let Go (Fallen Tuesday #4) (8 page)

“
You
know why I love my job?
”
Luke asked. He pointed to the living room area and smiled.
“
Because the record company
always makes sure we have guitars handy
…”

There were guitars in the hotel
room. One of the many perks of being one of the top earners for the record
company meant Fallen Tuesday could make demands and they
’
d be met. The band always wanted to have
instruments available because you never knew when inspiration would strike.

“
Works
for me,
”
Mack said.

The guys spread out on the couches,
sitting on the arms of the couch, and even on the back of the couch.

Five rockstars and five guitars.

“
Let
’
s run through a couple new ones,
”
Luke said.
“
Maybe we can start working
different songs into our sets. So they
’
re
not all the same.
”

“
Pick
a song,
”
Gray said.

“
Let
me play something,
”
Jake
said.
“
I
’
ve been working on a new song.
”

“
A
new song,
”
Mack said and
laughed.
“
We haven
’
t even released this album yet.
”

Jake smiled and it faded fast.
“
I guess I have a ton of
inspiration.
”

(7)

Mel worked and time continued to
move. However, each time she looked at the clock it didn
’
t seem like it was moving. The bar filled up,
cleared out, and filled up again. The routine was all normal. Many of the
patrons were people coming down for a drink before hitting the town. They had a
drink while waiting for their cab or ride. Some came back to the hotel after a
night out and had one more before calling it a night.

The good part about tonight
’
s shift was that Harry kept to
himself. And then he left just before eight o'clock. It was so peaceful in the
bar with Harry gone. The assistant manager, a woman named Leslie, was very
different compared to Harry. She was loud, funny, and had worked behind a bar
for forty years. She knew how to talk to anyone and always smiled.

She actually made the night
enjoyable.

It was just before nine when two
things happened.

The first of which was a phone call
from Jon.

Mel felt her phone vibrate. She
looked, saw it was Jon, and cringed. She couldn
’
t
answer the phone right behind the bar. Not with customers. But then Jon left a
voicemail.

Mel, it
’
s me. Call me as soon as you
can.

Jon never left voicemails, so this
must have been a big deal. This could possibly be a big break in the search for
Mel
’
s father.

When Mel had a free second, she
tracked down Leslie and asked for a break.

“
We
have a few customers out there,
”
Leslie said.

“
I
got a phone call,
”
Mel
said.
“
Family issues. I
really need to make a call.
”

“
Everything
okay?
”

“
I
don
’
t know,
”
Mel said.

“
Go
out back,
”
Leslie said.
“
Good luck.
”

Mel didn
’
t like to share what she was doing so both Leslie
and Harry didn
’
t know about
her quest to find her biological father. Mel thanked Leslie and hurried outside
to make the call.

When Jon didn
’
t pick up, Mel squeezed her eyes
shut and squeezed her phone in her hand.

No, no, no
…
please
…

A few seconds later, Mel
’
s phone started to ring.

Jon was calling back.

Mel hurried to answer.
“
Jon?
”

“
Why
didn
’
t you answer me?
”

“
I
’
m at work. Sorry.
”

“
I
don
’
t like when people don
’
t answer me.
”

“
I
know,
”
Mel said and rolled
her eyes.
“
What
’
s happened?
”

“
That
list of names
…”

“
Shit,
”
Mel said.
“
I left it at home.
”

“
How
does that help me?
”

Mel opened her mouth but knew the
question was rhetorical. She closed her mouth and said nothing.

“
I
need that list,
”
Jon said.
“
It
’
s
a shot in the dark, okay? But everything I do is a shot in the dark. It
’
s how I work. Because you never
know when something will happen. As of right now, we have next to nothing. I
’
ve been studying the picture for
a couple hours and am trying to run that against as many databases as I can.
”

“
What
will that do?
”

“
I
’
ll see if his pictures had been
used anywhere,
”
Jon said.
“
Not that he
’
ll look the same twenty years
later, but you never know.
”

“
Okay.
Thank you.
”

“
Get
me that damn list, Mel.
”

“
I
will. Tonight. I swear.
”

Mel ended the call and went back
inside. She walked through the kitchen ignoring everyone. She found Leslie
standing behind the bar, talking and washing some glasses. There were four
people at the bar. Two were a couple. One was watching sports on TV. The other
guy was talking to Leslie, obvious enjoying when Leslie bent down a little to
wash the glasses.

Leslie turned her head and saw Mel.

“
You
look sick,
”
Leslie said.

“
No.
Just not a good phone call.
”

“
Is
your family okay?
”

“
Define
okay
,
”
Mel said. She
suddenly felt her throat closing up a little. She coughed and couldn
’
t believe she was about to cry.
Maybe because it was in front of Leslie and she cared.

“
Oh,
Christ,
”
Leslie said.
“
Go home for the night. I
’
ve got all this.
”

“
No,
”
Mel said.
“
Harry asked
…”

“
To
hell with Harry. Just go home and get some sleep,
”
Leslie said.
“
Take care of
your family business. I can see it in your eyes you need to be home.
”

“
There
is something there
…”

“
Then
take care of it. Look at the bar tonight. It
’
s
quiet. And if it filled up
…
do you forget who I am? Harry can
’
t
get himself a glass of water without fucking it up.
”
Mel let out a laugh. Leslie smiled.
“
You know who I am, Mel. I ran
two biker bars. You think a hotel crowd can get rough
…”

“
Thank
you,
”
Mel said.
“
Thank you so much.
”

Leslie gave one more nod and Mel
hurried back through the kitchen. She didn
’
t
look back as she ran to her car. She got inside and drove to her apartment.
There on the table was the list she had made earlier. She thought about getting
mad at Alex for calling and bothering her, but it was Mel
’
s own fault for not sending the
list.

She sat at the table and quickly
typed up the list on her cell. She sent it to Jon, along with any information
about each name that seemed pertinent.

Once the text was sent, Mel sought
comfort on her couch. She remembered making it halfway through the channels
before sleep took her for the night.

That night Mel had the one dream
she seemed to have almost every night. It was of her standing on a sidewalk
watching a car drive away. And if she looked into the driver
’
s side mirror, she saw the
reflection of her father.
Leaving.

(8)

Jake opened his eyes and was in
bed. No, he was in
a
bed. He quickly sat up and looked to his left,
fearing someone else would be there. Jake feared it would be another woman. Even
worse, Jake also feared it would be Chloe. It didn
’
t seem that long ago Jake would be excited to have
Chloe in bed with him. Now it was more of a nightmare.

But the bed was empty.

Jake looked around the room and it
took him a few seconds to realize he was in a hotel bedroom. To his right was a
nightstand covered in empty beer and whiskey bottles.

“
Mack,
”
Jake whispered.

That
’
s
when the night started to come back to him.

Jake threw the covers off himself
and saw that he had crashed wearing his shoes and the same clothes from
yesterday
’
s show. Not that
the band came prepared to crash at a hotel overnight. Jake stretched his neck
and he left the room.

Mack was on the couch with a hat
over his face. Luke on the other couch. Trent and Gray were nowhere to be
found, leaving Jake looking toward the second bedroom in the large hotel room.
He wondered if they shared the bed together. If so, that would make for a nice
joke within the band for some time.

Stumbling to the kitchen, Jake went
for the coffee. He stood at the counter and waited for the coffee to brew. He
rubbed his face and was surprised he didn
’
t
feel like hell. In fact, he felt okay.

The band had an amazing night
together. What started as a chance to play a few songs turned into a full blown
concert in the hotel. They played for hours upon hours, working on new riffs
and songs. Luke jotted some lyrics and before anyone could believe it, there
was a new Fallen Tuesday song on the horizon. They even ran through the new
song a couple times. Acoustically it sounded choppy, and obviously needed some
work, but it was just the magic of writing that felt great.

If there was something good to come
from this thing with Chloe it would be the inspiration that it gave Jake. He
didn
’
t have the ability to
write lyrics like Luke did, so he let the riffs speak the words his mind couldn
’
t put on paper. And it seemed to
work.

The coffeemaker let out a howl and
a few spits.

Jake poured a fresh cup of black coffee
and then noticed everyone
’
s
cell phones on the counter. Jake remembered the band making a pact of
no
phones
for the night. He wasn
’
t
sure how well that would go over with the guys who had women to face. Jake
realized he was technically one of those guys.

“
Oh,
hell,
”
Jake whispered.

He grabbed his cell and pressed a
button to turn the screen on.

“
Forty
missed calls,
”
he said.

It didn
’
t shock him that all but two were from Chloe. The
other two were from Frank.

There were twelve voicemails. One
from Frank in the middle of Chloe's eleven. The messages were pathetic. They
started out so happy, Chloe saying she missed Jake and couldn
’
t wait for him to get home. The
final message put it all into perspective. Chloe was obviously crying. She made
comments about Jake being a rockstar and enjoying his night with groupies. She
then had the nerve to end it by saying,
“
I
’
ll just be your pregnant wife.
Home, alone, waiting. I guess it
’
s
all I can do.
”

Just like that Jake
’
s mood sank into the toilet.

Luke popped up from the couch and
looked at Jake. He smiled and nodded. Jake lifted his coffee mug toward the
coffeemaker. Luke nodded. Jake grabbed a mug for Luke and poured a fresh cup.

As Luke made his way to the
counter, Jake started to go through the twenty-two text messages from Chloe.
Just like the voicemails, they started sweet and even sexy. Chloe took a few
pictures of herself and sent them to Jake in the hopes that he would rush home
to her. Jake couldn
’
t help
but wonder how many pictures like these were on other men
’
s phones across the country.

“
What
’
s going on here?
”
Luke asked.

“
Chloe.
”

“
Too
early for that name, bro.
”

Jake looked at Luke. Luke was more
than the lead singer in the band. He was the smartest guy. Not quite as blunt
as Mack, but everyone trusted him.

“
What
do I do?
”
Jake asked.

“
Seems
to me you
’
re going to have
hell to pay when you get home. That
’
ll
be the start of it.
”

“
Yeah,
”
Jake said.
“
All these calls and messages.
She
’
s insane, man.
”

“
Sometimes
women seem like that,
”
Luke
said.
“
But it
’
s just because they care.
”

“
And
in Chloe
’
s case?
”

Luke lifted his coffee mug.
“
You
’
re probably right with her. She
’
s probably insane.
”

“
Thanks,
”
Jake whispered.

“
Cheers.
”

Luke hit his mug off Jake
’
s.

It was already almost noon and Jake
knew each minute he stayed at the hotel was another minute he would face hell
with Chloe. The last time he remembered looking at the clock last night it was
far into the morning. So much so that he remembered Mack suggesting they just
stay up until the sun came up.

That obviously didn
’
t happen.

“
What
’
s on tap for today?
”
Jake asked.

“
Day
off,
”
Luke said.
“
I
’
m
sure Frank will be bothering us. He
’
ll
be pissed we partied all night here. We have to gear up for some more radio
appearances and shows. The album is being mixed and after that
…”

“
Release
day, huh?
”

“
Hell
yeah,
”
Luke said with a
nod.

Jake hit his mug off Luke
’
s.
“
Cheers, brother. I love this life.
”

“
Me
too,
”
Luke said.
“
Although sleeping in bed with
Amy is a little more comfortable than crashing on a couch in a hotel room.
Especially when Mack is a couple feet away.
”

Jake laughed.
“
Hey, I think I should take off.
Not saying that I want to take off, but I should. I have to go home and face
Chloe.
”

“
What
are you going to do about that?
”

Jake finished off his coffee.
“
Going to do exactly what we
talked about last night.
”

Luke nodded.
“
Good. I
’
m really sorry all this happened.
”

“
I
am too,
”
Jake said.
“
I just hate that the past has found
a way to mess with me again. I hate it. But it
’
s
my fault. I need to figure it out and do the right thing.
”

“
Then
go do the right thing,
”
Luke said.
“
You know where
to find us, right?
”

Jake smiled.
“
I do.
”

Jake left and made a phone call.
The phone call scored him a ride from the hotel. He snuck down the hall and to
the steps, skipping the elevator. He charged down the steps and when he opened
the door, the sun seemed twice as bright. A black car waited for Jake. He hated
this part of being a rockstar sometimes. Jake preferred his own wheels, but yesterday
had been planned out for the band to be taken to and from the radio show. The
original plan was to go to the hotel for a little bit and then everyone split
up.

Once in the back of the car, Jake
leaned forward and threw some money on the seat near the driver.

“
It
’
s all paid for,
”
the driver said.

“
Not
this next part,
”
Jake said.
“
I need a favor.
”

It took Jake a lot of nerve not to
get angry at the driver based on the looks the man gave him while completing
the
favor
. But Jake knew he couldn't walk into a store and buy a pregnancy
test. Bad enough he
’
d get
recognized just walking into a store, but if someone saw him with a pregnancy
test it would become headline news across the internet. The age of information
moved faster than actual thought sometimes. Frank didn
’
t know about Chloe yet and that would become a PR
nightmare if it was posted all over social media before Jake had a chance to
talk to Frank
…
and have a
chance to actually figure out if Chloe was pregnant.

He sighed. He didn
’
t want to think Chloe would do
something so harsh, but it honestly wouldn
’
t
shock him if she did. That was her style. It was like she had been created that
way. Even when they were younger and together, Chloe had darker and edgier
side. Sometimes that wild side was fun, but most of the time it hurt people
’
s feelings.

If Chloe took the test and it came
up negative
…

The car stopped.

“
Good
luck,
”
the driver said looking
in the rearview mirror.

“
Yeah,
right.
”

Jake thanked the driver again for
his help and got out. He went to the apartment door and stood there.

His own place.

Invaded by a woman.

Not just any woman, but by Chloe.

Damn.

Jake held the white shopping bag
tight. He dug in his pocket and found his key.

When he opened the door, Chloe sat
at the table with a cup of coffee. She had her tablet propped up next to that.
Her eyes moved from the screen for a second to look at Jake. Her eyes went back
to the screen and the look on her face intensified.

Yeah, she was pissed off.

“
Hey,
”
Jake said. He glanced at the
bag in his hand. He needed to pick the right moment to dig this hole even
deeper.

“
Hey,
”
Chloe said.

“
How
was your night?
”

“
How
was yours?
”

“
We
got caught up
…”

“
Oh?
”

Jake took a few steps. He couldn
’
t believe he was afraid to walk
into his own apartment like this. But he was. It used to be his. Now it was
theirs
although not once did Jake ask Chloe to move in to the apartment.

“
Had
the radio show and then the concert. We went to the hotel and got lost there. We
actually started writing new music.
”

“
New
music? What do you need new music for?
”

“
That
’
s what we do,
”
Jake said.

Chloe looked up from her tablet.
She folded her hands.
“
I
thought you have an album coming out.
”

“
We
do. That doesn
’
t mean we
don
’
t write anymore.
”

“
So
you just stayed in a hotel room all night? Writing music? Were you drinking?
”

Jake swallowed. His lip curled. Was
he really being interrogated right now?

“
What
do you think?
”
he asked.

Chloe shook her head.
“
A drunk rockstar then. How many
women were there?
”

“
None.
”

“
Bullshit,
Jake.
”

“
I
’
m not lying Chloe. There were no
women there. It was just the band.
”

“
You
think that
’
s okay to do?
When you have a pregnant wife at home?
”

He cringed at the word wife again.
“
Look, I didn
’
t plan for it. We threw our cell
phones on the counter and jammed out. One thing led to another and I woke up
today. That
’
s about it,
okay?
”

“
And
I sat here all night waiting for you,
”
Chloe said.
“
I called you a
few times
…”

“
A
few?
”
Jake shouted.
“
Christ, Chloe
…”

Chloe pushed back from the table.
Her eyes were wide.
“
Don
’
t yell at me.
”