Under the Lights (A Brothers of Rock - GONE BY AUTUMN - Novel) (2 page)

Last year Sam suggested that the
band get a storage unit for all their belongings while they were out on tour.
They each gave up their apartments - but not the loft - and piled personal
belongings in storage.

Including something Tanner had
been dying to find
…

Half hour into his drive, Tanner
saw the glow of the gas light on the dashboard. He pulled into a gas station
and kept his head down while he pumped gas. It was a quiet area, out of the
city limits. Hungry and thirsty, Tanner finished pumping his gas and went
inside the small store. Now normally he wouldn't dare to eat a pre-made
sandwich from a random gas station, but the woman behind the counter insisted
that they were freshly made by her and her grandmother. She explained that they
had four sandwich shops in North Carolina and were opening a fifth.

So while Tanner kept his head down,
he picked an Italian sandwich and grabbed a soda. When he reached into his
pocket for his cash, the woman froze like she was afraid of Tanner.

“
Whoa,
”
he said.
“
I
’
m
not robbing you, ma'am. Just getting cash out.
”

“
You
’
re
…
you
’
re famous.
”

Shit.

“
Maybe
I am,
”
Tanner said, his
cover blown.
“
Just passing
through.
”

“
Is
the rest of the band with you?
”
the woman asked.

“
No.
Solo trip.
”

Solo
…
I could go solo if I
want. My lyrics, my songs, me on the covers of
those magazines
…

“
Oh,
darn. I
’
d love to meet the
entire band.
”
She licked
her lips.
“
Wow, so someone
from Gone by Autumn is going to eat our sandwich. That
’
s awesome. You can just take it. You don
’
t have to pay for it.
”

“
Thank
you, but it's good. I have the money,
”
Tanner said.

Slowly, Tanner put a ten on the
counter and then put his hands up.

“
Sorry
about that,
”
the woman said,
blushing.
“
A guy your size,
dressed all in black, hiding your face
…”

“
Just
a rockstar,
”
Tanner said.
“
Keep the change for yourself,
darling.
”

Tanner knocked on the counter and turned
to walk away.

“
Wait!
”
the woman yelled.
“
Can I
…
get a picture?
”

Tanner laughed.
“
Of course.
”

She rushed out from behind the
counter, cell in hand, ready to go. She wrapped an arm around Tanner and then
smiled big. Tanner did his
shit eating grin
, as Sam always put it, and gave
a thumbs up.

She took the picture, but her hand
still hung onto the back of his shirt.

“
You
know, I
’
m alone here right
now,
”
she said.

Tanner looked down at her.

Really? It
’
s this easy now?

“
You
’
ve got a business to run,
”
Tanner said.

“
I
’
ve got a rockstar in my store. I
’
ll close for the rest of my life
if I have to.
”

Tanner smiled.

No matter the bullshit with the
band, one thing was for sure, the road never failed to give Gone by Autumn some
crazy stories.

(2)

Please come home, baby. We all
miss you here. It
’
s
not the same without you. There are dreams everywhere
you look
,
baby. Right at home! Come home to us, baby. Come home to me. I want to hold
you. I want to rock you. I love you.

Jules folded up the letter and opened
the shoebox on her bed. She added it to the pile and closed it back up. The
shoebox then went back to its hiding spot, under the bed, where it belonged.

While the small one bedroom
apartment wasn
’
t quite
home, it was better than what she had been living for a long time, and the
begging and pleading wasn't going to change that fact.

There was a knock at the door and
Jules jumped from the bed.

“
You
dressed? I need to get some clothes.
”

“
Yeah,
I
’
m good,
”
Jules said.

The door opened and Tara came
walking in wearing nothing but a towel.

“
Sorry,
”
Tara said.

“
What
’
s with the knocking? You never
cared before to burst in here whether I
’
m
naked or not.
”

“
Yeah,
well, I
’
m trying something
new.
”
Tara waved her hands.
“
Privacy
…
”

“
Coming
from the girl that sleeps on the couch.
”

“
Hey,
can you afford a two bedroom apartment?
”

“
No,
”
Jules said.
“
But we can share the room.
Another bed
…”

“
Could
fit in here?
”
Tara asked.
She laughed.
“
Yeah, right.
So that leaves us two choices. Bunk beds, which would be really hot for two women
in their twenties. Or we could just cuddle in your bed. I don
’
t take up much room, but I like
to snuggle.
”

“
Better
off on the couch,
”
Jules
said.

“
Exactly.
I don
’
t mind. I
’
ve been sleeping on a couch
since I was fourteen. Remember?
”

“
Yeah,
”
Jules said, feeling bad that
she had made the comment in the first place.

Tara disappeared into the closet.
Of all the problems that came with having a tiny apartment, having a huge
walk-in closet was not one of them.

The first time Jules met Tara was
when Jules was looking for a roommate. They hit it off right away since they
were both waitresses struggling to make it in the music industry. When Tara
moved in, they had joked about there being plenty of room for Tara to sleep in
the closet. Tara had made a comment about already coming out of the closet once
before, only to put one foot back in. In other words, Tara loved
everyone.
She was very open about her body and her sexuality. She was the craziest, but
kindest, roommate Jules ever had.

Surviving without Tara wasn't
possible. Jules had gone to North Carolina in search of singing gigs. She
lucked out and landed a few club nights on a regular basis. But then those
clubs shut their doors and she was out of a job and forgotten about a day
later. That was the reality of the business, and Tara was no stranger to it
herself. She had been the bassist in an all girl rock band that was signed to a
small label. They even toured for six months before the lead singer quit the
band, moved to Los Angeles, and was now slowly becoming the face of cheesy,
processed pop music. Her hair was short, blonde, and she strutted around half
naked. Anything to sell a song.

Not that Tara was much different
…
but at least Tara was true to
herself.

She emerged from the closet in bra
and panties. Neither piece of clothing covered much.

“
Hey,
are you working tonight?
”
Tara asked.

“
No,
”
Jules said.
“
Why?
”

“
I
’
ve got a bite on something cool.
Can
’
t say what yet. Want to
come?
”

“
I
’
m going to hang out here,
”
Jules said.
“
I need a night to relax and think.
”

“
Oh,
shit.
”
Tara sat down on the
bed across from Jules and took her hand.
“
Don
’
t get down on yourself. I know
it
’
s hard.
”

“
Are
we even in the right place for this?
”
Jules asked.
“
Honestly. Shouldn
’
t we be in New York
…
LA
…
even Nashville?
”

“
You
want to be country singer?
”

“
Whatever,
”
Jules said.
“
I just want to have that chance.
To prove
…”

Jules dropped her eyes.
To prove
him wrong.

“
Don
’
t let your past get to you right
now. We
’
re saving money,
right? We talked about it. Just another few months or so, and then we
’
ll go.
”

“
Who
would have thought we would have turned out to be such good friends?"

“
Don
’
t overanalyze life,
”
Tara said.

“
I
’
m trying, but it
’
s hard not to when there
’
s a half naked woman in my bed.
”

“
Sorry
about that,
”
Tara laughed.
She went to the closet again and got dressed. This time when she came out,
fully clothed, it was a little easier to talk to her.

“
You
should get the bedroom,
”
Jules said.

“
What?
”

“
The
bedroom. The bed. We can switch back and forth every few months or so. That would
make it fair."

Tara laughed.
“
Trust me, the last thing on my
mind is a bed and bedroom. I have an apartment and a roommate I like. I
’
m good for now." Tara stood
up and checked herself out in the mirror. "Hey, stay put here today, okay?
I might be calling you soon.
”
She winked as she walked out of the room.

When Tara left, the loneliness
settled in. That was the hardest part of leaving it all behind for Jules. She
had already had the taste of success, and now lingered it was a bitterness that
wouldn
’
t go away.

For a little while, Jules thought
about going through the shoebox of letters. But she knew it would do nothing
for her except drum up old feelings that were better forgotten. The only reason
she kept the shoebox was because it was a goldmine for songs. Jules loved to
write music and songs, but at this point she just wanted to sing if it got her
in front of an audience.

 Her first microphone had been a
hairbrush, her audience the reflection in the mirror as she sang. Her first
singing competition got her a trophy and it was like the sky was the limit from
there.

Until the sky fell.

Or maybe it didn
’
t fall. Jules just got sick of
the same view.

Jules stood at the window in the
living room. She just knew there was something bigger out there for her and she
needed to be patient.

Her cell phone started to ring from
in the bedroom. Jules looked at the clock and wondered if Tara could have
gotten into trouble this fast. Jules ran to the bedroom, but the phone had
stopped ringing. When she looked at the screen she noticed it wasn't Tara
calling. It was just some unknown number. The phone beeped again with a voice
message.

“
Who
is this
…
?
”
she groaned, wondering if it
was a bill collector.

She put the phone on speaker and
listened to the voice message.

“
Hey
there, I hope this is Jules
’
phone. This is Jackie...
not sure if you remember me or not. You had a
few gigs at
Sparkie
’
s
.
I n
ever forgot your voice. Have an opportunity of a lifetime
for you, if you
’
re
interested. I
f you still have that
friend or roommate or
girlfriend
, this may help her too
. Need you to call me back right
away. If not, I
’
ll
have to make another call. Damn, I hope this is the right number.
”

Jules dropped her phone and then scrambled
to pick it back up. She paced as she called the number back.

Please, please, please
…

She closed her eyes and waited.

“
Hey,
this is Jackie,
”
a voice
said.

“
Jackie?
This is Jules. You just called
…”

“
Jules,
”
Jackie said.
“
Haven
’
t heard your voice in a while. Really sorry about
what happened with the club.
”

“
No,
it
’
s okay,
”
Jules said.
“
It's business.
”

“
Yeah,
right. Business. But, hey, listen to me. I heard something going around town
and it made me think of you. There's a potential gig. Really big one at that.
”

“
I
’
m interested,
”
Jules said.
“
I haven
’
t done much
…
well
…
I mean, I can sing. I
still sing. I write. And you mentioned my roommate?
”

“
Yeah,
I remember her too,
”
Jackie
said.
“
There
’
s an opening for a couple backup
singers.
”

“
Backup
singers?
”

“
Yeah.
My good friend Stevie owns The Jack. Hell of a club.
”

“
I
know the place,
”
Jules
said.
“
I
’
ve gone a few times. Never sang
there though.
”

“
Maybe
you will,
”
Jackie said.
“
Look, if you
’
re interested, I can give you a
number to call. But you have to be cool about it. I mean, I can get a lot of
shit for this.
”

“
Sure.
I won
’
t do anything
…”

“
Not
anything,
”
Jackie said,
laughing.
“
The number I
’
m giving you is for the manager
of the band who is looking for singers.
”

“
It
’
s a band? What kind of band?
”

“
Jules,
you ever heard of Gone by Autumn?
”

A shock went through Jules
’
body. She was nodding but not
talking.

“
Hello?
You there?
”

“
Sorry,
yes. I
’
m right here. Yes, I
know the band. Well, I don
’
t
know the band. I know of the band. I saw them at The Jack when they did their
surprise show. They
’
re
looking for backup singers?
”

“
Yes,
”
Jackie said.
“
But listen carefully
…
I
’
m
going to give you a number and when someone answers, make sure it
’
s Sam and make sure you tell him
exactly what I
’
m about to
say
…”

Jackie started to ramble off words
that would hopefully stick in Jules
’
mind. But her focus was somewhere else already.

A backup singer for Gone by
Autumn?

Was
this actually
happening
?