What Now? (11 page)

“Thanks for that, Shari. Things are going to be rough for
a while with the band, but you’re right, Tim needs help. I’ve been at him for a
while and I’ve threatened to find another drummer. That’s probably why he
resents me so much and why he blew up in Vegas.”

Nick fell silent for a long time as his thoughts started
to haunt him again; thoughts about the tragedy that had happened and what had
almost happened to Shari. The pain inside him forced its way out in a deep,
agonized groan. 

“I hurt for the people that lost someone tonight and for those
who were injured because of us. They were coming to see us. If it hurt so much
when Jo lost the baby, I can’t imagine what it must be like to lose someone
that you’ve had in your life for years. Oh, God!” He groaned again.

Immediately Shari drew close and offered him comfort as
he had done for her.  She was seeing yet another side of Nick, a vulnerable one;
one that needed comfort right now. Something in her began to melt as she held
him in her arms.

“Now I’m the one who’s sorry,” Nick said a few minutes
later, pulling away. 

“No apology necessary. You’ve been through a lot today.”

“I’m so angry at the thought that people actually died
trying to get into our concert. And it was probably because of greed. Brad said
that it looks as if the promoter oversold tickets.” He ran his hands over his
face.

“What do we even say to the people who lost someone
tonight? Sorry doesn’t cut it. How can sorry make up for a life? How can making
extra money be so important that they would put people’s lives in danger?”

Shari knew that he wasn’t looking for answers. He needed
to work through those questions on his own. He sighed and it sounded as if it
came from somewhere deep and weary in his soul. He seemed to force himself to
stand up and he held out his hand. She took it and allowed him to pull her up.

“We both need to get some rest. Do you want to stay here
tonight?”

“No, thanks. Although this couch looks comfortable enough
to sleep on. I’ll be fine in my room.”

“OK. I’ll take you down.” 

Shari didn’t offer any argument because she didn’t want
to risk running into Tim in the hallway or the elevator on her own.

“I’ll talk to Brad and Lily tomorrow.” He had obviously
sensed her thoughts. “I don’t know what will happen for the rest of the tour. I
guess they may cancel Cincinnati, which would be great, but I know that there’s
too much at stake to cancel the tour.”

“You guys need the break.”

“Yeah, and we’re going to need a new drummer.” 

Shari felt a pang of guilt before she reminded herself
that she was not at fault.  Nick had wanted to replace Tim before this, anyway.

They reached Shari’s room on the sixteenth floor without
running into Tim so Shari figured that he’d crashed with one of the other guys.
Nick waited until she opened her door and had a look around before he retreated.

“I didn’t expect to find him lurking in here, but I
wanted to make sure.” 

Shari was touched.

“Thanks for everything, Nick,” she said softly as she stood
at the door to see him off.

“Thank you too.”

She smiled at him and then her smile faded as he lifted
her face to his and briefly kissed her lips before turning and walking to the
elevator.

Shari closed the door quietly and leaned back against it
for a moment, certain that she could still feel the touch of Nick’s lips on
hers. What had just happened?

Nick headed straight for the fully stocked bar and poured
himself a drink. He downed half of it in one go, welcoming the burning in his
stomach as if it was penance for the pain and guilt that he felt every time he
thought about the concert.

He re-filled his glass and looked around the suite for
somewhere to rest. There were many places he could hang out, but he found
himself heading back to the media room. The darkness suited his mood. A picture
of Tim lying on Shari made him want to smash something, preferably Tim’s face.
He took a gulp of the drink as he picked up the remote control and turned the
TV on. He scrolled through the channels until he found a local channel. He must
be a glutton for punishment.

He was in time to see a clip of the band at the concert
before the reporter cut in to say that the band continued the concert while
three people lay dead at the gates and several more were injured. He swore and
shouted: “We didn’t know!” He turned off the TV and threw the remote at the
screen, making a dent. “I hate reporters!” OK, not all. Shari was an exception.

Why had he kissed her at the door? Not that you could
really call that a kiss. He probably hadn’t kissed anyone like that since high
school, but she had looked so small and vulnerable that he couldn’t help
himself. Thank God he had heard her scream and got there in time to stop Tim.
He didn’t know what it was that prompted him to leave his room, but he would be
forever grateful that he had.

Things happened so fast. He could have been too late. One
minute Shari was interviewing Tim and the next he was trying to attack her? One
minute fans were standing in a queue to see them play and the next they were
dead? This was crazy! He had more money than most people could spend in a
lifetime, he could have just about anything he wanted, go anywhere he wanted
and do anything he wanted. But what did it mean? What was it all for? What kind
of life was this?

He drained the rest of his drink, kicked off his shoes
and drifted into an alcohol-induced sleep. His last coherent thought was that
he wasn’t looking forward to the day ahead.

Shari
slept badly. Every time she began to drift off, scenes from the night flashed
behind her eyelids, causing her to jump up. She had gotten up and checked the
door twice, thinking that she had heard someone at it.

It
was nearly morning when she had finally sank into a deep sleep, so when her
cell phone rang just a couple of hours later, she groaned, realizing belatedly
that she hadn’t put it on silent. Dropping her hand on the bedside table, she
felt around until she found the phone. The caller was Mum.

“Hi, Mum,”
she croaked.

“Shari,
did I wake you? I’m so sorry, but I just heard what happened on the news. How are
you doing and how is Nick?”

“I’m OK.
Nick isn’t doing so well. He feels terribly guilty, although it wasn’t his
fault, and they didn’t even know what had happened until after the concert.”

“That’s
not what they’re saying on the news.”

“His
people will probably have a press conference this morning or make some kind of
statement to let the public know what really happened.”

“What
does this mean for your documentary?”

“Actually,
I hadn’t given it any thought. I think they’ll cancel the next concert, but
they will probably finish the tour. That means that I may be able to take a few
days off and come for a visit before you go to Barbados.”

“Oh,
that would be wonderful! I’ll get your room ready and bake some of your favorite
goodies.”

“Thanks,
Ma,” she said emotionally. She wouldn’t tell her mother about Tim, but she so
wanted the comfort of her arms now. “I’ll see you tomorrow, hopefully, once I
clear it with my boss.”

“OK,
baby. Love you.”

“Love
you too, Ma.”

Shari
had barely disconnected the call when her phone rang again. It was Gerry, her
boss. She gave him a synopsis of what had happened and promised to send a
detailed report once Brad and Lily had spoken to the media. He gave her the permission
to take a few days off and asked her to tell Brian to report back to the office
as he needed a camera man for a short assignment.

She
reluctantly got out of bed and headed for the bath. She wondered how Nick was
doing today and if she would run into Tim. She really hoped not.

“Ladies
and gentlemen, thanks for coming here this morning on such short notice. For
those of you who don’t know me, I’m Brad Mitchell, manager for Nick Badley and
the band. This is Lily Petroski, their PR agent, and you all know Nick and the
band.”

Shari
sat among the press and tried not to make eye contact with Tim. He had
approached her earlier and apologized for his behavior, citing the drinks he’d
consumed as his excuse. Nick had interrupted him and cautioned him to stay far away
from Shari and to let him know that his days with the band were over.  Brad
intervened before it got nasty and told them to hold it until after the press
conference because they needed to present a unified front.

“It
is with deep regret that we heard about the tragedy that occurred before the
concert last night. I want to state categorically that the band had no
knowledge of the events until after they came off stage. The manager of the
venue and I made a decision not to cancel the concert for fear of further
trouble and I decided not to tell the band until after they had played. The
guys are all deeply saddened and will be sending their condolences and flowers
to the families of those who died. An investigation is being carried out by the
police and all will be revealed in a few days.”

Nick
moved to the mike. “I can’t begin to tell you how devastated we all are about
what happened last night. Our fans are very important to us; they’re the ones
who make us what we are. So when fans lose their lives coming to our concert,
it makes us look at who we are and what we’re doing. It makes us re-examine
what’s important. I deeply grieve the loss of those fans and the guard and for
the pain that their families must feel today.”

“Will
you be cancelling the rest of the tour?”

“We
will be cancelling the concert in Cincinnati, but we will be going ahead with
the rest of the tour. We don’t want to disappoint our fans and we have
committed to making sure that this kind of thing doesn’t happen again. Thank
you.” He led the band out the back exit and left the journalists to make their
reports to the various media houses which they represented.

Shari
left with the rest of the media, not sure where she belonged in this instance. Brian
had already left for the airport so she headed for her room to pack. She didn’t
know if she would see Nick before she left and she was surprised to find that
she wanted to.

Her
phone rang. It was Lily inviting her to join the band for a light lunch before
they all went their separate ways until they met up in Miami. 

“I
don’t think so, Lily,” she excused herself, not wanting to run into Tim.

“Nick
told Brad and me what happened. I’m so sorry, Shari. You don’t have to worry
about running into Tim. He won’t be joining us. And Shari, can I rely on you to
keep what happened to yourself?”

“I
won’t do anything to discredit the rest of the band, Lily, but Tim needs to get
help. As he’s not going to be there I’d be happy to come. Where will you be?”

“Nick’s
suite in an hour. It can certainly hold all of us. We’re having a cold buffet
delivered there.”

Shari’s
spirits rose. She would see Nick before she left after all.