Chapter Six
Chase
We were at Zach’s house as usual for band practice. The show coming up on the weekend was important so we needed all the extra practice time we could get.
Zach Walker, our bass player, was the only one out of us who looked “normal”. By normal, I meant that he had no tattoos, no piercings, and no crazy hairstyle going on. He was tall and broad-shouldered with dark blonde hair and blue eyes. It wasn’t any surprise that girls were all over him after shows.
Since we were just hanging around waiting for our guitarist, Deuce Worthington, to show up, I figured I might as well tell the guys about Hailey.
“So get this, right?” I started to say, “My partner for my Music Comp assignment is this stuck up, anal retentive girl.”
Zach laughed. “Okay, and why is she all those things?”
“She thinks this kind of music,” I gestured around the room, “is noise.”
“That’s dumb,” Jonathan said, “Is she hot?”
I shrugged. “She’s okay. Nice ass and big tits.”
“Those are the best parts about a woman,” Zach said with a wink.
“Yeah, but she dresses like she’s forty, and she has this stupid planner with her. She’s one of those girls who thinks they’re too good for everyone, so that cancels out tits and ass.”
“Hell no.” Zach shook his head, his expression serious. “Nothing ever cancels out tits and ass.”
I was about to say something in agreement, but Jonathan spoke first. “Uh, guys, Deuce just texted me. He said he’s not gonna be able to make it.”
“What do you mean he’s not gonna make it?”
I was trying to stay calm, but inside I was starting to get pissed off. This was bullshit.
“I dunno.” Jonathan shrugged as he leaned back against his seat. “All he said was that he was busy doing stuff and couldn’t make it today.”
Dude, seriously, what the fuck? We couldn’t perform well as a band if the freaking guitarist failed to show up to practice the day before a show. This wasn’t the first time Deuce had bailed on us last minute. He’d been missing practice on and off for the past few months.
Seriously, I didn’t know what his deal was. One minute he claimed he was really passionate about our music and wanted to grow with the band, but then the next minute he acted like a douchebag and skipped out on practice. What was with that guy?
Zach took a gulp of his beer and snickered. “Yeah, we all know what “doing stuff” really means.”
“What does it mean?” Was I missing something here? Was something going on that’d completely gone over my head?
I’d been busy lately, but the last thing I wanted was to be out of touch with the band. That’s how bands fell apart; when one douchebag made it all about himself and didn’t give a shit about the other guys. I didn’t want to be that guy.
“Really, Chase? You haven’t noticed that he smells like sex all the time?” Zach asked, shaking his head in disbelief at me.
You could count on Zach to notice something like “sex smell” on a person. He’d been with so many girls that I’d lost count once he hit the double digits. I didn’t think he’d ever find a girl who could tie him down.
I shook my head. “No, not really. Maybe he has a girlfriend?”
“He’s not the kind of guy to have a steady girlfriend,” Jonathan informed me.
I didn’t know much about Deuce except that he knew his shit when it came to music.
Jonathan had recruited him and they’d hung out in the same crowd, so that’s how he’d ended up replacing our old guitarist, Trey.
“Well, whether he’s out banging someone or studying astronomy, I don’t really care. What pisses me off is that we have a big show tomorrow and he isn’t here to practice. Again. He needs to get serious about this or we’re gonna have to find someone else.”
“Yeah, I’ll talk to him,” Jonathan said. “So this promoter guy’s really gonna be there?”
I nodded as I slung my guitar over my shoulder and ran my hand gently over the strings.
“Yeah, for real. He said he sees potential in us to grow. It’s a pretty big fucking deal so we have to be on our game.”
Last month, a well-known promoter had contacted me and was interested in coming to watch us play live. He was well-connected to people in the music industry and could get us in touch with some pretty important people if we made a good impression on him.
That’s why I couldn’t have Deuce skipping practice and potentially screwing up during a performance. He was good, but he wasn’t that good.
There were so many plans I had for this band, but most of all I just wanted us to be successful. This was something that I was really passionate about. Music wasn’t confining or limited. It didn’t hold me back; it let me escape.
Before Jonathan could say anything, my phone started buzzing in my pocket. I pulled it out and saw that it was my mom calling.
Shit. I didn’t really want to talk to her after our last disastrous Sunday lunch. There wasn’t really anything I had to say to her or my dad that I hadn’t already said. For a second, I seriously considered not answering it, but then a tiny voice in my head told me I’d be an asshole for ignoring my mother.
Putting my guitar aside, I answered my phone, a tightness beginning to form in the center of my chest. “Hey, Mom.”
“Hello, Chase.” She sounded relieved, though I couldn’t really understand why. “I was worried you would ignore my call.”
I sighed. “I seriously considered it.”
Mom chuckled on the other end. “Well, I’m glad you did answer. I know you have an important show coming up tomorrow and I wanted to wish you luck.”
Wow. This was unexpected. Neither of my parents had ever called up to wish me luck before and I’d been doing this for years. This definitely wasn’t normal for them. I had a feeling that whatever Cecilia had said to them after I’d left on Sunday had gotten through to them.
“Well, uh, thanks.”
Mom heaved a sigh on the other end of the line. “Cecilia informed us that some of the things that your father and I said this weekend were out of line.” No shit.
“Uh huh,” I said, prompting her to continue.
“Even though we don’t really understand this music thing you’re doing, and although it sounds like a whole lot of noise to me, I don’t want it to get in the way of our relationship.”
So my mother had a weird way of apologizing, but at least she’d made an attempt. I couldn’t hold it against her for trying.
“Well, thanks, Mom. I appreciate it.”
“So I can look forward to seeing you on Sunday as usual?” She sounded more relieved now that the difficult part of the conversation was done.
“Yes, Mom, I’ll be there at noon, like always.”
“Okay, I love you, Chase.”
“Love you, too.”
I hung up and turned back to Zach and Jonathan who were watching me expectantly. They knew my family well, so there wasn’t a whole lot of explaining needed.
“What did your mom say?” Jonathan asked.
We’d been friends since we were five so he was well aware of what my parents were like. “She was saying sorry for some shit she said last week.”
“Oh yeah? The usual?” Zach asked.
I nodded. “Yeah, and then some crap about Heather. That I was better off without her.
Stuff that I didn’t really need to hear.”
“Well, Heather kinda was a psycho bitch,” Zach stated a matter-of-factly. “So she’s not wrong there.”
“Yeah, I guess.”
My turbulent relationship with Heather hadn’t really been much of a secret. Everyone knew about the frequent impromptu fights that we’d have anywhere and everywhere. And everyone knew how it had ended—she’d cheated on me and then dumped me. Stupid whore.
As I grabbed my guita
r, and Jonathan started up a beat on the drums, my mother’s words echoed in my ears: it sounds like a whole lot of noise.
And even though I barely knew her, I couldn’t help but think back to the pretentious girl from my music class who dressed like a librarian and had booty who’d said almost the exact same thing to me.
Damn that booty.