| Title: Brooding California Author: Priscilla Chapter 9: Lonely Road of Faith I cried all the way to New York. It seemed that the skies felt the same loneliness because it rained the entire trip. The sound of the hard rain soothed me somewhat, but still the tears kept coming. Like every time I felt like I could stop another one would slip down my chin and I would start up again. I felt like I'd left this huge undeveloped part of my life hanging, like I'd walked out on something big. I guess it all worked out for the best, because those pain filled memories are a little hazy now as I stare out of my limousine's tinted windows; the rest of the band is lost in their conversation. After a couple of years of holding real jobs, my old band mates called me up and convinced me to give the band thing another try. They even moved up to New York after I gave them the ok. Now we�re known as Blue Haze, we have a 25 million dollar contract with Madonna�s Maverick Records and are getting ready to head out on the first leg of our European Tour, with Linkin Park as our opening act. My personal life has picked up somewhat. Yes, there have been others after Milo, but not anyone like him. I�m currently dating Silver Chair�s lead singer Daniel Johns. In many ways I owe Daniel a lot. He helped me through the rough times after California; he was the only person except Krista that knew the story of Milo. He helped me learn how to trust again and in the end healed me well enough to make me fall in love with him. Krista indeed took me under her wing when I came out to New York. She took care of me and gave me a job as her personal assistant until my big break in 1999. Seems she found some of my old song lyrics and thought that they were great. She then, without my knowledge, took them to a Maverick Records representative who then took it Madonna herself. You can imagine my surprise when the phone rings one day and Madonna's on the other end talking about me coming in and doing a demo. The guys were psyched, but I wasn't too sure if my dreams still revolved around music. After all, that was one of the things I'd turned my back on when I left California. Well, after getting sound advice from all sides, I decided to go for it and it is a decision I'd make again in a heartbeat. So, now were on our way down to the Palladium for a very intimate and small gig. I wasn't feeling it tonight, that feeling of apprehension and excitement that I normally had before a show. Tonight there was this thing in the pit of my stomach that earlier on had me on the brink of calling Jerry (our manager) and canceling the show. But then I thought about the people that had bought the tickets and been waiting for weeks, if not months for this gig tonight and I couldn't do that. I owe everything to these people, to my fans, there would be no us without their embrace of our message in the first place. "You ok babe?" I heard Mike's voice whisper into my ear. I turned and smiled in his direction with all the love of a best friend and nodded. He smiled back, nodded, and turned back to the guys' active conversation. I turned my gaze back to the window and sighed. Something was going down tonight, and it was big. The limo stopped in front of the club and the driver came over to open our door. I was a little surprised at the size of the crowd in line outside, but then the more the merrier right? The crowd broke out into applause and semi-hysterics as were stepped onto the red carpet and made our way to the entrance of the club. I always loved this club, the food was always awesome, and the people that worked there were great too. I walked around the place a couple of minutes later and tried to imagine what it would look like, filled with people eagerly expecting a good show to accompany their dinner. I heard movement behind me and immediately turned in that direction. It was still dark, only the streetlights that came in through the windows provided whatever illumination there was. �Hello?� I asked tentatively, squinting my eyes to try and see better. There was a whoosh sound behind me and I spun around, almost falling on my ass when I saw the figure above me. �Boo.� Daniel said when he removed the hood from his head exposing the huge smile on his face and offered the small bunch of red roses he held in his left palm. �Daniel!� I shrieked, happy to see him, and then the anger returned from him scaring me and I lightly slapped his shoulder after reaching for the flowers. �Ouch.� He said rubbing the spot, �That hurt woman, what the hell have they been feeding you while I�ve been gone?� He complained as I grabbed his face and lowered his lips down to mine. He immediately wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me flush against him as he deepened the kiss. We heard someone clear their throat and stepped away from each other. Mike offered me a mockingly raised eyebrow causing me to stick out my tongue at him. He came further into the room and said hello to Daniel and reminded me that we only had a couple of minutes before show time. I thanked him and told him that I�d be right out. �Are you gonna stay and watch the show?� I asked, turning back to Daniel. He smiled sheepishly as he wrapped his arms around my waist again and nodded. �Yeah, I�ll stay for most of it...� I opened my mouth to protest but he cut me off, �I�m sorry babe, but I have this radio thing tonight. I promise that if it ends early I�ll cut a million red lights to came watch you.� I nodded reassuringly and stepped out of his embrace to grab his hand and lead him out of the room. �Oh wait, I wanna introduce you to someone.� He said pulling me in the other direction of the way I was going. �Who?� I asked. The question was left unanswered as Chris (my drummer) grabbed my hand and started to pull me in the direction of the stage area saying something about having one minute to get my ass up there. I yelled an �I�ll see you later,� to Daniel and got ready for the show. Title: Brooding California Author: Priscilla Chapter 10: No Such Thing As Perfect The show went down without a hitch. The crowd was great and so were we. We played stuff from our debut album and some new stuff from our upcoming CD �Shadows�. Daniel had stayed for the first fifteen minutes of the show and then left, but the rest of his band had stayed on to watch our performance. I made my way to the back of the stage after our last song feeling both elated and somewhat let down. Daniel had said that he would try to make at least the last few minutes of the show but he was nowhere in sight. I wanted to find his band mates and ask where the interview was taking place but before I could, I was dragged off to the after show party with the rest of the band. I got up from the table using the excuse of needing to use the bathroom, when I was really going after Daniel�s guitarist, I�d just seen him go up to the bar. �Hey Jordan!� I yelled over the loud bass hoping he heard me. He turned in my direction and smiled. �Hey Annie, what�s up?� He asked. �Nothing much, just hanging out with the guys. Hey, have you seen or heard from Daniel? I called his cell phone but I guess he turned it off for the interview.� Jordan gave me a quizzical look as he took a sip from his beer and placed it back on the bar counter. �What interview?� He asked me. The question surprised me, Daniel tells Jordan everything, so how could he not know about the interview? �The radio gig he had tonight.� I said hoping to jog his memory, but his look of pure confusion would not budge from his handsome features. My heart was thumping so loudly in my chest that I thought he could probably hear it. "I'm sorry Annie but I haven't got a clue what you're talking about. Last thing Daniel told me was that he was tired and was going back to the hotel to chill. He said to tell you that he'd call you tomorrow." Jordan said taking another sip of his beer. "Ok, Um could you tell me what hotel you guys are staying at so I could go surprise him?" "Sure, we're staying at the Castle." Jordan said as some people I didn't know called him over. He waved and smiled and then turned back to me. "Oh it's ok Jordan, go have fun." I answered with a smile that I really was not feeling at all. "Cool see you later babe." Jordan said before bending down and kissing me lightly on my right cheek before walking off. I walked back to my table and told the guys some bullshit story about not feeling well and that I was going to the hotel to sleep. Then, went out the back of the club and walked up to the curb. Thank God no one recognized me, if they had I'd been instantly surrounded by a mob of fans pointing paper and pens in my face. I usually loved that part of my job, but right now I wasn't into it. I just wanted to go to Daniel's hotel and find him sleeping in his bed. I hailed a cab at the corner and told him to take me to the Castle Hotel. We arrived in less than ten minutes. I immediately paid the driver and walked swiftly up the steps and inside the glass doors to the front desk. �Can I help you?� A man with short brown hair in his late forties asked from behind the counter. �Yes, can you please tell me what room Daniel Johns is staying in?� I said matter-of-factly, looking him straight in the face. �I�m sorry miss but we can�t give you that kind of information. It�s confidential.� He answered shaking his head at me. My patience was wearing thin, and the way he was shaking his head reminded me of my mom�s reprimanding when I was younger. �Look,� I said slapping some ID on the counter as I leaned closer to him. �I don�t have time for your bullshit, I need to know what room Daniel Johns is staying in before I call my manager and have him call your boss so that he can come down here and fire your ass.� �I -I�m sorry miss Lawrence, I didn�t recognize you. P-please give me a moment.� He said before beginning to type furiously onto the keyboard in front of him. �Mr. Johns is in room 1306 on the top floor.� I thanked him and hopped on an elevator. A bad feeling was flopping around in my stomach like an electric eel. Finally reaching the top floor, I walked out of the elevator and moved down the right side of the brightly lit hallway. When I reached room 1306 I took a deep breath and let it out slowly before knocking on the door. I heard some shuffling on the other side of the door and then it opened. A pretty red haired girl answered the door and in a white bathrobe that barely covered her curvaceous body. She eyed me curiously as I stood there with my mouth agape. "Can I help you?" She asked snobbily, but before I could tell her off Daniel came up behind her. "Who is -- Oh shit Annie!" Daniel shrieked shoving the red head behind him as if to hide her from my view. "Who is she Daniel?" I asked my voice barely audible. He didn't answer right away, just ran a hand back through his tangled hair. "WHO THE FUCK IS SHE?!" I yelled. "Annie, please I can explain." Daniel said grasping my shoulders. I raised my hands up and shoved him away from me. "Get off of me Daniel, God I can't believe this." "Annie she means nothing to me I-" I slapped him in mid word. Hard. Furious at him and at myself. He'd played with me, he'd played with me for years, and I hadn't seen it. How could I have missed it? "I'm through with you, never speak to me again." I said turning on my heel and walking past the gawking faces of the floor's other occupants and the startled maids that were huddled together whispering to themselves as I passed. When I reached the confines of the elevator, I let the tears fall. The elevator doors opened, and I wiped at my face, before walking onto the lobby and out the hotel front doors. It had started to drizzle as I made my way down Los Felix Ave. I didn�t know what time it was, but I knew it was late. The streets, except for a few club goers and a couple of cars, were deserted. I suddenly felt really stupid not taking a cab back to the Palladium, but I needed time to collect myself. Time to sort out what had just happened and get it out of the way. About twenty-five minutes later, I was about a block away from the club. I noticed that there were a few lingering fans waiting to ambush my band mates at the front, so I decided to go around the block and go in the back entrance. It was dark back there, I shivered as memories of the last time I was in an alley way came back to haunt me. I stopped mid step--did I just hear something? Shaking my head I moved faster. I hadn�t realized the club was so big. �What�s a pretty little thing like you doing out here so late?� A gruff voice asked from the shadows. I hadn�t seen the figure in front of me until it was too late; I�d been too busy looking behind me. �Get out of my face asshole, I�m not in the mood.� I said standing my ground. He was about two full feet taller than me and about two hundred heavier. He was dressed in all black and a hood covered his head, so I couldn�t really see his face. �That�s ok, I�m in the mood enough for both of us.� He said. A gasp escaped my dry throat as the moonlight caught a glimpse of steel. A knife? I didn�t know. My heart was thumping a million miles an hour. �Back off asshole.� The voice made us both turn our head in the direction it had come from. A male figure stepped up from the shadows behind me. He was wearing slightly baggy blue jeans and a black sweater. �Who�re you?� The man holding the blade or knife, asked in a gruff voice. �I�m the man that�s gonna show you some fuckin manners.� �Bring it on, pretty boy.� The man said before lunging at other guy, the blade in his hand lashing out side ways. I shrieked, wanting to run, but how could I leave him with this psycho? He was after all risking his life for me. The least I could do was help him out, some way. The man that had saved me knocked the knife out of the other guy�s hand and they were now fighting it out. The hooded man got a couple of good shots in, sending the guy in the blue jeans stumbling back a couple of steps. I prepared myself to run, watching intently for a hint of how the fight would end. Suddenly the guy in the blue jeans� right fist connected solidly with the other man�s jaw sending him stumbling, then he brought his leg up in a swift kick to connect with the dazed man�s head. He fell with a loud thud and didn�t move. I let the breath that I�d been holding go, and silently thanked God for sending that guy as a distraction. I watched him intently as he held his side as if his ribs hurt, debating with myself whether I should help him or not. I walked slowly towards him. �Hey, you ok?� He still held his side with one hand as he ran the other through his tangled black hair. �I�m fine Annie, how�re you?� He asked, finally turning his face towards me. I couldn�t believe what I was seeing, couldn�t fathom that he was standing in front of me. At that moment my whole world revolved around one name. �Milo...� |