Ink (34 page)

Karsen shot me an astonished look. “Wow.”

I smiled. “I told you. He’s amazing.”

“
Wow,” Karsen said again. The crowd went crazier as Slade knelt down, reaching a hand out into the audience.

“
They love him. You better watch out. Can you picture the amount of women who throw themselves at him? Let alone the amount of underwear they probably clean off the stage?” Karsen said, her lips grazing my ear as she shouted a little too noisily into my ear. She hung tight to my arm, swaying to the music.

The song finished and Slade rested the mic back in its stand. He turned to Kidd, stirring along to his solo. Oz passed us, climbing on stage with his own guitar, and then all hell broke loose. Crowds of people instantaneously went wild. Bodies smashing against each other, people getting knocked in every direction.

“
Holy shit. I am glad we are safe over here,” Karsen commented, squeezing my arm.

We watched as men challenged each other even before Slade began to sing. Testosterone oozed from these people and it was a bit scary to take in. The guitar riffs escalated, the pulsation flowed through every part of me. It was literally like watching hell.

Slade’s smooth voice took on an angrier growl. He clutched the microphone with such hostility, jumping on top a speaker on the stage, extending his hand out on either side of him, palms to the sky, his head whipping back and forth egging the crowd on. I was taken aback at his transformation.

The crowd ping ponged off of each other, some hurt in the process. But they didn’t care.

“
This is amazing!” Karsen yelled, jumping up and down, cheering them on. I did my best to get into the music. To let go of the horrible stupor that seemed to be flowing through everyone. Music could be amazing and take you away, but not like this.

I watched as a husky man hoisted a girl up on his shoulders. She pulled her shirt off, throwing it on stage, her eyes dark and empty. I shook my head, trying to talk myself out of it. Things were all right. I was just at a concert with dedicated fans. Ones that were so into this band they just seemed a little off.

The girl, now topless, fell backwards into the crowd, being carried away by a sea of hands. She screamed and flailed, but it was no use, she was lost to the crowd.

“
Did you just see that!” I exclaimed, tugging Karsen’s hand, but she was too fixated on Kidd to see anything else. Slade’s guttural scream reverberated in my ears. The crowd went wild.

Pyrotechnics exploded on both sides of the stage, the temperature blowing toward us. It terrified me. I crossed my arms, hoping this song would end and everyone would go back to being peaceful.

I watched Slade bounce on his heels along to the music. Another mist of fire and sparks illuminated my skin. Karsen rocked back and forth on her heels to the music, her hair tangled to her face from perspiration.

“
I want to hear you, screammmmmm!” Slade yelled at the crowd. I covered my ears, and then yanked Karsen away as a number of other women were hoisted on top of the crowds and carried off.

“
What are you doing?” Karsen asked, trying to break free. I pulled her behind the stage, trying to keep track of where these girls were being passed off too. My eyes staying on the crowds, only bits of the girls bodies able to be seen from where I stood. I dug my feet harder into the earth trying to make ground.

“
Do you not see this? There are girls being carried away right now. Look. Right there,” I pointed out to Karsen. She rose up on her tiptoes watching along with me.

“
They call that body surfing,” she commented, but the look on her face told me she was skeptical of her own words.

We watched as a man at the very end of the crowd snatched the young, fair-haired girl down, her legs flailing until she met ground. He took hold of her arm, whispering something in her ear.

“
What is happening?” I asked.

Karsen gripped my hand firmly. “I don’t know, Hope. But maybe we should go back to Kidd and Slade. It doesn’t look safe out here alone,” Karsen tried reasoning as the girl was escorted by the back of her collar out of our view.

The look on the man’s face and the insolence that seemed to exude from her body as he plunged her through the crowd didn’t sit well with me. Something was not right.

Karsen didn’t allow me to further scrutinize. She took hold of my wrist, yanking me back to the side of the stage. By now the third song was ending and the guys were close to exiting. We huddled together, bothered by what we just witnessed, neither one of us saying a word.

“
So what did you think?” Kidd asked, guitar in hand. His face chockfull of sweat. He wiped at it and then slung his arm over Karsen’s shoulder.

Slade walked beside me, tranquil.

“
It was great. They were great, right, Hope,” Karsen said, trying to keep her gusto at the same level as it had been before we witnessed whatever we witnessed.

“
You guys want to stick around for a little while. Maybe we can make a fire or something,” Kidd offered, resting his guitar against the bus.

Slade pulled his shirt over his head. It was damp with sweat as well as his skin that shined in the moonlight.

I bit at my lip. The mood was a little off anymore. “I may need to be going home. My dad will be wondering where we are.”

Karsen shot me a look. “Yeah, Mr. Zigler can get angry. So, Hope, you say goodbye to Slade and I’ll do the same with Kidd.” She followed Kidd inside leaving me alone with Slade who still hadn’t said a word to me.

I took a seat. “I bet that takes a lot out of you,” I commented. It was the only thing I had in my arsenal.

“
Why don’t you come out and say it,” Slade said, looking at me. “It’s not your style. You’re concerned by the intensity. I won’t mind.”

I raised an eyebrow. “I love your voice. I told you that.”

“
Loving my voice and what I do are two different things. It’s not your scene, I can see that,” he said, taking a seat. He seemed distant.

“
Honestly, it was a little alarming, but that wasn’t because of you. The crowd was out of control. How often are people injured at these concerts?” I knew I sounded like a bump on the log but I couldn’t see the fun in such a violent activity. I didn’t comprehend the violence.

“
It’s a rough crowd. Only the strong survive,” Slade said evenly.

“
And the ones that aren’t strong get carried away against their will,” I blurted out.

Slade’s eyes fell on me. He wrinkled his brow, raking his hands through his hair, studying me closely. “Like I said, not your scene. Some people are actually into this. Some people come here to be a part of this. They look forward to it.”

“
Yeah, maybe it’s just not my scene. But regardless, good job.” I smiled at him, hoping his icy demeanor would fade and he would go back to the Slade I was fond of.

“
I’ll walk you home. Don’t want your dad worrying. I know how mean he is,” Slade said, standing up.

Karsen and Kidd came down the steps. Karsen kissed Kidd on the cheek. “I had a good time. We need to get together again before I leave. Promise me I’ll see you again.”

I listened closely to Karsen and Kidd as we all walked toward the gate, my brainpower on making it out of their in one piece. Slade held taut to my wrist, not bothering to hold any dialogue with me. He just kept silently booking it toward the exit.

“
Maybe tomorrow we can all meet up at the beach,” Kidd said, shooting Slade a glance.

“
We have a gig,” Slade said, staring directly ahead as his feet plunged through the sand.

Kidd shrugged. “It won’t take all day. And besides, it’s later. We can hang out in the afternoon. We’d have plenty of time.”

Slade shrugged. “I’ll call you.”

I gave a nod. He undoubtedly was not in the mood. I couldn’t help but feel that I insulted him. “Is everything okay?”

Slade sighed. “I’ll call you tomorrow, Hope. Take it easy.”

“
But are you okay?” I asked again as we came to a stop in front of my gate. Kidd opened the gate, letting Karsen in first.

“
I’m tired. It’s nothing. Get some sleep.”

“
Slade…”

“
Look, I still worry about what I told you about. And that back there just proved to me why I shouldn’t be involving you in this. Get some sleep.” He kissed my forehead, pushing my hair away from my face.

I stared into his eyes. “Like I am going to be able to sleep after this. We had a great time. So I wasn’t into the theatrics going on, that doesn’t mean I feel another way about you.”

“
And that doesn’t mean I feel another way either.” He touched my lips with his fingertips, turning away and starting through the sand. Kidd gave my arm a squeeze then took off after Slade. I watched them walk away, deeply bothered by Slade’s attitude.

“
I don’t know about you, but I am exhausted,” Karsen called out form the porch.

I twisted, facing her. “Yeah, let’s head to bed.”

I
rolled over in my bed. Karsen was arched up in a ball at the reverse end. John Mayer’s saintly voice filled the room, making it a great deal easier to stay dead to the world. I clutched my pillow, thinking about Slade one last time before I drifted back to sleep.

It was a slumber not like anything I ever experienced before. I was plunging through darkness, not knowing where I was falling. This was the only clue that I was asleep. The sensation was terrifying. I flapped my arms from side to side through the infinite expanse of
shadows. No sound able to escape my lips.

And then it stopped.

There I lay on my bedroom floor. Only this wasn’t quite my room. The floor was blood red, not purple. And the walls were enclosed in a repugnant flowery print.

I lifted my head, looking around. The room housed only me and my personal effects. I poked at my computer and phone to get a feel of how genuine this was or wasn’t. What kind of dream was this? I thought to myself.

A bitter chill slid down my spine. I turned around for no other reason than impulse. A youthful girl stood facing me. Coffee brown hair cascaded down her slender frame right past her ample chest and finished right before her petite waist. Her skin was porcelain, her lips a pale shade of rose. She was eye-catching, to say the least.

“
Go ahead. Say something,” she said at last. I watched her lips press decisively back together. They were full and so magnetizing. And then I wondered why I was fantasizing over another girl’s Angelina Jolie-like lips. She brought a hand to her hip. “That means you speak.”

I opened my mouth, producing a weak murmur. This did not sit well with whoever this girl was standing in front of me. “Are you all this dumb? I really would think he had some principles by now,” she said to herself. She took a seat on my double bed.

“
I’m sorry. I don’t know who you are. Am I dreaming?” I said, pleased that I fashioned some kind of vocabulary.

Her eyes studied mine. It seemed she was really trying to figure out if I was serious. “This is your dream. Hope, isn’t it?” She plucked a piece of fluff off her gray sweater.

“
Yeah. Hope. Who are you and how frequently do people dream about people they never seen before?” I asked, stepping a little nearer to her.

A fire ignited in her eyes. “I’m Ezra. I’m surprised you don’t know about me. I’m Slade’s…hmm...what would you call it? Oh, yeah. I’m Slade’s previous girlfriend.” She drew in her bottom lip, biting down with her teeth, her eyes watching mine narrowly.

I was meeting Slade’s girlfriend in a dream? I didn’t even think this could be likely. I knew this wasn’t possible. But there she stood, a manifestation that somehow my brain invented. And it did an immense job because she was stunning.

Ezra waved a hand, standing in front of me all of a sudden. I wondered when she got up because I hadn’t taken my eyes off of her. Then I reminded myself it was a nightmare. She could do what she wanted in a nightmare. Even in mine.

“
I came to tell you to stay away. And sure, don’t believe me. Think this is just some fantasy of your mind’s eye.” She pressed down on my foot. I winced in pain. “Think it all you want. But I want to make a point now before you get in way over your head.”

I leaned back as she gathered my collar in her clenched fist. “You keep away from him. Slade is not the only one who has power. Did he tell you who I am?”

I shook my head in fear of her. She held my stare, her emerald eyes piercing into me.

“
I’m a witch. My family is from an extended line of the most influential coven and I advise you once, and only once, to stay away from him. DO you understand me?”

I weighed my alternatives mutely. I could choose to believe this dream or I could remind myself that it was only a dream and test it. I took a deep mouthful of air. “If you’re such a witch why would you have to show up in my dream? Seems kind of standard to me.”

Her entire body started quivering. She whipped her head to the side, her grasp still firmly on my shirt. “I told you,” she growled.

“
Slade can date anyone he wants. You’re not real, you’re in my dream.”

She released my shirt, shoving me at the same time. I flew all the way through the air like a rag doll, slamming into my desk. “Oh, he picked such an impressive one this time. This ought to be fascinating,” she said to herself.