The Hardest Set (Willow Son #4/Brothers of Rock #19) (16 page)

Natalie figured it was Andrea at
the door, coming to check on her. After all, Andrea had been the one who
dropped a drunk Natalie off at Van
’
s
place last night. Some friend she was, huh?

Natalie opened the door.
“
You know
…”

She swallowed her words and lost
her breath.

Like a nightmare in a suit, with a
broken dream in his hand, there he was
…

Mark.

12.

“
Play
the fucking song!
”
Van
yelled into the mic.

He turned and jumped, waiting for
the damn song to kick in. The band was back in the studio, wrapping up another
session. They had pieced together a few parts to two new songs, but nothing was
actually finalized yet. They were more concerned about their big show in LA
coming up really fast. There were a handful of bands that were going to be
there, including After the Run, who had done all but declined the offer to be
an opening act for Willow Son. Van had to hand it to the band for being bold
like that. They were going to break it on their own terms. Hell, not that they
weren
’
t already popular and
rockstars in their own right.

Brantley started with the drums, heavy
and hard. His head bobbed as he held the beat tight. After eight measures it
was Van
’
s turn. He pounded
on the bass like he
’
d never
touch the instrument again. Without the guitars, without vocals, the raw and
deep sound of the drums and bass were what made the new song -
still
untitled
- a really good song. Van could already see forty thousand people
jumping and screaming.

Colby stood at the mic and cupped
his hands around it. When he started to sing, his voice was deep and even a
little quiet. It worked well with the sound.

When the rest of the song kicked
in, it was amazing. Loud. Fast. Rock n
’
roll. A mix of anger with attitude and a song that would be played through
headphones at the gym, people out on a run, blaring through speakers in a car,
and when played live, it would keep the crowd alive and jamming.

They only had about half the song
written. When it stopped, Van quickly started to feel empty. The empty feeling
could only be replaced with three things. Booze. Women. Music. In the studio,
he only had music.

“
That
’
s good,
”
Jett said.
“
Really
good.
”

“
Can
we get this done for the show?
”
Van asked.

“
That
’
s a lot to ask,
”
Ryker said.

“
I
’
m asking,
”
Van said.
“
Imagine
if we come out with this new thing? Swinging fast? Christ
…”

“
It
’
s not the worst idea ever,
”
Colby said.
“
I
’
m
sure Portis will like that. He
’
ll
turn it into a new single to sell.
”

“
Screw
that,
”
Van said.
“
I just want to play it live. I
want to feel it.
”

“
You
’
re a little wild today,
”
Jett said.
“
You okay?
”

“
Fine.
”

“
You
’
re not drinking,
”
Jett said.
“
Something to do with a woman?
”

“
No,
”
Van said.
“
Just play the fucking song.
”

“
Time
’
s up,
”
Colby said.
“
We
have a presser in an hour. Everyone chill out a little.
”

Van curled his lip. The last thing
he needed was to be alone. He didn
’
t
want to think. He didn
’
t
want to picture Vanessa
…
or
Natalie
…
or anyone.

He definitely didn
’
t want to listen to Vanessa
’
s voicemail again.

Van, it
’
s, uh, me. Vanessa. I, uh,
really need to talk to you. Quick. Okay? There
’
s so much happening right now. So much at
once. And I just need to talk to you. I have to get something off my chest. Or
else I can
’
t
do anything. I need to see you. Shit. No. I mean
…
well
…

The message rambled like that for a
good minute. That was how Vanessa talked when she was damn nervous. Something
was eating at her. Probably getting married to some clown, right? Maybe she
wanted to confess her love to Van one more time. Maybe she wanted one more
hookup.

Normally Van would have been all
over the voicemail. He would have done anything to get to Vanessa and see what
she wanted. But each time he touched his cell, Natalie came to mind. It had
been days now since they last talked. Since he chased her away. It was complete
bullshit too. Van didn
’
t
want that to go unresolved.

The studio session broke up and
Colby, Jett, and Ryker were quick to leave. Van chilled in a back room, sitting
on an old leather couch, his phone next to him. Brantley came into the room and
stood there, holding his drumsticks in one hand.

“
Brother,
”
he said.
“
What
’
s eating you?
”

“
Life,
”
Van said.
“
Just making sense of it all.
”

“
That
’
s your problem. You can
’
t make sense of anything. Just
go with the road. That
’
s
the best part of it all. Right? I mean, look at that song. That
’
s heavy.
”

“
It
’
s not done yet,
”
Van said.

“
It
’
ll get done. But it
’
s not the song on your mind.
”

“
Nope.
”

“
Tell
me.
”

“
Vanessa
wants to talk,
”
Van
admitted.
“
She wants
…
no
…
she needs to see me.
”

“
Christ.
I hate her.
”

Van nodded.
“
I didn
’
t
call her back though.
”

“
You
shouldn
’
t. Leave that in
the past where it belongs.
”

“
Amen,
brother,
”
Van said.

“
Hey,
I have to get rolling. Got a date.
”

“
A
date?
”

“
Yeah.
I don
’
t want to drop names
or anything, but it
’
s
someone famous from that party.
”

“
Celebrity
romance, huh?
”

“
Wouldn
’
t call it romance. But we
’
re trying to stay under the
radar with it.
”

“
Good
luck.
”

“
Hey,
Van. Don
’
t linger around
here. Get the hell out of here. Go find something to do.
”

“
You
got it,
”
Van said.

Brantley left and Van grabbed his
phone. He went to the voicemail and listened to it again. Vanessa had such a
sweet and innocent voice. She had sweet and innocent eyes. Everything about her
screamed sweet and innocent, except her heart. She knew how to work anyone to
get what she wanted.

The last thing Van wanted to do was
get into trouble
…
but then
again, he didn
’
t know any
other way to live.

**

Natalie pulled her hair back and
bit her lips, trying to get everything in order. She adjusted her shirt and was
ready to work. She exited the bathroom and met Andrea in the hallway of the
banquet hall.

“
You
okay?
”

“
Fine,
”
Natalie said.
“
Why?
”

“
You
’
ve been way off. More than
normal. Something happened and you
’
re
not telling me what.
”

“
It
doesn
’
t matter. I
’
m here to work.
”

“
That
’
s right. This one is pretty cut
and dry. Just a bunch of business people mingling, trying to get business off
each other. All suits and ties. Quiet. A few awards. So just smile, look as
beautiful as you do right now, and life will be fine.
”

“
Okay.
”

Life wasn
’
t all that fine.

Mark had barged his way back in,
but Natalie had fought back a little.

He touched her shoulders and
then her chin.

“
You
look so cute right now.
”

“
What
do you want?
”

“
You
’
re mad at me,
”
Mark said.
“
I get it.
”

“
Are
you still married?
”

“
Nattie
…”

“
Don
’
t call me that anymore,
”
she said.
“
This is so far over,
Mark. You shouldn
’
t
even be here.
”

“
I
am here. That has to mean something.
”

“
No.
”

“
Oh,
I think it does. I bet if I pushed at you right now, you
’
d let me. If I could just
touch you once
…
one little kiss
…
brush the hair out of your face
…”

Her heart ached. Her heart
quivered. This was when she
’
d
breakdown. Mark would be inside the apartment and then be inside her in a
minute
…

“
Don
’
t touch me,
”
she said.
“
Go home, Mark. Go home to
your wife. Tell her what you just said to me.
”

“
She
’
s fucking someone else
too,
”
he
growled.
“
Okay?
It
’
s just our
thing. We
’
re
together for an image. We have the perfect house. The perfect yard. The perfect
marriage. It
’
s
all on the surface. We tell everyone we
’
re
planning on having kids and whatever. It
’
s
all bullshit. You know that, Nattie. It
’
s
all bullshit. But when we touch
…
oh, baby, that
’
s
so real to me
…
it
’
s all I
have in life
…”

She felt her knees giving way.
If she hadn
’
t
been with Van last night, there would be no more talking right now. But a
flicker of something - maybe stupidity, maybe just pla
i
n hope -
remained inside her. She couldn
’
t
let Mark in again without kicking Van out for good.

“
I
’
m begging you,
”
he said.
“
Begging. I
’
ll get on my hands and knees
for you, baby. Just let me peel those clothes off you. Let me feel alive again.
I know you feel the same. The way I feel.
”

Natalie cleared her throat and
grabbed a drink tray. It was time to play the game. The one where she smiled
big and made sure everyone in the room was happy. But nobody in the room would
give a damn if she was happy. Except Andrea, only Andrea was in total work mode
now.

The first hour went by really
smooth and really fast. But then pain set in. Not the pain in her heart, but
the pain in her feet. Her legs. Right up to her butt and lower back. Rushing
around like a fool. Trying to keep composure, trying to keep everyone happy.
Drinking expensive drinks. Eating expensive food.

The second hour was a little slower
and Natalie took a break. Outside, she stood and caught her breath. It was
dark. It was nice out. It had an eerie similarity as the night she found Van drunk
outside.