for a second before I hit the coffee table and fell on top of it.
I hit so hard, I bounced and flipped over the table to the floor.
“Holy fucking shit,” Dex said. “You killed him, Toby.”
“Good,” Toby said. “Asshole.”
I opened my eyes again and stared up at my ceiling.
I touched myself.
I was fully dressed.
Shirt. Jeans.
My dick was rock hard.
And I could tell what kind of morning wood it was.
The kind you got when you didn’t blow a load the night before.
“You okay, Reed?” Nash asked.
He offered his hand and he helped me up.
I stumbled around again and finally found my balance.
“Water?” I asked.
My hair and face and shirt were soaked.
“Wake the fuck up,” Toby said.
“What’s your fucking problem?”
“Abby quit the song,” Sab said.
“What?” I asked.
“She called Toby and quit,” Nash said.
“Why the fuck would she do that?” I asked. “She’s the best singer.”
“No shit,” Jay said. “What did you do to her? Again?”
“Fuck you, Jay,” I said. “I’ll knock your teeth out.”
“You can’t walk straight,” he said. “You got so fucked up you fell asleep. You had two women going at each other right in front of you. And you fell asleep. What the hell is wrong with you?”
“Jay, cut it,” Nash said.
“No,” Jay said. “What’s going on with you, Reed? You in love with her or something? Fucking sack up, bro.”
I lunged at Jay.
I had no balance but I managed to get my hands on his left arm.
When I fell, I pulled him with me and we both kind of fell into a chair.
I took a swing at him and punched him in the arm.
Jay pulled away and let me fall over the arm of the chair to the floor.
“He’s messed up,” Sab said.
“Give him a goddamn break,” Nash said.
“Fuck you all,” I said. “Get the fuck out of my house.”
“Clean yourself up,” Toby said. “You’re just lucky she didn’t pull the vocal tracks off the song. You’re fucked on the road though. I’m sure we can find someone similar.”
I pulled myself up and looked at Toby. “When did she quit?”
“Last night,” Toby said. “She called and said she didn’t want to sing the song ever again. No shows. Nothing. I tried to sway her but she wanted nothing to do with it.”
“Well done, Reed,” Jay said.
“Jay,” Sab said. “Fuck, bro. You don’t know what’s going on.”
“Yeah I do,” Jay said. “You assholes don’t remember it. They were close back then. She fucking loved him. And he threw her off the bus.”
“How the fuck do you know she loved me?” I asked.
“She told me, asshole,” Jay yelled. “There was a night you passed out and she and I had been hanging all night. You were so pissed about it too. You crashed and I made a move. She told me no.”
“I’ll fucking kill you,” I said.
“If you can walk straight…”
Nash grabbed Jay by the shirt and pulled him out of my reach.
“Everyone split up,” Dex announced. “Jesus Christ. Is this really happening right now?”
“Toby, where is she right now?” I asked.
“I don’t know,” Toby said. “But I’ll tell you this, Reed. Stop making fucking messes. Okay?”
Toby walked away.
Nash dragged Jay away.
Dex shook his head and went a different way to get out of my house.
It was just Sab. He grabbed my shoulder. “Listen, bro. I get it. That deep, gut wrenching feeling. There’s no way to navigate it. Just don’t end up like Mitchy.”
My lip curled at that name.
I had nothing to say about it.
Sab was right.
The rest of the band was right to be pissed at me.
I wasn’t Mitchy though. I was never going to be Mitchy.
I took two steps and stopped.
“Fuck,” I whispered.
I dropped to my knees and threw up on the floor.
“I hear that, Reed,” I heard Neils yell from the kitchen. “I’ll get you fixed up in no time. But I’m not cleaning up puke.”
I gasped for a breath and I smiled.
I thought about Abby.
When she showed up and threw up in my driveway.
Trying to hide her feelings for me.
And here I was, throwing up on my own floor because I was hiding my feelings for her.
That’s when I knew something needed to happen… once and for all.
20
ABBY
I walked out of my bedroom to find Valerie bent over, her hands under her feet, topless, but thankfully she was wearing underwear. Not panties. These were undies. They looked like shorts, which was good. The more they covered, the better.
She wavered back and forth as her boobs hung up into her face.
Good morning to me…
I walked to