“Can we go so we can get back here and finish what we started?” Renee has a one-track mind, and willingly spreads for me like peanut butter. Any time. Anywhere. That’s something I like when I’m getting what I want, but she becomes annoying as all hell when I’m not screwing her.
Balancing Katie on my hip, I grab her duffel bag of clothes and my car keys. “Renee, I’m completely exhausted. I just want to sleep when I get home. Take it or leave it.”
Katie rests her head on my shoulder, already falling asleep again. The past few days have been crazy with visits to the zoo, a carnival, and two local hospitals, where Katie and I visited sick kids and brought them teddy bears. It’s something we started doing last year when a little girl in her daycare program had a long hospital stay. Last night, after putting Katie to bed, I stayed up all night, laying tracks for the band’s new CD. According to my quick math, I haven’t slept in more than twenty-six hours.
“If she wanted her back so damn badly, why couldn’t she drive here herself and get her?” Renee whines as she follows me into the garage. I buckle a sleeping Katie into the car seat in the back, and motion for Renee to get into the passenger side.
“Let’s go. Get your ass in the car.”
Yawning, I get behind the wheel of my new Mustang and push the button for the garage door as Renee slides in next to me.
“This fucking blows,” she mutters.
“Look, I said you could stay for a few days while your apartment is being painted. I didn’t agree to have you bitching at me non-stop. So shut it.”
Renee shakes her head and slouches in her seat. “Whatever, Van.”
I check Katie in the rearview mirror as I back out of the driveway. She’s fast asleep, her head tilted to the side, her lips parted. I can’t help but smile. I love that kid.
Fifteen minutes into the drive and Renee is asleep too. I’m fighting to stay awake myself; the dark, tree-lined roads are almost lulling me. I pop some gum into my mouth, hoping the sugar will give me some energy, and turn the radio up a tiny bit more, eyeing Katie in the rearview mirror to make sure it doesn’t wake her. She’s used to loud music, but I don’t want to risk her waking and having a meltdown.
Fingers strumming on the steering wheel, I start making a mental list of what I need to do tomorrow. Sleep late. Drink a gallon of coffee. Pick up Lukas. Drive to the studio and practice. Ignore Ash and his shit. Maybe go to dinner with Lukas and try to be all fuckin’ brotherly. Go home, chill with some good movies, and …
c-r-a-s-h …
CRASH
Vandal
A faraway voice is saying my name. It’s echoing, as if it’s coming down a long tunnel. I try to shut it out, but it keeps breaking through, rousing me from the deep, quiet space I’m floating in.
“He’s awake. Vandal, we’re here.” Lukas is leaning over me, and he looks pretty fucked up, as if he’s wasted. But I know he’s not. One thing I know about the brother I don’t know is that he doesn’t party.
“Can you hear me?” Concern rips across his face.
“What the fuck?” I try to sit up. “Where am I?” A mix of severe confusion and pain slams into my skull as I try to figure out how I got where I am.
Another face peers over me. “Vandal, just relax. You’re in the hospital. We’re here.” Aria. My aunt. She’s clutching my hand at the side of the bed.