Being Henry David - By Cal Armistead Page 0,70

on drums and Matt on bass and vocals, we would’ve blown these uptight New England bands out of the water with some of our rocking original songs. Not to brag or anything, but we were pretty damn good. I wonder if Joey’s Uncle Phil actually gave our CD to that guy at the House of Blues. I wonder if his record label ever tried to contact us and I screwed things up for everybody by running away.

At about eight thirty, Hailey is in the girl’s room. Again. She says she just needs to check on her makeup, but I know she’s in there with Danielle and some of her other friends trying to stay calm. I hope it works. Even if her blood sugar is under control, she could psyche herself out so bad that the stage fright could still get her.

The band onstage is this punk group called Snapper, playing a mangled version of a Sex Pistols song. So far, none of the bands have impressed me, so I’m starting to think we might actually have a chance to win some cash. I scan the crowd, and I’m surprised to see familiar faces. Thomas, Suzanne, and Nessa. A grin on my face, I push through the crowd to get to them. I search for Jack too but don’t see him.

“Hey, what are you guys doing here?” I shout to be heard over the music.

“You think we’d miss this?” Thomas asks, and he gives me a hug that’s more like a pound on the back. “Although this song is causing me actual pain,” he admits. “My band used to do it. A whole lot better too.”

“I can believe that.”

Nessa looks up at me with this shine to her eyes like she thinks I’m amazing, and I won’t lie, it makes me feel really good. Dressed in a clean white shirt and jeans, without all that dark makeup she used to wear, she doesn’t look anything like a street kid anymore. Just another cute girl at Thoreau High. I don’t know how she did it, but Nessa has been able to hold on to a sweetness and innocence in spite of everything that’s happened to her. Jack seems to be suffering more than she is.

“I didn’t know you played guitar,” she says, acting shy with me.

“There’s a lot I didn’t know either when I was with you guys,” I say. “Hey, where’s Jack?”

The three of them exchange a furtive look, and nobody says anything. The blush drains from Nessa’s face, and she goes pale. Uh-oh. This can’t be good.

Suzanne clears her throat and loops an arm in Nessa’s.

“Come on, girlfriend,” she says. “Let’s see if we can go get a program.” The two of them turn toward the back of the auditorium and work their way through the crowd. Nessa glances anxiously over her shoulder at me.

Thomas stands in front of me, arms folded across his wide chest like he’s trying to protect us both. “Jack ran away, Hank.”

I must have heard him wrong. “Ran away? What happened?”

“Not long after you left with Hailey, I caught Jack rummaging through my medicine cabinet. He was stealing prescription pills. I think he took some—antibiotics probably—without even knowing what they were.”

I bury my face in my hands. “Shit. What did you do?”

“Laid into him, of course. Shouted at him, threatened him a little. Did my best to put the fear of God into him. The kid’s a junkie-in-training.”

“It’s not his fault. It’s that guy Magpie who—”

“Look, I’ve seen what drugs do to people. I was pissed, and I was really hard on the kid. I didn’t think he’d take off like that, but I can’t say I’m sorry for yelling at him.”

“But…how could he leave Nessa behind?”

“Probably the best thing he could do for her. We had a long talk with her after he bolted. She’s tired, done with running, and she wants stability. She’s going to stay with Suzanne until Monday morning, and we’ll talk to somebody in child services. Nessa is stronger than you’d think. She’s going to be okay, Hank.”

“And what about Jack?”

“That’s up to him.”

I think about Jack’s hands shaking, his bruised cheek, dark circles under his eyes. The guy is probably deep into withdrawal by now. Maybe even sick from taking too many random drugs from Thomas’s medicine cabinet. Thomas gives me a hard pat on the back. “Try not to worry about this right now,” he says. “You focus on the music. I’ll keep on the lookout for