A Voice to Love (Fallen Tuesday Book One) (A Brothers of Rock Novel) (14 page)

When she had gotten out
of the shower after telling Luke to leave, he was gone. Luke hadn’t gone into
her phone and looked around. He looked at her screen. Was that a punishable
offense? Maybe, maybe not. Considering the circumstances and what the text
message Luke read implied, it was almost romantic that Luke wanted to get
involved. Amy appreciated it, but this wasn’t a simple case of a crazy
ex-boyfriend looking to raise a little hell for Amy. This man was crazy and had
every right to hate Amy and want to do something to her.

Amy had received a text
message from Luke but she ignored it.

Amy sat in the restaurant
with Uncle Tom. He had a laptop open, his two pointer fingers curled like
talons as he pecked at the keyboard.

“You know, you don’t have
to hit the keys so hard,” Amy said. “It’s not a typewriter.”

“Would you like to do
this?”

“Actually, I would.”

Uncle Tom slid the laptop
to Amy. She began to change all the necessary information for the schedule. She
then opened the order screen and opened the previously saved order for
comparison.

Within an hour they had
an order and a schedule.

Amy started to feel
better even though she kept a close eye on the front of the restaurant. The
text from Denny was more than likely just an empty threat, but there was always
that chance…

“You look lost, Amy.”

Amy blinked and smiled at
Uncle Tom. “I’m right here. Right where I belong.”

“Your eyes,” Uncle Tom
said. “I can always see the eyes. Where’s your guy friend?”

“Luke? He had to leave
last night.”

“Had to? He seemed kind
of happy to see you.”

“We had a talk about some
things,” Amy said. “He’s in a band, Uncle Tom. He’s busy.”

“Everyone is busy,” Uncle
Tom said. “I’ve been busy since I was twelve years old and had my first
newspaper route. What does that have to do with anything?”

“Nothing,” Amy said. Her
eyes went to the front of the restaurant again. She pictured herself walking
out of the restaurant and looking at the empty building next door. “What made
you start this place, Uncle Tom?”

“I’d like to say
something significant,” Uncle Tom said. “But, honestly? Money.”

“Money?”

“I wasn’t allowed in the
Army because of my knee and I needed money to take care of myself and the
family I dreamed of having. I knew I could cook a hell of a burger so I went
with what I knew.”

“Did you always want
something like this?”

“I don’t know,” Uncle Tom
said. “I just went with the flow of things. I stayed, it got busier, we
expanded, and now I’m sitting here with you, Amy.”

Amy couldn’t keep her
eyes off the front of the restaurant. When she felt Uncle Tom touch her hands,
she gasped and jumped.

“What’s bothering you?”
Uncle Tom asked.

Amy looked at Uncle Tom.
She had to tell him about Denny. About the money.

“Ever make a really bad
decision?” she asked.

“Of course. Everyone
does.”

“Ever want more of
something?”

“What more do you want?”
Uncle Tom. “Is this about the restaurant?”

“No, it’s not,” Amy said.
“It’s about the desserts.”

“The desserts?”

Amy licked her lips and
soon found herself shoving the Denny issue behind her as she started to blurt
out her dream of the bakery next door. She couldn’t stop talking once she
started and at some point she ended up standing, playing with her fingers, and
pacing. It sometimes felt like she was selling the idea to Uncle Tom and it
sometimes felt like she was begging him to let her do it.

When she stopped she sat back
down.

“That’s a great idea,”
Uncle Tom said.

“Great idea?”

“Yeah. It is. I know you
expected to take this place and make it your own. The thought of not being
here, Amy, is unbearable. I’d rather die. I’ll be honest. It pains me that I
have messed up your plans by my own stupidity and stubbornness.”

“I thought you’d be mad
at me,” Amy said.

“Why?”

“I was afraid you’d think
I didn’t love the restaurant.”

“I know you love this
place,” Uncle Tom said. “And I’ve tasted the desserts you’ve made. The
customers love them. There’s no reason why we can’t do this.”

Amy nodded. She felt like
she could cry. It was like a weight lifted off her chest. Unfortunately, it was
just a little weight.

“Amy, you can talk to me,”
Uncle Tom said. “I don’t want secrets between us, ever.”

Amy nodded. “Well, if
there’s no secrets…”

She began to muster the
strength to say something just as Jeff came from the kitchen looking for Uncle
Tom. Amy lost all her urge and just like that, the conversation was over.

Amy ended up going into
the bathroom to cry in peace. As she wept she took out her cellphone and went
straight to Luke’s message.

We can talk, Luke. I’m
sorry for getting upset. You just don’t understand who Denny is…

**

There were plenty of
interesting luxuries for a successful band that had broken big. Money, cars,
women, hotel rooms that were like apartments, a big tour bus, and even use of a
private jet courtesy of the record company. Mack didn’t like the idea of taking
a private jet, he preferred the open road. After talking to Luke on the phone
with the rest of band surrounding Mack, they decided to meet up with Luke and
sort everything out. Frank had been the one to call and tell the guys they were
taking a private jet to Los Angeles.

On the flight, Mack drank
like he had nothing to lose. The tour was over. The fans were dedicated and
that hurt Mack. It hurt the rest of the band too. He saw it in their eyes. The
support of the fans was heart touching, yes, but how long would it last? The
fans had no obligation to Fallen Tuesday. All it would take would is one song
at the right moment from the right band to turn Fallen Tuesday into a memory.

Frank spent the entire
flight on his laptop with a phone to his ear. The pieces of the conversation
Mack picked up on were all about the tour cancellation. There were press
releases coming, interviews piling up, calls and emails, everyone wanting to
know what was really going on. It seemed the majority of the media didn’t buy
into the voice problems Luke had. It made sense. The story would have more
juice if it were Luke - or someone in the band - with a drug or alcohol
addiction.

Mack looked at the bottle
in his hand and smiled. He drank to that thought and then took a nap.

When he opened his eyes
he was back in Los Angeles. The plane was beginning to make its descent.
Somehow during his nap, the rest of the band had moved their seats closer to
him. Frank was the only one on the other side of the plane.

Mack looked at Gray,
Trent, and Jake. He nodded. They nodded back.

It was decided in silence
right then… they needed to support their brother no matter what he had to say.

(13)

The band gathered in the
sound stage building where they had practiced for their tour. It was where they
wrote the final pieces of the first album. It had every instrument they ever
needed, along with a small recording setup for those times when an idea was
just too good to not record.

Luke sat with his hands
on his knees at the edge of the small stage. The band and Frank sat in metal
folding chairs.

Luke looked at the band
and the mixed emotions could have made him cry. He had been sending texts to
Amy for the past couple days. He tried calling her but she refused to speak to
him on the phone. She wanted to talk in person. It seemed Luke needed to be in
ten places at once yet he was supposed to be resting.

“I wanted to talk in
person,” Luke said. “I’m sick of calling. I’m sick of text messaging.”

“We’re all here,” Mack
said.

“You are,” Luke said.
“I’m glad. We’re still a band here. We still have a purpose. We still have a
future.”

“What’s the diagnosis?”
Frank cut in. “I’m sorry to be abrupt, but the record company is killing me
over this. They think it’s smoke and mirrors. That something else is wrong. And
it’s getting fed into the media and spreading like wildfire.”

“What? That I’m some
drugged up lead singer?” Luke asked.

“Well?” Frank asked.

“I saw my doctor out
here,” Luke said. “He said I’m lucky and stupid.”

“What does that mean?”
Gray asked.

“My throat is going to be
fine,” Luke said.

He watched as the band
looked at each other. A sense of relief spread through the room. Frank already
started to dial on his cellphone.

“Keep talking,” he said.

“There are no polyps and
no significant damage,” Luke said. “I don’t need surgery either. I just need
rest. I need to relax my voice, my throat.”

Frank began to talk on
the phone. He stood and worked his way to the back of the room.

Luke continued to address
the band.

“I’m lucky because it’s
just that,” Luke said. “I’m stupid because I didn’t listen before and I didn’t
tell you guys about this.”

“When did this start?”
Jake asked.

“When we were touring
with Chasing Cross. I noticed that my throat felt tight and sort of sore. I
thought I was getting sick maybe. It got to a point where it scared me a
little. We were getting ready to come east and I wanted to just get checked
before we left. I went and my doctor ran some tests. He called me the night of
Chasing Cross’s last show with bad news… he wanted me to stop singing right
then. He wanted me to rest my voice so it didn’t turn into something else. What
the hell was I supposed to do? We were getting ready to take over the tour as
headliners. Our big chance. Our big break. Everything we’ve ever wanted and
worked for. For me, I could deal with the pain. The doctor didn’t seem to push
at me too hard…”

“He told you to stop
singing,” Mack said. “What did you want him to do?”

“Tell me I would die if I
kept singing,” Luke said. “And even then…”

“Shit,” Gray said. “Man,
I love you, Luke, I really do. But this is crazy. We’re going to play shows and
write music no matter what happens… as long as you’re with us. We could have
postponed and hit it next year.”

“I didn’t believe it,”
Luke said. “I didn’t want to believe it. So I sang through it all. Then I
noticed blood. We were so close to the end of the tour, I figured a few more
shows couldn’t hurt me.”

“It could have,” Trent
said. “Big time.”

“I know that,” Luke said.
“I feel lucky right now, guys, but I feel like a complete asshole. I’ve let you
guys down.”

“No, you didn’t,” Mack
said. “I’m not let down. I’m worried about you, man. If you’re okay, I’m okay.”

Luke hopped off the stage
and the rest of the band did the same. There was a moment of hesitation before
they all embraced and hugged. Luke closed his eyes and felt the emotion rush at
him. Then he felt the wicked strong grip of Mack on the back of his neck.

“Look at me, Luke,” he
ordered.

Luke looked at Fallen
Tuesday’s drummer. “This isn’t about money. This isn’t about fans even. I love
both of them, trust me, I do. This is about us. The five of us, together.” Mack
then looked around the band. “Through the good times, the bullshit, we’re
always together.”

“Like brothers,” Gray
said.

“No,” Luke said. “Not
like
brothers… we
are
brothers.”

Everyone hugged again and
then broke apart as Frank came back.

“Okay, everything is good
now,” Frank said. “I talked to the record company. We’re getting a month of
rest for Luke. They want you guys to keep talking and playing music though.
Write new songs and send the demos to me to send to them. They want to see
action on this. The response on the site has been overwhelming with fans
supporting Luke and the rest of you guys.” Frank set his eyes on Luke. “Luke, I
need you to do some interviews. We can set everything up by phone, but we have
to get the word out that you’re okay. You’re not on drugs, you’re not in rehab
or something like that. We need to keep the Fallen Tuesday name thriving right
now.”

There was plenty Luke
could argue about what Frank just said but he decided against it. He nodded and
shook hands with Frank. He then turned to the band and smiled.

“Let’s play.”

“Play?” Mack asked.

“You four get on the
stage and play. I’ll start writing lyrics. We record the song and play it back
low enough that I can speak the lyrics over the music so we can see how it
sounds.”

Mack slowly smiled.
“Goddamn, Luke, you really are a rockstar.”

The band set up and in a
matter of minutes the soul of rock n’ roll was back alive. Luke stood off the
stage and watched the music come to life before his eyes. He touched his throat
and swallowed. It was sore, very sore. Time would decide his fate, something he
couldn’t control.

Luke got a notebook and
pen out and began to write lyrics. He listened to the music as he wrote,
letting the words flow freely. He had no rhythm to the music just yet. The song
broke up a minute into it and the band began to structure the riffs, chords,
fills, and sound. Luke joined the stage and began to read some of what he
wrote. Slowly, the pieces of the puzzle started to come together. The band
played only for an hour, a quick practice, but it was enough to kill the
remaining tension in the room.

When it was done, the
five members of Fallen Tuesday stood around. Luke took the lead, as he always
did.

“I need to take some
time,” he said. “I’m not going to be in Los Angeles.”

“Figured that was
coming,” Mack said. “Visiting Amy in New York?”

“I am,” Luke said. “She’s
got something going on up there and I need to be there.”

“More problems?” Gray
asked.

“Do they ever end?”

Gray shook his head.
“I’ve been trying to get a hold of my younger brother all morning. I talked to
his roommate yesterday and he said he’d been drinking a little bit the past
week.”

“What’s wrong with
drinking?” Mack asked.

“Acts as a gateway,” Luke
said.

“Yeah,” Gray said. “The
last thing he needs is to get mixed up in that shit again. I’m going to check
up on him. See my family too.”

“So, we’re good then?”
Luke said. “Split up for a couple weeks maybe?”

“Yeah,” Mack said. “I can
use a good ride. I’ll go straight upstate and not stop until I’m hungry or
tired.”

Luke hated the idea of
the band not being together. They had spent the past year side by side for
everything. From the shows to the studio to the tour. They knew what each other
ate, when they used the bathroom, every little detail of each other’s personal
routines. Now they were going take a much needed break.

“I’m going to miss you
guys,” Luke said. “I really am.”

“Us too,” Jake said. “I’m
sure we won’t be far apart. A quick flight and we’re together. Not to mention
we’re supposed to be recording in New York.”

Luke smiled. “That’s
right. Frank will want us in the studio soon.”

“Soon it is then,” Mack
said.

The band hugged, shook
hands, and just like that, everyone was set free for a break. A break that
could potentially save Luke’s voice and the band.

Luke was the last to
leave, purposely hanging back to meet with Frank. He stepped next to Frank
outside the sound studio and put his head back, enjoying the warm California
sun. It wouldn’t be warm at all when he got back to New York to see Amy.

“Everyone happy?” Frank
asked.

“We’d be happier on
stage,” Luke said. “But since that can’t happen… yeah, everyone is happy. We
needed a break.”

“I get that,” Frank said.
“You wanted a break to get on tour though, remember that?”

“I do,” Luke said.
“You’re a good man, Frank. You work hard for the band and what we all want.
We’re going to be in New York soon enough writing and recording new music.”

“I hope so,” Frank said.
“I’ll email you dates and times of the radio interviews.” Frank looked at Luke.
“I hope you don’t mind.”

“You hope I don’t mind?”
Luke asked and smiled. “You have a heart in that chest?”

“It shows once in a great
while. Take care of your voice, Luke. You stupid fool.”

“Appreciate that, Frank,”
Luke said.

Frank walked to a waiting
car and left. Luke remained in silence, basking in the nothingness around him.
A day ago the feeling of nothing hurt. Now it was a mild comfort. The greatest
comfort waited in New York, right where he and his heart belonged.

Luke hated to do it but
he cashed in on a favor from Frank and used a private jet to fly this time. He
wanted the privacy so he could write. There had been a time in his life when
his notebooks were filled with words that were strung together along the lines
of stories instead of lyrics. He would then take the most poignant parts of
those stories and turn them into songs. It felt good to write so freely. There
was nothing else he could do. His voice needed to rest to heal. The silence of
the plane came in handy because the entire flight, Luke didn’t have to speak
more than ten words.

When he landed in New
York, Luke had a car waiting and then he decided to call Amy. He held the
steering wheel and waited for her to answer.

She finally did on the
last ring before her voicemail would have picked up.

“Luke?”

“Amy. Hey.”

“Where are you?”

“Coming to see you.”

“What?”

“I told you I wanted to
see you,” Luke said.

“Yeah, but I thought you
were with your band.”

“It’s not my band,” Luke
corrected. “And I met with them. We talked and we’re taking a break before
going to the studio. The studio is in New York, Amy.”

There was silence on the
line. Then a breath.

“I’m shocked right now,”
Amy said. “I thought you would stay in California. I wasn’t sure when we’d
actually meet up again.”

“Maybe I shouldn’t say
this over the phone but I’m starting to care about you,” Luke said. “A lot. I
can’t stop thinking about you. Wondering how you’re doing. I want to hold you,
Amy. I want to finish everything we keep starting.”

“I… I want that too,” Amy
said.

“Good,” Luke said. “I’m
in a car. I’m coming to see you, Amy.”

“Right now?” Amy asked,
her voice almost squealing.

“Right now, baby,” Luke
said.

Luke hung up the phone
and touched his chest. His heart felt so full. He wasn’t sure what the feelings
were yet for Amy, but one thing was for sure, he wasn’t going to ignore his
feelings and he wasn’t going to let Amy live in fear for the rest of her life.

**

Amy put her phone on the
desk and looked at it.

Luke was on his way.

The past couple days Amy
had suffered through a few harsh truths about life. After receiving two more
texts from Denny, she came to the conclusion that the Denny situation wasn’t
going to go away. If Amy went to the police things would probably end up worse.
She had made the rash decision a few years ago to take money from Denny to help
save the restaurant. There were intentions to pay it all back to him when she
owned the restaurant but that time hadn’t come yet. And it wouldn’t for a long
time. As long as Uncle Tom was alive, the restaurant would be his.

Amy then wondered if she
managed to open a bakery, maybe she could just give all the money she made to
Denny. To show him she was paying everything back. Denny was a very rich man. A
scary biker with money. He didn’t need the eighty thousand dollars, but it was
the principle that he gave it to Amy with the intention of getting it back.

The darkest secret of
Amy’s life.

The morning news
weatherman came on the screen and compared the chilly temperatures in the
northeast to the temperatures of California. When Amy saw the city spelled out
-
Los Angeles
- she thought of Luke. He was there. Thousands of miles
away. Three hours behind her schedule. They were living two completely
different lives and there was nothing Amy could do about it. The texts with
Luke were flirty and sexy. Seeing him, having him touch her body was nothing
but pure passion, but that’s where it ended. Amy had always been the kind of
woman that fell hard and fast, which was how she fell for Denny. She met him at
a party and before she knew it she was on the back of his motorcycle. Their
whirlwind relationship took Amy to dark places and left her with a heavy debt
to pay.

It was the same thing
with Luke. She had been the damsel in distress, walking home at midnight in the
cold weather. She had been afraid and managed to bump into the hottest guy
she’d ever met in her life. On top of that, he was the lead singer for one of
the biggest bands and turned out to be someone who wanted to protect her.