Live Today (Live Today #1) (4 page)

“She’s here!” Matt yells. He’s been staring out the window waiting for her anxiously as well. We all have been on edge since we haven’t heard from her since last night.  I stand as he turns around, bends down and tosses my Nerf gun at me.

I chuckle as we line up for the attack. “Ready?” I ask the guys.

“Oh Yeah.” Drew says.

“Dude, I was born ready.” Gabe laughs.

“Let’s do this!” Matt says as we wait for the traditional honk… and there it is.

We all grin devilishly at each other. Matt then pushes open the front door and we all run out and make our way around her car.

“Jenna, Get out of the car and no one gets hurt.” Gabe orders.

“Boys, boys, boys. When will you learn? I’ve got this.” She replies.

Oh shit! She jumps out of the car with a Nerf Machine gun. With the trigger in place, she makes her way in a circular pattern hitting us all along the way.  Dropping the gun once she’s out of darts, she attempts to make her way to the door. But you can’t beat the speed of Drew. We follow her shooting our darts at her in the process as he comes up from behind her.

“Oh no you don’t.” he says to her as he lifts her up over his shoulder. Immediately, I run around the both of them to open the gate. Laughing my ass off as they walk around us she begins to scream.

“My phone!” she screeches. Instinctively, I reach in and grab her phone out of her front pocket then give Drew the go ahead. Within seconds, Jenna is flying into the air, landing in the cold water. We turned on the Jacuzzi a few hours ago so the pool water is still cold.

She rises from the water with a fury. By this time, the guys and I are rolling on the ground laughing so hard we don’t even register her yelling at us about her owning the house and kicking us out. Our laughter keeps going on when she climbs out of the pool and into the warmer water. She observes us in our fit and begins to giggle along with us.

This is exactly what we needed.  A fresh start for all of us.

Jenna

The guys arrived in Seattle a few days ago. I still had a few ends to tie up here so I stayed back to get that done. Plus, I did not really want to deal with the four of them the entire way up. So instead of riding along with the guys, I packed up my car with just the necessities I needed, and drove along the ocean side, taking my sweet time until I finally made my way into Seattle.

It was a pleasant, quiet, serene drive. I stopped when I wanted to and drove as fast as I desired.  Brennan put up a fight insisting that I at least stopped at sundown so I can get some proper rest. But I stopped to rest when I needed.  As it was, I had to pull over and check in with him every hour so I either called him or send him a text telling him where I was at and I was ok. That was the deal with me driving solo.

I understand why Brennan is always overprotective.  We are all we have, no parents to speak of. Well, not anymore anyways. Mom took off on my dad, Brennan and I when I was five. And dad? Well, he’s been long gone as well. Once I became a teenager, and started my period, he decided that he was in no place to raise a teenage girl, so he bolted to Mexico or somewhere like that. We will never know. According to Brennan, he grabbed his keys and bolted one morning while I was in school.

Brennan is three and a half years older than me, and at barely eighteen became my new legal guardian. He refused to allow anyone to split us up. I wouldn’t want it any other way. He fought tooth and nail to keep me for almost a year before the social worker finally opened her eyes and let us stay together. He worked his ass off keeping the bills paid, food on the table and clothes for his little sister. All I had to do was sing for his band and tweak his work.

Pulling up into the driveway of the new house, I honk my horn, letting the goofballs know I have officially made it. Something I have always done as long as I can remember. I had refused to call or text them for the last several hours, making them freak the out, Brennan for sure. And of course, the last text made me laugh so hard; I almost caved and called them just to let them know how stupid they were.

JENNA MUNSON!!!! IF YOU DO NOT PICK UP YOUR PHONE, WE WILL CALL THE NATIONAL GUARD, THE STATE POLICE AND THAT FUCKED UP BOUNTY HUNTER DUDE YOU USE TO WATCH TO FIND YOUR ASS!!!!!!!! CALL ME NOW!!!

Oh yeah, I love you! B

I mean, really? Who would not reply?  Just like clockwork, every time I honk, I can count down… three…two…one… Bingo, four, count them, four full grown men come running out of the house with Nerf guns in hand. They all run around my car getting into “position” to attack.

“Jenna, get out of the car and no one gets hurt”. Gabriel, our band’s guitarist, orders.

“Boys, Boys, Boys, when will you learn, I’ve got this.” Jumping out of the car with my ammo belt over my shoulder, I take my Nerf machine gun and fully unload it on them! In a full fit of giggles, I attempt to make a quick escape, I try to sprint to the front door which was still slightly open since they had run out, only to fail epically as I’m hit by a few dozen darts and hoisted up on Drew’s, our new bassist, shoulders.

“Oh No you don’t!” He says as he smacks me on the ass and heads towards the backyard where our new pool sits.

“Put me down Drew! You Dick!” I hit him on his in return as I listen to them all laugh. Brennan runs around the front of us and opens the side gate of the house. “I swear if you do not put me down, you will lose best friend status immediately!”

“You know she’s going to kill us all for this right?” Matt, our drummer, says.

“You bet your asses I am!!!” I holler. With all four of them laughing, once I remember my phone is in my pocket, I begin to squeal “MY PHONE!!!!” Brennan reaches into my front pocket and pulls it out just seconds before I make the plunge into the water.

I come to the surface “Holy Shit!!” I yell with a screech as I begin to swim to the Jacuzzi to warm up. They obviously had this planned because the temperature of the Jacuzzi is perfect.

Brennan is literally rolling around on the grass, “You had to have a pool here in Seattle sis.” I can barely make out what he said through his laughter.

“I also made sure the house was in only my name, so I can kick your asses out at any time.” I fume in return. “Someone better have a towel for me.” I can’t help but begin to laugh when I see all four of them almost pissing themselves in laughter. Thinking to myself, maybe this move was a good idea for all of us, I begin to giggle with them.

It wasn’t so long ago, our world was falling apart. But piece by piece, unfortunately after a loss of a dear family member, we realized we can put the pieces together. As long as we hold each other’s hand when we needed it the most, we knew we could push thru the bad together as a whole and deal with it with the support we each need in order to fully heal.

~~~~~

We’ve been in Seattle for a few weeks. The first week was strictly unpacking. The guys had gotten most of the truck offloaded since they arrived here a few days before me. But since I arrived, we needed to finish and offload completely. Its killing me to keep boxes stored in the garage. So, box by box, we are filling each room and getting stuff put away. The sooner I can feel at home, the better. I have instructed the guys to get the kitchen boxes set up and ordered Matty to stay in the kitchen until the kitchen was put together the way he liked it. That was the first thing done. Gabe and Drew were in charge of the bedroom boxes. Each box has our names on it. And since this house is big enough for everyone to have their own room, all they had to do is drop the box off in their rooms.

I have no clue how they decided which room was which, I don’t care really, and all I cared about was that the master bedroom and bath belonged to me. Brennan argued with me but since this was my house, it was my room. Brennan and I were in charge of the basement. He set up our stage for us back in California in the garage, so he wanted to take on the responsibility here too which I was more than happy to let him.

I began to work on offloading the boxes to my room. Since my job was complete early, I would help the guys out until all the boxes were gone with the exception of the living room. That was one room I needed time to work on. And the one I stalled on.

By week two, it was almost done. The guys were dying to hit the new studio. I for one was not as excited to go as they were. I had not been back in a studio or on stage since the last practice before Will passed. I had no intentions of going anytime soon, but the guys were antsy to see what it was like. I didn’t want to disappoint them, so I put a smile on my face and we made a day of it.

By the time we got there, Drew realized he forgot the passkey to get in, so Brennan, Gabe and I stayed back while he and Matt went home to get key. We picked a nice shady spot under a huge tree to sit under. Actually, all the trees here seemed huge compared to the scrawny trees in California. Not that every tree was small back at home, but tall palm trees don’t offer very much shade. We sat and waited for the two to come back to let us in. The main topic was the studio and how we were blessed with it.

Apparently, we had open access to the largest sound room in the studio. It was a new building and they needed clients. Drew’s dad, even though he did not approve of Drew being with us, had set a deal with the owner before we moved up here, which happened to be an old friend of the family. I told Drew that I thought it was his dad’s way of making sure we weren’t lying about taking him away from his family. All he had to do was to go to any of our shows to verify it, but he was always too good for that. But I think his dad was supportive knowing he was getting Drew away from his old life.

Drew’s not only my rehab sponsor, but he’s become my best friend. I know it use to bother Brennan when I would spend my time with Will, or when Will would get me to talk. Now that relationship has changed to Drew. It’s not that I didn’t want to talk to Brennan, but he’s my big brother. There are some things you just can’t share with your brothers. As much as Drew doesn’t believe me, I do envy his dysfunctional relationship with his father. At least he has a dad to go to if he really needed it.

I had met his father when we were released. Actually, I demanded to be with him for support as his sponsor when he went home. I explained to Brennan that it was important for me to be there for Drew. He wasn’t happy with my decision at first, neither was Gabe, but after I explained Drew’s situation with them a bit more, they were more inclined to let me go. Drew’s father in no way is an easy man to get along with, but by the second day of my “charming” him as Drew called it, his demeanor seemed to soften. I persuaded him to listen to some of the songs that the band had made. He was hesitant at first, but after a little bit of encouraging, he agreed.

After the fourth song, he mentioned that he had a friend that use to be in his congregation that worked in the music industry and if we ever needed anything, he would be happy to make a phone call or two. I hugged the man, and gave Drew a wink as he rolled his eyes at me. By day three, I cannot say that everything was “okay” in Drew’s standards, but it was definitely a step forward in their family healing process. His father had told me he saw a dramatic change in Drew and thanked me for that. I still don’t think I have done anything to change him, but whatever it takes to get his father’s support is fine by me.

“Your dad did well Drew.” I said as we finally made our way into Studio Three. This was to be our studio. We had all rights to this room as it was the biggest and since we had our connections, we had the only key to it. Which was actually really nice, it gave us security to bring our own stuff in and leave it here, even though we kept most of our stuff back in the basement.

To the left of walking in is like a small living area, there’s a black leather couch along the first wall. A small mini fridge sits in the corner with a microwave on top. In the opposite corner sits a small table and four chairs. Opposite the couch sits a bookshelf with everything imaginable for a writer to use. Past that room was the sound room followed by the music room. Neither of which I’m interested in at all. I am still hesitant with the idea of starting over without Will. But he made me promise that life must go on.

6 months ago

I listens to the voices surrounding me. I can’t make out what their saying. I try to open my eyes, but fail. I let out a loud groan when I feel like my brain is hammering its way out of my head. I reach to hold my head, but my arm feels like it’s been in a vice. “Ugh. What the hell?” I mumble when I try to open my eyes again. Fluttering a few times, they finally open, but I can’t see anything.

“Jenna?” Brennan speaks quietly. He takes my hand softly. “Jenna sweetheart, can you open your eyes again?” he asks. I squint quickly to try to lubricate them to get them to open. Florescent lights are above my head. I can hear a beeping besides me. I look over to see what the beeping is, and notice it’s a monitor. I follow the cords from the monitor when reality hits that the beeping is coming from me. 

My throat is scratchy when I try to ask where I am. Brennan tells me not to speak. He asks me if I remember anything, and the only things I do remember are the events of last night at the club. He explains what had happened several days ago and I begin my silent sobs.

Brennan, Will and Gabe came to pick me up at the club, because I was in trouble and on the way home, we got hit by a drunk driver, causing our SUV to roll. I have been unconscious for a few days, and Will’s internal injuries are so bad, it’s only a matter of time before he’s gone. The doctors said they were actually surprised he has lasted this long as it is.

“Do you think you are up for seeing Will?” he asks, and I nod. How can I not want to see Will? He saved my life. “Okay. Let me tell the nurse you are ready to move.” He kisses me softly on the cheek before walking out of the room. My eyes glance around the room and stop when I see Gabe standing in the corner.

With a scratchy voice, I try to speak. “Hey.”

His eyes are bloodshot and heavy with guilt. The bags underneath let me know he hasn’t slept at all and he’s been crying. “Hi.” He speaks softly.

My heart tightens with his response. Never have I ever felt this kind of distance with Gabe. I extend my hand to him. Gabe and I have this kind of connection and I need his touch right now more than anything. He pushes off the wall, and with heavy feet makes his way to me. He takes a seat, grabs my hand in both of his and rests his head on our hands. Silent sobs begin to fill the room. With my free hand, I reach over and begin to run my fingers through his hair. No words are spoken. Just comfort.

“I’m right here.” I whisper after a few minutes. “Gabriel, I’m okay.” I try to hold back my tears that are forming. He tries to compose himself; I can hear him take a few deep breaths before raising his head to me.

“I… I thought I lost you.” His eyes fill up again with tears he was obviously holding in. “When we rolled, I just held onto you so tight Jenna. There was no way I would let you go. Then you were lifeless when we stopped. I wasn’t sure if it was the drugs or the crash.” He brings my hand up to his lips, kisses it softly and continues. “If something happened to you and I never got a chance to say…” he gets cut off when Brennan and the nurse make their way into the room. He tries to release my hand, but I squeeze it tighter, keeping him by my side.

“No, stay with me.” I beg. For some ungodly reason, I needed him more than I needed my own breath. He looks down, wipes a few more tears that escaped his bloodshot eyes and nods. Gabe remained by my side during my transfer from one room to another, he released my hand once I was rolled next to Will.