Page 101 of Dark Room Junkie

I have to go to him.

Tom probably felt the same way, but from our spot, there was currently no way through. People blocked the path and loudly demanded an encore.

“Come on!” Tom said, tugging at my sleeve.

I climbed onto the stage after him and followed him to the backstage entrance. As we descended the stairs, a cacophony of voices reached us. There was a mix of loud swearing, shouting, and muffled sounds. When I turned the corner, I froze in the doorway.

Noé angrily pushed Chris away, grabbing a chair and striking it against the wall several times. He screamed his soul out, cursed, and was uncontrollable. Even when Marco approached him, the broad-shouldered giant with the arms of a bodybuilder, Noé didn’t stop raging.

“What happened?” Tom asked.

“He seems to be having a nervous breakdown,” Chris replied.

Then one of the technicians pushed past me. “Guys! Where are you? They’re waiting for an encore!”

Noé punched the wall several times and staggered back. Tom caught him, but he immediately tore himself away.

“Forget it! We’re done!” Lukas declared, pointing at Noé. “At least he is.”

I still stood there paralyzed, holding the camera in my hands, unable to think of anything else but capturing the moment. But Noé’s pain overwhelmed me, and I couldn’t even bring myself to move to try to calm him down somehow.

Marco grew tired of Noé’s antics and grabbed him by the collar, pressing him against the wall. “Stop it!”

With clenched teeth, Noé banged the back of his head against the wall and covered his face with both hands. His right hand was bleeding, and he could barely stand on his own. “No,” his voice was nothing more than a whisper, and when Marco let go, he slumped down against the wall, buried his head between his knees, and clutched his hair tightly.

Tom shoved Marco aside and crouched in front of Noé. I couldn’t hear what he said to him, but his words seemed to strike a chord. Noé pushed him away, got up, snatched his jacket, and staggered toward me.

Oh fuck.

I was still standing in the entrance, and my heart just sank. I didn’t even notice that I was blocking his way. And apparently, he only recognized me when he grabbed me by the collar and pushed me aside.

As I stood with my back against the wall and our eyes met, time stood still. With his dark blue eyes, he stared at me and conveyed more to me than in the last ninety minutes. I noticed the bruises on his eye and chin and couldn’t help myself. I gently touched his cheek. Sadness welled up in him, but then he winced and stormed out.

I gasped for air, hadn’t even realized I had been holding my breath. Seeing him on stage was one thing, but being able to look him in the eye like that was something else entirely. I shuddered at the pain that held him captive.

My gaze swept through the room. Exhausted, Chris and Ramon collapsed onto the couch, while Marco covered his mouth with his hand and shook his head in disbelief. A few feet away, Lukas was talking to the technician. I locked eyes with Tom, and he walked toward me.

“Everyone here just wants what’s best for him,” he said sadly. “But he won’t let himself be helped.”

“Are you finally going to tell me where to find him?” I asked.

“Come on.”

I took that as a yes and followed Tom up the stairs. Instead of going out through the side exit, he returned to the club. By now, the audience had accepted the abrupt ending, and the path past the stage back to the bar was clear. Tom headed straight for Juri, who was sitting at the bar, talking to the bartender. But Tom wasn’t interested in that. He grabbed him by the shoulder and pointed at me.

“Juri, this is Alex. Take him to Noé!”

Completely unimpressed, Juri glanced at me, then lifted his chin slightly and snorted. “He ditched you guys. Ha!”

“That’s not funny. He just had a nervous breakdown back there,” Tom said.

“Then he surely won’t just go home,” Juri replied.

“And where do we find him?” I asked, worried.

“Kid, that guy knows more people than the two of you combined. Give me your number. I’ll let you know when he resurfaces.”

Confused about what to do, I turned to Tom, and he nodded reluctantly. “He’s right. Give him your number.” Then he turned to Juri. “But you call as soon as he shows up!”

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