Page 5 of Sorry, We're Closed

I found myself watching the sun descend until only a slither of gold was left on top of the ocean and my room had gone dark. I took that as my cue to finally switch on the light and get to work unpacking.

While we always travel light and always try to make sure that we would be able to pack and leave whenever we need to, I had a few staple items which went with me, no matter where we were.

The first piece of merch we ever had – a black flag with the band’s name “Bright Lights” in white, bubble writing, filling the lack of details in the background. This always gets pinned up above my bed, while my two guitars, one acoustic and one electric, are always propped up next to the bed on their stands.

Depending on the layout of our temporary home, I always had frames of Marcus and me to balance on either a windowsill or bedside table, filled with myself from ten years old to our most recent performance at the festival. Even with living with the man for eleven years and having him around all the time, it never stopped me appreciating everything he has done for me.

The last item, while minor to most, are my headphones. Marcus gifted me a pair of bass-boosted headphones one Christmas, to help me have more in-depth listening to our music when we rehearsed or when I attempted to create my own beats with our sound systems, and I cherish the way they help me appreciate music more than I thought I ever could.

Everything else within my bags are clothes, accessories and toiletries which I distribute between the bathroom and on top of my set of drawers opposite the double bed.

“Avory! Come on out here, I've got news!”

Marcus beams as I stroll back into the living room, the kettle already boiling as he digs around the cupboards for mugs. He pulls two out and places them on the counter.

“Coffee?”

“Marcus, you know I only drink it iced!”

He rolls his eyes as he puts one mug back and begins making his milky coffee. “So, I have good news and really good news, specifically for you!”

I raise one eyebrow as I sit myself down on one of the stools, Marcus stood on the other side of the island. “Do go on.”

“First of all, you and me, Friday night! Our first gig right here in Tetherton!”

Marcus offers up a high five across the island which I gladly agree to. It usually takes us a couple of weeks to get our name out, let alone get a gig within a few days of being here.

“That's amazing! How did you do it? What are we going to perform? We haven't rehearsed in a couple of days.”

Marcus cuts me off by sliding his way over to my side of the island with his arms outstretched, ready for an embrace before grabbing the handle of my stool and sending me plummeting to the lowest height the stool could sit at.

“You dick!”

Our belly laughing fills the flat as Marcus attempts to carry on with his news.

“So, to answer your array of questions, I contacted multiple bars before we got here! We will perform an old set we know absolutely rocks a crowd of semi drunk people as it'll be our first night here in Tetherton and we need to make Bright Lights known! Now, for my last piece of really good news.”

I feel a sense of déjà vu as Marcus reaches into his jeans pocket and pulls out a singular key with no chain. He tosses the key to me again with a swift underarm and I catch it with my left hand, rolling the key between my fingers.

“Something I wasn't aware of when we rented this place, was that it was a music shop when it was first built, and while it's had all sorts in it since, they never changed the layout.”

I stare at Marcus, clearly a puzzled expression on my face as Marcus continues to explain, the key still in my hand.

“There's a basement to the shop, that key leads to the basement, and that basement is—”

I cut Marcus off as I jump from my shortened stool. “A recording studio!”

“Yes! It's obviously out of commission and everything has been removed, but electricity is still hooked up down there and it's completely soundproof! Strum away until your heart's content!”

I hop over to Marcus and hug him, Marcus squeezing and picking me up off the ground before dropping me.

“See? You're still not too big for me to do that!”

“Are you sure you won't need the room? I can't guarantee that you'll ever see me again once I go down there.”

We chuckle.

“No, not at all. It's all yours, besides you play the instruments, I'm just the pretty face with the voice.”

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