Page 8 of When We Fell Again
“Do you think you’ll be able to work with her?”
My mind reeled from the news. But time had passed and I simply had to accept what was happening now. We’d both changed and grown in the past five years, me more so in the last twelve months. We were professionals and could work together without any kind of emotion getting in the way.
Yeah, right.
The meeting dragged on as Kelvin took us through each date on the tour in absolute minute detail. By the end of it, my shoulder throbbed and I needed another codeine fix. I’d had a check-up with the doctor the day before and had been prescribed more painkillers to see me through the next few weeks. After the most recent bombshell, I was looking forward to popping a couple as soon as I got home. I needed to get out of my own head for a while.
“You’re still on medication for your shoulder, right?” Kelvin stared down at his tablet, not even looking at me.
“Yep.”
“Then I’m thinking we’ll get Alexis to keep a hold of it and dish it out when you need it.”
“You don’t need to do that. I’m capable of looking after myself.”
He gave a tight smile. “I know that. And if looking after yourself means getting shitfaced in the afternoons and messing around on the swings, I think it’s best that Alexis has the meds.”
We hadn’t even started the tour and already she was going to be in charge of me.
“Right, I think that’s everything.” Kelvin closed the cover on his tablet. “I’ll be along for a few of the dates. Not sure which ones yet, but I know you’re going to smash it. The label has a lot riding on this tour. Go out there and prove they were right to have faith in you.” He rose from his seat, gathered his stuff together, and headed off. Jude and Robbie left too, wanting to get some food, leaving me and Levi alone.
I leaned forward and rested my forehead on the table, covering my head with my arms. The groan that escaped from my lips was low and guttural.
“Drink?” asked Levi.
I raised my hand and gave him the thumbs-up. A few minutes later, I heard the thump of two glasses hitting the table and raised my head. In front of me sat a double whisky.
“Figured you need it.” Levi raised his glass and waited for me to clink his.
The liquid burned down my throat and I relished the familiar warmth spreading in my chest. It had been a while since I’d had neat alcohol and the fuzzy feeling kicked in a lot sooner than it would usually have for me.
“First, I screw up my shoulder, then Lex is coming on tour with us. What’s the third bit of bad news?” I mused.
Levi laughed. “There isn’t any. Unless you count the fact we have to share a hotel room for the entirety of this tour.”
“Could be worse. One of us could be sharing with Robbie. As long as we’re on a different floor, we won’t have to hear his snoring.”
Trying to ignore the elephant in the room, we started talking about some of the cities and towns we’d be going to. The UK university tour took in larger campuses, but also some smaller and more remote ones. Without a doubt, it would be one of the hardest we’d done because of the amount we’d crammed into such a short time. Touring and playing live was one of the best things about being in Idol Rev. It took me to places I’d never been before, and sometimes I escaped from the rest of the band and went exploring the city on my own. More than once, I’d had frantic calls and messages from the guys when they thought I’d disappeared or ended up somewhere I shouldn’t have. I suspected I’d need to do something like that on this tour.
Eventually, Levi and I left the pub and went home. Tiredness enveloped my body, and I dragged my fatigued arse upstairs to my room. Popping a couple of painkillers that mixed so well with the whisky I’d consumed, I stretched out on my back on the bed, hands tucked behind my head, feet crossed at the ankle, staring up into space.
The plain white ceiling soon became images of Alexis Jagger. Of me and her. Of how things used to be. Before the memories got too hard to bear, I closed my eyes and drifted off into a restless sleep full of fractured snapshots of the past.
By the time I came around later, darkness had fallen. The fitful slumber had me feeling less than rested. Propping myself up on my elbows, I winced at the latent pain in my shoulder and collapsed back down into the horizontal again, blowing out a breath. This tour would be a lot harder work than I anticipated. Needing to take a piss, I made another effort to get up and headed towards the bathroom. I could hear the others downstairs, laughing and talking, no doubt watching a film or something.
Normally, I loved being around the guys, but that night, I needed some space.
Space to process the news Kelvin had sprung on us earlier.
Space to work out how I felt about it.
Space to think about what it meant.
My relationship with Lex had been intense, passionate, and volatile. Good, bad, ugly. Sweet at the start, sour at the end. But it also felt like unfinished business with unanswered questions.
Was now the time to set things straight between us?
Could we work together without our past affecting our present?
