Page 53 of Accidental Fire
“I made an appointment for you this afternoon when we get to Laughlin, so don’t make any plans after you finish with those clowns, okay?” He pointed to three of my bandmates, who were roughhousing as we waited for Clancy and Arlo to make an appearance.
“An appointment for what? Lauren’s going to trim my hair before the show, she said.” Lauren really was a jack-of-all-trades. She did our hair and makeup at every venue, and the pictures we’d seen on social media looked pretty damn good, if I did say so myself.
“It’s a surprise. After, I’ll take you to dinner, just the two of us. Deal?”
I grinned. “You got it. Love you,” I said as Clancy showed up at the bus, unlocking the door and the luggage compartment. He stowed our bags, and I grabbed my acoustic to take on the bus, putting it on my bunk that I hadn’t used since before the break. Riding with Kit was a much more enjoyable way to travel.
“The lady graces us with her presence. What gives?” JD asked.
Goldie and Hardy got on next, and Arlo came running out of the hotel with his suitcase wobbling behind him. He looked quite harried, so I worried about what the hell was going on now.
Arlo ran over to Clancy, who was waiting for him with a stub of a cigar in his mouth as he stared at his watch. We were running a little late, but we didn’t have a show tonight, so it’d be okay.
I heard the grinding of the diesel engine as Kit came around the corner of the hotel and honked before he went ahead of us to get on the road. My heart yearned to be in the truck with him, but I had a job, and I needed to do it.
“Did you and Kit have another fight?” Arlo asked as he flopped into the bench seat at the table across from me.
“Not at all. We need to talk about the set list,” I said as I pulled out my notebook.
Much to my surprise, Olive got onto the bus with her assessing gaze. “Good morning, gentlemen. River, I’m glad to see you’re joining us. We have a few things to discuss.”
That sounded ominous. Before I could ask her what, Arlo banged the table. “Me first. I’m sorry I’m late, but I was talking to Ant. Last night, Brittany and her mother came to the show to talk to me. At first, I said no, but her mom begged me to listen to Brittany, so I gave in.”
“I didn’t see them.” But then again, as soon as Coaster took my guitar after the encore, I had Kit beneath me as we made out while the truck was being loaded.
“Yeah, we know you had your mouth full, but anyway…” Arlo glanced at the others. “I met them at the bar, and we had some hot tea. Brittany told me she’s not pregnant. She said it was her father’s idea to try to get money out of me by threatening to charge me with statutory rape, and her mom, Annette, told me her husband had a history of doing shit like that. He’s currently on probation for stealing copper wire from a constructionproject where he worked.” Arlo smiled for the first time in weeks.
“Okay, so how are you gonna get out of the statutory rape charges?” Olive asked.
“Annette said if I threatened to turn him in for extortion, his probation would be revoked and he’d go to jail. They’ve been divorced for several years, and he’s got a pregnant girlfriend who won’t want him behind bars. We called Ant about it, and after he bitched at me for ten minutes about talking to the women without him being present, he said it was worth a try.”
“You still had sex with an underage girl, Arlo. The judge won’t—or shouldn’t—turn a blind eye to that.” I could see that Olive wasn’t happy at all about the idea of Arlo getting away without any repercussions.
“Ant says that because she presented herself as an adult over the age of consent, I should be able to get off with paying a fine—if Brittany is willing to testify on my behalf. She admitted to him that she’d misrepresented her age, and Annette said she’d make sure Brittany told the truth. She was living with her dad when we met because she didn’t get along with her mom, but now that she’s eighteen, she has gone back to live with her mom and is out from under her father’s bad influence.” Arlo was talking so fast, he was out of breath.
Olive stared at him for a long moment. “In order for me to be okay about this, I want you to donate the proceeds from one of the songs on the new album to a rape crisis center. Shame on the girl for lying, but if the story ever comes out, both sides of the matter may not be given, and you’ll be the prick who had sex with a minor. I’ll set up podcast appearances with some entertainment sites, and you’ll tell your story without releasing the girl’s name. I’ll get the record label to donate as well.”
Hardy raised his hand like he was in school. “All of us? We all gotta donate because of Arlo’s fuck-up?”
I sighed. “Dude, this could have happened to any of us. Guys need to be more proactive in establishing that the person their trying to stick their dick in is legally able to give consent. Olive is right. I’ll happily donate my share too.” I turned to Goldie and JD, cocking an eyebrow at them.
“Yeah, I’ll go along, but, Arlo, remember this—we all pay for each other’s mistakes. Going forward, think before you act. That goes for all of us,” JD agreed.
Goldie started laughing. “Riv doesn’t have that worry— Kit could be his dad.”
Of course, the rest of them cracked up. I gave them all the finger and we went over the set list for what I hoped was the last time.
Brooklyn Bowl, Las Vegas
“Who’s ready to rock?” the DJ from a local metal station yelled out to the crowd at Brooklyn Bowl on The Strip in Las Vegas. I’d never imagined playing a gig on the Las Vegas Strip, but here we were, standing on the stage while people were bowling, eating, and partying like there was no tomorrow.
“I said,who’s ready to rock?” The crowd clapped and whistled, which made me more nervous. My stomach was starting to roll, and I was sure I was going to hurl.
“Let’s give a warm welcome to Accidental Fire!” More clapping and applause.
There was a tap on my arm. I turned, and there was Kit. “Breathe, sweetheart. You’re going to be great.” He pecked a kiss before sliding back behind the curtain.
Inhale…Exhale…B5 D5 E5 G5 D5 E5…
