Battlescars: A Rock & Roll Romance Read online

  Brett was waiting for us to meet the rest of the guys in the lobby. A small crowd had assembled around them. I waved to everyone, but kept walking and climbed into the car. We arrived at the venue and went to the tent that had been set up for the musicians. I was whispering to Aubrey when my arch nemesis, Ian Voss, came over. She was aware of our ongoing feud and scoffed when she saw him. He was a shit stain.

  “Jake Parker.” He looked at me, then Aubrey. “You must be Jake’s new girlfriend. I’m Ian Voss, lead singer of Blood to Bleed. I’m sure you’ve heard of us. We’re much bigger than your boyfriends shit band.” He said condescendingly.

  “Nope. Sorry, can’t say I have.” She spat. “But I’m sure you’ve heard the phrase getting into her pants? I think you took it too literally.”

  I looked to see what she was talking about. He was in skinny jeans. I smiled and suppressed a laugh.

  “How about I give you something for that smart mouth?” He put his hand on his junk and took a step toward her. Brett was on high alert, but just stood at the ready.

  “Sorry, but my mom says never to put small things in my mouth.” She shot back.

  I fucking love this girl!

  “Ouch. Well, if you get tired of hanging with the bottom feeders come find me.”

  Aubrey looked enraged. She smacked him in the face.

  “Did you see that? She just slapped me.” He cried.

  “I didn’t slap you. I gave you a high five, and you missed.” She grabbed my hand and pulled me away.

  “That was epic and so fucking hot!” I cooed.

  I pulled her into an empty room and kissed her passionately. She lowered her hand and grabbed onto my hard cock. I moaned loudly from her touch. I was never much into exhibitionism, but with Aubrey it didn’t matter where I was. I knew that she was still sore from last night, but I had to have her. I moved her shorts over and rubbed her gently waiting for her to tell me to stop. Instead of telling me to stop she unzipped me so that I sprang free. She moved back to sit on the edge of the table. She wrapped her long, sexy legs around my waist and pulled me until I was pressed up against her hot, wet heat. I slowly sank balls deep into her tight pussy. She wrapped her arms around my neck and pulled me down to kiss her. I thrust in and out carefully trying not to hurt her anymore than she already was. I swallowed her moan and felt her convulse around me. I loved the little sound she made when she was done. My balls instantly tightened, and I spilled myself into her with a raspy moan. I stayed where I was for another minute before pulling out. I never wanted to leave.

  She smiled shyly.

  “I can’t believe we just did that.” She giggled.

  “Stop being so damn sexy and it won’t happen. Though I don’t think it's possible.” I kissed her. “I love you, baby.”

  “I love you too.”

  I helped her up and made sure that we both looked presentable. I laced our fingers together, and we walked back into the main part of the tent. Brett was standing outside the door with a smirk on his face. He kept his mouth shut and followed me around until it was time to get ready for our set. Blake and Derek had picked up their groupies for the day, and Kevin was sitting on a stool tuning his guitar. I kissed Aubrey and walked out onto the stage.

  The crowd started chanting as soon as we were in view. “Ransom, Ransom, Ransom.”

  “Houston! How the fuck are we today? It’s hotter than Satan’s nutsack out here today!” I yelled into the mic.

  They cheered back, and Blake broke into the beginning cords of Ransom. I jumped around enthusiastically. It probably had something to do with the quickie that Aubrey just gave me. I might have to consider asking her to make that a preshow ritual. I was beyond pumped. Four songs in the extreme heat started to get to me, and I felt myself starting to wan. I put the mic back into the stand and exited the stage. I was proud of our set. I grabbed Aubrey’s hand and led her back to the room that had finally been set up in the tent for the band. I was beyond thankful for the cool air the fans were giving off. I grabbed a bottle of water from the ice bed and pulled Aubrey on my lap. I wasn’t fond of either of the groupies that Blake and Derek picked up.

  We hung out with the guys in the tent until we got called for the next set. When we exited the tent, I noticed that it was already starting to get dark out. The atmosphere had changed; it was electric. I kissed Aubrey and told her that I loved her. She grinned happily and slapped my ass as I took the stage. We broke into our first song. It was hard to see anything with the lights glaring in my eyes. The lighting in this place was shit. I was literally being “blinded by the light.” I still made sure to put in 110%, just like every show. I finished the set and tossed my sweaty towel out into the crowd. Thankfully we only had one set left.

  When I walked off stage I looked for Aubrey, but she wasn’t standing where I left her. I asked Brett where she went, and he said that she went to go get some food. I started berating him for letting her go alone, but I knew his first priority was my protection, especially at a venue like this. I refused to leave until she came back because I didn’t want to get separated and worry about her trying to find me. Five more minutes passed, and I was starting to freak out. I grabbed the guys and asked them to please go and look for her. Without a second thought, they all went and started looking. Ten minutes later I had Brett get event security involved. They put out a BOLO, but they said there wasn’t really anything else that they could do.

  I was done sitting around. I demanded that someone from security stay here while I went out looking myself. I left specific instructions that if she came back they were to call me that instant. I checked all the food places and bathrooms. I came up empty. I was coming out of the last set of bathrooms and saw that Brett was on the phone yelling. He pulled me into a football tuck and moved me as quickly as he could. I tried to fight him. I wanted to know what the fuck was going on. We didn’t stop until we reached the parking lot.

  There was Aubrey’s lifeless body sprawled out on the concrete.

  My heart stopped, and I felt my knees give out. Brett caught me and said that the police were on their way. EMT’s were already there working on her, but she wasn’t fucking moving. I kept trying to pull away from him. Aubrey needed me. He finally let me go, and I went and kneeled next to her. I rubbed my hand over her head. It was wet. I lifted it and saw it was covered in blood.

  “Pulse is normal. So is BP.” One of the EMT’s called. He looked at me. “Do you know her?”

  “She’s my girlfriend. Her name is Aubrey.” I choked out.

  “She should be fine. We need to get her transported to the hospital so that she can be looked over by a doctor. You can ride with us if you want.”

  I nodded. Brett looked unhappy, but said he would meet us there. I wasn’t leaving her, no matter what. They loaded the stretcher into the ambulance and slammed the door shut. The siren sounded and off we went. I took her hand in mine.

  “Aubrey, can you hear me? You’re going to be okay, baby.” I whispered.

  It took us fifteen minutes to get to the hospital. As soon as we walked in through the emergency entrance I was spotted. It looked like a fifteen-year old girl with a broken arm. She started screaming, and I wished that I thought to bring a hoodie. A nurse came rushing over to the girl to see what the problem was. I saw recognition flash across her face. She instantly ran over and ushered us to a room. A doctor came in and immediately started working on assessing Aubrey. My stomach was in my throat as I watched helplessly. They said that they needed to take her for some scans and that I could wait here until they came back. As soon as she was out of the room I dropped my head into my hands and cried. I cried like I’ve never cried in my life. I felt a hand on my shoulder and looked up to see Brett and the guys. Kevin kneeled in front of me and pulled me into a very unmanly hug.

  Brett said that police were on the scene and questioning concertgoers, but so far no one saw anything. There’s no reason that she would have ended up in a fucking parking lot. She went for food. We we
ren’t fighting so she wouldn’t have been trying to get away from me. Blake and Derek pulled over some chairs and asked me if I needed anything. The only thing that I needed was for Aubrey to be okay. We waited for over an hour and a half before a doctor finally came in. He said that she had a bad concussion, and there was swelling to the brain, but it didn’t appear that anything was broken. He said that they needed to put her into a medically induced coma until the swelling went down to prevent further damage. They were admitting her into the ICU for observation. As soon as the doctor left some bitchy woman came in looking for insurance information. I didn’t know where Aubrey’s wallet was, but I knew she had insurance. I told the lady that, and she looked at me like I was an asshole. I told her that she could put my credit card on file, which earned a good laugh. What the fuck!

  “Listen lady, I know you think I look like a scumbag, I’m not. I promise you I have enough money to add an entire wing to this hospital. Take the credit card and put it on file.” I pushed the credit card back to her.

  The nurse from earlier came over and told the woman that I could afford whatever treatment necessary. She scoffed and finally took my card. She handed it back to me, and I went to go find the ICU. I set up a bedside vigil and pulled my phone out to call her parents. Tim answered on the first ring.

  “Hey kid, how’s it going in Texas?” He chirped.

  “Tim, Aubrey’s been in some kind of accident. No one knows what happened. I was on stage and she went to go get food. Security found her in the parking lot unconscious. We’re at the hospital now.” I said in a rush.

  “Is she going to be okay?” He stuttered.

  “I think so. They had to put her in an induced coma because of a concussion. Other than that, they said she seems to be fine.” I faltered.

  “Fuck.” He cried.

  “Can you get here?” I asked.

  “What kind of moronic question is that? Of course I can, I own my own airline. We’re leaving now.”

  I hung up the phone and took her small hand in mine. I hated that they felt cold. The nurse said that it was because of the IV fluid, but I still didn’t like it. Her face was covered in dried blood and dirt. I stood and went to the sink. I ran a couple of towels under warm water and rubbed in a little soap. I gently cleaned her face off and threw the towels in the garbage. I sat back down in the chair and told the guys to go back to the hotel. I just wanted to be alone right now. Brett was standing outside the door keeping watch.

  I watched her chest rise up and down until exhaustion kicked in. I put my head on the bed and closed my eyes. I was startled awake when I felt a hand on my shoulder. Aubrey’s hand was still in mine. I lifted my head to see Tim, Caroline and Granny Jean standing in the room. I rubbed my free hand over my face refusing to let go of Aubrey for a second.

  “Hey, sweetheart.” Caroline said kissing my head. “Any news?”

  “Nothing’s changed since I called.” I rubbed my tired eyes.

  I stood up so that Caroline could take my seat and sat next to Aubrey on the bed. Tim looked near tears. It was tearing me apart. Granny Jean kissed Aubrey’s head and grabbed me by the arm yanking me back to my feet.

  “You, up!” She demanded. “We’re going to get some fresh air, and I need a smoke.”

  I wanted to protest, but there was no protesting against her. I already knew that. She hooked her arm in mine and walked out the door. Brett followed closely behind as we walked out the front doors of the hospital. We stood off to the side as Granny sifted through her bag and produced her Lucky Strikes. She lit up and blew out a plume of smoke.

  “Relax, will ya. She’s going to be fine. You’re going to go prematurely gray if you keep this shit up.” She scolded. “Listen Jake, you kids are young, and you have your entire lives ahead of you. It was obviously an accident. They happen, and there’s nothing you can do about it. We all have dues to pay in this life. The only thing that you can do is try not to fuck up your make-up in the trenches. Look at me.” She motioned to herself with her cigarette. “I’m old. I know things. When George died all I got was a bad liver and a broken heart. I still look good because I don’t worry about shit that I have no control over.” She teased.

  The way she put it made sense. As much as I hated to admit it, she was right. We all had dues to pay. Except, I would gladly take both mine, and Aubrey’s.

  “I know.” I acknowledged.

  “Now we’re going to go back in there and get you something eat. Then you’re going to pull your big boy pants up and act like a man. My granddaughter needs her strapping boyfriend to be strong and not act like a pussy.”

  She snubbed out her cigarette and took my hand. I looked at her and wanted to smile. If there was such a thing as a walking contradiction it was Granny Jean. We headed to the cafeteria. I picked out an assortment of things that didn’t need to be refrigerated. I didn’t want to have to leave her again. I grabbed a couple bags of pretzels, some fruit and an armful of bottled water. I was anxious to get back to Aubrey. I paid and started back to ICU. I asked Brett to call and get Aubrey’s family put up at the hotel across the street. Granny told him to make sure that she got a room with a balcony so she could smoke. When we got back, I could tell there was still no change in her condition. I grabbed another chair for Granny Jean and sat across from Tim and Caroline. My heart was breaking for them. I looked at Tim.

  “I asked Brett to make arrangements at the hotel across the street for you guys. If you need anything just let me know.”

  “Thanks Jake.” Tim nodded.

  “Do you happen to have Aubrey’s insurance information? I don’t know what happened to her wallet. When we checked in I gave them my credit card to keep on file, but if you have it on hand we can get that beast of a woman off my back.”

  “I’ll call and get it.” Caroline said picking up her purse.

  “I’ll go change the payment information.” Tim started to stand up.

  “You will not.” I argued. “Listen, I don’t care if I have to pay for the entire thing. I was just mentioning it, in case you have the information handy. You should know by now that money means nothing to me. Aubrey means everything to me. Sure I have enough of it, but I want to take care of her. You’ve done an amazing job of that for the last twenty-three years, it’s my turn.”

  Tim just looked at me in shock.

  “Sorry, I didn’t mean to snap at you like that. I just want her to wake up.” I apologized and rubbed my face with my hands.

  “I know, son.” He walked over and clapped my shoulder.

  I decided that even though I didn’t want to leave I needed to. I needed to calm down. The longer I sat here the harder it was getting. I knew as long as they were here that Aubrey wouldn’t be alone. I told them that I would be right back and grabbed Brett. We headed back to the hotel so I could shower and change. We drove in total silence. As soon as he pulled into the entrance I practically sprinted to our room and jumped in the shower. I dug a hat out of my bag not wanting to waste ten minutes perfecting my hair. I grabbed a small bag of Aubrey’s and put some things in it that she might want when she got up. I tossed the pink floral bag over my shoulder like a champ and headed out the door. Brett was laughing, and I told him to shut the fuck up.

  We were back at the hospital in less than an hour. I walked back into the room, and they all looked exhausted. I told them to go get something to eat and get settled at the hotel. I promised that I would call if there were any changes in Aubrey’s condition. After they left I had Brett call the label and tell them to reschedule the next two weeks of tour dates. There was no way in hell that I was leaving Texas without Aubrey.

  The days were blurring together. The next day there was no change. The day after, no change. On the third day of Aubrey being in a coma, she finally started coming around. Her eyelids were fluttering, and she was starting to mumble a little. I kept a watchful eye on her for any clue that she was going to wake up. The minutes ticked by like hours. The hours seemed like days. Until at 5:
42, I felt her squeeze my hand. I was out of my chair so fast it fell backwards with a crash. Brett peeked into the room to make sure everything was okay. Tim and Caroline had just left to get something to eat, and Granny mostly stayed at the hotel. It was just me, myself and I. Her beautiful brown eyes opened and peered into mine. I could sense her anxiety.

  “Baby, it’s okay. You’re okay.” I cooed moving close to her.

  I hit the button and called for the nurse. She came breezing in a couple moments later with the doctor in tow. I refused to let go of Aubrey’s hand. The doctor checked her pupils and started asking her basic questions. She didn’t really remember what happened.

  “I remember going to get something to snack on because I wasn’t feeling well from the heat. Someone grabbed me from behind and pulled me away. I tried to struggle, but it was too crowded. They hit me in the head and I remember them taking my ring. That’s all I remember.” She was getting frustrated. I shook my head at the doctor to let him know that it was enough questioning for now.

  I looked down at her left hand and saw that the ring I gave her was missing. I must really be losing it. How the hell did I miss that? I made a mental note to send out Brett to get a replacement. There had to be a Cartier in Houston, right? I was just relieved that she was awake and talking. The doctor said that it was okay for her to have something light to eat, but she really needed to rest. I called Brett in and gave him orders to get Aubrey food and a replacement ring. I put my hand on the side of her face and lightly kissed her lips. They were dry, but I didn’t care.

  “You gave us all quite the scare, baby. Your mom and dad are here. So is Granny Jean. I’ll call and let them know you’re awake.”

  She held a hand up.

  “Just come hold me for a minute. I missed you.” She whispered.

  “I missed you too. So much.”