Twisted Views

by T Gephart

  “Who is this?” DarNell snapped. I was surprised he was answering James’ phone but figured given the number wasn’t one James would recognise he may have deferred to his security team.

  “Hey, it’s Jackson.” I answered.

  “Jackson? Why are you not using your own cell? We were expecting your call. James is pissed you boys are still out. He’s gone to bed but left me his phone. You better have a good excuse.” DarNell’s tone was frosty.

  “I need to talk to James.” I closed my eyes and took a deep breath.

  “Do you KNOW what time it is? Maybe you think it’s ok to be out on the town all night and crawl home at dawn but I can tell you it ain’t! He has a show today in case YOU forgot.” DarNell seethed down the line.

  “Yes, I know what time it is and that he has a show tonight but this is important, so you are going to have to wake him up.” Lexi stared at me. I wasn’t sure whether she was piecing it together yet. How could she possibly know that Mike was James Bowden’s brother?

  “Jackson.” In that one word, my name, I heard James’ disappointment.

  “James, I’m really sorry man, I really am… it’s Mike, we were in an accident.” I gushed, “You need to get to the hospital man.”

  “WHAT?!” James yelled, “Is he?…”

  James didn’t finish the sentence before I cut in. “No, he’s alive… He’s in surgery right now.”

  “Are you alright? Jesus Jackson, what happened?” his voice softened.

  “I’m ok. A bit banged up but nothing compared to Mike. You need to get here man… He stopped breathing but this girl saved his life.” Lexi flinched slightly as I told James of our ordeal.

  “Where are you? Which hospital?” James barked.

  “The Alfred.”

  “I’m on my way.” I could hear the desperation in his voice.

  “Ok… see you soon.” I ended the call and handed it back to Lexi.

  “Jackson, who were you talking to?” I had a feeling I was just confirming what she already knew. She didn’t seem like the type of girl who would be clueless. The facts were there - a major rock band was in town with a show tonight. The lead singer happens to be called James. Too much of a coincidence.

  “James Bowden, Mike’s his baby brother.”

  Chapter 3 – Dan

  Author’s Note: This chapter takes place at the Alfred Hospital in Melbourne. (For anyone who doesn’t know, this hospital has some of the best trauma surgeons in the world, and if you are ever in a car accident, this is where you want to ask the ambulance driver to take you!). Dan has learned of Mike’s accident and is coming to show his support for James.

  The room was small and crowded, but I’m guessing they weren’t competing for a style award. I’d never been inside an ICU, everything was either white or metal and it made me nervous just to breathe. I wiped my sweaty palms down the front of my jeans and took a seat next to James. He looked up briefly from his laptop screen and smiled as I settled into my chair. The boys had each taken their turn coming and seeing Mike for themselves but hospitals made me edgy so I’d deliberately left it to later in the day. D and the security team were playing tag, keeping us updated on his progress while we waited at the hotel but I needed to come see him for myself. Not just for a respect thing (this was James’ kid brother!) but ‘cause he was one of ours and we take care of ours.

  The kid was pretty banged up. If the monitors and shit hanging from everywhere weren’t a tip off that he’d seriously dodged a visit to the pearly gates, looking at James confirmed it. The man was shattered and it made me uncomfortable.

  “Hey, how’s Mikey?” I cleared my throat as I looked over the machines that were beeping and flashing beside the bed.

  “Getting there. He’s been awake for a bit today but he seems to be sleeping again for now. He was in a bit of pain.” James pushed aside the laptop and turned to look at Mike. “Listen Dan, about the shows…”

  “Don’t give a fuck about that right now man. I’m not here for that. We get Mikey better and then we worry about playing. You know we’re here for you brother.” I meant it too. I hated disappointing the fans but those fucking suits we paid so much green to were going to have to work it out. Right now, none of us were getting on a stage and that’s the way it was going to be.

  “Thanks.” James swallowed, “It means a lot…”

  I nodded not wanting to push it further. We were a band but we are a family first.

  Before shit got too weird (fuck me if I wasn’t feeling slightly emotional), Alex sauntered back in carrying some coffees. Not that I expected anything less but he’d been here pretty much all day. He and James were tight, real tight. They had both been kicking it together since junior high. How those two good-looking motherfuckers ended up friends is beyond me. They are so different, not only in temperament but personality too, but when you get the two of them together it’s like some kind of magic and shit happens. That comic book super power shit took us from playing in James’ old man’s garage to a fucking record deal. So the rest of us didn’t mess with the formula. Honestly I didn’t care if they fucked each other, truth is, would have been less competition for me if those two took themselves out of the mix. Not that I’d watch that or want to join in, cause I’m not down with sucking dick but yeah, seeing as James is married and Stone has more pussy thrown at him than he deserves I’d say both of them don’t play for the other team.

  “Dan,” Alex nodded at me and passed me a coffee. He turned to look over at James. “Have you sent Lexi’s details to Chris?” he continued while handing him his cup.

  “Who’s Lexi?” I asked, as I sipped the coffee. I didn’t really care but figured I should at least look interested in band stuff.

  “Lexi Reed,” James paused to take a drink, “is the new PR manager we’ve retained. The local group who were handling the tour leaked Mike’s accident last night. By midday today I had a full press gallery assembled downstairs. Needless to say I fired them.” I could tell he was pissed. James didn’t do unprofessionalism and I’m sure whoever it was that dropped the ball got a new asshole torn this morning after he was done firing them.

  “Yes, we’re lucky to have found her.” Alex added, looking pretty fucking smug and leading me to believe there was more to the story.

  “Why we lucky? Is she a fucking leprechaun?” I laughed, suddenly craving a big fuckin’ bowl of Lucky Charms. All that band admin stuff bored the living shit outta me, but Stone generally had an iron clad poker face so I knew there was more to this deal. I swear if she is a fucking drag queen and he’d given her my number I was going to give him a black fucking eye. That shit wasn’t funny the first time he pulled it in Vegas and if I hadn’t been hammering back Lynchburg Lemonades all fucking day there is no way I would have fallen for it either!

  “She was the one…” James started before being interrupted by inaudible groans.

  I watched as Mike moved awkwardly in the bed, his face wincing in pain from the change in position. His tired eyes flicked open as he moaned.

  “Hey there kiddo!” Alex put down his coffee and walked over to the head of the bed. “Need me to get a nurse?”

  “No, no,” mumbled Mike as his eyes adjusted to the light, “I’m ok. Oh hey Dan.” He tried to lift his hand to wave but the IV plugged into his arm hindered the effort.

  “All good bud. Just sit there and chill.” I greeted him with a tip of my chin, sitting up a little straighter in my chair so I could see him better. “Though we might need to re-think this nurse situation. What’s the talent like in this place?” Not for nothing but if we were actually going to be sitting here it was a valid concern. The kid clearly needed some kind of pain management and I’d always had a thing for those sexy white stockings. I lifted myself out of my seat and pressed the call buzzer. Stone rolled his eyes but he was just pissed I’d thought of it first. There’s not a red-blooded man alive who didn’t have a thing for a naughty nurse.

  “Dan, can you not harass the staff please?�
� James huffed, putting an end to my fun before it started. I didn’t get why he was cock-blocking me, just because his dick was doing the Tibetan monk thing. Surely as I was so respectful of his commitment and marriage deal, he should be just as respectful of my needs too? And my need right now was to find a nice foreign nurse to help me play Doctor.

  “I’m not harassing anyone. I’m hooking up Mikey,” I protested as a very large male nurse walked in the room. Fucking foiled! There goes that fantasy. That’s the last time I try and be helpful, all it gets me is the hairy eyeball from James and a limp dick.

  The rather large (was this dude on the juice or what?) nurse adjusted Mike’s IV and pressed some other seemingly random shit on the monitors. Not sure how his actions were actually helping our boy but James was giving me the stink eye so I didn’t ask.

  “Can I sit up for a bit?” Mike looked hopeful as Mr. Nurse looked at his chart. “Yeah, of course you can. It’s good to sit up as much as you’re able. Let me help you.” Mr. Nurse reached out an arm and effortlessly lifted Mikey’s torso off the mattress. Seriously, this guy is fucking huge! Look at those fucking forearms! I wonder how much he can bench?

  “Did Lexi say she was coming back?” Mike relaxed his head on the pillow, newly fluffed by Mr. Nurse, as he eased into a sitting position. There was that name again; Lexi. Why was she getting another mention? And did we establish whether or not I was supposed to care?

  “You taking an interest in our new staffing arrangements, Junior?” His request had me puzzled. The reason Mike was on the tour with us in the first place was James had him in training. Grooming Mike to be our tour manager seemed like a brilliant idea. The kid was smart, picked up the business side of things quick and the fact he had the same last name meant James didn’t have to worry about being fucked over. Not that James would ever relinquish full control over the band to anyone any time soon, but I think he was hoping that with his bro in the role he could take a small step back and enjoy the ride a little more. Lord knows, he’d earned it over the years. Though given his current state and the injuries he was nursing, I didn’t think now was the time for Mike to be getting interested in the revolving door of our PR department. Left me wondering if there is some fucking workaholic gene spliced to Bowden DNA.

  Mike got all wide-eyed and his monitor hitched a beep or two as he tried to pull himself higher up the bed. “Lexi pulled me from the wreck. She saved me.” He grabbed at the sheets either side of him, almost to punctuate the point. James shifted out of his seat. “Hey Mike, don’t get too excited, ok. Every time you do those monitors go off and we don’t want that. Just lay back and relax. Lexi said she’d try and stop by sometime but she didn’t say when. You can give her a call later if you want.” James tried to ease his baby bro as Mike relaxed back onto the bed.

  “Huh?” Either there was some funky shit being pumped into that IV or I was missing something. “Are we still talking about the PR chick?”

  “Yes, well…” James started as he blew out a long, tired breath. He slowly recounted the story of how Lexi (the same Lexi who was now working for us) was the person who pulled Jackson and Mike to safety when their car crashed. She was some random girl who happened to be on the road and got mixed up in this mess. Performing some kinda crazy medic shit straight out of Call of Duty and apparently, according to James, saving Mike’s life until the ambulance got there.

  “Dude, no offense, but aren’t you usually really cautious about this shit? We’ll sign a t-shirt or something, maybe float her some concert tickets. Offering her a job is a little extreme don’t you think?” I know James was all kinds of grateful but a job? Really?

  “She’s more than qualified Dan. Trust me, as crazy as it sounds, she is really perfect for this role. I wouldn’t just give her a job without being sure.” James assured me, but I was still feeling less than convinced.

  “Man, honestly, hire who you want. I just don’t want you beating yourself up if shit goes bad.” I was surprised both he and Alex were cool with this, they both usually played stuff like this really conservatively. All our staff usually had to submit to tougher screenings than the secret service, so this was a real turn of events.

  “Once you meet her Dan, you will understand. I just know in my gut she is the right person for the job.” James didn’t flinch as he eyeballed me so I knew his mind was made up. Whatever the reason, this random girl was now going to be part of our team. I guess I had to respect his choice, after all he’d never lead us astray before and if he wanted to hire some nobody Good Samaritan to thank the higher powers that saved his baby bro, who was I to argue??

  “Yeah James, whatever you want to do is cool. It’s your call. You want her to work for us, you’re the one signing the pay check. I really don’t care to meet her either way. I’m already bored talking about her.”

  “Bored already? I have a feeling you might be retracting that statement,” smirked Alex as he moved forward in his chair. Fucking Stone and his smug fucking face. She was a drag queen for fucking sure!

  “Fuck you Stone! I’m not falling for your bullshit! I don’t give a flying fuck about the ugly ass lady boy who’s going to be dealing with our press. That’s for you two pussies to deal with. I’m a real rock star. I play for a living.” There you go. I said it! They weren’t getting one over on me and they were going to have to find some other chump to make fun of.

  “Lexi isn’t a lady boy!” Mike exclaimed as his monitors started beeping again, “She’s a knock out!” Getting the kid in on it was a nice touch, but still no cigar. I wasn’t buying it.

  “Yeah, I’m sure Mikey. A real knock out.” I laughed out loud, “Does she wax or shave her chest?”

  “No, seriously Dan,” James weighed in, “I’m not sure where you got the idea that Lexi is a man but I can assure you she is very much a female, and an attractive one at that.”

  “James, it’s best he keeps his distance from her anyway.” Alex stood up and moved around the room. He lifted his hand to dismiss me, “Let’s face it, it’s not like he could “handle” her. Though I’d love to see him try, I’m sure it would make for interesting viewing.”

  “Yeah, yeah. Ok you’ve had your fun. I get it. You think I’ll fuck anything that moves. Ha Ha! Joke’s on you cocksucker ‘cause I’m not biting!” I wasn’t buying into this bullshit; though I had to admit it was starting to piss me off they were taking it this far. Alex kept smirking as he moved around the room. He casually came to rest at the edge of Mike’s bed before taking a seat.

  “Dan, out of ten she is like a twenty five,” Mike insisted. “I’m not even kidding, Lexi is that hot.”

  “Mike, let it go. Dan’s right. The joke is on us.” Stone drawled, his wise-ass smile still fixed on his face. I was glad he’d finally wised up. At least he came to realize that their dumb fucking game was futile, I had outsmarted them. He could take his shit-eating grin and shove it.

  “Good. I’m glad that is done. Now we can talk about more important things, like how the kid is going to milk this. You know chicks dig scars right?” I sat back into my chair as I prepared to instruct the younger Bowden on the ways of the world. He might as well enjoy the spoils of almost dying; girls would be eating that shit up! He was already half-way decent looking, so he had that going for him but throw in the “cheating death” card and the ladies would be crawling all over him.

  “Dan, don’t be corrupting Mike with your hare brained ideas. Don’t you think he’s been through enough?” Alex piped in; no doubt annoyed someone was going to be getting more attention than him.

  “Maybe we can leave it for a day or so Dan. Give Mike a chance to recuperate.” James yawned, the strain clearly showing on his face.

  “Yeah, we can do that.” I agreed as I looked over at Mike. It’s not like we were going anywhere anytime soon. “Let’s give it a few days. But Stone, when it’s time - I’m showing him the ropes. The iceman routine you got going on only works for you.”

  Alex laughed as he moved off the bed,
“Sure thing, I can’t wait to see you both in action.” He leaned back up against the wall as we watched Mike’s eyelids fighting gravity, the short conversation clearly kicking his ass.

  Alex, James and I looked at each other. There was no need to say anything ‘cause we each knew what the other was thinking. If it all went away tomorrow - the tours, the money, the fans, the fame - we would be ok. As much as it would suck balls (big fucking ugly ass BALLS), and without this shit turning into a fucking Kleenex ad, we knew what we had with our boys was bigger than a band. Mikey was part of that too… part of us, and I’m not sure how this shit would have gone down with that part missing.

  “I’m going to bail,” I swallowed as I tried to clear my throat. It seemed a little bit harder to breathe. “No point siting here with you two jerk-offs when I could be partying with some Aussie girl and a bottle of Jack.”

  “Dan… Thanks,” James nodded as he watched me walk toward the door.

  I lifted my hand and waved, pausing at the door before heading out. “Anytime, my man… any time.”

  Chapter 4 - Dan

  Author’s Note: This chapter commences prior to the first press conference where Lexi represents Power Station and announces their rescheduled tour dates. Dan, Jason and Troy meet Lexi for the first time.

  “I hate these fucking things!” I slouched back into my seat as we waited for our new PR representative to brief us before the press conference.

  “It’s important to James, so it’s important to us. Besides it’s not like you have to do anything other than sit there and look pretty!” Troy reached over in an attempt to ruffle my hair.

  “Dude…hands off! You want to reach out and touch someone, go hang with Stone.” I pointed to Alex who had just entered the room, James following closely behind.

  “So you met the new Rep?” Troy asked, a big shit eating grin across his face.