Wheels of Steel, Book 2

by Pepper Pace

  “Do you care if Link comes over to rehearse? I know that he’s not high on your favorite persons list right now-”

  “Jason, I like Link. He’s my friend, too. I just…I just know that Belinda is hurting right now.”

  “How is she doing?”

  “Alright, I guess. She wasn’t crying or anything.”

  “Good. I’ve never seen Belinda cry.” And he didn’t want to start now. “What’s for dinner? Smells good.”

  “Chili. It’ll be ready in about an hour. How are your legs today?”

  He shrugged. “Good, as long as I’m not walking on them.” Which was only a half truth. His knees still ached and his hips throbbed. “Take your medicine?” She nodded and he placed his hands around her waist and pulled her to him, hugging her from the side. She leaned down and kissed him lightly.

  Peter showed up just before dinner. He was alone. Robin was happy that he wasn’t tasteless enough to bring that girl from lunch.

  “Hey, Sweetheart. What’s up?” He said in a rhetorical way as he moved to the studio. “Hey, Top. Ready to do this, man?”

  “Hey Peter.” Robin said. “We were getting ready to eat dinner. Want to join us?”

  “Sure. I didn’t have dinner.” The three of them moved to the kitchen while Robin took up bowls of steaming hot chili for each of them, Jason got bottled water from the refrigerator.

  After a moment of silence Peter finally spoke. “There is a big white elephant sitting in the middle of the room. So if either of you have anything to say about it, just do it and let’s get it over with.”

  Robin opened her mouth but Jason spoke first. “Nope, nothing.”

  Robin gave Peter a sad look. “Peter, do you want to talk about it?”

  After a moment he just shook his head and then picked up his spoon and blew on the chili before putting it into his mouth. They talked about costumes and the party Friday and he seemed in better spirits after.

  After dinner was eaten the guys headed for the studio and Robin finished the dishes. She heard Jason speaking. “Robin is going to do the lyrics.”

  “Cool, can’t wait to hear her sing.”

  Robin dropped a bowl into the sink. Shit. Her heart was already beating a mile a minute. It’s just Peter. She liked Peter. It would be okay…She lingered in the kitchen for a long time and when there was absolutely nothing else for her to do in the room she came out and sat down unobtrusively on the couch.

  Jason was playing the music and Peter was watching. Jason glanced at her. “Hey Sweetheart, you ready to work with some lyrics?”

  She shrugged shyly. “I guess.”

  Jason took off his headphones and wheeled to her. He reached for her hand and held it. “You don’t have to if you don’t want.”

  She nodded. “I know. I want to…sorta.” She glanced at Peter who gave her a sudden look of understanding.

  “Oh…” He said. He wheeled into position behind the studio and began to tap out something on the computer keyboard and then onto the controls. Soon she heard the thumping of a drum beat, and then the warm strands of guitar and then there was an entire song being played and it sounded familiar...

  Suddenly Peter began to sing. It was a song by Bruno Mars called Just the Way You Are. Robin gave Jason a surprised look. He grinned at her. Why hadn’t he ever told her that Peter could sing like this?! She leaned forward and listened to his beautiful voice intently. When the song ended, Peter turned to her and gave her a broad smile.

  She gave him a standing ovation, applauding enthusiastically. “Peter! That was so good!”

  He pretended to take a bow. “Thank you, thank you, thank you.” Jason cupped his hands in front of his mouth and made the sound of a cheering crowd.

  Link wheeled back to his original position. “See, Sweetheart. You don’t have any reason to be shy around me. We just do…what we do. Right, Top?”

  “That’s right.” He wheeled back to his position and pulled up a music playlist. “Robin, I want you to sing Alice by Avril Lavigne.” He played the song and she closed her eyes and listened to it, getting a feel for the music and the way it was sang. After it was over she looked at him with a smile.

  “Why don’t you just use Avril Lavigne’s voice?” After all he sampled people’s music. What was the difference in sampling voices?

  “Because I’m going to recreate the song…but my way. It’s going to have a dub beat and there’s no way that I can get a pure copy of her singing this so…it’s a good thing that I have a girlfriend that’s a voice mimic.

  Robin chuckled. “Okay. But I got to practice so don’t record me yet. Play it again Sam…and pull up the lyrics.” She sang along with the song, getting into the music because she was just basically practicing. When she was done, Peter hooted.

  “Damn! Are you kidding me?! What in the hell were you doing hiding that voice, Robin?”

  She blushed. “I don’t know…”

  Jason handed her the studio headphones. “You can sing along with the song. We won’t hear the music, just you. Okay?” She nodded and closed her eyes as she put on the headphones. The song began and she felt the beat of the music coursing through her and then she began to sing; belting it out real good the way she would see the people in the church choir doing. When the song ended she removed her headphones. Jason and Peter were quiet and Peter held up his finger for her to not make a sound. He pressed a button and then grinned at her.

  “That was…flawless.” He suddenly frowned. “Perfect.”

  “What?” She touched her collar, wondering about the reason behind that frown.

  “Nothing, but you and I should sing something together.”

  “Really?”

  “Yeah, it would be cool. A cover, but our own twist to it.” Peter began typing on the keyboard. “Come here Sweetheart.” She walked over to the computer and looked at the screen. “Here are the lyrics to Use Somebody by Kings of Leon. You know this song, right?”

  She nodded; part of her didn’t want to do what he was asking, the other part of her was excited and wanted to see what it would be like to join her voice with his.

  “Okay, I’ll start and then you join in. Change it, sing it the way you want, add some soul, whatever, okay? You don’t have to sound like Hayley Williams. Just do your own thing.” She bit her lip and felt herself grinning like a freak but she nodded her okay.

  Peter began singing. She was amazed that behind this cocky, jokester was a voice like his. Why didn’t he sing more? He mixed music but why didn’t he showcase his beautiful voice? Robin joined him at the chorus. She couldn’t look at him while she sang, she had to close her eyes. Soon she realized that he had allowed her to take the lead and she was turning the song into a soulful ballad. She could barely believe that she was finding a new way to sing this beautiful song and it sounded good!

  When it ended the room was so quiet that you could have heard a pin drop. Jason and Peter were staring at each other. Jason finally grinned.

  “I got every word.”

  “Thank god.” Peter exclaimed in relief. “There is no way that we could have improved on that!” He gave Robin a wink while Jason slipped his hands around her waist and pulled her down into his lap. He gave her three rapid kisses.

  “Baby,” he said. “Let me play that at the Halloween party; no music, acoustic, just like you two sang it?”

  As long as she didn’t have to get up and sing in front of the crowd and as long as no one was looking at her, she didn’t care what they did with it. But she did have to make this work for her.

  “You can use it on one condition.”

  “Name it.” Jason said.

  “I get to choose the costumes.”

  Jason actually hesitated and then he grinned. “Yeah, this is your first costume party and so I want you to choose the costumes,” he lied.

  “Alice in Wonderland; Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland.”

  “I suppose I have to be the Mad Hatter?”

  “Of course.”
r />   “Good thing I have the hair for it. And you will be Alice, I suppose?”

  “No…I was thinking more on the lines of the Queen of Hearts.”

  “Ahh. I like that.”

  Peter was scratching his chin. “Tim Burton theme…That’s kinda cool. I think I’ll do something from one of his movies, depending on what I can find.”

  Peter left soon after and Robin made Jason take off his pants so that she could rub his legs. His knees were still swollen and if she tried to touch them he grimaced and bit back a cry. He tried to make it seem like it was no big deal but she knew better.

  “Are you going to tell your mother about the appointment tomorrow?”

  “No.”

  “She’s going to be pissed, won’t she?”

  “I don’t care.” And then to soften his words he stroked her cheek. She was kneeling on the floor in front of his wheelchair administering the massage. She didn’t mind the sharpness of his words. She knew that there was a weird love-hate thing between them…though hate might not be an accurate description.

  “Jason.”

  “Hmm?”

  “Your father, why didn’t you mention that he owned a sporting goods business?”

  “Why would I? He’s not important.”

  She didn’t know how to continue the discussion as he had dismissed it so completely. She rubbed his muscles deeply.

  “This Thursday will be the two year anniversary of my father’s death.”

  He stared at her emotionless face. Wow, she had said it so matter-of-factly. “Are you okay with that day approaching?”

  She nodded. She didn’t celebrate her father’s death. That day will come and go with no fanfare. But she wanted to tell him that she missed her father so much. She wanted to tell him that she would give anything to have him here for just a few minutes, so that she could tell her Dad about him and being in love. She couldn’t imagine not having a relationship with one of her parents, even as hurtful as her mother could be, she loved her. She loved her mother with an almost desperateness, as if the knowledge that her mother would one day not be around made everything horrible between them acceptable, and that maybe she had to have love enough to carry her forward when the day came that she would bury her last parent.

  Robin sighed.

  “Are you okay?” He pulled her up and hugged her. “I’m sorry that I never got to meet your father. Do you want to talk about him?”

  “One day.” She smiled. Right now, all she wanted was to be in Jason’s arms.

  They didn’t finish the massage but went to bed. That night, the couple pressed their nude bodies together as they kissed and stroked each other. Their lovemaking was gentle and slow, and when Jason fell into a seizure, they wordlessly continued their lovemaking afterwards, and then slept in the lover’s spoon position as if they had always slept in this way.

  The next day at lunch, Robin was very anxious about Belinda but she didn’t show up. Robin leaned over to whisper to Amberly.

  “Did Belinda come to school today?”

  “Yeah. She’s here. She said she’s going to be working on her costume for the rest of the week; finishing touches before the party.”

  Peter was pretending not to listen. His little plaything from yesterday was noticeably absent. Robin was curious about that, but was not about to ask.

  Jason’s appointment to the orthopedic specialist was after school and they headed there anxiously. Robin was afraid that they would say he needed surgery. She felt guilty that it was her suggestion that caused him to be walking in the first place. Had she known this was a possibility then she would have never asked him to do it.

  The doctor he saw was the same one that Jason had seen since he was a little boy. They talked for a long time and he asked about Jason’s mother. He then had Jason lay down while he examined his legs, took x-rays and made him stand up without any braces. The Specialist did not look pleased.

  “You are definitely going to need a full hip, leg and ankle orthosis.” He explained that the orthosis; or braces would be three separate units. Jason just stared at him grimly.

  “Jason, I know that you don’t like wearing them. But your legs are too weak. If you keep walking without them then your joints are going to be permanently deformed. Are you still working with Raymond?”

  “Yes.”

  “I’ll send him a course of rehab for you. Let me clarify, if your joints don’t straighten on their own you’re going into a cast….and if that fails; surgery.”

  Jason nodded while Robin listened quietly. “I’m thinking about getting back on the Baclofen pump.”

  The older doctor raised his bushy white brows. “Well, you know how I feel about it. I think the drug gives great promise to people with your type of neurological and musculature problems. You were great with it when you were on it last. As I remember, you mother became nervous about you on it and requested that the pump be removed.”

  “Yes. But I’m not going to allow her to make this decision for me. My legs hurt, I want to walk. The healthiest way for me to achieve that without a damn full body brace is with Baclofen.” Robin watched him hopefully. He seemed so unhappy about wearing braces and if that drug would help him to walk and be pain free then she wanted him on it. Period.

  The doctor nodded. “I’ll start the process and you know that the insurance sees this as elective. They won’t pay for any of it.”

  “I know.” He’d have to tell her about his desire to have the pump and it was the one subject between them that was so volatile that it had the potential to kill their relationship. Jason still had unresolved emotion about her taking away his legs. He could have been walking the way Amberly walked if not for…Jason scratched his head and sighed.

  “I’m going to make this happen-with or without her.”

  As they left the office Robin’s phone rang. Jason gave her an anxious look. He didn’t want to worry her about the results of her biopsy, but he didn’t understand why it was taking so long for them to come back. He waited nervously for her to answer.

  “Hello? Oh hi Mom. Yes, I’m doing good. No Mom, still haven’t heard from the doctor’s office. Maybe if I don’t hear anything from them by tomorrow I’ll do that. No, no, Mom! I don’t want you calling there getting my results. Yeah, I’ll do that myself.”

  Jason hid a scowl. He hoped that she wouldn’t scare her. She hadn’t complained about her stomach hurting in days and she had enough to worry about.

  After Robin hung up, she gave Jason an apologetic smile. They went to Capels costume shop for their Halloween outfits. They had bootleg looking Alice and Wonderland costumes which the couple immediately rejected. But they did have great theatrical makeup and the right wig for her. She would mousse out Jason’s wild red hair for the right look. So they purchased those and went to a theatrical supply shop that Jason knew of. They hit the jackpot there with the right outfits for the both of them. They went to some thrift stores to find just the right accessories. Robin could not wait until she could put the make-up on Jason. She was becoming more excited about the party.

  That night, Robin stayed over again without Jason having to ask. As they got undressed he frowned.

  “Babe, when did you say that you were going to get your period?”

  “Well, this week.”