by West, TJ
“Exactly how I feel about Melody,” I mutter. “It’s unlikely we’ll be together, because of the latest picture.”
“Don’t give up on being together. Love always wins.” Wish I could be as positive and optimistic. Just then, his phone chimes. He looks down and says, “I’m being called out.”
I stand up with him, shaking his hand. “Seriously, dude, thanks for the pep talk.”
“You got it. Peace out, Wayne,” he says, giving me the peace sign.
Jet fucking Master just gave me a small bit of advice, that will certainly go down in my bucket list of all bucket lists.
Love always wins. We’ll see about that.
We are finally done with the photoshoot and ready to hit the road - onto our next destination.
Lyric has us gathered all together in the small bus living room, explaining the next show. “Guys! Next stop, New Orleans!” Slim whistles. We’re all stoked and totally love New Orleans. The people down there are super friendly and fun to entertain. “Security, again, will be super tight. Just a reminder, no talking to reporters unless it’s for a panel,” she warns us. “They won’t be allowed in the greenroom. I think New York taught us a big lesson.” It sure did. Never gonna be that stupid again. “Amazing show you guys put on today. Really, you all blow my mind. I couldn’t be more proud and grateful to be your manager.”
“Thanks for sticking with us, Lyric,” Slim expresses. “Now, you and I have a serious match we need to finish.”
Lyric laughs. “Yeah, yeah, yeah. Let’s get down to it, Hot Stuff.”
“Oooh, hot stuff! I get all tingly when you call me that.”
“Move over and deal.”
For a couple hours we eat chips and dip, drink beer, listen to some music from the iPod and play a few hands of poker. By the end of our last round, most of us are ready to hit the hay. We climb into our bunks, while Lyric stays up and works on some late night paperwork. I crash the second my head hits the pillow.
Sometime in the middle of the night there is a horrifying, rude awakening. One minute I am dead asleep the next there is a screeching noise and a loud crash, crunching of metal. Our bus must have crashed. I was thrown from my bunk and landed on something hard. My right leg exploded in excruciating pain. Pain I have never before experienced in my life. I’ve never broken anything before, so I was scared out of my mind. I heard moaning from the guys, but I wasn’t sure where they were or if they were okay. My head was hurting; I hit it on the ground, when I fell I think. I could feel blood underneath my face. I couldn’t talk or breath, not until I moved my leg. I let out a scream that I didn’t even recognize. Fuck me, I was in so much pain.
“Is everyone okay!” Lucky yells out.
“Not sure Luck!” I yell back. “Think I broke my leg - Fuck!!” I move it again and almost pass out from the sharp jabbing pain.
It’s so dark in the bus, I don’t see Lucky near me. “Dont’ fucking move it, bro. I’ve called 911. They’re on their way.” I think the bus is on it’s side, but I can’t tell. I’m lying smack against something, could be a closet.
Jason and Danny crawl over to me. Danny mentions he’s not feeling so good and suddenly vomits. Holy fuck, this isn’t good. He might have a concussion. Jason does what he can to keep us both comfortable and stays with us.
Just then we hear Slim yell out, “Lyric! Jesus Christ, no!”
That’s all I remember. I black out.
MY HEART WAS POUNDING ALL the way to Louisiana; my thoughts were racing, I had no way of knowing if Wayne was alive or dead. I keep reliving the horrible memory of losing my parents. I couldn’t go through that again. I just couldn’t! I didn’t feel strong enough to keep it together, so my body went toward that gray area I so much despise about myself. I felt the blackness taking over and then I had a full blown panic attack. The airline attendant did everything she could for me, but I knew I had to get over it myself. I had to calm down on my own. I breathed into the paper bag I was handed, closed my eyes and concentrated on being near Wayne again. I had to believe he was alive and making every nurse have an orgasm from just the slightest smirk. He was good at that. His smirk drives me wild and I can’t wait to see it again. It worked. The panic attack slowly evaporated and allowed me to think clearly again. Once the plane finally landed, I texted June right away to let her know I was close. They had just landed too, and were almost to the hospital. I couldn’t get a taxi fast enough, so when I finally got one I told the driver to hurry the hell up.
Holy shit! When I arrive at the hospital I shouldn’t have been surprised to see it surrounded with the media, but I am! You can’t even see the front entrance. It’s being blocked by reporters, news camera’s, fans. How am I supposed to get inside with all these people in the way? Will they suspect me as Wayne’s lover or anyone else’s for that matter? I don’t want to be hounded. I give June a quick text, letting her know I’m here. She responds back, saying she’ll be waiting for me in the lobby and advises me not to talk to any of the reporters; ignore all questions and to follow the bodyguard she has waiting for me. The bodyguard helps me out of the taxi, attends to my things and leads me inside another entrance. I hear shouting, screaming from the JINKS’ fans and reporters, but I ignore them and proceed inside until I see June.
I walk really fast toward June. We hug each other. “Oh, my God, June,” my voice cracks. I can’t lose it. Please don’t let me lose it! “I have never been so happy to see you. I’ve been so scared. How are the guys? How is Wayne?” I throw out my questions without giving June a chance to speak. My nerves are on edge.
“Come. Let’s go upstairs.”
“June, tell me. Is Wayne okay?”
“To be honest, I don’t know. We just got here too. I’m sorry. Wayne’s parents are on their way too. Should be here soon.”
We step into the elevator. “How did this happen?”
“The driver hit something, I guess, lost control of the bus. He didn’t make it.”
I put a hand up to my mouth and gasp. “God, this is a nightmare. It brings me back to when my parents’ were killed by a drunk driver.” The elevator stops and the bell dings. We step off and slowly walk toward the waiting room. As we get closer I stop in my tracks. “I don’t think I can go in there,” I say, shaking my head. I am so terrified.
June grasps onto my hand. “Melody, try to stay strong. Your sister needs you. Wayne needs you.” Yes, she’s right. I have to be strong. For once I need to step up and forget about myself. There are more important people to worry about.
Right away, I see Harmony pacing the hallway. She sees me too, and comes rushing into my arms. “Mel!” I hold her and soothe her as she cries in my arms. My baby sister needs me. We’re the only family we have left and I’ll do anything to stay in her life, permanently. No more going on these crazy escapades. I’m done. Time for me to be a grownup.
“You okay?”
“Yeah,” she wipes the tears from her eyes. “Danny is still getting checked out. He has a concussion from hitting the side of his head.”
“So, he’s okay then?”
“I don’t know. I hope so.”
“What about everyone else?”
“I don’t know yet. Faith is talking with the doctors right now.”
June, Harmony and myself take a seat in the waiting room. It’s eerily quiet in here and I don’t like it. The smells of the hospital gross me out and only makes me think of bad things, like dying and the sick. I want to get the hell out of here and never come back, but I know that’s impossible. I won’t ever leave the ones that I love - my family - ever again. I need to stick this out, to find out if Wayne is okay. I’m not much of a praying kind of person, but I make a silent prayer to God to help me and my family get through this horrible nightmare; to make sure everyone comes out of this alive.
“Melody.”
I pop my head up. It’s Faith. I get to my feet and give her a long, comforting hug. No matter how tired she is or if she’s been crying, Faith is stunning
ly beautiful. You want to hate her so much, but you just can’t. She’s as genuine as she comes. Her name suits her to a T. “Faith. This is so horrible. How’s Lucky? Was he hurt badly?”
“He and Slim had the least damage of everyone; lots of scrapes and bruises. Jason has some bruised ribs. Wayne, from what Lucky told me, broke his right leg and split the side of his head open.” I lightly gasp. “It’s from falling out of his bunk, when the bus turned over.” Oh, my God. How horrible. My stomach drops from the sudden vision of that happening. “That’s all I know.” I wish I could see him. The thought of him all alone, hurt and in pain, sends chills down my spine. “But Lyric,” Faith continues, “….she isn’t good. She was on the couch and got flung across the bus, into the door. She hit her head pretty hard. We don’t know anything else.”
I only met Lyric that one time at the BBQ and immediately had a liking for her. This whole situation is so sad. It’s so scary. I pray she makes it. I sit back down and hold hands with Harmony in silence. She puts her head on my shoulder as we wait for any news.
“I know this brings back Mom and Dad -”
I squeeze her hand, letting her know I am not going to fall apart. “It does…I’ll be fine, though. I just want to see Wayne.” At least this time we are together and we have each other. I squeeze her hand for strength.
“I know. I want to see Danny too.”
Not much we can do at this point, but wait. I think my sister has finally fallen asleep on my shoulder when I see two people walking toward the waiting room. They’re holding hands and look like they could be Wayne’s parents. Especially the older dude. He’s got salt-n-pepper hair, and a similar build as Wayne. He’s gorgeous - wow. Behind them is an older gentleman. June approaches them, followed by Faith. They lead them away from the waiting room, but not sure where they’re going? Maybe to find a doctor or nurse? Whatever it may be, I’ll continue to comfort Harmony as long as I can, until it’s time to see Wayne.
I open my eyes to the sounds of Wayne’s parents, talking. I don’t want to approach them and bother them, but I should introduce myself. I’m curious to know who they are. I quietly let go of Harmony’s hand and walk over. “Mr. and Mrs. Priest. Hi, I’m -”
“You’re Melody,” Wayne’s mom states.
“Yes.”
“I’m Sheri, and this is Michael. Wayne has mentioned you. It’s very nice to meet you.”
“I knew she was a looker,” Michael mutters.
Sheri jabs an elbow into his stomach, followed by an “Oomph” from Michael. I almost burst out laughing. That’s where Wayne gets his personality. I love it.
My smile fades and I ask Sheri, “How is he?”
“Would you like to go see him?”
“Very much so.”
They lead me down a few hallways before we approach his door. “He’s high on pain meds, so he’ll be in and out of consciousness a lot,” Sheri warns me.
“Okay, thanks.”
“Melody…I hope we get to see more of you?”
“I’d like that.” Sheri brings me into her arms, hugging me tightly. I am caught off guard with how nice and thoughtful Wayne’s parents are. They don’t even know me and here they are, treating me like I am family. It’s a really great feeling.
I’m so nervous about entering. I’m afraid of what he’ll look like; how will I react? I don’t want to break down and cry. I need to keep strong. I slowly enter the room. At first glimpse I see a leg, in a cast, hanging from a sling. I don’t like this, but I have to keep moving forward. I lightly gasp from the sight of the man I am in love with, looking so bruised and broken. He’s usually so strong and alive, yet the man in bed is out cold; bruises on his face, with a bandage covering the left side of his forehead. I have never seen him look so vulnerable before. My poor Rocker Boy.
I pull a chair over and sit next to him, not knowing what to do next. I am overwhelmed with feelings right now. It’s been so long since I saw him last. A tear trickles down my cheek. I wipe it away and grab hold of his hand. It’s warm, but feels like dead weight. I hate seeing him like this. My heart hurts, oh so much for him, I can’t take it. I bow my head, praying he’ll open his eyes for me; give me some sort of sign he’ll come back to me, so I can love him and take care of him. A few minutes pass before I feel a jolt from his fingers.
“Sweetness,” his voice comes out raspy and forced.
I smile, squeezing his hand. “Hey there, Rocker Boy.”
His eyes never open, but that’s okay. I am elated to hear his voice, to know he’s come back to me. “You’re here.”
“I’m here.”
“Didn’t want that bitch kissin’ me,” he mumbles out. I believe him. I had a bad feeling he was being set up. In my heart, I always knew Wayne was committed to me, even though I made it difficult for him.
I shake my head. “No need to explain.” I stand up and lean over him. “You just need to rest right now.” I plant a kiss on his forehead.
“So sorry.”
He is breaking my heart. How sad and devastated he sounds. “Wayne. Go to sleep. I’ll be here when you wake up.”
“Love you, Baby,” he whispers out. My heart slams up against my chest. He loves me. My God, this man is everything to me.
“I love you too,” I say to him, for the first time. However, I don’t think he heard me. He fell right back to sleep before I expressed my feelings. I will tell him when he wakes up.
I sat in that awful hospital chair all night, slouched over, with my head on Wayne’s bed. My back was killing me and had a stiff neck, but I wasn’t going to leave Wayne. I needed to stay just in case he woke up again. I wanted to be the first person he saw, no matter how selfish that may sound.
Throughout the night I was told Danny and Jason were fine. They were both awake and would make a full recovery. It was such a relief. Slim and Lucky were also okay. Unfortunately there were no updates on Lyric. She was still unconscious. The whole accident was a close call for all of them. Too bad about the driver, though. I felt awful just thinking about how I was glad it wasn’t Wayne or the others who had been killed. It makes me sick to my stomach to even go down that road. I was so grateful to be near Wayne again, to hold his big hand in mine, knowing he was alive.
Early the next morning, Sheri comes into the room. She gently rubs my back, all motherly, with an angelic touch. “How about you go get some rest. I’ll take over.”
I shake my head, looking at Wayne. “I won’t leave him. Not anymore.” She hands me a cup of coffee. Starbucks. Oh, nice. I take a sip of the hot coffee and relish the taste. Sheri is a Godsend.
She sits on the other side of Wayne, drinking her own coffee. “You must love my son very much, then.”
“It’s taken me a long time to admit it…but yes. I love him with all my heart.”
“Sometimes during a crisis our minds finally catch up with our hearts. Silly isn’t it? We waste so much time dwelling on the past and denying what’s truly important in our lives. It takes someone getting hurt to open up our eyes.”
I look down at my coffee. Sheri is right. This whole thing I did to Wayne, pushing him away, was utter silliness. What a foolish coward I’ve been. “I feel so stupid.”
She gasps, “Oh, Honey, no,” then walks over with her chair, and sits by my side. “That’s not what I meant. Let me tell you something. Before Michael and I got married, he did everything he could to get me to be with him. I was too stubborn to admit that we belonged together.”
“You were afraid to love him?”
“I was afraid of a lot of things,” she admits. “I didn’t want to settle down, and have babies. That’s not who I was. I wanted to explore the world until I touched every ocean, every desert and every piece of this planet until the day I died. Took me almost a year to realize Michael wasn’t going anywhere. He would wait for me forever. I thought he was just plain stupid, but…things changed. I was tired of running, and decided that I wanted to explore all those places with him. I loved him too much to
keep exploring on my own. Thirty-two years later, we have two amazing kids, a grandchild and the rest of our lives to explore every ocean and every desert. Exploring the world by yourself isn’t as beautiful as it may seem. That is, until you find the love of your life. Now that’s beautiful.”
I don’t know what to say, so I just sat there. Sheri didn’t expect anything in return. Instead, she grabbed hold of my left hand and allowed me to ponder my thoughts, while we sat in silence, drinking our coffee. Having her in my corner, means everything to me. I am looking forward to getting to know her, Michael, and the rest of the family, soon.
Wayne awoke a few more times during the day, but it wasn’t enough for him to see me or his parents. I so badly want him to ease off these drugs and wake up for good. But I understand the pain he’s going to be in once he’s fully lucid. The doctor informed us he’ll need assistance once he’s released and settled down back at home. All three of us agreed on being there for him. It will be about six to eight weeks until that cast comes off his leg.
Finally, by the third day Wayne opens his amazing blue windows and looks at me with confusion. I smile and almost start crying. Seeing him look into my eyes is out of this world, amazing. “Hey, welcome back.”
“Sweetness?” His voice is still raspy. “You’re here.”
I take hold of his hand and sit on the edge of the bed. “Of course I’m here. Three days straight, I’ve been here. You don’t remember?”
“No,” he clears his throat. “Need some water, please.”
“Sure.” I fill a plastic cup with water and put a straw inside to help him drink. I put it up to his lips. “You’ve been conked out and high on pain meds.”
He drinks the water and sighs. “Thanks. My throat is fucking dry. And my leg. One hell of a mess.”
“You’re lucky to be alive,” I remind him. I explain to him what happened, how they got in the accident and the conditions of everyone on the bus. Naturally he’s very upset; he’s quiet. I can tell he’s trying to process the whole thing and I don’t blame him. The accident was traumatizing and affected a lot of people. He starts to shift in bed and seems very uncomfortable. I should get the nurse. “You want me to get the nurse?”
