Platinum

by J. M. Nevins

  Sully pushed out his lower lip, mimicking a pout. “C’mon, stick with me. It will be fun. Diana is here.”

  Maxine raised her eyebrows and her demeanor immediately shifted. “Diana is here? When did she get here?”

  Sully gently grabbed her shoulders and turned her around in the direction of Jimmy and Diana who were cozy in the corner, talking and laughing. He leaned forward and spoke into her ear. “She got here during the show tonight. She’ll be out for a week or two. At least hang with her for a bit.”

  She turned around and smiled. “Ok. I think I can deal with the mayhem for a while. Get me a drink?” She gave him a hopeful look.

  He chuckled. “Of course. You head over and I’ll bring it to you.” He headed over to the bar and grabbed a beer, feeling a heavy sense of disappointment that Kit wasn’t in attendance. He made up his mind in that moment. He would deliver his drink to Maxine as promised and go pay Kit a visit. Pleased with his solution, he made his way through the crowded suite and handed off the drink. Happy to see Maxine was having a good time now with Jimmy and Diana, he decided to duck out.

  As he made his way for the door, a hand reached out and pulled him back. “Sully! Where are you going, baby?”

  He turned around and met her inviting blue eyes. Phoebe stood before him smiling. Phoebe was a groupie that Sully had met the night after he sent Rachel packing days ago. He had been attracted to her mainly because she resembled Kit and how she looked when they first started dating. Her dyed bright auburn hair had drawn him in initially and now he found himself in a pickle. He grinned. “I was gonna go talk to my manager. I won’t be long.”

  Phoebe pulled him to her aggressively. “You can talk to her anytime. I’m here now and I wanna party.” She started kissing him deeply and he fell into it.

  Hours later, after the party had cleared out, Sully deposited Phoebe in his room where she waited patiently while he walked a very drunken Maxine back to her room. He had full intentions of returning and telling Phoebe to get lost, but first had more pressing matters to attend to—Maxine’s safety. He used her room key and unlocked the door for her.

  She giggled and fell onto him. She jumped up on her tippy-toes and kissed him on the cheek. “Sully, you’re so great. You’re like the brother I never had. You’re family. Always looking out for me. I love you.”

  He laughed. “And you’re like my sis, Max. I love you too.” He was about to laugh when he noticed her swaying. He steadied her. “Hey, you ok?”

  She shook her head violently. “Oh fuck, I’m gonna puke!” She bolted for the bathroom in her room.

  He chased after her and couldn’t abandon her now. He kindly held her long blond hair as she proceeded to get sick. He shook his head and chuckled. He didn’t know why everyone thought touring was so glamorous. Some nights were just like this.

  Maxine took a break and sat down on the bathroom floor next to the toilet. She looked up at Sully who was now sitting on the edge of the bathtub. “Thanks for holding my hair. You’re a good man. You and Kit should have never broken up. You were good for her. She’s off the rails without you, you know.” She lazily wagged her finger at him and closed her eyes.

  He sighed and shook his head. “She doesn’t look like she’s off the rails, Max. She’s got that new, rich boyfriend. And she’s looking better than ever. She’s got this amazing glow.”

  Maxine snorted, keeping her eyes closed. “That glow is because of that bun she’s got in the oven.”

  He frowned. “Come again?”

  Maxine’s hazel eyes blinked open. She stared at him for a moment and then rolled her eyes. “Duh! She’s preggers, y’know. Kit is gonna have a baby.” She rested her head on the rim of the toilet and shut her eyes again. “Oh God, Sully, make the room stop spinning.”

  He stared at Maxine and felt bad she was feeling so ill, but what she had just said hit him like a speeding freight train. He closed his eyes and felt like the room was spinning too, but for an entirely different reason that wasn’t at all alcohol induced. He swallowed hard and reached forward to shake Maxine. “Max, you should go to bed. I think you’re done for the night.”

  She was barely coherent. “Hmm?” He got up and tried to get her to stand up, but she wouldn’t budge. She shook her head. “Sull, just leave me. I don’t want to barf in my own bed. I’ll be ok. Go.” She released her grip on the toilet and gently lowered herself to the floor.

  He sighed. “Max, is Kit pregnant with her new boyfriend’s baby?” When she didn’t respond, he realized she had passed out. She was out like a light. He stormed out of the bathroom and angrily pounded the doorframe of her hotel room on his way out.

  He headed back to his room where Phoebe was laying on the bed waiting for him, wearing only a smile. He smiled and shoved Kit out of his mind. He rationalized that she had created a new life for herself that didn’t include him on a personal level, so now he would do the same. Phoebe was ready and willing.

  CHAPTER 11

  Barry, the lead roadie, spoke into the microphone. His voice echoed loudly through the arena. “Check, one, check check.”

  Sully stood on the edge of the large stage and surveyed the enormous arena of empty seats while the roadies continued to set up the gear. He let out a breath—another city, another show. He turned around and noticed Sean frantically speaking with the guitar tech while Danny met with the security guards. He grinned, liking that his brother was closely involved with the tour. The only element missing today was Kit. They weren’t even a week into the tour and she had seemed to disconnect.

  Sully figured that inviting Rachel to join him on the road initially hadn’t helped things. He knew Maxine hated her and took a guess that Kit wasn’t fond of her either, even though she was consistently kind to her. When Rachel got too clingy and started putting the marriage pressure on again, Sully pulled the plug and quickly moved onto Phoebe.

  Rachel had started pushing him on the idea of marrying her after she caught the bouquet at Jimmy’s wedding. He hadn’t given her any other fodder for that fire and was surprised when she was pushing the agenda again on day one of her arrival on tour. Within a few days, he had enough. He broke things off with her as nicely as possible and put her on a plane, first class, bound for home. That didn’t seem to solve his root problem, though. Kit still wasn’t coming around even after Rachel’s departure and his attempts to keep Phoebe out of view.

  Sean’s voice snapped him back to the present moment. He ran by and yelled out. “Five minutes, Sull.”

  He nodded as his thoughts went back to Kit. He wondered if she was back at the hotel. His mind recalled the words Maxine spewed out the night before. He still had no idea if she was being absolutely truthful or made a wrong assumption. Kit seemed to be struggling with something that he couldn’t put his finger on and he knew she wanted to talk to him. Their timing had been bad and they had yet to have a conversation. She hadn’t been present at soundchecks except for the first one in Detroit.

  Gypsy Tango had only been on tour for one week and their popularity had boomed almost overnight. Kit spent most of her days coordinating press with the publicist, scheduling interviews, photo and video shoots, radio and TV show appearances and fielding requests from hungry booking agents to add more shows in certain cities. They were selling out more and more shows on a daily basis. Their original tour schedule of one hundred forty dates was multiplying rapidly like bunnies in the springtime.

  Sully missed her, but didn’t want to lead on to the fact. He figured she was still preoccupied with business and other men. He was certainly enjoying the attention of the groupies on the road, especially Phoebe, after Rachel’s departure, plus a few models that appeared.

  The constant partying helped him stay distracted along with newfound friendships with the guys in Indecent Xposure that kept him steeped in the typical tour games of debauchery and fun. He resigned himself to be content with the fact that Kit was on tour with them, even though he wasn’t seeing as much of her as he would have l
iked.

  He quickly realized there was no woman or groupie on the planet that could bring him anywhere near what he felt for her. The staunch gravity of that discovery didn’t feel very good to him. He had no idea how he’d get her back now, especially if she was pregnant with some other guy’s baby. He had been so lost in his own world he hadn’t noticed that the band had taken the stage and started playing.

  Jimmy spoke into his mic when Sully missed his cue. “Sully Foxx… Sully Foxx to earth, please.”

  He snapped out of his daze and ran over to his mic. He caught the song and started singing. Jimmy grinned and shook his head.

  Maxine sat across from Kit in the limousine and stared. “You feeling ok?”

  She forced a grin. “Sure. Just a lot on my plate. Why do you ask?”

  Maxine watched her carefully. “Well, I’m not. I’ve got the worst hangover known to man.” She let out a long breath. “Kit, you have to talk to Sully. You two need to be together. It’s not right for you to be apart.”

  She raised an eyebrow. “Oh yeah? Why don’t you tell him and his gaggle of groupies that he’s entertaining himself with. He dumped Rachel and went on to a group of sluts. He’s moved on, Max and so have I. Not sure I like who he’s turning into. It’s going to be friendship from here on out.”

  Maxine shook her head. “No. I don’t think so. Something’s gotta give. He’s a good man, Kit.”

  She donned a frustrated stare. “Where is this coming from?”

  Maxine chuckled. “Any guy who holds a girl’s hair while she’s puking her guts out over a toilet is a good man. I went to the after party last night and drank way too much. I was celebrating with Jimmy and Di.

  “Sully kindly walked me back to my room and I totally tossed my cookies, like several times. He took care of me and then I passed out. Woke up this morning on the bathroom floor. I think he tried to get me up to go back to bed, but I wouldn’t budge.”

  Kit chuckled thinking back to good memories of Sully. She nodded. “He is a good man, Max, but that ship has sailed. Let’s not rehash, ok? Let’s drop it like it’s hot, starting now.”

  Maxine sighed. “Ok. Let’s go back to my earlier question about how you’re feeling. I’m talking health wise. You’re looking a little peaked.”

  She cast her eyes down. “I’m just tired, Max. And this pregnancy isn’t all that easy on the road. Everything is go, go, go out here and I am dead dog-tired. I wish I could sleep for days.”

  Maxine nodded. “I think you should get someone to help you out with your workload. I know you don’t like to hand off the management of GT to anyone, but it’s time. Sean is doing a great job with the tour stuff. Isn’t there someone else you can call in from KMK to help you?”

  She shrugged her shoulders. “I’m going to have to give that some serious thought. That’s a good point, Max.” She gazed out the window and let her thoughts drift as they pulled into the arena.

  She didn’t want to admit to Maxine that something wasn’t feeling quite right. Earlier that morning, she had a piercing pain on the right side of her lower abdomen that brought her to tears. The pain had subsided and she chose to ignore it. She hadn’t been to soundcheck all week and was determined to go and see how the guys were fairing.

  The band was halfway through the soundcheck when Kit walked onto the side of the stage. Maxine had run out front and was taking shots, with Sully hamming it up for the camera. She giggled watching them.

  Frank Campo walked up to her and grinned. “You’ve done an amazing job with them, Kit. Your excellent reputation is a serious understatement.”

  She looked over at and him and smiled. “Thank you, Frank. Indecent Xposure isn’t doing so bad either. They are certainly going to be a force to be reckoned with. Glad you’re on the road with us.” She patted his shoulder.

  She shifted her attention back to the band and the wheels in her head started turning. She wondered if she could ask Frank to help her out with Gypsy Tango. He was a solid manager and was already out on the road with them. She was pleased that she might have found her solution.

  As the last song in the soundcheck ended, Kit made her way out to the stage. Bryan smiled and pointed to her excitedly. Jimmy spoke into the microphone. “Hey, you made it out to check. I love it! How long have you been here?”

  She shrugged her shoulders. “I got here when Max got here.”

  Sully turned around to look at her. When his eyes met hers, he felt frozen. Her green eyes tugged at his heartstrings and he felt his anger from the night before quickly dissipate. He smiled and held out his arm to her.

  She walked over to him and he hugged her tightly. She took a deep breath and remained in his embrace. She wanted to start crying and didn’t understand why. She realized her being pregnant had put her on an emotional roller coaster she didn’t know she signed up for. She didn’t want to let go, but knew eyes were on them.

  When she pulled back, she noticed the band, Maxine, Danny and Sean staring at them with Cheshire cat smiles. She chuckled and felt slightly embarrassed. Sully didn’t want her to leave. He quickly wrapped his arm around her as they stood at the top of the stage.

  He grinned at her. “We did this, you know. This was a group effort. You prepared me for this. We saw this together so long ago and here it is. Thank you.”

  Tears filled her eyes as she smiled. She nodded. “It was my pleasure.” She took in a deep breath and felt that pain again, but this time it was excruciating. She closed her eyes and doubled over. Seconds later, everything went black.

  Kit collapsed in Sully’s arms, sending everyone into a panic. Sully held onto her tightly while Jimmy ran over to help him carry her off the stage. He heard Danny on his walkie-talkie yelling. “We need a medic and an ambulance now!”

  Maxine rushed to the backstage area where Sully was laying Kit down on the sofa in the dressing room. He looked horrified. “Max, she’s not coming to. What do we do?”

  Maxine knelt next to the sofa and took Kit’s hand. She squeezed it. “Kitty, c’mon. We’re here. It’s ok, a doctor’s on the way. Open your eyes, honey.”

  The team of medics rushed in while Maxine and Sully stood off to the side. Sean looked at Maxine. “Who do I call?”

  She folded her arms in front of her chest, frightened, her mind momentarily blank. She shook it off. “Alexa Matthews. Let me give you the number.”

  The medics put Kit on a gurney and started wheeling her out. Sully ran next to them. One of the medics glanced over at him and started asking questions. Maxine caught up and ran along on the other side. Sully blurted, “she’s pregnant. I don’t know if that means anything.”

  The medic stared at him. “How far along?”

  Maxine stared at Sully with wide eyes. She wondered how he found out. As far as she knew, Kit hadn’t told him. Sully shook his head. “I dunno.” He looked at Maxine. “Do you know?”

  She nodded. “Seven weeks.”

  The medic looked at both of them. “Only one of you can ride with us. Who’s it going to be?” Sean caught up with them and waited for their response.

  Sully looked down sadly. “Go ahead, Max.”

  Maxine’s eyes filled with tears. She didn’t want to leave Sully behind, knowing this was breaking his heart, but she also couldn’t leave Kit’s side. She reached out and touched his arm. “Thanks, Sull.” She rushed off with the medics.

  Sean interjected. “Sully, we’ve got a limo waiting that will follow. Danny will go with you.”

  Danny ran up and patted his brother on the shoulder. “Let’s go. We’ve got security with us.”

  Sully looked up and noticed two bodyguards. He nodded and followed Danny to the limousine. He climbed in and stared out the window. He didn’t feel like talking. He wanted answers. He didn’t understand why Kit wasn’t waking up.

  More chaos ensued when Sully walked into the emergency room. Danny rushed over to the pay phone to call Sean back after receiving a 9-1-1 page. His eyes frantically searched for Maxine. He then n
oticed her coming toward him, tears streaming down her cheeks. His eyes widened and he braced himself, sensing the news wasn’t good.

  She ran to him and hugged him tightly. He embraced her but wondered what was going on. Before he could ask, a nurse approached. Maxine pulled back and faced her in anticipation. “What’s going on? Is she going to be ok?”

  She remained straight-faced. “We’re trying to assess your friend’s condition right now. We’re running a few diagnostics and hoping she’ll regain consciousness. Is her family present?”

  Maxine nodded. “We’re her family.” She pointed to herself and Sully. “We have another family member on the way. We’ll be here.”

  Sully and Maxine took a seat in the waiting room after the nurse left them. Danny had returned and informed them Alexa was flying in. She would be there within the hour. Maxine was relieved they were in Philadelphia, close enough for Alexa to get there quickly.

  Danny sat down next to Sully and patted him on the knee. “Hey. We’re pushing back the show to a nine-thirty start time, but you still have to be there. I’ve made some calls. You’ll have a police escort so you can make the show. We’ll stay as long as we can. We’re ten minutes away from the arena.”

  Maxine forced a grin and held Sully’s hand. “That’s plenty of time, Sull. It’s four right now. I’m sure they’ll run tests and everything will be fine. You’ll have plenty of time.” She patted his hand.

  He remained silent with his head hung low. He experienced a wide array of emotions from anger to grief to terror to sadness. He took a deep breath and let it out evenly. Minutes seemed to be passing like hours.

  Alexa ran into the emergency room thirty minutes later, looking around frantically. Maxine jumped up and ran over to her. “Lex!”