by Lisa N. Paul
“Hey, Scott?”
He turned around quickly, longing etched on his face as he waited on her words. “Tell the guys I said hello when you see them this weekend. Wait until you see how much better they’ve gotten since they started this tour. You’ll be really proud of them, especially your brother.”
He nodded silently and then went out into the dining room. Ashley followed after him to start what would be a very quiet and marginally awkward shift. I hope his being aware helps him get over this weirdness, she thought to herself.
Don’t Try, Do
RYAN WAS SURE he was going to need to see a dentist by the end of the weekend. Seeing Jayson’s brother and the incessant grinding as a response was causing serious damage to his teeth.
“Man, you’ve gotta relax. You’re even sawing your teeth in your sleep.” Leo’s face was his normal calm, but his words were serious.
It was Sunday afternoon. They’d opened for a pretty well-known band the night before and from the chants and shouts, Storm Front had been a huge success. The band’s manager, Anthony, had told them that he had a meeting scheduled for them on Sunday evening before the bus left for the next leg of the tour. Everyone was excited and they were all wondering what news Anthony would have. Well, everyone but Ryan. Ryan had overheard Scott talking to Jayson on Friday night when they’d thought everyone else was asleep.
He’d listened quietly as Scott filled his brother in on his ongoing “friendship” with Ashley. He’d clenched his fists and jaw while he listened to Scott explain how he’d asked Ashley out, and how she’d politely declined, but how he wasn’t going to let that deter him. He then, heard Jayson—his band mate—tell Scott that he should go for whatever made him happy. If it hadn’t been for the strong hand that covered his mouth, Ryan would have gone ballistic. Leo had silenced Ryan and quickly led him out of the bus.
“What the fuck!”
The blood boiled in Ryan’s veins. He felt like his head might actually explode, and in that very second a haze settled over his vision making everything around him a fuzzy shade of red.
“I’m going to kill that scrawny motherfucker! And Jayson? Jesus Christ, fucking Jayson! He’s supposed to be like a brother, yet there he is telling Scott to go ahead and make a play for my girl? I…I…”
Ryan was pacing like a caged jaguar, ready to pounce at the first person to come near him. Clearly Leo wasn’t dumb enough to be that person, which was evident by the distance he kept between them.
“Okay, breathe, Ry.” Leo spoke quietly. Quietly enough that Ryan had to calm down in order to hear the words he spoke. Ryan’s pacing started to slow, as did his breathing. “Ry, Scott is a little fucker—he is—but you need to calm down before you say or do things that you can’t undo.”
Ryan finally looked up at his best friend and saw that just like him, Leo was visibly annoyed. His words were forcefully escaping his clenched teeth and his eyes swirled with menacing anger. However unlike Ryan, Leo’s breathing was controlled and he managed to maintain his composure.
“Ryan, Jayson may be a member of our band and he may feel like a brother, but Scott is his blood. He’s doing what he thinks is right and supporting his brother. I didn’t tell you about this before because Jayson told me he would never let it reach you or the band, but you were right. Scott has been talking about Ashley for a while. He likes her…no, he wants her and he’s been biding his time trying to get her.”
The red haze cloaked Ryan’s vision once again. All of the progress he’d made to calm himself down in the past few minutes evaporated like raindrops in the desert.
“I knew it,” he roared. “I fucking knew it. I’m gonna, I’m gonna—”
Leo moved quickly to Ryan’s side. So quickly, in fact, that Ryan stopped snarling to blink at the close proximity of his friend. Had he not been so angry he would have made a joke about Leo’s ninja-like stealth.
“Dude, are you like a fucking superhero? I never even saw you move.”
Okay, he couldn’t let it go.
“Ryan, stop. Just stop for a second. I know what you heard was like a punch to the gut—hell, I’d like to wring little Scotty boy’s fucking neck myself right about now—but we’ve discussed this, Ry. You need to let Ashley deal with this situation. Unless he is physically or emotionally hurting her you need to back off. Man, just last fucking night that blonde offered to tie you up with her panties and suck you off until, what were her words? Until she, ‘Blew both your heads off’? I mean come on, man, what do you think Ash would say if she’d heard that?”
“She wouldn’t have said anything because she’d have heard me tell that tramp that I wasn’t interested in anything she had to offer me because I already had more than I could ever want.”
Ryan thought back to the previous evening. He’d been dripping with sweat—high from the endorphins that always rocked his body after he’d performed in front of a large group of people. He’d wanted to grab a quick shower, a few beers and hang out with his friends, but a bottle-blonde had rushed up to him, fake boobs nearly falling out of her tube top, face caked with make-up and her breath laced with cigarettes and beer. Her hands had been like Velcro as they tried to attach themselves to his body. If he’d listened closely enough, he swore he’d heard the tearing sound each time he’d removed one of her paws from his bare chest.
After first trying to be polite, he realized that brutal honesty was the only thing a woman like that would understand so he told her the truth. Instead of showing any dignity or self-respect, she’d simply said, “It’s okay, cutie, your girl can watch.”
At that point, Ryan had been so disgusted that he’d pushed the woman off and called security. They’d escorted her out of the back area. Ryan had headed back to the bus for a shower. He’d skipped the hanging out and drinking part of his original plan. He hadn’t been in the mood to celebrate.
“But, the point is”—Leo’s words cut through Ryan’s thoughts—“had she been standing across the room, she would have seen what she saw and thought what she thought. What do you think Ashley would do in that situation?”
Before Ryan could put voice to his thoughts, Leo continued, “I’m gonna set you up for success here, Ry, and just tell you. My hardheaded sister has already decided that you’re the one for her. So she would have marched over to the trailer-trash tit-sicle, used a couple of her long and multisyllabic words and made the bleached blonde wonder why she’d ever approached you in the first place.”
Ryan could visualize the scene playing out in his head. The thought of his girl staking claim to him in such a primitive way had his heart beating quicker for reasons nothing to do with Scott James.
With a hand firmly cupped on Ryan’s shoulder Leo plainly stated, “Ryan, I’m warning you, brother, you have got to put a leash on that temper. Because one day you’re gonna let that fucker explode and innocent people are gonna get hurt. I’m telling you, buddy, there comes a time when ‘I’m sorry’ only buys you a nod from the person you love…as they firmly close the door on your face.”
The foreboding in Leo’s words left Ryan’s mouth paralyzed. It was like his friend was speaking from experience or even worse, seeing things before they happened. There is no way, I’m gonna let that happen, he thought to himself, while absently nodding to his buddy.
“I’ll try.” The whisper was barely audible.
“Don’t try, Ryan. Do.”
THE NEXT DAY passed without any confrontation. Scott would be leaving in just a few short hours, and then Leo would mediate a band meeting to discuss how Jayson’s involvement in his brother’s love life was interfering with dynamics of the band. Ryan would simply explain his feelings and hope for a decent outcome.
“Hey, Ash, do you think I could borrow your notes from yesterday’s calc class? I got home so late on Sunday night that my mom let me take yesterday off. You know, a personal day.”
“Umm, sure, Scott, I’ll photocopy them for you and give them to you at lunch, okay?” Ashley’s normally bright
smile felt wooden on her lips, but she was annoyed with Scott James and the games he was playing. While Ryan hadn’t said anything directly to her about the weekend, he’d sounded tense and distant the few times they’d spoken. She’d finally called Leo to get the scoop. In true Leo fashion, he’d given her the low-down with as little detail as possible and made her promise to not just stay out of it, but to try and act as normal as she could.
“Sis, giving a guy like Scott any sort of reaction, big or small, will only egg him on. So do yourself a favor and just go about your business. Eventually, he’ll get the hint.”
“Le, you know I have no interest in him, right?” It was important for her brother to know that she was in no way encouraging Scott’s behavior.
A deep chortle came down the phone. “Of course I know that, Ash. Are you kidding? You don’t ever need to defend yourself when you’re following your heart, you got it?”
“God, Leo, how is it possible that you did so horribly in school when you’re so damn smart in life?”
Her question may have sounded silly—sarcastic even—but she was actually beginning to think her brother was one of the smartest people she knew. Smiling, she shook her head. No, the world would be a scary place if that were the case.
“Nice, Ash. You know you just said that out loud, right?” The laughter coming from the phone was contagious and she found herself laughing along. It was exactly what she needed: something to ease the tension. There you go. Leo—always able to laugh at himself. Amazing.
“Are you okay, Ashley?” Scott looked at her with a warm smile and desire filled eyes.
“Yes, Scott,” she said, her tone a little too snippy. “I just need to get to class. I’ll get you the notes at lunch.”
“Jesus Christ,” Leo’s face paled as his eyes went wide like beach balls.
“What’s up, man?” A large knot began to form in Ryan’s belly. There were very few things that rattled his laidback, let’s grab the world by the balls, friend, and in that moment Leo’s straight spine, tense shoulders and tight fists scared the shit out of Ryan.
“Leo?” He walked over to where his friend was standing before his eyes locked on the images that left him speechless.
“I’m packing my shit and heading home, Ry. There’s no fucking way that I’m letting her weather this hurricane on her own. No. Fucking. Way.”
With that, Leo started throwing his belongings into his duffle bag with one hand, calling the airport with the other.
Ryan’s voice finally returned and he said, “Shit, that’s a big fucking storm, Leo. I can’t believe they’re still coming this late in the year. I don’t know if you’ll be able to get a plane into Miami. They might be booked—or worse, blocked. They might not be allowing flights in.”
“No, the storm isn’t set to hit land for forty-eight hours, and I don’t care if I have to fly, drive, or swim. This is supposed to be a Level 4 hurricane. My parents will no doubt stay at the hospital and Ashley will be in that fucking house alone.”
Ryan took in Leo’s haunted eyes as he heard him whisper, “My sister and I do not do storms like this alone. I’m not telling you to come with me. I’m just saying I’m out of here in ten minutes. I’ll be back when I can. If they get mad at me for missing shows and they don’t want me back—fine. I’ll figure it out later.” The zip of the duffle signaled an end to the conversation.
The taxi pulled up to the small tour bus and Leo all but ran to the yellow car and hopped in. As he yanked it inward, a booted foot stopped the door from closing. “What the hell, Le? You wanna break my leg?”
The warm smile and slight head nod from his best friend tugged at Ryan’s heart, but the sincere gratitude warmed his soul. “Don’t thank me, Leo. You guys are my family.” He tapped on the back of the taxi seat. “Take us to Philadelphia International Airport, please.”
Standing in front of the television in her bedroom, Ashley watched the meteorologist explain how Tropical Storm Wilma had turned into a hurricane just before hitting the Turks and Caicos Islands. It’d then headed toward the Bahamas and was currently on its way to Miami. Turks and Caicos were a mangled disaster—and that was before the hurricane had even hit Level 3. Wilma was now bearing down on the Bahamas, and like the Big Bad Wolf once it was done with the houses made of straw and sticks, it was coming to blow their house down.
A strong chill coursed through her body causing her to shake to the point that her knees buckled beneath her. Thank God her bed had been behind her or she would have fallen to the floor. “Oh, God, this is going to be bad,” she whispered.
Tears stung her eyes as she grabbed her backpack and headed to school. She could already feel the knots tying tightly in her stomach. A Level 4 hurricane would most definitely cut off their power for at least a couple of days. A few years back, their parents had installed a back-up generator so she knew she wouldn’t be in the dark but she would need to limit all electrical use in order to save generator power. She would have to limit her phone use so as to not wear down her battery. That meant little time on the phone with Leo and Ryan. Her stomach began to twist into knots.
Just as she pulled into the parking lot of the high school, her phone rang. The name on the screen automatically loosened the fist in her gut. She tried for unaffected and carefree when she answered the phone.
“Hi, Leo.”
“So, I take it you know about the storm.” Clearly she needed to work on her acting skills. “Listen, sis, I know it’s a big one.”
“Leo, I’ll…umm, I’ll be okay. Don’t worry about me.”
“Ashley, have you lost your fucking mind?” In true Leo fashion, the question was sarcastic. “Of course I’m gonna worry about you. Wouldn’t you be worried about me? Hell, if the situations were reversed, I’d expect you to drop everything and get your ass home to be with my scared, shaking ass.”
She couldn’t help but laugh at his description. Her brother was the strongest person she knew but big storms were still his kryptonite. “So that’s what we’re doing. Okay?”
We? She thought. We’re doing?
“Wait, Le.” She didn’t even want to say it out loud for fear of getting her hopes up. “Le, is Ryan with you?”
“I’m right here, Princess,” she heard him say from a slight distance. She was hopeful that the shrill squeal that left her throat that no one outside her car could hear. The deep exhalation that left her lungs was so cleansing she realized she must have been holding it since she first heard word of the coming storm.
“So, here’s the problem. We’re at Philly airport but all the flights are booked out until late tonight. We should get into Tampa around one in the morning. We’ll rent a car and get to Miami by six at the latest. Any way we slice it, we should be ahead of that storm because according to the latest reports, it’s taking its sweet ass time in the Bahamas. Okay?”
“I don’t even know what to say.” Her throat was thick with emotion leaving her voice a mere whisper. “Thank you so much. I love you both. Travel safely.”
She disconnected her call and went about her day with less fear and more smile.
Has. It. Snapped?
THE HEAVY DIP in her bed jolted her out of her dreamless sleep. A smile tugged across her lips before she even opened her eyes.
“Leo, you’re home.”
Excitement filled her sleep-addled body as she wound her arms around him. “What time is it?” The red numbers on the digital clock sat on her nightstand glowed four-thirty.
She knifed up and glared at her brother. “Leo Kynde, I said to travel safely, you must have been driving at mach speed to get from Tampa to here in three and half hours.” Her feigned annoyance made Leo laugh.
“There was no traffic and we were so close that I just wanted to get home. Okay, Mom?” Even half asleep, Leo calling her ‘mom’ rankled her nerves. She knew he must have caught her stink-eye when he immediately recanted his statement. “Sorry, my bad. You know you’re nothing like her, and so do I.” Ashley casually loo
ked around her dark room. She was thrilled her brother was there, but where was Ryan?
“Ash, you’re about as subtle as a heart attack. Ryan’s not here. He told me to give you a wet juicy kiss—which I’m so not gonna do.”
He did, however, cup the back of her skull and placed a Leo kiss on the top of her head. “He told me to tell you that he wanted to see his dad and help him get his house ready for the storm. He also said he would meet you here right after school. He wants you to call him when you get up later this morning.”
Disappointment edged its way through Ashley’s mind but her sensibility quickly stepped in when she remembered how wonderful Martin Baker was.
Ryan’s dad was such a warm, caring man and such a present father. He was that dad: the dad that came to every football game and every Storm Front show. He was the dad that supported his son no matter what.
Two years ago, when Martin had suffered a heart attack, Ryan had nearly crumbled at the thought of losing his father, his only surviving parent. But then Martin changed his lifestyle. He started eating healthier and working out, and now he was in much better shape for it. Martin was Ryan’s dad, and it’s understandable that Ryan should go to him first and help him weatherproof their house. The Kynde’s had hired a crew to make sure their house was in shape to withstand whatever Mother Nature threw in this direction.
Ashley and Leo stayed up talking until he could no longer keep his eyes open. He practically crawled through their adjoining bathroom and flopped onto his bed. Ashley could barely contain her happiness as she pulled his door closed and got ready for school.
“HI, HONEY.” SHE couldn’t help the sugary sound of her voice as she spoke to Ryan on her drive to school. “I can’t believe you’re home, even if it’s just for a few days. God, I can’t wait to see you. The end of the day can’t come soon enough.”
“I know, Princess, trust me, I know. It just about killed me to not come home with Leo this morning and slide into your bed, but apparently the storm will be hitting a lot sooner than they expected. In fact, the wind and rain should be starting as early as this afternoon, so my dad and I have a ton of work to do. Did Leo give you my kiss?” The quick change of topic had her smiling and his silly sexy tone had Ashley pressing her thighs together as she drove.
