by Shawn Bailey
He looked at the other plates. Preston had ordered fried catfish and chips, Harley had gumbo, and Carson had a roast beef po’boy sandwich dripping with brown gravy. To wash it down they all had icy cold beers.
Brenton sprinkled his pork chops with hot sauce.
“I can’t believe you mistook Jonas Kerry for a chick, Brenton,” Preston said with a laugh.
“Who is Jonas Kerry?”
“The dude who bumped into you earlier. You know the other pretty blond.”
“Oh, that one,” Brenton said. “Do you know him?”
The others laughed.
“Yeah, man. He’s one of us?”
“British?” Brenton asked.
“No, man. He’s a guitarist,” Preston answered. “He’s a member of the pop group called The Kerrys.”
Brenton continued to feign ignorance.
“They work for Tory, too.”
“Never heard of them,” Brenton said, lying, as he cut a piece of his meat and ate it. He couldn’t believe his luck. How could he not recognize Jonas Kerry? He’d been a big fan ever since he saw a picture of him on Tory Anderson’s website a few years ago. Since then, he’d followed The Kerrys rise to stardom and had a gigantic crush on Jonas. Of course, he couldn’t let the others know this because they would laugh at him. He wondered what sort of woman could cheat on the gorgeous singer. They were still eating when two young men came out of the dining room.
“I have to find Jonas and make this right,” one of them said.
That got Brenton’s attention. He took a good look at him.
“Well, I for one am glad that he finally knows,” the other one said. “I’m tired of playing fiddle to your pampered princess.”
Oh! Jonas is dating a guy! Brenton continued checking them out as they walked away. Both were in their late twenties, or maybe early thirties, tall, but neither struck him as the kind of man who deserved to be in a relationship with Jonas. One a scale of one to ten, he’d give either of them a six. The Jonas Kerry he’d grown to love deserved at least a ten. Good riddance to bad rubbish. If he’d ever got a chance to date someone like Jonas, he would treat him like a prince and spoil him rotten.
“It’s going to be good just to sleep in my bed,” Harley said once they started talking again. “No offense, but being on the road with you guys has aged me.”
Brenton looked over at his manager. Harley had just turned forty, and his hairline had just started receding. Other than that, he didn’t look too worse for wear.
“Ah, but you love us.”
“What’s not to love?” Harley asked. “You guys are wild, play kick-ass music, and make women swoon. We all deserve this rest, and I miss my family. I haven’t been home for a long time.”
Tory had signed them on to perform at Coachella in Palm Springs, California in a couple of weeks and their welcome-home concert in the Mercedes-Benz Superdome following. After that, he’d promised them a rest.
They eventually finished up their meal, paid the tab, and left the restaurant. Alan, their driver, got back behind the wheel and started dropping everyone off at their houses.
* * * *
Jonas spotted Sean’s car the moment it turned the corner and headed for the mansion. He was already in the yard hauling everything Sean owned out of the door. There were boxes, bags, and suitcases all over the lawn, and he’d just pushed Sean’s expensive stereo equipment on the sidewalk to join them.
Sean parked, turned off the engine, and then got out of the car.
“Damn, that’s my stuff,” Sean shouted coming up the walkway. “What are you doing?”
“Spring cleaning,” Jonas answered as he turned and walked back through the door. Sean followed him in, still fussing and having a conniption fit. Jonas ignored him and walked to the back of the house, where loud heavy metal music played. Sean hated the stuff, but Jonas lived for it. Sean entered his bedroom. Everything he owned was packed, including the personal sex toys he kept in his nightstand next to the bed. Jonas had stripped the bed, exposing the bare mattress and pillows. Sean walked out of the bedroom just as Jonas picked up another box in the hallway. Jonas walked out of the house and placed it on the grass along with the other things. Sean followed him.
Jonas ignored him, went back inside, and walked to the den. Sean closed the front door and followed him. The music got louder as he entered. Sean went over to the stereo system and turned it down.
“Let’s talk about what happened.”
Jonas turned, put his hands on his narrow hips, and glared at him. “There’s nothing to discuss. I saw you kissing another guy.”
“His name is Dexter West, and he’s a teacher at the university.”
“I don’t give a fuck who he is, Sean. It’s over.” He started coughing. The spasm ended as Jonas walked over the stereo and turned the music up again. He was listening to his idol band Vizio, whom Jonas recently discovered also work for Albertson Entertainment.
Jonas picked up one of their photo albums, sat on the floor with a pair of scissors, and began cutting up some of the photos—the ones with Sean in them. Jonas was trying to get rid of everything that reminded him of their time together.
“I know it doesn’t mean anything to you now, but I’m sorry, and I didn’t mean for you to find out about us the way you did,” Sean said.
Jonas looked up, daring the tears to fall “Why are you still here?”
“Because we need to talk about this,” Sean said.
“There is nothing to talk about. You cheated on me and got caught. I hope he’s worth it.” He stabbed one of Sean’s pictures with the point of the scissors and wiped the tears away.
“It just happened,” Sean said. “I was going to break up with him anyway because he’s moving to Chicago in a couple of weeks.”
If Sean did not leave soon he was going to scream. “Leave the key on the kitchen counter on your way out. You have no reason to return here.”
“This is my home, too,” Sean argued.
Jonas looked up at him. “This was your home. You gave up the right once you took on another lover.” He shuddered. “I hope you used protection with him. If you’ve given me some kind of nasty disease, I will kill you.”
“You don’t have to worry about that. I always use protection with Dexter.”
Sean’s words made him physically ill. “I’m still going to get myself tested.”
“What about Kalen? How are you going explain this to him?”
Jonas rose and tossed the scissors on a high shelf before he threw them at Sean. “I plan to tell him the truth—that you don’t love us anymore.”
“That’s not true,” Sean said. “I do love you guys. I’m just couldn’t help myself.”
“So what are you doing here?”
“I thought we could talk about this and find out how to fix our relationship,” Sean answered.
“That is not going to happen,” Jonas said. “We’re not even friends anymore. The only person I can trust is Myron. The rest of you guys are just users.”
Sean grimaced. Jonas smirked. That name struck a nerve. Myron Smith was Jonas’s childhood friend and onetime lover. Myron now had a thing for Frankie, even though Frankie was in a committed relationship with Adam Montgomery. Sean had no doubt that Myron would accept him back into his bed if Jonas offered his body to him.
“I guess you’re right. Maybe I should go since there’s no reasoning with you.”
Jonas got up in his face. “Why are you trying to blame this on me? I have not looked at another guy since we started dating. How would you feel if the shoe was on the other foot?” He coughed and then wheezed. Jonas put his hand against his chest.
Sean stepped toward him. “Have you taken your medicine?”
“I don’t need it,” Jonas said angrily. “How would you feel if you found out I was fucking someone else?” He coughed again. This time he felt it deep in his lungs.
“Please use your inhaler, Jonas. I don’t want you to get sick again.”
Jonas moved a
way from Sean. “Don’t worry about me. I can take care of myself. Sean turned to leave. “Despite what happened, I still care about you, Frankie, and Kalen.”
Jonas sat down on a chair, still trying to catch his breath. “Don’t worry about us. We’ll be fine. Have a nice life with Dexter.” Sean turned and walked out of the room. Jonas heard the keys land on the kitchen cabinet. He struggled to his feet and was about to follow Sean to make sure that he’d locked the door when he felt faint. He started coughing again, and then everything went black.
* * * *
A car sped by them when they got closer to home. It nearly ran them off the road.
“Wasn’t that Sean?” Gerard asked Frankie.
“Yes,” Frankie answered as he continued driving.
“You think he just left Jonas?”
“No doubt,” Frankie answered. He turned on their street and parked at the curb. All of the lights were on inside. He and Gerard got out of the car and entered. The loud music met them at the door.
“It sounds like it’s coming from the back of the house,” Gerard said.
“Heavy metal,” Frankie said. “Jonas really must be depressed, because he’s playing Vizio.”
He continued toward the den. Gerard followed. The music got louder the closer they got. Frankie knocked, but after several attempts, he knew Jonas couldn’t hear him. He turned the knob.
“What the fuck?”
The room looked like something out of a disaster movie. Papers and DVDs littered the floor, and every piece of furniture was either turned over or leaning. Jonas lay sprawled on the floor.
“Oh, my God! Did he and Sean have a fight?” Gerard asked as Frankie ran over to his brother.
Jonas lay on his side, so Frankie had to turn him over.
“Don’t disturb the crime scene,” Gerard said nervously.
Jonas’s inhaler lay beside him, and his skin had a gray tinge to it.
“He can’t breathe,” Frankie said. “He’s having an asthma attack.” Frankie picked up the inhaler and shook it. Empty. Stupid Jonas.
“Do you want me to call the police?” Gerard asked.
“No. Help me carry him out of here. I have to get him to the hospital.”
Gerard helped him lift Jonas, and they struggled to get him out of the house and into the backseat of the van. Gerard sat in front with Frankie so Jonas could have room.
“He doesn’t look so good, Frankie. Are you sure he’s breathing?”
“Barely,” Frankie answered as he drove out of the neighborhood and headed toward Touro Hospital. Jonas coughed and wheezed all the way there. Frankie parked.
“Go in and get some help.”
Gerard hopped out of the van and ran inside the hospital. He returned a few minutes later with a crew of paramedics. They brought along oxygen and a gurney. They got Jonas out of the back of the van and began working on him. Frankie locked up the van, and he and Gerard followed them up the ramp and inside of the emergency room entrance.
“Sir, I need you to fill out some forms,” a nurse told Frankie.
“Call Adam and tell him to come,” Frankie said to Gerard.
Adam Montgomery and Luke Austin, their manager and their publicist, arrived less than an hour later and joined them in the waiting room. Gerard flew into Luke’s arms, crying.
“Jonas is dying,” he said.
“What happened?” Luke asked.
“We found Jonas unconscious on the floor in the den,” Frankie explained. “I think he and Sean might have had a fight or something because the room was totally destroyed. We saw Sean driving away from the area.”
“What the hell could the two of them be fighting over?” Adam asked.
“We caught Sean kissing another guy at the Toulouse Restaurant,” Frankie answered.
“Ah shit,” Adam said. He ran his fingers through his thick, black hair, mussing it a bit.
Frankie reached up and straightened it. “Jonas was pretty upset when we got him home.”
“He asked Frankie and me to leave,” Gerard said. “We didn’t want to, but he insisted.”
Frankie looked over at Gerard. He and Luke had gone through a similar incident several months ago and had broken up over it.
“We only went off to get something to eat so he could calm down,” Frankie said. “But when we got back, we found Jonas on the floor having an asthma attack. Gerard and I put him into the back of the van and brought him here.” He paused. “His inhaler was empty.” The more he thought about it, the angrier he became. “Sean was too busy fucking around on Jonas to look after him properly.”
Adam put his arm around Frankie’s shoulder. “I understand how you feel, but Sean isn’t responsible for Jonas not keeping up with his medication. Jonas is a grown man and should take better care of himself and his health.”
“I know,” Frankie said, resting his head against Adam’s broad chest. “I’m just so scared. What if he dies?”
“Don’t say that,” Luke said, looking equally shaken.
“Let’s find some seats,” Adam said. “People are starting to stare.”
All four of them wore dark sunglasses even though the sun had gone down.
“Damn cheating men,” Gerard said angrily. He glared at Luke as they walked over to a row of empty seats. “They should all be castrated.”
“This is no time to be selfish,” Luke said to him. “You don’t really mean that.”
“Yes, I do,” Gerard said. “Cheaters are the worst.”
Adam still held Frankie’s hand. He and Adam had been dating a little over two years. Gerard and Luke had dated for four.
“Where’s Kalen?” Adam asked once things had settled down a bit. He let go of Frankie’s hand.
“He’s still over with Amanda, where you dropped him off,” Frankie answered. “He’s having a sleepover with Amanda’s nephew, William.”
“Does he know what happened?” Adam asked.
Frankie shook his head. “No, but Kalen’s smart. He’s going to start asking questions when he doesn’t see Sean at home anymore.”
“You think Jonas is going to throw Sean out?” Adam asked.
“If he doesn’t, I will,” Frankie answered. There was no way he’d let Sean’s cheating ass stay with them. “Jonas was so upset he ran out of the restaurant crying.”
“Like you did that time with Nico?” Adam asked.
Frankie scowled at him. “You would have to bring that up, but yes. Kiss.”
I don’t think Jonas and Sean’s relationship will turn out like ours did.”
“Nope,” Gerard said. “It’s going to turn out like mine and Luke’s.”
“I never saw this coming,” Adam said. “I thought Sean was an okay guy. I didn’t peg him as a cheater.”
Sean and Adam had been friends long before they met him. Sean used to work for Adam as a musical engineer before Adam introduced him to Jonas.
“Think how we feel,” Frankie said. “He lives with us.”
“Not anymore,” Adam said. “He has to go, even if I have to move him out personally.” When it came to him and his brothers, Adam was very overprotective. “I feel that some of this is my fault for introducing them.”
“It’s not your fault,” Luke said to Adam. “Sean is a grown man, and he made the choice.”
A doctor dressed in blue scrubs appeared in the waiting room. “Is the family of Jonas Kerry here?”
All four of them rose and walked over. The doctor looked puzzled.
“How is my brother?” Frankie asked.
“He’s breathing on his own,” the doctor said. “We had to perform a tracheotomy to allow direct access to his breathing tube.”
Frankie grasped Adam’s hand. “Is he going to be okay?” He had signed a form giving the hospital permission to do whatever it took to save Jonas’s life.
“For now,” the doctor answered.
“Can we see him?”
“He’s sleeping. We’re going to have to keep him for a couple of days to ma
ke sure he doesn’t get an infection or start bleeding from the entry site. They’re getting a room ready for him right now.”
Adam stepped forward. “He’s going to need a private one. Jonas is a celebrity, and we wouldn’t want his fans to find out he’s here and stampede the place.”
“Oh!” the doctor said, surprised. “That would cause a problem. I’ll have security posted and alert them to the possibility that someone might try to get in. I’ll need a list of names of people who can be admitted.”
Frankie gave him a list of people. The list wasn’t very long, but it did include Myron Smith.
“Can we visit him tomorrow?” Gerard asked.
The doctor nodded. “Yes. Visiting hours are from five to nine at night. He’ll be moved to the main part of the hospital, and his room will be on the tenth floor.”
“Should I bring anything?” Frankie asked.
“Just bring a change of clothing for when he’s discharged, and maybe his personal toiletries. If everything goes well, he should be able to leave the hospital in a few days.”
“Thank you,” Frankie said.
The doctor left, and then the four of them got final instructions from the triage nurse and then left. They ended up in the hospital parking lot.
“I better get you home,” Luke said to Gerard. “It’s getting later and colder.”
“No way,” Gerard said. “Frankie can drop me off.”
“Don’t be silly. I’m not going to try anything,” Luke said.
Frankie smiled. Not even he believed that since Luke still loved Gerard.
“I’ll ride with Frankie, too,” Adam said. “I’ll see you tomorrow, Luke.”
Luke waved and then got into his van. Gerard and Adam got into his and left the parking area. He missed his brother already. The only time they were ever apart was when Frankie spent the night over at Adam’s home.
“Do you think Jonas is going to be okay?”
“Yes,” Adam answered.
Frankie continued to drive, hoping the procedure didn’t ruin Jonas’s voice.
* * * *
Brenton had just settled in bed in his apartment and decided to turn on the television and watch the local news. They were just about to report on sports when a breaking-news banner rolled across the bottom of the screen. He caught the name Jonas Kerry. Brenton turned up the volume.
