by Meg Buchanan
“Jesus, Natalia,” he said. “Haven’t you had enough of this yet? You said I have to leave on Friday. Are we going to spend my whole time here not having sex?”
“Patience, slave.” She stretched her arms above her head, closed her eyes and waited.
Next morning when he woke, Natalia was already up.
He pulled on his jeans, went to the kitchen, leaned against the door frame and watched her making coffee. She always made a production of it, measuring the water, and then the coffee into the little jug thing she used. She’d showered and looked the way she did when he’d arrived, wearing the black dress that fitted her curves, the stockings, makeup on, hair up.
“You plan on going to church?” he asked and nodded at her clothes and makeup.
“Good morning.” She turned the gas hob on and settled the jug over the flame. “You look like a sleepy lion.”
“Didn’t get much sleep.” he grabbed his crotch. “Blue balls.”
She laughed then got a pot out of a cupboard and poured in enough milk for two coffees. Put that on the hob too. She came over and brushed her lips past his. She smelled clean. She even had perfume on.
“Poor sleepy Lion.” She dodged his hands and went back to the stove.
“Breakfast?” she asked.
He nodded, pulled out a chair and sat. Didn’t seem like he had to be the slave anymore. He watched her make breakfast. He did all the coffee and toast-making yesterday. The little jug gurgled and steamed.
She tipped the coffee into the two mugs she had on the bench. “What are your plans today?” She carefully poured the foaming milk over the coffee, came to the table, gave him his cup then sat opposite him.
“I haven’t got any.” They were both sitting there, elbows on the table, cradling their coffee and watching each other in a long silence.
The last two days had been very strange.
“If I really have to stay away for six months, I’m going to miss you,” he said in the end.
She nodded then looked down, but not before he saw the tears start. She was upset about it too. “You would have been in Hamilton most of the time even if Eva wasn’t visiting me,” she murmured.
“I could come back if she goes away while she’s here.”
This time she shook her head and sighed. “No, you should stay in Hamilton and study. Besides, you said Luke had organised more work for Stadium in the weekends.
“Yes. My weekends will be taken up.”
“Did the practice go well on Saturday?”
“It did. Do you want to hear what Isaac wrote?” Natalia nodded. “I’ll play it for you.” He hauled his phone out of his pocket and slid to the track. Isaac had sent it to them all after they’d finished recording. It had taken them an hour to learn it. It still wasn’t the way Isaac wanted it to sound but close.
Natalia frowned as she listened.
“What do you think?” He switched off the phone ignoring the unread text messages and the missed calls.
“It’s very good. But I think there’s still work to do.”
“Yeah.” He put the phone back in his pocket. “That’s what we think too.”
She took a sip of coffee. “But when it’s right, it will make you all famous.”
“Do you think so?”
She nodded then put her cup down.
Chapter Seven
On Friday afternoon, he and Natalia said their final goodbyes. He couldn’t believe he wouldn’t see her for six months.
They stood just inside the back door. He was reluctant to go out into the world yet.
“I’m going to miss you.” He gently stroked her face. For the last three days, they had stayed inside her house and lived in their own slightly warped world.
“It is only a few months.” Natalia slid her hands around his neck and kissed him. “You will be busy with your studies and Stadium.”
“It’s half a year.”
“You’ll survive.” Natalia let go and stepped back. She reached for the door handle. “Go and join your friends. I’ll still be here in September.”
He drove back to his parents’ place. In the empty house, he put all his stuff away and then turned on his phone. He dreaded to think what the messages on it would be like. He hadn’t let Luke, Adam or anyone else know where he was, and they were going to be pissed that he’d disappeared. He knew they’d wanted to practice all week. That’s why he hadn’t answered their calls. Natalia’s rules. He couldn’t tell anyone. And if he couldn’t tell them what he was doing and who he was with, what could he tell them? They’d just have to deal with it.
A couple of dozen unopened messages lay in wait for him.
He ignored them and texted Luke. What’s happening?
Where the fuck are you? came straight back.
Hmmm. Luke didn’t seem pleased. He hadn’t expected him to be, and Luke could throw a good tantrum. He might ring Adam to see what everyone was doing.
Adam picked up as soon as the call went through.
“Jesus, Noah. If you’re going to disappear for a week let us know, or at least read your texts.”
“Why? What’s up?” Adam didn’t seem any more pleased with him than Luke had been.
“Harry doesn’t want to wait until next week. He wants us to start with the two shows each weekend tonight.”
“Shit.” He looked at his watch. That meant he should be in Hamilton by now. “Where are you?
“We’re here setting up of course. You’ve got two hours before we’re meant to kick off. And when you get here, expect Luke to make your life a living hell. He’s pissed.”
He could make it to Hamilton in two hours. What he’d find when he got there was the worry. Still, he made that choice at the beginning of the week. He couldn’t be bothered dealing with the flack then, so he’d have to deal with it now.
Noah arrived at the pub, and Luke met him in the carpark. He opened the side door and hauled out the guitar. “You finally decide to turn up.” He sounded terse. “We’re due to go on in half an hour.”
“Sorry.” Not much else he could say. They wandered into the main bar. “Anything I should know?”
“Nope.” Luke still sounded pissed. “We’re just doing our usual stuff the usual way. Since you weren’t around last week, we couldn’t work on anything new.”
“Any one of you could have played what I do.”
“Yeah,” said Luke. “We know.” He put the mic on the stand. “And if you fuck off again without letting us know, one of us will because you’ll be out of Stadium for good.”
Pretty much what he expected.
Noah looked out over the crowd from the stage. Even in the middle of the holidays, and on a Friday, the pub was packed. He could see why Harry wanted them to play Friday nights too. His takings must be well up.
Luke lowered the microphone. He made a great frontman. He spoke to the crowd like they were his best friends. All enthusiasm and confidence.
Luke’s attitude hadn’t improved during the night. Noah couldn’t do a bloody thing right according to him. Adam was right. Luke planned on making his life a misery for disappearing for a week, and the others must agree. They just left him hanging every time Luke had a go at him.
In fact it looked like they might be working together to make tonight as difficult as possible. He’d expected it from Luke, but usually the other three just went with the flow. Even Isaac had managed to let him know he wasn’t the flavour of the month.
Now Luke was taking requests. He yelled at the crowd.
“’Lonely’, it is,” Then turned back to nod at the others.
Noah took his other guitar out of the rack and plugged it in. Luke could have given him some warning. He knew ‘Lonely’ meant a guitar change. Adam had already swung into the introduction on the keyboard. Cole had the drums going.
He wouldn’t be ready in time. They could have delayed the start a bit. Luke was trying to make him fail on purpose. He wasn’t a mind reader. How could he guess what they’d practice
d?
He moved back to his mark. Then came in a couple bars behind where he should have.
They went to a break. “You missed your cues, came in late a couple of times,” said Luke.
“Give me some warning then, so I know what you want,” said Noah as they headed for the side room.
The whole night went like that. Everyone wrong-footed him and made doing anything right as difficult as possible.
Exhausting.
Being in Stadium was important to him, and he didn’t want to lose it. He needed to find some way of putting things right.
After they’d finished at the pub, they went back to the flat. Isaac and Jess had a mattress on the floor, and Cole seemed to have hooked up with their new flatmate. Things can change in a week.
Noah slung his roll bag on the wardrobe floor and then sat on his bed, elbows on knees, fingers linked. Strange to be back at the flat after the way the last week with Natalia went. Like he’d been in another world cut off from everyone, a world where none of the normal rules applied. Everything about it rich, dark, exotic, erotic and slightly off-centre.
Now this.
He’d expected some aggro and a few comments from Luke but not that everyone would be this angry and get at him all night. Might have to mend a few fences. Maybe keeping a low profile for a few days and not making any mistakes was the answer.
He went into the lounge. Luke passed a smoke to Cole and Cole took a puff. Luke had the couch to himself. Cole sat on the floor and leaned back against the wall, his arm around the new girl. He didn’t know how Cole did it, they get a new flatmate and Cole zeros in immediately.
Isaac and Jess were making up their bed in the corner.
“You can have my bed if you want,” he offered since there were two of them. “I can sleep on the couch.” Isaac ignored the offer. He guessed Isaac had reason to be pissed with him. He probably had been looking forward to hearing how ‘Train Wreck’ could go. Jess looked up and smiled.
“Thanks, Noah, but we’re nearly done now. We’ll sleep here.”
“Where are Adam and Tessa?” he asked Luke.
Luke nodded at the kitchen then leaned over and took the joint back off Cole.
Tessa put tray on top of the stove, shut the oven door and turned the oven on. She looked up and smiled as he walked into the kitchen. “We’re cooking up a pile of grilled cheese on toast for everyone.” She handed him the bag of sliced bread. “You’re toast.”
Noah shrugged. “I noticed.”
Tessa laughed. “That’s your fault. So, where were you last week? And why couldn’t you tell anyone?”
He put the bread into the toaster, two pieces in together in each slot, while he thought about his answer. The eight slices of bread would cook on one side. They knew how to feed a crowd.
“Just felt like some peace and quiet,” he said finally. This rule of Natalia’s meant he always had to be careful what he said. Why couldn’t a twenty-one-year-old male be in love with a forty-one-year-old female? Who made the stick with your own decade rule anyway?
Someone had turned on some music in the lounge and they could hear Luke, Cole and Isaac discussing something.
Adam went to the fridge and got out the cheese. He found the chopping board and the grater. “You weren’t at your mum and dad’s. I went around to check.” He started grating the cheese.
Noah glanced out the door into the passageway. He could still hear talking and music coming from the lounge. The others wouldn’t be able to hear anything going on in the kitchen.
“No, I wasn’t.” He watched the toaster. The pop-up function had died, so the toast burned if you didn’t keep an eye on it.
Noah popped the toaster and lined up the half-cooked toast on the tray.
“So, where were you?” Adam banged the grater against the chopping board to get the last bit of cheese off it.
“Around.” Noah found a knife and the marmite and spread the marmite on the toast.
“Why so secretive about where you were?” Adam added the cheese.
Tessa laughed. “You can tell us.”
Adam grated more cheese. “You had to still be in town. Your car was at your mum and dad’s.”
“Tell us.” Tessa leaned against the bench still in the little tight dress she wore to the pub but had kicked off her shoes. “You’ve been living with us for three years. There’s not a lot we don’t know about you. Except where you are when you disappear.” She tucked her hair, all dark blonde curls, back behind her ears. He could see how she’d managed to pay all her tuition with modelling work. Now she was studying fashion design, and even after a night out she looked amazing. Tall, slim, blonde and sexy. And bubbly confident. Luke didn’t know how lucky he was to have Tessa.
Noah shrugged.
Adam put the grater on top of the chopping board, then leaned against the bench beside Tessa. “I figured if you didn’t want to be found you didn’t want to be found. But next time check your texts.”
Noah slid the oven tray into the oven and shut the door. “There won’t be a next time.” Before he spent any more time with Natalia, they were going to have a talk about these rules. He might have accepted them when he was sixteen, but now?
Noah stuck the last slices of bread in the toaster. They’d all get a couple of pieces.
Tessa washed mugs. “You pissed Luke off disappearing like that this time, Noah.”
“Yeah, I knew I would. Luke will get over it.”
“That might take some spadework.” Adam checked the oven to see if the cheese was burning.
“Yeah,” sighed Noah. “I’ve seen him operate.” But Luke would come right eventually.
Chapter Eight
The next day they practiced at the pub all afternoon. Strange being there during the day. The empty silence of the huge main bar, the slight smell of stale alcohol and old sweat. It came alive at night, and was a good place to be, but during the day ghosts of loneliness hung around.
“So,” said Luke once they were set up and ready. “We’ve been practicing some covers we’ll use tonight to pad out our out usual sets.” He turned to Noah. “You’re just going to have to catch up.”
Noah nodded. “Yeah. Okay. What about ‘Train Wreck’?”
Isaac plugged his guitar into the amp. “We’ll wait until we’re back home. There’s a fair bit we need to work on, and we don’t want anyone hearing it until it’s right.”
Noah nodded again. “Okay.” That seemed reasonable. “At your place?” he asked.
Isaac leaned the guitar against the chair. “No, at Mum and Dad’s. We’ve been using their shed all week like we used to when we were at school.” Isaac’s tone implied he’d have known if he’d bothered to be there.
“When will we practice?”
“After work.” Isaac picked up the violin and plugged it in too. “Me, Cole and Luke still have to work during the week. That will give you all day next week to catch up.”
He got through the performance without stuffing up too badly, but he still felt on the outside looking in at the others. The afternoon practicing had helped. Nothing happened that he didn’t expect this time.
He arrived home at his parent’s place late Sunday afternoon. He’d stopped off at the supermarket and stocked up on steak, so he had something to eat. He stretched out on the couch to watch TV. Strange to have the house to himself.
His mum had texted him to say they were safely in London and had found their hotel. He hadn’t heard anything else from them. He hadn’t heard from Natalia either. But she never texted or called. He always made the contact, and now he was banned from even doing that.
He put the coffee he’d made on the side table then moved it onto the coaster. He’d have his mum on his back if he made white rings on the tops of everything.
He lay back and linked his fingers behind his head. He couldn’t see why it was so impossible for him to meet Natalia’s little girl. Eva must be at Natalia’s by now. He should just drive round there, knock on the door an
d meet her. Natalia couldn’t refuse to let him in without making a fuss. He could force her hand, make her acknowledge and introduce him.
He considered that for a while. No, it would just cause trouble. But he could drive past and check she’d turned up. He wasn’t sure what that achieved except being certain she was real. He rolled off the couch and found his car keys.
A small pale blue car sat in Natalia’s driveway. It looked like a rental. Maybe Natalia had hired it to go to the airport and pick Eva up. Or maybe Eva had travelled with someone and that person had driven her to Natalia’s. But, even if he didn’t know the details, it looked like she’d arrived. Not much he could do about that.
He considered going around to Adam’s, Luke’s or Cole’s so he had someone to talk to, but he’d been with them all weekend and Luke and Cole weren’t really talking to him yet. Anyway, it was Natalia he wanted to be with. He missed her already. How could he survive without her for six months?
The next morning, he hauled out the violin. He had to learn this bloody thing before he met up with the others again. He found the sheets of music Isaac had given him a week ago. He should have taken it with him to Natalia’s. She would have helped him learn it. She might even have had a few ideas to improve it.
He hauled out his phone and listened to the recording they’d made at Isaac’s place. He could hear a dissonance in what Isaac had written. What else would it be but dissonant? The bloody thing was called ‘Train Wreck’.
He listened to it again. Natalia had a point. If they got this right, it would make their fortune. But it needed a soul.
He set the music up on the stand. If he’d taken it with him, it wouldn’t have been Vivaldi he played that last night while he was still the bloody slave and working hard to keep Natalia happy. It would have been this, and that would have kept everyone happy.
He swept the bow across the strings and tried to get the sound of the train and the eerie whistle he thought the piece should have. But it just sounded like he was faking it. He sat down, picked up his phone, and played Isaac’s track. No, that wasn’t what he wanted either. He tried it again his own way and recorded what he did. Still not right.
