September Rain

by A.R. Rivera

30

  -Avery

  Of course Angel decided to chase Jake out to California. Worse: she expected me to be happy about it.

  She was the one leaving everything behind-except me, of course-and still stressing on how to make everything easier for Jake. It was typical Angel: so sure she wasn't worth Jakes' time and constantly trying to make-up for that bullshit. But Jake had that effect on people-he could make them do things they never thought they'd do without a second-thought.

  I hated that about him.

  As far as I could tell, Angels' exit strategy depended entirely on Deanna being okay with Angel skipping out on her own graduation. But Angel was determined-no matter the sacrifice-that she would make the tour and the only way that was going to happen was if she got permission to leave. The flipside was; if we followed our instinct and just ran off, someone would give chase, and Jake couldn't have that inconvenience. So that was the choice I was leaning towards.

  I watched Angel busy herself; making her bed and a pallet before leaving the room to pop some popcorn. She brought back drinks and a movie and kept moving around the room, a bundle of nervous energy, sifting through the bags of clothes I brought over.

  "You haven't talked to her?" It didn't sound like a question.

  Angel shook her head and squeaked out, "I tried."

  "Chill out. I'll tell her for you." I almost cringed, hearing the words come out of my mouth. I hadn't planned on offering.

  "You would?" Her pitch went up at least two octaves; it was hope rising, taking her voice with it.

  "It makes perfect sense." I reasoned, "You told Jake you'd do it. Now, he's not here for you to fall back on. That only leaves me." It was true, but I felt like a bitch for saying it.

  Honestly, I didn't want to get involved. Angel never liked like the way I handled things. She thought I was too forward, too gruff or some shit. But I couldn't help myself. She'd made up her mind to go and I had no choice but to go along. She was my only family.

  "He offered," she looked down at the floor. "I told him no."

  "I'll do it. It's not a problem. Besides, I'm much better at speaking your mind than you are." I sighed, only half-kidding, and stared at the clock. "It's late. We should get some rest. The Foster will be off work in a few hours."

  Even though I'd put my foot in it, I figured me talking to Deanna couldn't be the worst thing in the world. Worst case scenario, she's say no and we'd leave undeterred. Jake would be pissed, but that wasn't really a concern.

  I was still glad I stayed over-I didn't like Angel being alone with Austen. Angel swore he was alright, but I didn't trust his greedy eyes that lingered a little too long on my friend when she wasn't looking. I wanted to be there in case he said something to her-but we'd lucked out, Austen left not long after I got here.

  I was staring off into space when Angel poked me in the ribs with the rim of the popcorn bowl. The lights were off and the small television on her dresser was turned on. Opening credits were already rolling.

  "Earth to Avery. What is going on?"

  "Nothing-I want this trip to work out for you."

  Angels' entire face lit up. She smiled so wide, I wondered how much further her skin could stretch before it ripped. "Me, too."

  It felt rare to see her so deeply happy. Only Jake could push her to a pointed extreme: make her glow with delight or fade into a depressed vacuum. Lucky for him, he kept her dreamy-eyed most of the time. Just then, she was radiant and it was a sight.

  "Everything will work out the way it needs to." I assured her. We'd planned on using my mom's old car. It was a total hoopty that she never drove, but would get us into Tempe.

  "Thirty-nine hours," she sang.

  It was as if Angels' enthusiasm poured into me, washing my frustration away. And then my feet suddenly had a mind of their own. They shot out in front of me, stomping with excitement, rattling the floor, shaking the trailer.

  Angel pulled out two wide sheets of newsprint and squealed at the bands' publicity photos. Thanks to Pierce, Analog Controller had landed a two-page spread in a Phoenix weekly circular. The paper featured them as 'The Band to Watch.' The photos showed the three of them, standing shoulder to shoulder. They had these bad-ass looks on their faces that made me roll my eyes and Angel giggle, but every other girl probably thought they looked tough and sexy.

  Angel nearly died a few days before when Jake showed up with his hair shaved down. He had just come back from that photo shoot with the paper and went straight to her house to show her. He told her that he knew she liked his hair longer so he only planned for a trim, but his regular barber was out. Another guy cut his hair and messed it all up. So Jake had him use the clippers. It was now only about two inches long. Jake wasn't going to let himself be photographed with a shitty haircut.

  Angel said she wanted to cry, but it wasn't like Jake needed her permission. And I liked the way it looked. It made him look dangerous. Besides, the shape of his head was nice and round. No flat spots or lumps. No scars.

  I let Angel rattle on over the pictures while I sat back down, losing myself to deeper thoughts. We'd been disagreeing more than usual lately-not fighting, just not sharing the same opinion on everything anymore and that was weird. It was Jakes' influence. He was changing her. So long as Angel was happy.

  It was guilt that made me offer to talk to Deanna, she was a tough lady. I was determined to convince her to let Angel go. Even if it meant that she wouldn't come back.

  "I'm going with you, right?" I asked, needing the reassurance.

  Angel turned from the television to face me. She looked sleepy. "What?"

  "I'm going with you to California, right?"

  Angels' mouth curved up at the edges. "How could I go without my other half? You're my best friend and you're already eighteen."

  Something about the way she said it, sent my mind into overdrive. Planning, making the adult decisions on when and where to push, crafting a way to make what needed to happen, happen. And in the midst of that, we were both so excited we had to make ourselves settle down enough to sleep.