Page 24 of Strike A Chord

“I wish you were never born, too, you ungrateful little brat!”

He grabbed my hair but this time I was too fast for him, and I took off out the front door.

Next thing I knew, my ass hit the ground hard. “Fuck!”

“Hey, man, are you all right?” Marley asked as he whipped the curtains back on his bunk.

“What are you guys staring at? There's nothing to see here.” Three sets of wide eyes stared down at me.

“Did you break anything?” Jason asked.

“Not this time,” I grumbled and hopped back into bed. Once the curtain slid into place, the embarrassment hit. I fucking hated this shit. Broken bones and bruises weren’t enough. No, life had to dish out nightmares for me to battle for all eternity. As soon as I heard the guy’s snoring, I grabbed my guitar and went out into the lounge area and slid the dividing door shut behind me. I didn't need to wake them up again. It wasn’t their fault I was a fucking mess.

“That was a mean fall you took back there.” Deuce had just made a cup of coffee and came over to the table.

“Wasn’t the first. Won’t be the last.” I strummed the strings. Breathe in, breathe out.

“Wanna talk about it?”

“Not really.”

“Look, I know it’s none of my business but years in the military left me battling PTSD. I’ve got a great doc if you need one.”

“I’ll take that into consideration.” Deuce nodded and reached for the front divider. “Deuce?”

“Yeah?”

“Thanks.” With a nod, he closed the divider behind him and rejoined Gabe.

By the time the guys woke, the sun had rose and we were pulling into the jam-packed venue. “Holy shit,” Jason stared out the window. “How many people are here?”

“Couple hundred thousand from what I read online.” Marley dolled up his coffee and took a seat beside me. “Dude, we will be backstage with all the major bands. I hope I don’t fanboy out.”

Major bands.

Social and Maiden.

Let the anxiety trip begin.

Chapter Eleven

Josh

Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.

Diamond, Stoli, Shadow, and Joey—four of the five main guys I wanted to avoid popped up around every freaking corner I turned. I’d just narrowly avoided running face first into them when I met with another blast from the past I wished to avoid.

Maiden fans.

“Hey, man, I know you.” This kid whom I’d never met before raised a fist to bump mine. “You gonna play ‘Her Embrace?’”

What the fuck was up with everyone asking me to play that fucking song? “Nah, man, I don’t play that anymore.” For years I’d forced myself to do so nightly for me and me alone as a form of punishment. When I finally accepted that failed part of my life wasn’t all my fault was when I allowed myself to stop.

“Bummer,” he sighed.

“Come out on Sunday and you can watch me play songs that belong to my new band, Chaotic Abyss.” Time to man up and promote us. With a nod, he walked off. I should’ve been the one on tour in Europe with Maiden when Ryder got hurt, filling in for him. But no, I’d already blown my chance and Stoli stepped in to cover. I knew those two were fucking for years before they told anyone. Thinking back, that was the second serious blow Joey took when he found out. Probably was harder on him than Lucas and me fucking was.

My bandmates and I had split up to watch different bands play across the smaller stages, which in hindsight might not have been the best idea. While I’d seen a couple of great performances, my anxiety was off the chart and I just wanted to get back to the bus and yes, hide. Which is exactly what I did.

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