Page 28 of For Eva

“You know, he thinks very highly of you,” Simon offered instead of answering my question.

My stomach tied itself into a knot of nostalgia, tightening with every memory that flashed in my mind. “I, um…I mean, that’s nice of him, but we haven’t spoken in a really long time.”

“Well, then, you may not know he’s opening a counseling center for underserved youth here in Los Angeles at the beginning of the year.”

My heart constricted. “Oh. Wow. That’s amazing. Truly. But I—”

“This is the first time he’s ever really agreed to sit down and talk about his own past struggles, no-holds-barred,” Simon interrupted. “And I don’t think my piece would be complete if I didn’t talk to the person who was there from the time the band took off to when it, you know…ended.”

I closed my eyes, listening to the sound of my breath, unsure what to say.

“But first things first. Danny Kincaid. Do you ever speak to him? Seems the guy doesn’t want to call me back.”

“No,” I answered, clearing my throat to free my voice. “I don’t. But I have to say, I’m surprised Eric even wants you to talk to him.”

“He’s game for it. Danny was an important part of the band,” he said, clacking away at the keyboard. “But all right, never mind him for now. Tell me about your relationship with Eric.”

I chewed my lip and stared across the room at the pictures of Drew and Miles decorating the fireplace mantel. Why was I doing this? Why was I on the phone with this man I didn’t know, talking about people who weren’t in my life anymore?

“It was, uh, fine,” I said, remembering the line I’d rehearsed. “Eric overcame tremendous odds, and I’m glad he was able to turn things around.”

Simon chuckled. “That’s it? That’s all you’re gonna give me? Because Eric seems to think you two were a lot closer than that.”

I looked down at my chest, sure I would see blood seeping from where the bullet Simon just fired had penetrated it. “What did he say to make you think that?”

“Well, I guess we can jump right to that, then.” He paused and sucked in a breath. “He said you saved his life.”

My mind went numb, and I swallowed hard, the lump in my throat threatening to choke me. I blinked, my vision blurred by fresh tears, and I shook my head, as though I could physically shake the scene from my brain.

“Eva? You still there?”

“Uh, yeah, hang on.” I hurried to the kitchen, flung open one of the cabinets, and strained to reach the very top where I hid my cigarettes and lighter. Aaron had hated my occasional vice, and I could still hear him sayingyou know those things will kill youanytime I snuck outside.

Fuck him.

“Did I lose you for a sec?Eric told me you saved him,” Simon stressed as I opened the back door to the patio and took a long drag from my cigarette. “So, maybe we could start there?”

“Okay,” I said, sitting on one of the brick steps and brushing away a tear. “But we should probably begin before that.”

THIRTEEN

Eva

November 1988

Mandy refused to divulge the details of exactly what she’d said or done to convince Alan Gerson, head of A&R at Perfect Circle Records, to show up at the Roxy that Friday night in April. Even after I pulled her aside before the band took the stage and asked how she’d managed it.

“You don’t wanna know, Eva,” she’d said, laughing and casually swirling her vodka on the rocks.

My eyes widened, my mouth forming into a naive little O as a devious grin spread across her face. Thiswas my official initiation into Hollywood. I’d fallen down the rabbit hole, landed smack-dab in the middle of Wonderland, andoh my God, she’d sucked his dick.

“But before you go thinking I sucked his dick,” Mandy added, leaning closer, “I didn’t.” She winked and downed her drink. “Now that Alan’s here, though, the guys have to do their thing. I could only get him to agree to come to the show, no other promises. And no matter what I do, he’s not gonna ink any deal if he doesn’t see dollar signs up there on that stage. Lots of ’em.”

Fortunately, Alan’s eyes lit up like a Vegas slot machine. I could almost see the thoughts in his brain rearranging themselves as he watched Eric work the stage. Difficult personality be damned. This kid was gonna make him rich.

Within a week, there was a signed contract and an advance check I stared at for ten straight minutes, wondering if there were really supposed to be five zeros after the four. But knowing none of them would drop a dime of their share on anything remotely practical, Mandy, whom Alan had officially promoted out of her secretarial role, found the guys a small rental in Laurel Canyon and made sure someone brought them groceries every couple of weeks to soak up all the alcohol.

They still played all the local clubs through the summer but were also booked on a string of gigs up and down the coast—an introduction to a wider market while keeping them close enough to home to work with publicists, stylists, photographers, and all the people tasked with ensuring the band would deliver everything the label was banking on.

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