Page 49 of Bassist With Benefits
Jeremy shoved Alan out of the way and tackled Eddie. The two were rolling around on the floor, grappling and grunting like professional wrestlers. Alan took a step backward, shocked and unsure about what the hell was going on, and then a gunshot went off like an explosion. Alan jumped and his hands went to his ears. Everything happened in slow motion after that.
Eddie scrambled to his feet with the gun still in his hand, but Jeremy never got up from the ground. He was face down on the red carpet, and he wasn’t moving.
Alan fell to his knees, panic and fear tearing at his insides. “Jeremy!” he called. “Oh my God!”
No answer.
Alan rolled Jeremy onto his back. His eyes were blank and his breathing was labored, but he was alive. Then Alan saw the bright red stain on the front of Jeremy’s T-shirt, slowly taking over and spreading across his chest. “Oh my God.”
Alan’s heart slammed against his ribcage and pounded in his ears. Brandy was barking with a ferocious growl. People were screaming. The dog’s feet came into view. She rose on her hind legs and lunged. Another shot was fired. Cam was frantically screaming Brandy’s name. The dog yelped and Eddie and Brandy fell to the ground. Unable to remove his gaze from Jeremy, Alan saw everything from the corner of his eye. He couldn’t turn his head to see what had happened. He continued to rock Jeremy in his arms as the blood poured from Jeremy’s system at an alarming rate. It was on Alan’s shirt, smeared on his hands and across his arms. It drenched Jeremy’s clothes and pooled on the carpet, turning it a deep burgundy. There was so much blood. So much fucking blood.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Alan dropped to his knees in the hospital corridor. Guilt, remorse, terror, and a million other emotions left him too shaky to stand.
Brandon placed a reassuring hand on Alan’s shoulder and helped him back up to his feet. “Come sit with us.”
Alan turned toward Derek and Felix, both in different states of distress. While Derek stared blankly at the wall shaking his head in disbelief, Felix expressed his turmoil over the shooting by pacing up and down the corridor muttering to himself. “I’ll never forgive myself for this,” Alan said, turning back to Brandon and meeting the pain in his lead singer’s eyes.
“There’s nothing to forgive, man. It’s not your fault. You didn’t know that guy was a psycho.”
“I know you’re trying to make me feel better, Bran, but Jeremy took a bullet that was meant for me. It should be me on that gurney right now. Not him.” Alan felt like his chest split at the breastbone and a hand reached in and pulverized his heart into a million pieces. He wished he would have told Jeremy how much he really cared. He wished he had made it clear how much he needed the man and how happy he’d been since they had been together. If he’d only told Jeremy how he felt before a madman pulled a gun, he would at least have a little solace.
Their argument outside The Bear Bar suddenly flashed across Alan’s mind, and something registered. Did Jeremy say he wanted to shout into Twin Media’s camera lens that he’d been in love with Alan since he was 18 years old? He did. Jeremy was in love with him, and Alan hadn’t even acknowledged the admission. He had never responded or realized what was said because so much had happened at once and because alcohol had clouded his mind. His heart was pounding with regret, his knees wobbled, and a tortured sob left his throat. If it weren’t for Brandon grabbing hold of his arm, he would have sunk to the floor.
“Whoa.” Brandon grabbed hold of Alan’s arm and supported him by the waist. “Take it easy.”
“Jeremy got shot because of me, Bran. It’s all my fault. And I never got to tell him how much he means to me.”
Brandon wrapped his arms around Alan in a big bear hug that was filled with emotion. Brandon’s chest heaved with a deep breath, and he paused with his forehead pressed against Alan’s and his big paws on either side of Alan’s head. “Jeremy knows how much we all care about him.” He took another deep breath to compose himself and wiped his hand over his face. “You know what I keep thinking about? That time he cracked his skull open when we were skateboarding and we thought he was dead. I don’t know why that incident keeps coming back to me right now. Maybe because of the fear in my heart that day. Remember that?”
God, they must have been 17 when the skateboarding accident had happened, and Alan hadn’t thought about it in years. A trickle ran up his spine as he replayed the incident in his head as if it was yesterday . . . . .
“Are you sure no one’s here?” Alan asked. “My dad will kill me if we get arrested.” He ducked under the fence, following the guys into a vacant house in their Fullerton neighborhood.
“Positive.” Brandon led the way as if he was in his own backyard. “A friend of my mom used to live here. They moved out weeks ago. C’mon. It’s on the other side of the yard.”
Derek quickened his step, eager to catch up to Brandon, but Jeremy hung back to wait for Alan.
“Don’t be such a pussy.” Jeremy slugged Alan in the arm. “It’ll be rad!”
Alan gave Jeremy a playful shove. “I’m not being a pussy. I just don’t want to spend the night in jail.”
“You worry too much.”
Derek and Brandon started cheering from up ahead and Jeremy ran to join them. Alan reluctantly followed, second guessing their trespass onto someone else’s property. When Alan rounded the corner of the house, the grass under his feet turned into pavers, and the enormous in-ground pool came into view. Devoid of water, it was a skateboarder’s dream. Derek and Brandon were already sliding up and down the curved bottom of the pool with their skateboards, their long hair flying in the wind.
All thoughts about a breaking and entering arrest flew out of Alan’s head, and he raced toward his friends. He dropped his board and jumped on it. Sailing down the side of the empty oasis, he sped past Derek, who was showing off with his lightning speed and fluid movements. Alan picked up velocity, and by the time he reached the other side of the pool, he felt like he was going to fly through the air. He did his own little air-bound spin when he reached the other end and sped back to where he started. He skated from end to end for a while, but his calf started to cramp up, so on the next revolution he jumped onto the pavement, catching his board in his hand as he landed. “Pretty sweet! Great call, Bran!”
Brandon landed next to him on the concrete with a graceful leap. “There’s no way I was passing up the opportunity to skate in an empty pool. It’s legendary.”
Derek, the best skater of the four of them, was still showing off his moves. Jeremy was trying to keep up, but he wasn’t as limber and his turns weren’t as effortless as Derek’s.
“Give it up, Kagan!” Alan shouted to Jeremy. “You’re never gonna beat Derek.”
Jeremy landed on the ground next to Alan and Brandon, skateboard in hand. He was huffing with exertion, but wore an excited grin. “No faith in me? I can take this guy.” He jutted his chin toward Derek, who was doing laps as gracefully as an ice skater. “Look at him. He’s slowing down. Getting tired.” Jeremy leaned over and rested his hands on his knees, his eyes on the pool, and still panting to catch his breath. “Watch this.” Jeremy leapt off the pavers, stuck his skateboard under his feet and flew down the side of the pool. He bent his knees to pick up maximum speed and skated past Derek so fast they almost collided.
“Be careful!” Alan yelled.
