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The Tyrant
Sean drove to Santa Monica in the warm noon, feeling more than ready to play until dinner time nonstop. However, he couldn’t help wondering if Jim would be able to focus on their music, knowing Silvia downstairs and waiting for him. Not the musing he would’ve chosen, but it was better than wondering how many corny love songs Jim had made over those three weeks of marital bliss.
He saw Tom’s car on the driveway and found the bassist had made himself at home at the porch, smoking a joint while he read something on his phone.
“He’s home,” said Tom, seeing Sean’s stormy scowl as he got out of his car. “Guess he’s already upstairs, ‘cause I heard him play.”
That would explain why Jim hadn’t heard the doorbell. Sean produced his spare keys and opened the front door. They’d hardly walked in when they heard Jim’s guitar pouring down the stairwell, as if he hadn’t closed the door to
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No Return After Dinner
Liam and Walt joined the rehearsal on Tuesday, and the whole band spent six hours straight locked up in the attic studio. By the time they put their instruments down, Silvia had texted Jo to join them there and they had already ordered food for all of them. The musicians were tired, so they left shortly after they finished dinner.Jim was glad to see Silvia shake her head when he tried to help her in the kitchen. He would’ve liked to lay back on one of the loungers at the deck, or the living-room couch, or his bed, but he stayed sitting at the isle to keep her company, dropping by Twitterland while she put some order around.“I dated my flight today,” Silvia said out of the blue, in a carefully casual tone.“Already? What’s the rush?” he asked, chuckling at a tweet from a Polish fan.“I’m leaving on Friday, Jay.”He looked up, taken aback, to find her filling a trash bag with empty cans.
No Return Dirty Trick
Deborah hated it every time Silvia picked up Jim’s phone, leaving her no choice but to accept her words excusing him. But on Wednesday, she was glad to hear her pick up. Deborah confirmed Jim remembered the live stream scheduled for that afternoon, and smiled to herself when Silvia used the plural about being in her office in a couple of hours.She disconnected and called Ron over. Her assistant didn’t hide his disbelief as he wrote down on his phone the list of errands she needed him to run in the next ninety minutes. She didn’t give any explanation, but she was determined to turn around the unwavering negative buzz about Jim’s new chick, and the fundraising dinner the next night was an excellent chance to do it.To keep the Q&A from going on forever, only Jim, Liam and Tom would take part of it. Sam had everything set at the conference room by Deborah’s office, so the musicians would go straight there.As soon as she had the three of them sitting for makeu
No Return The Number One Fan
It took Silvia a couple of minutes to get over the relief of escaping Deborah without needing to get rude. Then she realized her savior was the last person she would’ve ever expected, and now she was alone with him in his car, while he cursed the traffic under his breath.She didn’t have the slightest idea why Sean had intervened on her behalf or where they were going, and his evident foul mood wasn’t exactly an invitation to ask anything. She hadn’t forgotten what Jim had told her about him back at her home, but whatever Sean had said to his brother was between them, and nobody was more of an outsider than her when it came to Sean.He drove toward the studios area without even glancing at her, to pull over at a narrow street outside a hidden bar. Silvia managed to not jump out the moment he stopped the car and saw him go straight to open the bar door and hold it for her, so she could only walk in.It was a small shadowy place, with a few
No Return Two Bodies
“Now you believe me?”Jim chuckled while Silvia kept shaking her head slowly, eyes out the windshield.He’d joined her and Sean at the bar by the time they were done with their beer, and his brother had left without a word, just nodding goodbye at them with one last glance at Silvia.Jim took the way to his home, hearing her incredulous account of her close encounter with the eldest Robinson.“I mean, from the moment I left you to your Q&A, it all felt like I’d stumbled on an acid and it fell down my throat, getting me lost on a bizarre trip,” she said, making him laugh. “All of a sudden I’m wearing a frigging Versace! And diamonds! What the hell! And a minute later, I’m having a beer with Sean?” She threw up her hands, feeding Jim’s laughter. “You know what’s the craziest thing of all? Seeing you walk into the bar was the most reassuring thing to
No Return One Cigarette
That was just great. The flash flood had reached the Interstate, forcing the incoming buses to turn around, so the service had been cancelled until further notice.She felt a sudden urge to smoke. Considering it was pouring, the bus station staff overlooked those nicotine addicts with a little survival instinct left, and allowed them to smoke at the entrance hall, indoors and safe from the wind and the rain. She gave her luggage a concerned glance: rucksack, duffel bag, guitar. Why the hell had she kept the guitar? Only a few people remained at the bus station, but hard statistics dictated that a single person was enough to snatch all of her things away. She realized that was a third-world thought. Was she not in “The Shiny City Upon The Hill”? Just in case there was another third-worlder around, she asked the man at the nearest ticket booth if he could look after her stuff for a while. “I’m leaving in fifteen minutes, ma’am,” he warned. More than enough. She lit a cigarette as s
No Return Godzilla's Night Off
That was just great. The rental had broken down in the middle of the storm and of nowhere.He cursed his brother’s idea of renting that ranch to spend their ‘creative break’ away from spotlights and paparazzi. But he cursed louder his own idea of renting a car at Fargo airport, instead of taking a bus and meeting his brother at the bus station near the goddamn ranch.He checked his phone again, in case a stray miracle had given it back any coverage. Damn. It was as dead as it’d been since he’d driven deeper into the countryside and the storm. He looked out the windshield, but it was pouring so hard, he could’ve had frigging Godzilla right in front of the car and he wouldn’t see it.However, he was pretty sure he’d spotted lights up ahead before the damn car broke down, when the wipers still worked. According to his brother’s directions, that should be the bus station ten miles south of the town near the ranch.He had no way to know how far it was, and the wisest thing to do was hunker
No Return Letting Go
She sat down in the gap with her back against the coffee machine, face to the glass doors. That way, she even had room for the guitar on her lap. She could hear the old man humming My Way from the gents’.She wondered what she should play, tuning the strings. Most of the songs she knew were sad love ballads, not exactly the best choice for the occasion. Maybe bringing the guitar wasn’t such a good idea, and she should just burn out what battery her phone had left. That made her think of the music she had in it. She smiled. No Return’s songs were nothing like tender, and she knew enough of them to keep herself entertained for a good while.Lucky her, she had many of the rare acoustic versions, so she wouldn’t need to improvise some lousy adaptation. She’d taken about a year of guitar lessons, but she’d had to drop them long ago, so she wasn’t that good at playing.Her fingers slid over the metallic strings, looking for a chord. There it was, the beginning of Break Free.She didn’t look
No Return One Coffee
Where was he? How long had he slept? His arm was numb under his body and his back ached. He sat up, rubbing his eyes with one hand as the other reached for his phone. Ten-thirty, he’d slept about an hour. A chill ran down his sore back. It was cold there and he was already wearing the only sweater he had. And there was no coverage, of course, forget about internet.He remembered the coffee machine at the hall. Getting up wasn’t easy, but the promise of a hot drink pulled stronger than his weariness.He strolled across the waiting room, fishing in his pockets for change.The family was enjoying a late picnic of snacks and the old man mopped the floor near the closed booths. An hour later and he still hummed the same song. Outside, it poured like frigging end of the world.It was even colder in the empty hall. He shivered up to the coffee machine, so old it didn’t take bills, only coins. So he inserted one into the slot and waited for the buttons to light up.They didn’t, and his coin c
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