“I don’t have any money,” I said.
The bigger of the two goons punched me hard in the stomach repeatedly until I coughed up some blood. “You have ten days,” the small one said.
“We’ll be in touch,” the bigger one said as he punched me one last time, this time square in the face. I fell to the ground and curled myself into a little ball.
“Honey what did I tell you about all this stress?” she said to me.
“Look at that they didn’t unpack anything. I’ve had it. They’ve been farting around for like two hours,” I said.
I walked over to the opening acts guitar player; I don’t know what his name is. “Excuse me,” I said as I tapped him on the shoulder.
“Yes,” he said to me as he turned around.
“You need to move all this stuff,” I said.
“We don’t move without Pat,” he said to me.
Jem went off onto the bus. “Who’s Pat?” I asked.
“Pat’s the lead singer and we don’t move without him,” he said.
“Well where is he?” I asked.
Now I was getting agitated. “Getting a pedicure,” he said.
“Really? Where does he go because Jem’s been pressuring me to go for awhile?” I asked.
“Mars,” he said.
“Huh,” I said.
“Look when he gets here we’ll move until then everything stays where it is,” he said.
I could feel my heart racing. I was getting really mad and then Zac came into sight and I nearly fell over. He was bleeding from the mouth and nose and he had a horrible black eye. He limped over to me. “OH my God. What the hell happened to you?” I said.
“I got mugged by some thugs,” Zac said to me.
“Zac we’re in Tulsa. What thugs?” I asked.
“I didn’t let them get my wallet, but they got the best of me,” he said as he headed onto the bus. I followed quickly behind him.
“I’ll be there tomorrow for the Kansas City show,” she said.
“I’m so excited. I can’t wait to spend time with you,” I said.
“I know me too,” she said.
“The guys on the other bus are great. They are already cleaning stuff out on the bus to make room for you,” I said.
“That’s cool. What are they like?” she asked me.
“Well, they are from Virginia and they are your age. You might know some of them,” I said.
“Really? What’s their name?” I said.
“Shit. I’m not sure. It’s a band named after one guy. Some Irish name. Wait a second, I know. It’s The Pete McGuire Band,” I said.
“Oh, I never heard of them,” I said.
I looked up and suddenly I could see Zac’s face was badly bruised. “Oh my God. Listen there is a bit of an emergency here. I got to go. I’ll see you tomorrow,” I said as I hung up abruptly.
“What the hell happened?” I said as I lightly pressed on Zac’s face.
“Ow,” he said.
I got up and got a towel with ice. “Don’t use that. Put a steak on it,” Isaac said suddenly coming out of the other room on the bus.
“No, Isaac please let me do this,” I said shooing him away.
I pressed the ice towel lightly to his face and he winced. “We CAN’T play a show, with Zac’s face looking like that,” Taylor said. He was shaking and panting. “People are going to talk.”
“Calm down baby,” I said as I handed him his inhaler.
He gets anxiety and panic attacks sometimes and he needs an inhaler to control his breathing. He took a puff and splashed some cool water on his face. “Don’t worry. We’ll ice him for a few hours and then I’ll put a little bit of make-up on you,” I said.
Zac smiled at me. “You want me to call Eva?” I asked.
“No. I don’t want to worry her. She is flying in tomorrow with Christina,” he said to me.
“I’ll pick them up,” Isaac said quickly.
I could really punch him in the face. “I can’t just be a nice guy without it being about sex,” I said.
“Hey that’s my sister,” Jem said.
“I’m sure she’s had sex before,” Taylor said.
“Yeah only with two people, but that’s beside the point,” Jem said.
The mention of sex made me think of the girl I slept with last night. She had the most delicate frame, so thin and fragile. I remember her having to adjust to my size and the tears in her eyes as I entered her. Her eyes were crystal blue and hair a soft brown, naturally lightened from the sun. Her soft skin and tight entrance drove me mad. It was so inviting, I had to have her.
I headed off of the bus and thought of what girl I would find tomorrow. They didn’t think I was hot, but I was going to fuck them anyway all of them. For me it’s about retribution. They have all swooned over Taylor and Zac for long enough. Now it’s my time.