July 2
“Now I’m really worried. He’s been like this for three days.”
Peter wrung his hands for the millionth time as he gazed at Mike, who sat on a stool staring blankly out the window, his guitar sitting, forgotten, in his lap. Since Andi’s midnight departure he had not eaten and slept only sporadically, saying fewer than four civilized words to any of the others.
“Yeah, man. But what can we do?” Micky said glumly. Even he had abandoned any hope of cheering Mike up.
Peter groaned and leaned against the wall, rubbing his eyes. Andi had taken more than herself when she left. She had taken Mike with her.
Peter and Micky started slightly as Davy entered, closing the door firmly behind him. Mike didn’t move a muscle.
“He’s still like that?” he asked, gesturing at the statuesque guitarist.
They nodded wearily.
A look of intense anger and frustration flashed across Davy’s face, and he clenched his hands into fists. He threw his jacket to the floor and stormed over to where Mike sat. Lashing out, he struck Mike on the shoulder, nearly toppling him off his stool.
“’Hey, Mike! Snap out of it!”
Mike’s gaze moved toward Davy, his tired, unfocused eyes narrowing in annoyance. “Leave me alone,” he said.
“No, I’m not gonna leave you alone! You can’t keep goin’ on like this! Andi’s gone, man!”
Mike put his guitar down and stood, his brows drawn together in a glare so intense that Davy backed away.
“I know she’s gone!” he snapped. “You think I’m stupid enough not to notice?!” The anger and grief that had been slowly building in him burst forth in a shower of red-hot sparks. With a roar of frustration he picked up his stool and hurled it across the pad. The others all flinched as it crashed into the far wall, breaking into several pieces.
For several long minutes no one moved. Peter suppressed the tears that were already welling up. He wanted so desperately to take away Mike’s pain.
I wish things would go back to the way they were before all this happened.
Mike, for his part, stayed rooted in the same spot, repeatedly clenching and unclenching his fists until the heat slowly began to recede. As it did a look of unconquerable determination crossed his face, and he turned to face his friends.
“Pack up. We’re leavin’.”
“Leaving?” Micky asked, looking stricken. “Where are we going?”
“We’re goin’ to get Andi,” Mike said gruffly as he headed for the stairs.
“But Mike,” Peter said hesitantly, “she said not to come after her, and you said we weren’t going to chase her.”
“Yeah, I know. But I’m not just gonna let her run away from her problems a second time. Besides, I love her.”
As he disappeared into the upstairs bedroom Micky looked at Davy and Peter.
“Did you just hear what I heard?” The nods of his two open-mouthed friends were the only reply. Mike was not the kind of person to share such feelings, and even though they knew that Mike and Andi cared very deeply for each other, they never expected him to admit as much--at least not to them.
Mike’s head appeared in the doorway. “C’mon, you guys! Move it!”
~*~
The long drive to Andi’s forest was deathly quiet. Davy and Micky sat in the middle seat, staring fixedly out the windows. Peter sat in the front seat next to Mike, who clenched the steering wheel with white-knuckled hands. He seemed to be muttering something under his breath.
“Mike?” Peter asked timidly. “What is it?”
“When she left, something inside of me died,” he murmured, so low that he could barely be heard over the roar of the engine.
“What?”
Mike let out a terse, frustrated breath. After a few long moments he started to sing.
“Life is hard for me to touch now
I just don’t enjoy it as much now
When she left, something inside of me died
And I won’t be the same without her
No, I won’t be the same without her
By my side
There’s no end to my sorrow
I’m afraid to face tomorrow
When she left she took much more than my pride
And I won’t be the same without her
No, I won’t be the same without her
By my side
It isn’t easy to forget her
And the way it used to be
She changed my life the day I met her
And I won’t be the same without her
No, I won’t be the same without her
Close to me
Life is hard for me to touch now
I just don’t enjoy it as much now
When she left something inside of me died
And I won’t be the same without her
No, I won’t be the same without her
By my side”
“Wow,” Micky said in a hushed voice. “When did you write that?”
“Last night,” Mike said.
“Hey, Mike . . . I just wanted to say I’m sorry about that fight we had. I didn’t mean to say that Andi was crazy. She’s not crazy.”
“It’s all right, Mick. I forgive you,” Mike said, before lapsing once again into an impenetrable silence.
Micky slumped back against the seat with a sigh. A heavy weight had been lifted off his shoulders, but one still remained . . .
Now if I can just get Andi to forgive me . . .
On to Chapter Ten
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