Chapter Fifteen
War and Peace
Song: Dancing Barefoot—PattiSmith
10:50 PM
Jesse, Thomas, Betsy, and the woman from earlier sat around the dwindling campfire.
Jesse’s face rose with rage when his eyes met Keith’s.
Keith groaned.“Here we go.”
It was strange and not like Betsy to remain quiet.Her lips stayed shut like they were taped together.Something was wrong.
Tonya slammed the door shut, and the sound grappled with the silence.The fire hissed and was careful not to crackle.Darren and I hung back to use the Matches as our shields.We did not want to be the first person to say something.
“Hey, Jesse.We brought you some peaches.We even had to run from the cops to get them for you, but you are worth it,” Mason said.
“You can’t butter me up with some peaches, Mason.Plus, you stole my new friends,” he said, pointing to us.
My heart boomed.I gnawed on my fingernails as I peeked around the Matches’ towering, skinny bodies.
“Look, I know the show didn’t go as planned last week, but we are all here now and want to figure this out as a band,” Mason pleaded.
“Maybe I would if he would talk for himself.Until then, I am going to be with my beautiful lady here,” Jesse said as he rubbed the woman’s arm.
Keith stepped forward, making the dirt compact under his boot to form a deep-lined print.“I am here.We can talk.”
Jesse grabbed the glass beer bottle from under his chair and stood up.“What do you want?”He took a sip, swishing the liquid around his mouth while he swallowed.
“The show we played in Portland was rough.I am sorry I did not listen to you and follow your lead.The song order was wrong, though.The crowd would have gone wild if we had played it the way I wanted.We have to try new things if we want to keep rising in popularity.”
Jesse shook his head back and spit on the ground.“My way is the right way.It’s the way that works.I started this band, and I wrote that setlist.You are being ungrateful.”
“I wanted to help with the setlist and write songs for the album.You wouldn’t put them on it.It’s not only me.We all want a say,” Keith said.
Jesse looked at Tonya and Mason, gritting his teeth.“You two are a part of this, too?”
“Jesse—”
Tonya didn’t get to finish before the bottle in his hand sailed through the air toward us.It was the color of moss and was translucent enough to almost shine.
Mason put his hands in front of us to push us out of the way.He was like a crossing guard guiding us to safety.
