“Car trouble,” Chester grumbled, his shifty eyes looking from Misery to us, then to the little girl.
“We go on stage in ten minutes, girl! Go get changed,” Sorrow encouraged, showing her to the dressing room, which was just a room in the farmhouse.
“Okay, okay, I’m going.” She had the little girl by the hand, but quickly picked her up to carry her into the farmhouse.
When the two girls were gone, both Affliction and Agony took a step toward Chester, who in defense, held up his hands. “It really was car trouble,” he grumped. “Our brakes were being finicky.”
“Weird how the bus’s brakes were doing the same,” Agony suggested, insinuating something far more sinister than car trouble.
“Well, I’ll make sure the bus is thoroughly checked out before we leave,” Chester stated, walking away from us to call someone on the phone.
“I hate that guy,” Agony grumbled. “I don’t know what Misery sees in him.”
“Dollar signs,” Affliction added. “You know that’s all she cares about right now.”
Agony nodded in agreement. “True dat. Anyway, I’m gonna go warm up. You should do the same, Affliction.”
Both men disappeared just as Bull manifested from out of nowhere. “People are getting restless out there. Is everything okay?”
“Misery was running late. She said she had car troubles, but Sorrow told us that she was afraid something else was going on. Apparently… never mind, it doesn’t matter,” Zodiac quickly said, noticing the way Bull’s hands clenched by his sides.
“No. Don’t do that. What are you talking about?”
Zodiac and I exchanged and equally concerned look, knowing that he would go postal if he knew.
“What is going on?” Bull snapped, his temper flaring.
“Hey, Slade,” a soft voice said from behind him.
His entire body tensed, and he slowly turned, coming face to face with Misery. Her long brown hair was fluffed and wildly messy on her head. She was wearing a short black dress, one that showed off her tattoos and a lot of cleavage. Like so much you could sort of see her nipples. She gave him a slight smile, but he just glared at her.
“Missy,” he said in a huff, turning back to us. “I expect to know what’s going on later.” Then he quickly made for the exit.
“Slade, wait!” she shouted after him, grabbing his shirt. “Can we talk? I have something I need to discuss with you.”
He removed her hand. “We haven’t talked in over a year, Missy, and the last time we did; it was four sentences at best. It’sbeen almost five years since the last time you and I had a real conversation. Why the hell would I entertain your bullshit now?”
She crossed her arms. “See, this is exactly why things never worked out between us, Slade. You might as well have the world’s biggest jerk tattooed on your forehead.”
Chester picked that moment to stroll back behind the stage, his eyes narrowing in on Bull. “Everything alright, Love?” he asked, his arm snaking around Misery’s middle.
She moved out of his grasp. “I’m just trying to talk to Slade, but like always, he’s shutting me out.”
“Looks like you have someone to talk to, Missy,” Bull growled, leaving us all standing backstage while he rushed out into the crowd.
“That man is the most stubborn man on the planet!” she shouted, throwing up her hands.
“Five minutes!” the stagehand shouted. “Artists, you ready?”
Chester kept his hold on Misery. “You ready, Love?” There were tears in her eyes, but she nodded, letting him know she was ready to take the stage. She’s just how I imagined her to be, professional and always walking with so much dignity.
Cap came up next to me, but he didn’t say a word, just watched as Misery and the rest of the band took the stage.
“Can we talk now?” I asked him, hoping this moment of reprieve was a golden opportunity to speak to him.
But as soon as he opened his mouth to say something, the crowd went wild, and the music started. You were lucky if you could hear anything back there.
Chester now had the little girl with him. I wondered who she was. I didn’t know much about the band, but as far as I knew, none of them had a child.
