And damnit all… I wanted to give it to him.
Chapter Five
Payden
Stone thought he was reckless? Reckless was inviting a complete stranger to share a room with you for a week. My mom would pitch a fit if she knew I did this. But this was the new me and new me was taking charge of his life and having fun. I wanted Stone on this trip with me and dangit, he was coming.
Besides, I got the feeling he needed a vacation as much as I did.
And a shower.
While he takes care of that, I’ll confirm his story. Not that I could boot him off if he was lying, but more to see who he once was, though that wasn’t necessarily who he was now.
The internet search brought up a ton of hits, a combination of good, and well, not so good.Don’t weigh someone on their past. Mistakes don’t make a person, but they do make them stronger.Mom’s words of wisdom always popped up at the opportunetimes. I swear, she had a direct line to our maker, and she made sure I kept a level head.
She may be weary of my decision to travel with a stranger, but in the end she’d be happy that I gave someone what could turn out to be the second chance we both needed.
Stone’s voice was just as good on stage as it was out on the platform. Soulful, deep and even with all the ruckus around him he stayed in character. The songs resonated with him, every single one of them. Steps of his life carried forth in the words he sang. At least that part of him hadn’t changed.
“Ah, let me guess. Seattle, 2017.”
“How’d you know?” he guessed the location on the song alone, having not so much as glanced at the screen.
“Sold out performance at El Corazon. Not a huge venue, by any means, but one where many bands got their starts. For us, it was a payback performance, so to speak. The old manager there really gave us a leg up, inviting a huge promoter to it. He knew we were in town recording our next album, had an empty slot, and asked if we wanted it. It was the perfect way to get a couple of the new songs in front of a crowd and see if they hit.”
“Hit?”
“Yeah. Some songs shoot straight to number one while others become a B-side track. If the reactions were lukewarm, we’d take a second look before adding it to the new album. If the crowd was all riled up, we knew that was the one to send to the radio stations to premiere.”
“Oh wow, that’s kinda cool.” I wonder if Stone would ever let me interview him. My boss was forever asking us to add more to the entertainment section, but most places in L.A. already had their chosen journalists. It took an act of God, or acts I wasn’t willing to sell my soul for, to get on their approved list. But now was not the time for work, brain, we’re on vacation.
“Your brain is going a million miles a minute. Go ahead and fire off your questions.”
“I-I didn’t look at anything bad on purpose. It just feels kinda sad that you aren’t doing what you love most anymore.”
“But I am and on my terms,” Stone sighed and sat back on the bunk across from me. “I’m at a crossroads in my life. I love music, I love song writing and I love singing, but I didn’t like the person I had become when I was in the spotlight. It was go-go-go twenty-four-seven. We rarely had a break. If we weren’t touring we were in the studio and vice versa. The only way to make it in the music industry is to sign with a management company and trust me, they only care about the money you make for them. When you’re on a break, the money isn’t there, so then they ride you like a prized stallion to get back at it.”
“It’s exhausting just learning about it. I can’t imagine the emotional and physical drain that was on you guys.”
“Yes, and on our relationship as a band. We were once as close as brothers, and in the end pretty much parted as enemies. A couple of the guys moved on and joined other bands, one went to work for his family’s plumbing business and me,” he shrugged. “Well, I’m the homeless guy.”
My heart broke for Stone. Funny how it was already broken yet hearing his story put a couple of the pieces back together again.You’ll never understand another’s pain until you’ve walked a mile in their shoes.
Huh, maybe Mom was the one I really should interview.
“Well, that’s all behind me now. Tell me, what does the little unicorn do for a living.”
Little unicorn, why did I love that so much?
“I’m a journalist, not for a large paper, but I love my boss and everyone I work with.”
“Good for you, what kind of stories do you cover?”
“Pretty much whatever they want. There’s only a handful of us there.” A dozen, really, but numbers were irrelevant. “I’ve been there since I got my degree.”
“Well, that leads into the next question. How old are you?”
“I’m twenty-four and if my math is still mathing,” he grinned, “You’re thirty-five.”
