Buried Notes (Brothers of Rock #4) Read Free

take Rick. Some people just couldn’t keep their hands out of the
fire. And even when they burned one hand off, they had another.
    “Okay, I was just told that we have
five minutes before curfew,” Johnnie said.
    The crowd started to boo.
    “My thoughts too,” Johnnie said.
“We’re going to play two more songs. Back to back. This is it... if you’re
sitting down, stand the hell up. If you haven’t moved all night, get moving
now. If you’ve been holding back, this is your chance. Are you ready?”
    The crowd exploded.
    Chris laughed and watched fifteen
thousand people rise and ready themselves for the last two songs. Johnnie waved
his hands over and over, screaming for everyone to start moving. He pointed to
Rick who started to kick the bass drum on his drum set, getting the crowd into
a rhythm. He then added his snare and started playing a drumbeat. Chris looked
down at his set list and waited for the right time to kick in with his bass. He
did and the rumbling of the speakers echoed through the arena. Danny hit his
guitar first, a long open chord ringing into the night. Davey joined him next
and it wasn’t until Johnnie took the mic and gave a four count did the band
come back together as one and begin the first of what would ultimately be three
songs.
    The third and final song was a
surprise. Chris started by playing the bass line from the band’s first song
ever played on the radio. The true diehard Chasing Cross fans, the ones that
went back ten years to the dark streets and neon lights of Los Angeles, knew
the song. But everyone cheered, danced, and got lost in the moment long enough
to forget their own lives. Their pains. Their troubles.
    Everything.
    Just like Chris.
    Because when the song came to an
end and the band stood together and took a quick bow for their loyal fans,
Chris was suddenly plagued with the thoughts of the divorce.
    They didn’t make it a step off the
side of the stage before Peter started to yell at them.
    “Well done guys,” he screamed.
“We’ve been fined five thousand dollars for breaking the noise ordinance.”
    “Take if out of Chris’s paycheck,”
Davey said.
    “Yeah, he kept playing,” Rick
added, holding a bottle of whiskey in his hand.
    “Chris can’t afford it,” Peter
said.
    Chris turned and grabbed Peter by
his shirt. If Danny hadn’t grabbed Chris’s other hand, Chris swore he would
have knocked Peter on his ass.
    “Whoa, man, take a drink,” Rick
said.
    Chris looked at the bottle of whiskey
and grabbed it. He threw it back and welcomed the burning relief into his
mouth, down his throat, and into his empty stomach. It swished and swirled and
would take effect in a few minutes. He handed the bottle back to Rick, pushed
his way to the front of the band, and stormed away on a mission.
    “Chris?” Johnnie called.
    Chris threw his hand up and waved
everyone off.
    He knew the time had come. The time
to face it all. To make a decision about the divorce. To stop getting lost in
whatever the hell it meant and just do the right thing.
    If
this is what she wants, then just do it.
    Chris rushed out of the arena to
the sound of fans gathering at the back gate, screaming for the band. This was
one of those moments when Chris found it easy to just ignore everything. He saw
the guys of Fallen Tuesday at the gate signing some autographs but most of the
crowd wanted Chasing Cross. He opened the door to the tour bus, climbed the
steps, and headed right for the liquor cabinet. Tonight was not an iced cold beer kind of
night. Tonight was a bury
yourself in a bottle and the truth kind of night. Chris twisted the
top of the bottle and let it fall. There would be no need to put the cap back
on it. When he was done, it would be empty.
    Simple as that.
    He went to the bathroom on the
massive tour bus and sought comfort in a hot shower. It seemed such a short
time ago that the band was lucky enough to shower at an arena or in a hotel
room. Now they had a shower on the tour