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Brent was jarred back to life by a pair of large, strong arms lifting him to his feet. He had been lying on the bare ground behind the bus all night. He felt sick to his stomach and turned wildly looking for a place to vomit. He briefly glimpsed Kelvin before he bent over and the contents of his stomach came spewing out. There wasn't much there and then he just wretched a while. When he was done, Kelvin helped him up again. Brent was a total mess. Kelvin looked at him and frowned. His hair was standing straight up, his clothes were filthy and reeked of beer. His arm was what worried Kelvin, it was very swollen and turning colors. Kelvin clicked his tongue and pulled Brent onto the bus.
"Where the hell have you been Brent? We've been freaking out worrying about you!" He said sitting Brent down. Brett felt a horrific pain shoot through his forearm from his wrist to his elbow and held his arm out to look at it. He was shocked to see the condition of it.
"I, I don't know. Last thing I remember was talking to some chick and then you picking me up." Kelvin's eyes opened wide and his mouth opened. Brent went on some drinking binge with a broad. Not good!
"Oh man, Brent. What have you done?" Geoff strolled in, took one look at Brent and took at deep breath.
"What the hell happened to you?" He asked him. Kelvin answered.
"Drunk. With some broad. I found him out back on the ground. Musta been there all night!"
"Oh, man, Brent. What are you thinking? What is Andrea going to say?" Brent looked quickly at Geoff.
"How's she going to know unless you tell her?" He shot Geoff a look. "Does someone wanna give me some coffee here?" Brent got up, still feeling a little dizzy, steadied himself with his bad arm and cried out in pain. "Fuck!" He spat. Geoff helped him and looked at the arm.
"You probably broke it dummy. You have to have that looked at." Brent pulled away abruptly.
"Will ya get me some coffee. I have to get cleaned up, I'm making myself sick." And he went off to shower. He stood there and let the hot water run over him. He was very confused about the night before. He didn't remember anything about it. He tried to remember the last thing he saw before passing out and it was all fuzzy. He remembered that girl, what was her name? Jennifer. He'd gone out to the van to call Andrea when ... Oh Christ, Annie. Did he even call her? Maybe she remembers something!! Maybe in a drunken stupor he mentioned Jennifer? Holy fuck, he could be in big trouble he thought as panic flooded him. He held his arm up and looked at it. Jesus, it was awful. And man, did it hurt! Not like he hadn't broken bones before but on this tour, when he was already making up time they'd lost because of him, it wasn't a good thing. He leaned the good arm against the shower wall and sobbed silently. When he was finished he found a mug of coffee steaming on the little sink next to the toilet. He sipped it. It burned his throat going down but it was good. He dressed carefully and when he came out the bus was full of people including their manager. He didn't look happy. Brent stood there nervously. Finally the manager spoke. "Let me see your fucking arm." Brent held it up to him. He shook his head. "You're going to have to have it looked at. It looks broken. Goddamn it Brent. Can't you stay out of trouble?" He said, turned and left. Brent sighed heavily. Curt sat with a phone book and map looking for the nearest hospital. When he found one he led Brent out to the van and helped him in. He didn't say a word to Brent. It made Brent uneasy that Curt was silent. If Curt is mad at you he will say shit to you. If Curt is really, really mad at you he won't say anything. Curt glanced at him as he put the van in gear and drove off. He was really, really mad at Brent. Brent slumped down in the seat. Finally he felt the nerve to say something.
"I don't remember anything about last night." He said softly. Curt turned to him quickly, fire burning hotly behind his blue eyes.
"You are going to fuck up your relationship with Annie. She doesn't deserve you. You're an asshole." He said tightly. Brent felt the words hit him like a punch in the chest. He looked blankly at Curt.
"Curt, I don't know what happened! I was fine one minute and then the next ... Kelvin was picking me up and I was puking." Curt found he was speeding out of anger at Brent and put his foot on the brake to slow himself down.
"I saw you leave with that bimbo. When I came out a few minutes later to see what you were up to you were gone." He sighed. "What goes through your mind, Brent? You have this way of fucking up all your relationships. Are you on some self-destructive mission or what?" Brent stared out in front of him. He didn't know the answer to that, he wished he did.
"I swear to you Curt, I don't remember anything after leaving. I was going out to call Annie and that bitch followed me."
"Then you left with her. Did you ever call Annie?" Curt asked pulling in to the emergency room parking lot of Humana Hospital. Brent shrugged and felt pain in his left arm again.
"I don't know. I'm scared to call her. I don't even know where my cell phone is. It wasn't in my pocket when I took off my pants." Curt got out of the car and helped Brent out. They went in, registered, and sat and waited. After an hour they called Brent in and examined him. The ER doctor ordered some x-rays and they went down to the X-Ray department and waited there another hour. Finally the doctor delivered the diagnosis. Brent had a fractured ulna. While the doctor was casting his arm, Curt went outside and called Andrea.
Andrea had waited until midnight for Brent to call and then went to sleep. She found it odd that he hadn't called and supposed something important had come up. She didn't sleep well either, she kept waking up every hour thinking about Brent. In the morning it was cold and rainy so instead of running outside she ran on the treadmill in the basement, Rory watching her from his perch on the shelf where a small TV and VCR resided. She kept the phone next to her in case Brent called. The phone rang and she answered it breathlessly on the third ring. It was Curt.
"What are you doing?" He asked suspicious. She smiled at the phone.
"Running on the treadmill." She answered and then slowed to a walk.
"Oh, okay. Uh, listen, did Brent call you last night?" He asked hesitantly.
"No, he didn't. Why?" She felt a little panic rush through her.
"Well, he broke his arm last night falling." She stopped the treadmill and mopped her sweat with a towel.
"What?" She asked incredulous. "Where, how? Is he okay?" She got off the belt and paced the floor.
"Well, we're not sure how but they're casting his arm now. He may have had too much to drink. The doctor said it was a fracture." Andrea sighed.
"Do you want me to come there?" She asked heading up the stairs.
"I think you should see him. I'm sure he'd like to see you." Andrea flipped on the light in the bathroom. The two made plans and then Andrea took a quick shower, called United for a flight reservation and then called Terri. She was on a plane not two hours later.
While Brent and Curt were at the hospital. Geoff sat watching TV on the bus. He thought about this whole Brent ordeal. Again, he felt something wasn't quite right about it. He had seen Brent at the party with that girl. Yeah, he saw him leave with her too but he didn't look like he was going to take her outside and fuck her brains out, he looked pissed. He'd also seen right before that where the girl spilled his beer all over him and then he witnessed Alex giving him a fresh beer. Alex. He squinted his eyes and thought about Alex. That guy was very suspicious and Geoff just didn't like him. Brent said he doesn't remember anything about that night and perhaps he didn't. Perhaps he'd been drugged or something. It was a little too strange and when the door of the bus opened and Alex walked in and handed Geoff Brent's cell phone stating he'd found it on the ground behind the bus the hair on Geoff's arms and legs stood straight on end! He took the phone from Alex and watched him leave. Geoff stood up and paced back and forth holding the phone as if it held some magical clue to the mystery. Kelvin came onto the bus and watched Geoff with interest.
"You gonna call someone or what?" Kelvin said, joking, eyeing the phone in Geoff's hand. Geoff stopped in front of him and frowned. "Let me ask you a question, Kel. What do you think of that Alex guy?" Kelvin shrugged and put his hands on his hips.
"He's okay, I guess. Don't really know him that well. Why?" Geoff told him about his suspicion. Kelvin laughed.
"You into them espionage novels or what?" He brushed past Geoff and sat down grabbing the TV remote.
"I'm not kidding. It's too weird." Kelvin looked at him and frowned.
"Okay, so he's friends with Brent, so what? Maybe he's a homo and likes Brent. Brent does have a nice ass." He said feigning a sissy voice. Geoff eyed him. "So, he found Brent's phone. That doesn't mean anything except that he found it. It could have been me who found it, would you be suspicious of me then?" Geoff sighed, disgusted. Maybe it was just Geoff who found this guy odd but he wasn't going to dismiss him until he checked him out. Geoff left the bus abruptly leaving Kelvin staring at the tube.
After Brent was casted the two went back to the bus. Brent lay down on his bed and Curt snuck off to pick up Andrea from the airport. Brent was sitting outside the bus, on the ground tossing stones absently when they pulled up. He smiled and got up when Andrea got out of the van. They hugged and kissed. Curt watched them. He hoped Brent would get his shit together. He would hate for him to ruin this relationship. Andrea was a great girl and good for Brent. If only Brent was good for Brent! He walked onto the bus and left them alone. Moments later the two entered the bus and went straight to Brent's bed. Curt shook his head. Horny little bastard, he thought as the door to the little room slammed shut.
Andrea stayed with him on the bus until they reached the next town a day and-a-half later then she hopped a flight back to Naperville. She was at odds with Brent's story about how he fractured his arm. It seemed a little strange and she was positive he wasn't telling the whole story. She couldn't get anything more from the other guys either. She had a sinking feeling it may have involved another girl. Roberta perhaps? She fought the feeling and tried to focus on Brent. She knew he loved her, he'd told her so, but there was a tiny, little trace of doubt ...
The next few weeks were uneventful. Brent performed on stage just fine with his lightweight cast so they continued the tour. He was anxious to get it over with so he could spend some time with Andrea. Then they would be in the studio. He was looking forward to that but at the same time, wasn't. Alex still followed Brent around like a puppy and Geoff watched him closely. He'd done some checking on Alex and came up with next to nothing. No one seemed to know from where he came. He did manage to find out that he was a bodybuilder from New York and that someone who worked at MTV got him the job. Alex was a friend of a friend of a friend! Geoff wasn't satisfied and continued his search the best he could while traveling.
Roberta and Alex lay together in bed after a second round of sex. To Alex it was lovemaking, to Roberta it was just sex. She didn't love Alex, she loved Brent. Alex was a toy, a plaything. Alex took Roberta's hand in his and held it. He loved her and it upset him that she made it perfectly clear to him that she didn't love him. He knew who she loved and he was working on fixing that. They met in a sleazy hotel somewhere outside of Columbus, Ohio. She met him there to see the pictures of Brent he'd been collecting. She weeded through them and put aside only the most obvious ones of him with other women. Most of them were just Brent standing next to different girls, talking, laughing but when she got to the pictures Alex took of a drugged, passed out Brent with Jennifer she gasped. They were very bad. A smile spread across her face, but they were very good. And they would serve her purpose. She had raw, passionate sex with Alex after that and now lay here with him. Alex was looking at her and she was deep in thought. She couldn't wait to send that whore Brent was dating the pictures. She only wished she could be there to see the pitiful look on her face when she looked at them! She wanted to see her shocked expression as she saw Jennifer with Brent in a variety of positions and hear her crying when she realized exactly what Brent was. She laughed softly to herself. Then Brent would run back to Roberta and beg her to take him back. And, would she? She thought about it for a moment. Perhaps. She then decided she would. And by this time next year she would be Roberta Scanlon. Out of excitement Roberta rolled over and began to kiss Alex again. He pulled her tightly to him and accepted her kiss. He knew she was using him to get back at Brent but what she didn't know was that she would eventually be his and not Brent's. Especially after Brent was dead and cold in his grave. Roberta didn't know that Alex was slowly poisoning Brent and, Alex decided, it was time to up the ante. It wouldn't be long now, he thought as he pulled her on top of him for another session.
Andrea was anxiously awaiting the Foul concert that was to happen in Tinley Park, Illinois in less than a week. It was their last concert and then the tour was over. They talked to each other on the phone every night, eagerly making plans for what they would do once Brent had some free time. It was the Monday night before the concert on Saturday night when Andrea, not having time to collect her mail before work, sat down with the handful after getting home from the Hospital. She started to flip through the envelopes when the phone rang. It was Brent. He was pretty tired and not feeling well again. He told Andrea how he had been plagued for a few weeks with diarrhea and nausea. She asked him some questions about his diet and set the mail aside. He told her he didn't think he'd been eating anything out of the ordinary. She asked if he'd been nervous lately. He said he hadn't. Any undue stress? He denied. She thought for a moment. Could be what is called irritable bowel syndrome, she mentioned. Could have the same symptoms. He said he wasn't looking forward to performing in Indiana Wednesday because of it. "There were a couple times I had to run off the stage and straight to the toilet." She made a face. Just what she wanted, to talk to Brent about, his bowel habits. But she was concerned. She asked him about his arm. He said it felt pretty good, he got twinges of pain now and then, but mostly fine. They talked for a while and before they hung up they told each other how much they loved the other and couldn't wait to spend valuable time together. Once she hung up she went back to the mail. There was a peculiar manilla envelope, her name on the front in a handwriting she didn't recognize. There was no return address. The postmark, Pennsylvania. She was going to just throw it out but the weight of it made her open it. Inside she found photos, 5X7 pictures of Brent. She frowned and began to flip through them. Brent and a blonde girl, standing together, he was leaning on a pole and engaged in conversation. Brent and a brunette, having a drink at a bar. Brent and another blonde laughing, he was touching her arm. It was making Andrea quite angry seeing these photos but when she flipped to the last four she felt her blood pressure rise, her heartbeat accelerate. There, on the photo in front of her, was Brent, completely naked, lying on a bed with a dark haired girl. She was sitting on top of him, their hands laced together, it was very obvious what they were doing. Andrea swallowed hard the lump that had appeared in her throat. She began to breathe quickly as she scanned the other three. They were all about the same thing, Brent and this girl having sex. She felt her face turn red and tears stung her eyes. She threw the pictures on the floor, got up and paced the room trying to work out the anger that was building inside. Anger and hurt. Mostly hurt. And who would be so despicable as to send this shit to her? She sat down, put her head down on her arms and cried. The night was long and Andrea didn't even lay down in her bed until 3. Then she lay there, wide awake, in shock. She wondered how he could do this to her? He had told her that he loved her. He said he didn't say the words unless he meant it. Anger surged through her and she screamed out loud, "LIAR!" After another round of sobs she finally fell asleep only to be plagued by terrifying dreams.
Tuesday morning Alex found Brent lounging in a comfy chair inside the bus, he was reading a book. Alex handed him a cup of coffee. Brett looked up from the book he was reading and thanked Alex. He really didn't feel like drinking coffee at this time of day but he would drink it since it was here. He sipped. A little bitter. Perhaps it was too strong, he got up and poured a little milk into the cup. Before Alex left he turned to Brent who was back in the chair, his nose in the book.
"Oh, hey, I almost forgot. Someone delivered this for you today." Alex said and handed Brent an envelope similar to the one Andrea received the night before. Brent frowned looking at it. He looked up at Alex who was standing expectantly in front of Brent.
"Thanks." Brent said dismissing Alex. Alex turned and left the bus. Brent was alone in the bus, Alex knew. He stood right outside to wait for Brent to open the envelope. He listened carefully. When he head an audible "What the fuck?" from inside he crept away quickly. He knew Brent would be looking for him and wanted to make himself scarce. Inside the bus Brent was staring, incredulous, at the photos someone had sent to him. As he flipped through them he felt the pain of panic. There he was, with that slut Jennifer, naked as the day he was born and in all kinds of positions! He never did that stuff with her and who took these pictures? He thought about the night he broke his arm -- he'd been drugged and set up. That bitch arranged it all and now she was going to blackmail him. He paced the length of the bus angrily. He would get a hold of her and kill her. He wouldn't pay her a dime! His hands clenched into fists sending pain through his left arm. He ignored the pain, the anger he was feeling was stronger. He thought suddenly of Andrea. Alarm flooded through his entire being. What if she was sent the same pictures? He ran to his room and grabbed his cell phone. He was shaking as he dialed her number. It rang and rang until the answering machine finally picked it up. He was breathless as he spoke to the machine. "Annie, it's me. Please call my cell phone the very second you get this message, it's important that I speak to you." He hung up and ran his fingers through his hair. What the fuck am I going to do, he thought. This whole situation was messed up and he was too scared to think straight about what to do next. He paced madly, envisioning what he would do to the person who did this to him. Kelvin came into the bus a few moments later. He took one look at Brent and stepped backwards.
"What the hell is with you, dude?" Kelvin asked, a little nervous. Brent's eyes scanned him wildly, he looked insane.
"I'm in a world of shit Kel. Someone's trying to blackmail me." He handed the pictures to Kelvin. Kelvin looked at them and then up at Brent.
"What the fuck is this?" He tossed the pictures down on the little kitchenette table. Brent held his head with his hands. "This," Brent began, his voice cracking. "Is what happened to me the other night when you found me outside the bus. I was drugged and now someone is about to blackmail me." Kelvin planted his hands on his hips in anger.
"Who would do that to you?" He asked. Brent tried to think. Think, think. He couldn't think of anyone. He held up his hands and shrugged his shoulders.
"Maybe that slut in the pictures?" Brent answered. Other than her, he couldn't think of anyone that would care enough to blackmail him. Kelvin looked up at the ceiling of the bus.
"I'm gonna kick that little whore's ass until she tells me who took these pictures." He said. Kelvin left the bus telling Brent he was going to find out how to get a hold of this Jennifer. Brent sat down at the table and put his head in his hands. If Andrea got a hold of these pictures their relationship was over. He got up again, too scared to just sit. Geoff and Curt flew into the bus as soon as they had seen Kelvin and he told them what Brent was involved in now. Curt was panting. He glared at Brent.
"You had sex with that whore and let someone take pictures of you??" He hollered at Brent. Brent glowered back at Curt, anger flaring up again.
"You son-of-a-bitch, I was drugged. Look at these fucking pictures! Do I look real awake or aware to you?" He threw the pictures at Curt. Curt picked them up off the floor and looked at them, disgust on his face. "Someone drugged me and then took these pictures!" Curt looked at them closer. It could have been. Brent swore he didn't remember anything about that night and now these pictures surface. Curt sighed believing that Brent may be right this time. He set the pictures down and whistled.
"What the fuck are we going to do?" Curt said leaning on the table with one arm. Brent sighed heavily.
"This isn't your problem. I guess I have to deal with this myself. I have to find out who did this!" Curt looked at him quickly.
"Annie? Does she know?" Brent eyed him and shrugged.
"I don't know. I called her today and she wasn't home. I, I just don't know." He sounded worried. He should be, Curt thought. He knew Brent's carelessness would catch up with him someday. Why did it have to be now? Now that he'd found someone really good who loved him. Someone who may have been good for him, a good influence. Brent could have been a fantastic person if only he followed the right path. And Andrea was that path. Curt sat down at the table and scratched his head with his fingers then put his hands on either side of his face and squeezed his own cheeks. Kelvin came in. He was anxious.
"I don't know who delivered that shit today. Where'd you get it from?" He asked Brent told him from Alex. Geoff's eyes widened. He wasn't surprised.
"That asshole is behind this, I guarantee it." He said. Kelvin flew out the door of the bus coming back a few minutes later with Alex in tow. Alex was struggling with Kelvin. Kelvin shoved him inside the door and stood in front of the door barricading it. Alex looked from face to face. He wasn't nervous. He knew, if he had to, he could take them all. Even Kelvin. Especially that dumb fuck Brent. He was scrawny -- and feeling mighty weak these days! Alex chuckled to himself.
"Where'd you get that envelope you cocksucker?" Geoff questioned him. Alex feigned surprise.
"From a courier. It was delivered this morning. I got it from some guy who signed for it and then handed it to me to give to Brent." He was calm, cool. Geoff narrowed his eyes and looked at Alex through slits.
"I don't believe you. Where'd you get the fucking envelope before I pound you into the floor!" Geoff came at Alex. Alex pulled his hands into fists and prepared to defend himself. Curt pulled Geoff back.
"Maybe he's telling the truth, Geoff." Curt said. He looked at Alex. Alex was looking cautiously from man to man, his fists still guarding his chest. "Who gave it to you Alex?" Curt asked, releasing Geoff. Geoff pushed Curt away and still stood in a offensive stance toward Alex. Geoff knew he was behind it, why couldn't the others see it too?
"Bill gave it to me. And I brought it straight here." Curt watched him as he spoke. He didn't appear to be lying, and Curt thought he was a pretty good judge of character. Still, he was suspicious. They all were. Brent became acutely aware of a wrenching pain in his gut, his heart was palpating. He broke out in a sweat and clutched his abdomen with his casted arm. He held his hand out to Curt.
"I don't blame Alex. He just brought the damned thing to me. Let him go, we'll discuss this later." He panted through clenched teeth. His main goal right that moment was to get to the bathroom and sit on the toilet. He felt slightly dizzy. He made his way past the other guys and to the tiny bathroom. He barely made it to the toilet.
Alex relaxed then, putting down his fists. Curt sighed and turned away from Alex.
"What the hell is going on here? Was there some sort of bomb in that envelope or what?" Alex said blowing a little smoke. Geoff watched him closely.
"Don't worry about it Alex." Curt said, disgusted. "Sorry to treat you that way. Brent was just upset about a letter he got today. Go back to what you were doing." He said and waved Alex away. Geoff was alarmed. He didn't want to let that guy go, they should have interrogated him more. He knew something and Jeff wanted to beat it it out of him! Kelvin stepped aside and let Alex pass but not without giving him a hateful look. Alex smiled as he stepped off the bus. Mission accomplished. Both of them. Watching Brent turn pale and run for the shitter made Alex very happy indeed. Rorberta was that much closer to being his ...
