Fandango [Josh Kiszka] Book One

Convertible

Day Fifteen Pt. 2

"Luanne Faye!" Josh cried out spinning around to the others who stared wordlessly at the door.

Josh could feel the air thinning in his lungs. He looked between them and the door before making his decision. Taking off at a sprint he flew out the door calling out her name. He ran down the street toward the parking lot only to watch her drive off leaving everything behind her. The sticker her bought her on the back of Penny seemed to be mocking him as her tires screeched. Halting to breathe he watched the car fly down the street toward the highway. 

"Where the hell is she?" Emmie called as he ran through the door to the group once again. 

"She took off," He managed to get out, "I didn't mean that shit. We gotta call her. We gotta do something. Someone fucking call her! Jesus Christ, I was being sarcastic. She probably thinks I was serious. Oh my fucking-" Josh watched Danny call her only to bring the phone back down to his side. 

"Voicemail." Danny whispered watching his friend drop to the ground. 

Luanne couldn't see straight as she drove down Interstate 25. Her phone was ringing in her pocket repeatedly but she didn't dare to look at it. The song Sunshine on My Shoulders began to blare through the car. She couldn't skip it fast enough. Josh knew about the deal before ever telling her about staying. Of course she was happy for them. Danny had told her about the possibility of the record deal a week ago. This was what the boys had worked so hard for. 

The scenery that she had once been so excited to see felt tainted. She knew it would end. They all knew the deal. Josh made her believe it would be more and she fell straight for it. The more she thought about it the more overwhelmed she became. Seeing a diner to the right she pulled over, feeling the tears become too much. 

"Hey! Babe are you okay?" A girl walked up to her car. 

Luanne turned to see a platinum blonde girl with her head resting on her open window. The girl had dark brown eyes and a thick accent that Luanne had never heard of before. Rubbing her eyes and turning down the music she faced the girl in her window. 

"Boys are damn near horrible." Luanne replied to the woman who laughed. 

"Oh baby, don't I know it. He can't be that special if he made you feel like this. I'm Mickey Marino, how about you get out of your car and we get you something to eat?" Mickey held out her hand and Luanne gradually took it getting out of her car. 

The two girls sat at a table as Mickey told Luanne about herself. She was from Long Island and had traveled to L.A. for a job last year. They were both more than surprised to find out the next job she was travelling to was the production in Comstock. They chatted for what felt like hours instantly growing close and making Luanne feel like her problem with Josh was lightyears away. 

"So, what happened with the shit head who made you cry? You are far too beautiful to be this messed up over him." Mickey clicked her acrylic nails as she spoke making Luanne laugh. 

"It is a long story. Well 15 days worth of story." Luanne sighed pushing the straw around her drink. 

"Well we have 15 days till we need to be in Comstock. Talk away." Mickey didn't realize the humor in her statement as Luanne leaned against the booth starting at the beginning. 

Luanne felt her grin growing as she talked about her and Josh meeting. As the story continued the blondes eyes grew hearing about how things were going. When she finished bringing the girl in front of her up to date she watched her mouth hang open. 

"So you were supposed to have 30 days together and you two morons fell in love." Mickey's lips curled into a grin watching Luanne freeze. 

"I wouldn't go so far as to say we are in love. I've only known him for two weeks." Luanne breathed deeply pulling her straw between her teeth. 

"Well, I was going to get an uber to take me into Santa Fe but now you and I are going to march right up to him and you are going to tell him what he said was fucking horrible. You've only known this guy for 15 days and he has no right to talk to you like that. I don't care who this guy thinks he is." Mickey got up from the table holding out a hand for Luanne to take once again. 

As Luanne put Mickey's stuff in her trunk she heard the blonde yell. Closing the trunk she looked up at the girl who stared at her car. 

"You have a convertible! We are riding with the top down and I will not take no for an answer." Mickey called out falling into the passenger seat. 

The two girls now drove down the interstate toward the hotel. Luanne couldn't help but smile as Mickey held her arms in the air screaming the words to 'Crocodile Rock' through the open top. Luanne had just met this girl and felt as if she had known her forever. Her spirit was full of lust for life and she didn't care what the world thought of her. 

Thinking about the conversation she was about to have with Josh was haunting her the drive back to Santa Fe. Mickey was doing her best to distract her telling her about her love for Diet Dr. Pepper. The girl beside her seemed to know all the right things to say. 

"Okay we are almost there, what are you going to say?" Mickey asked as they stared at the hotel in front of them. 

"That he was a piece of shit for lying. That he should have stuck to our deal and he should've told me the truth." Luanne replied pulling the car into the parking lot. 

"You aren't going to be that brutal based off what I have learned about you. You've got the right idea though babe." Mickey smiled getting out her bags out of the back. The girl pulled her hair up before walking into the lobby dragging the auburn girl behind her. When she saw Luanne crying in her car she had no idea she would be getting a friend out of it. Luanne needed someone to toughen her skin and Mickey would take on that role. 

Josh had tried to get a hold of Luanne. It had been 3 hours since she left. For all of them he sat in the lobby waiting on her to come back. Emmie and Sam took off to look for her after Luanne had turned her location off for the first time. Danny and Jake had sat with him in the lobby in hopes that she would come back. 

When Luanne walked in beside another girl Josh didn't know what to do. Did she even want to talk to him? Standing fast he made his way toward her disregarding all that had happened. He didn't reach her before the blonde stepped in front of him. 

"You must be Josh, have to say I am not impressed. Based off how she spoke about you I was expecting Prince Charming. Fix your shit." Mickey looked back at Luanne who gave a shy smile before heading toward the counter. The northerner didn't miss the one in the hat eyeing her, merely rolling her eyes she spoke with the front desk worker. 

"That's Mickey. Have Jake and Danny show her where my room is." Luanne watched the two boys behind him move toward shorter girl who was less than pleased. 

Josh noticed the difference in her voice then. Her twang was still there but it was dry lacking the joy it normally held. He reached for her hand only for Luanne to pull away. 

"Luanne, you have to know I didn't any of that stuff about not remembering you. I was being sarcastic and you walked in at the wrong time. I would never say that." Josh pleaded with her but she wouldn't look at him. 

"I want the room to myself tonight. I never would've said that shit about you. I'll hear Emmie out but not you. Not today." Luanne walked then, leaving him standing where he had been just 3 hours before. 

She wanted to turn around but took Mickey's advice. Laying in their room without him she began playing Fandango holding her camera tight to her chest. Everything felt too real now and Luanne just wanted it all to go away. When Luanne opened the door to Emmie with a bottle of whiskey in her hand she felt the tears come spilling only for Mickey to come up with a second bottle. 

"Babe when I said to talk to him I didn't mean to start crying again." Mickey spoke laying on the bed tilting the bottle toward her. 

"Once this is all over we will be famous and you can have any boy in the world." Emmie drank straight from her bottle laying her head on Luanne's shoulder. 

"I like your thought process yeehaw." Mickey smiled watching the other blonde grin back at her. 

Luanne didn't want another boy.