The Gods of Rock 'n' Roll

Waiting: Allison

Chapter Twelve

Allison sat next to Phillip's bed for two days, refusing to leave his side. She replayed their final conversation in her head wishing things had gone differently.

She hated that she'd left him so abruptly after he'd bared his soul to her. When he'd said that he didn't want to go back to the way things had been, she hoped he really meant it. Elvis explained to her that when Phillip used his lifeforce to heal Sal, he'd inadvertently passed his godhood onto the young man.

Sal apologized up and down for hurting Allison. He explained that he was a Medium and had been possessed by Phillip's dead lover, a being who wasn't quite human. She was a siren who desperately wanted Phillip's power, when he was a muse and even more so now that he was a god. That was what Phillip and his men had been talking to Sal about at the hotel the night she first met him.

Sal said when he woke up on the back patio, he no longer felt Zendaya's presence in his body. Instead, he described what it was like to die. He told some wild tale about being in a dingy gymnasium with other people sitting on metal folding chairs in a circle who were talking about their lives in some crazy self-help group.

When he came back, he had been forever changed. Elvis soon whisked him off to his "secret lair" to train him how to be a god, since apparently he now had some pretty big shoes to fill.

Allison had tried really hard to listen to Elvis explain what was going on, but it was just too weird to be sitting in the same room with the King, who looked and sounded just like he'd walked out of the 1968 Comeback Special. The dream she'd had was weird enough. Allison found herself staring and gaping at him openly and missed about every third word he'd said. She couldn't believe that the others, including her uncle, treated him like just another dude. Well, like a mere god or something. Not the King! She wanted to ask him about the songs in her head that continued to pop in frequently, but he'd smiled and shook his head.

"Always On My Mind," began to play. She rolled her eyes and gave up.

Uncle Jonas, Francis, Demetrius, and Dario all took turns sitting with her at Phillip's side around the clock, telling her more about this mysterious man who had basically given up everything for her. Phillip was special to each and every one of them.

Dario met him through Elvis, who granted him immortality, and sent him to work for Phillip. Francis had been a lost soul that came across Phillip on one of his visits to Few and Far Between. He wanted a job, and Phillip sensed his virtue amongst the thieves and other lowlifes in the club.

Demetrius had been an "intervention specialist" in his afterlife—finding people of importance who were at risk of self-harm or harm from others—and if they were meant for greater things, he'd make sure they fulfilled their destinies. He came across Phillip in the process of beginning a contract with someone who was destined for greater things. Phillip admired his tenacity and offered him a permanent job working for him. Phillip shared his lifeforce with them all to keep them tangible beings and in return, the men always had Phillip's back. They were devastated they couldn't help him this time, especially Francis who blamed himself for letting Sal overtake him so effectively.

The four of them were a family, and they were distraught at the thought of losing their friend.

They also told her countless tales of how Phillip had helped his clients' families after their contracts were up, and all of the dead musicians he'd given a home to when they passed on but weren't ready to give up the music.

She didn't need to hear any of it. She knew exactly how he'd made her feel the short time she'd been with him. Sure, he'd come on really strong and had been a little terrifying when he'd shown her what he was. And the guy was just way too handsome to take seriously. She told herself she was only waiting for him to wake up to thank him for saving Sal's life, and hers to be honest. If he wouldn't have found her when he had, Zendaya would have finished the job, and she'd be another dead child to her mother. But, truthfully, she wanted to know if he still wanted her, wanted to make music with her.

Eventually, she needed sleep, so Francis showed her back to her room where she could clean up and rest. She went through the motions of showering and eating, but she couldn't rest. When she closed her eyes, frightening images filled her mind and played on a loop like a horror movie: Phillip's murder, his taking the lifeforces of many, him saving them all from Zendaya. She'd wake in tears and pray for him to return so she could ask him why? Why would he sacrifice it all for strangers?

After days of no change, Jonas told her it was time for them to go.

"We shouldn't impose on them any longer," he told her. She knew he was weirded out by everything that had happened. She resisted, but he told her it was time to go. "His people will take care of him."

It felt wrong to leave, but when Francis and Demetrius assured her they would care for their boss, that he was still their boss no matter what happened, she acquiesced. Elvis assured her that Zendaya was being tracked and it was just a matter of time before he or one of his associates caught up to her and made her pay.

"If she thought Under Lock and Key was bad, she's gonna hate what I have in store."

Allison had been feeling sicker and sicker every day she spent by Phillip's side worrying about him, and she knew she needed to heal. She had no right to ask the men to let her know how he was doing, but she hoped they would.