Overkill // Joseph Quinn

the beginning

I packed my guitar in my case as my time on stage came to an end. Tonight had a lot more people than usual, which fueled my adrenaline to perform with my heart and soul. Surprisingly, I performed better in front of bigger crowds. Being in front of only a few people and some of them barely paying attention to me made me want to thrash my guitar to the ground with embarrassment.

My next stop was the hotel I had booked for the night. I had lived about an hour away from Cincinnati, which would've been a miserable drive back home.

"Excuse me, miss." I lifted myself up from hunching over toward my guitar case and faced a man in a polo shirt and khaki shorts. Whenever someone came up to me after a show, they'd either praise me or try to buy me a drink. This man didn't seem under the influence like the rest of them usually are, but he also seemed interested in talking to me about something else.

"You have a great talent." He spoke again and I pulled my lips into a tight smile as I finished packing my belongings.

"I appreciate it." I turned my attention back toward my things and was ready to exit out the back door but the man was still standing behind me.

"I could give you a great opportunity to take that talent even further." This was another thing people would do; try to sell me some shitty deal which usually ended up being a scam.

"I'm already signed to a label, thanks though." I wasn't signed to a label.

"I promise you that if it was a better label I could introduce you to, you wouldn't be performing in Bogarts." He now tried to settle a joke with me, which didn't make me any less annoyed. I sighed and threw my guitar case over my shoulder, ready to get out of here and away from this dude.

"I'm all set." Is all I said before walking out the back door. Luckily, he hadn't tried to follow me and I was sure to keep an eye on my surroundings.

I started walking to my car in the parking lot and pressed the button on my key to lift the trunk door. I set my things on the floor and suddenly heard clicking of foot steps trailing behind me. I continued with my task and mentally prepared myself for a fight or flight. I slammed the trunk door to close and fumbled with the keys again to unlock my door. I quickly got inside and locked the door behind me, looking behind me in the rearview mirror. It turned out to be just the janitor taking out the trash and cleaning up the parking lot that the drunks had trashed. I was soon relieved and slammed my head against the headrest while starting the car, yearning to finally go to sleep.

****

I checked out of the hotel early the next morning to get home as quick as possible. My next gig wasn't until next weekend as usual and all I wanted was to be back in my shitty hometown with no swarms of people constantly around. My things were soon packed into my car and I realized the necklace I had worn daily had fallen off. I groaned in frustration and retraced my steps back into the hotel.

"Have you seen a silver chained necklace with a guitar pick around it?" I asked the old lady at the front desk. She looked up at me from her computer, completely uninterested. She casually looked around and then made eye contact with me again.

"Nope, sorry." She applied emphasis to the "p" sound and shrugged. I sighed and started toward the elevator I had taken down to the lobby. I pressed the up button and waited for the doors to open.

When they finally opened, I walked in with my head to the ground to make sure I had scanned every inch of the carpet. I was suddenly impacted with another body which almost sent me flying to the ground.

"Shit, sorry." I mumbled while finally looking up to see the face of the man I had saw last night. I instantly felt on edge from our past interaction, but I was glad to be in public now.

"No worries, funny seeing you here." He smiled a wide smile that almost seemed fake. I curled my lips into a half-assed smile and successfully walked into the elevator.

"Does this belong to you by chance?" The man held the necklace I had been manically searching for between his fingers. The doors to the elevator started to shut but I was quick to hold my arm out to stop its movement. I stepped out and quickly grabbed it out of his hands, hoping he wasn't going to try to keep it from me until I agreed to whatever label he wanted me to sign for.

"Any new gigs coming up?" He asked causally like I had known him for years which made me uncomfortable.

"No, I gotta get going. Thanks for finding this." I lifted the necklace up quickly and then shoved it in my pocket before walking off. I slid my hand over my hair and huffed out a breath of air.

"Does Capitol Records ring a bell, perhaps?" I froze in my tracks at the man's voice crawling back into my eardrums. He had officially peaked my interest, but I still wasn't going to fall for his tactics too easily.

"Yeah, why?" I finally gave him what he wanted and it was proven when he started smiling again. He walked closer to me as I now stood outside of the hotel.

"My name is Dallas, Dallas Martinez. I work with Capitol Records, marketing. I don't necessarily sign people on, but I can definitely make things happen." His sell wasn't nearly convincing enough, it sounded as if he barely knew what he was talking about.

"Why me?" I asked out of pure curiosity. His innocent expression never changed, which continued to make me feel uneasy.

"I told you, you have talent. That's why people sign artists, right?" I laughed softly as his remark. He stood with his hands in his pockets and I paid close attention. I bit the inside of my cheek in deep thought and processed my next words.

"My name is Eden Sparks, do what you want with that." I left him standing by the entrance of the hotel as I made my way to my car with a million thoughts.

I'm glad the creepy, pushy guy decided to stay in the same hotel as me. I'm glad I lost my necklace that day and he so happened to be the one to return it. I'm especially glad that I had given the strange man my name, because now it's a name worth remembering.

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new story check

i was quick asf with this, i had all the ideas together before i even posted about it, i just couldn't wait.

im honestly so excited for this one... I hope you are too :)