Sweet Emotion

Chapter 30

"Jail!?"

Tom nodded. "Yeah. That's what the police said."

"Stupid, stupid asshole." Steven ranted, pacing angrily around his hotel room. "What the hell was he doing with crack anyway!?" he exclaimed, throwing his arms up in exasperation. "Did the dumbass not think he'd get caught?!"

He turned around and glowered at his friends, his face red. His chest rose rapidly as he breathed heavily from how angry he was.

Tom shook his head. "I don't know, man. I told him not to do it, that he'd get busted, but -"

Steven felt like he was about to have an aneurysm. The fact that Tom had known this the whole time and still kept it from them made him want to kill the bassist. He tried to compose himself as his fingers curled into fists, ready to land a punch.

"Tom, we all know Joe is struggling the most out of us; how could you let him do that when you know how bad his addiction has gotten?!" Joey was completely exasperated by his friends' actions.

"Look, guys, I'm genuinely sorry. I tried to talk him out of it and take it off him, but he wouldn't hear any of it."

"It's too late for that, isn't it?" Steven snapped, more angry at Tom than Joe right now.

"Well, someone has to go bail him out," Brad said, attempting to steer the conversation in a different direction. He hated seeing his friends argue.

The three band members immediately looked towards Steven.

"Why me?" Steven asked.

"Because you're the only one he'll actually listen to," Tom said, folding his arms.

He groaned. "Fine. Fine. How much does it cost to bail him out?"

Tom thought about it for a moment. "About two thousand dollars. It could be higher." He shrugged, unsure of the approximate price of bail.

Steven's eyes widened a little, anger rising in him again. Two thousand fucking dollars?! Two thousand - He shook his head, his blood boiling.

"When I get down there, Joe will feel my fist in his mouth," he growled, grinding his teeth. "He's a fucking idiot. Two thousand dollars, my ass."

Joey frowned, mimicking Tom's pose. "Why are you acting like that's going to break you? We've had to bail you out plenty of times."

Steven scoffed. "That's bullshit."

Tom shook his head, placing his face in his hands, not wanting to get into another argument. He sighed. "Just go and bail Joe out and then come back as soon as you can. David and the label won't get off our back until the album is completed."

"Screw them. They can suck my dick. Getting Joe out of jail is more important. We can't finish Toys if he's not here!"

"Why can't you play Joe's part?" Joey asked.

Everyone turned their heads towards him, shocked at the suggestion. Joe loved creating songs. He loved creating his guitar riffs and solos. He loved performing. He put his heart and soul into his entire career, and it would completely break him if someone was essentially taking over.

Steven’s jaw almost unhinged. “Are you kidding me? He'd die if I took that away from him. You know how hard he works on those solos.”

“Yeah, fair enough.”

“I don't see why we can't get another guitar player in to take Joe's place…temporarily.”

He thought about it for a moment, weighing  up the pros and cons of the drummer's suggestion. “Hmm… that's not a bad idea, actually. Then he won't kill me. Who did you have in mind?”

“How about Jimmy Crespo?” Joey suggested, shrugging. “He's here in New York, and he does a lot of local shows.”

“I'll need you to narrow it down.”

“Brooklyn.”

Steven nodded, taking this into consideration. Joe could wed his crazy girlfriend, and he could get a pretty new guitarist and finish Toys. It was a win-win situation.

He lit up a cigarette and took a puff as he thought.

“That's not far. Guess we could go check his band out and see if he's a fit.”

“They're performing later. I know the way to the pub they're playing. Trust me, he'll be perfect," Joey assured him.

“Yeah, well,” Steven flicked away his prematurely lit cigarette and put his coat on. “Mr Crespo is going to have to wait. First, I'm going to go rescue Joe's sorry ass. I'll see you guys when I see you.”