old fashioned • dj&ts

xvi. trashing hotel rooms

Alexis walked around, not even knowing what city they were in. She had stolen cocaine she found on Daisy's bus and ended up in a bar some blocks away from the venue. The city was like The Strip with a bar every 200 feet, so she went from one to the other assuming Billy would send Rod looking for her once he realized she had left. She didn't care. She didn't want them to come looking for her. She'd be happy to be left behind. She couldn't last two days on that bus; she'd only become a problem for everybody if she went back. Daisy and Billy were fucking rockstars, they shouldn't have to worry about anyone but themselves. She deserves to be alone.

As soon as the show ended, Rod, Daisy, Nicky and Billy left the venue. The rest of the band looked at each other in confusion until Karen realized who else was missing.

"Alexis isn't here," she said quietly to Graham, putting her hands in her pockets.

"You think she ran off again?" He asked, looking at Eddie. He was talking to another girl across the room.

"Considering Eddie is wasted and snogging every girl that looks at him," Karen started. "They'll find her. The busses won't move until they do."

Over an hour passed before anyone heard from Rod. He walked into the green room and told everybody to get on Daisy's bus, mostly talking to Graham who normally stayed on Billy's. When they walked outside, his bus was already gone.

Eddie thought he'd be going right to bed, but he found himself being stared at by Karen, Warren and Graham who wouldn't let him close his curtain. If they didn't get through to him, he'd hear it from Billy and Daisy. One scenario was much better for Eddie than the other.

"What the fuck, guys?" He asked.

"You're being a fucking idiot, Eddie," Karen told him. "Do you even have a clue about what's been going on today?"

"No, I don't. Billy is being a dick, how is that different than any other day?"

"Come on, man," Graham sighed. He didn't care what Eddie said about Billy, but he cared about how reckless Eddie has been since they left Pittsburgh. "Maybe you should just go to bed."

"What's the problem?" Eddie asked, looking at Warren when Karen and Graham refused to say anything.

"You're not being yourself, man," Warren told him. "You're drinking all day, cursing everyone off, trashing hotel rooms, and kissing anybody with two legs and a pair of tits."

"You're doing exactly what Billy did when he nearly fucked us all," Karen added.

"I'm not like Billy."

"Yeah, you are," Graham argued. "You're a fucking mess and it's only been two days. We're not going to make it through this tour if you don't get your shit together."

"Fuck you guys," Eddie told them, closing his curtain again. It looks like he'll be hearing from Billy and Daisy, next.

On the other bus, Billy was zoned out and shaking his leg while Alexis slept on one of the beds. Daisy sat with her while Nicky sat on another bed.

Alexis was unconscious when they found her. The bartender saw the wristband she had on for backstage access and called Rod. He called a doctor and the bus driver and had them both meet at the bar. After nearly an hour, the doctor essentially just said she wasn't going to die and then left. What a guy, Billy thought.

Billy saw a lot of himself in Alexis, and that's what scared him the most. She did what he wanted to do every single night after getting out of rehab, but she didn't have anyone to stay sober for. Sure, Billy and Daisy were there to help her, but Billy didn't care about anyone in the band when he was in her position; he had Camila and the baby to stay sober for.

"I don't think she's waking up anytime soon. You should get some sleep," Rod told him. He shook his head. He wasn't going to sleep until he knew she was okay. He never overdosed, he got help before he ever got close. She managed to relapse and overdose within one night. Nobody knew what caused her to act out, but they could definitely make a close guess. That's why Billy didn't even take a beat before finding Eddie when they got to the next hotel. He didn't even wait for the bus to stop before hitting the button to open the doors and jumping off.

Karen, Graham and Warren were just getting settled in their rooms when they heard someone banging on a nearby door. They all ran into the hallway and found themselves looking into Eddie's room. Billy had pushed him up against the wall.

"You need to get your shit together," he told Eddie. "While you were out downing bottles and fucking groupies, Alexis was overdosing at a dive bar a mile away."

"What?" Eddie asked.

"I don't care what the fuck you do, just make sure you keep her the fuck out of it," Billy told him.

"Maybe she shouldn't be here!" Eddie called as Billy stormed off, meaning his statement a different way than it was heard.

"Maybe you shouldn't be here," Billy told him, turning back around.

"You really thought it was a good idea to bring her here when she would be surrounded by the shit that you couldn't handle before?" Eddie asked. "Don't tell me to keep her out of it when you brought her into it."

"Fuck you," Billy yelled, charging back towards him. Rod and Nicky had just come off the elevator when they heard the commotion, helping Graham and Warren pull the two off of each other while Karen stood to the side in shock at what was happening. "She'd be dead if it weren't for me! She had nobody coming out of rehab. I took her with us so she wouldn't kill herself the second she got out."

"You don't know shit about her."

"I do, because she trusts me. You're the one who doesn't know shit," Billy spat, being pulled out of the room by Rod. Eddie stayed with his back against the wall, taking in everything that just happened. He looked at the rest of the band who found everything out the same time he did.

"You should stay here," Karen told him before leaving with Graham and Warren. What did he do?