Misprinted Lies (Alice in Chains/Bruno Mars)

Friends in Need

What a long day I'd had. Working with technology all day can be such a drain. I loved the music part of it. Bruno's party came up very quickly. It was a HUGE going away party for the Moonshine Jungle Tour. I knew it would be a long party and I wasn't sure I would make it. I went anyway to be supportive of the band. I hadn't seen Bruno in months. I wanted to text him when he had TV appearances but I just couldn't do it.

On June 1 I had seen the news that Bernadette Hernandez, his mom, passed away very suddenly of a brain aneurysm. I called him even though it was tough. He was almost going out on tour. I knew he had to have been a mess and he had so much pressure already touring with Unorthodox Jukebox. Bruno didn't answer his phone; I called several times. At around the tenth call over a two day period, I left a message. I recorded it several times because I kept stuttering.

"Hey Bruno. It's Lily. If you, uh...if you need to talk or anything just...just let me know, okay? Don't be afraid to call...please. I'll be thinking about you."

When I pulled into the driveway and walked inside, Bruno was in the main hallway, talking to his bassist, Jamareo. He was a mess. I could read him like a book. We made eye contact for the shortest amount of time as I headed out toward the backyard.

"Yo Lily!" I heard a yell from behind.

"Hey Phil, it's been a while. It's great to see you," I said.

"You too, girl," he said, hugging me.

"Yeah, you guys are gonna be great on this tour."

"Talk to Bruno, yet?" Phil asked.

I bit my lip and shook my head.

"Well," he said. "I don't know what's going on between you two, but I'm glad you came."

Eric walked over a couple of minutes late. I gave him an extra tight hug.

"How are you doing?" I asked him.

"I'm...I'm holding up. Bruno...well..."

"Yeah," I said. "I know. I can tell."

We had basically the same conversation. I talked to Phil and Eric for the majority of the party. Bruno made a toast and was putting on such a face. He wasn't as okay as he was pretending to be. It was the exact same face I put on a lot after Dad died. It made me nervous that he was bottling up his emotions like that. It had only been a few weeks.

"Damn," I said, reaching into my purse ten minutes into my drive home. I forgot my phone.

I wrestled around for a few minutes deciding if I should go back. I didn't want to face him alone. Now he would be the only one left in the house because Jess was in New York.

I let myself in. The gate and front door were still unlocked.

"Bruno I'm back. Forgot my phone," I shouted through the front hallway. There wasn't a response.

"Bruno?" I said, walking through a maze of red solo cups and beer bottles. I remembered leaving it in the TV room in the back.

There he was, sitting on the couch and facing the sliding glass doors. The room was pretty dark with an exception of the moon shining through the windows and a small lamp.

It was a distant, yet familiar scene. His little concoctions were all over the coffee table, empty and full needles scattered everywhere. He pushed the needle through and the liquid went into his arm.

"Bruno," I said, his name fading toward the end.

"L-L-Lily, what are you doing here?"

I could feel my anger as I approached him, slapping the needle out of his hand.