Rock Prodigy

Chapter 23

Oh. My. God. Finally. I suck! I'm so sorry it took me forever to upload but I'm thinking...just maybe...could be possibly...this was worth the wait :)

What can I say, real life got in the way...

Dedicated to kittyrascalmeow for making a lovely cover! Thanks a million!!!

Enjoy :)

Chapter 23

“You’re not focusing, Rose,” Mac said, stopping in the middle of a song to glare at me.

I frowned, looking down at my hands on the guitar. “Sorry, can we start from the top?” I asked, wincing when Troy and Dan groaned.

“Not again,” Troy muttered, hitting the bass drum a few times in frustration.

“Sorry guys,” I mumbled.

“You wouldn’t have to be sorry if you just focused,” Mac grumbled and I glared at him.

He glared right back at me, anger in his indigo eyes. “I’m trying, Mac. It doesn’t help that you’re being an asshole,” I said, my voice rising as I spoke.

His scowl deepened as he took two quick steps towards me, using his height to try to intimidate me. “I’m being an asshole? Our single is being released tomorrow Rose. It’s really not a good time for you to start flaking out!” he half shouted, his eyes dancing with fire as he glared down at me.

“I’m not flaking out!” I shouted, pushing on his chest but he wouldn’t budge.

“I thought she played it fine,” Dan said making Mac turn his glare to his brother.

“You stay out of this,” Mac growled before turning back to me.

“No way, Mac. You’ve been in a bad mood ever since we came back from Toronto. Rose’s playing has been just as good as it usually is. She might be a little distracted when she’s not playing but as soon as her hands are on her guitar, she’s fine,” Dan said, moving towards us and placing a hand on Mac’s shoulder.

Mac whirled around and shoved Dan’s hand off of him. “So you’re saying I’m hearing things? She’s not putting her heart into it, Dan and if you can’t hear that it’s your problem,” he said, glaring at his brother.

Dan’s lip curled in anger and his eyes narrowed at Mac. “Maybe you are hearing things. Maybe it’s you who’s distracted lately Mac and I'm getting sick of it.” Dan put his hands on his brother’s shoulder and pushed lightly.

Mac let out a growl and in the blink of an eye, had Dan in a choke hold, their amps producing feedback as the bass and guitar collided, causing interference. “Guys!” Mike shouted over the intercom. “If you don’t stop fighting, we’re going to cancel the release of Speak to Me.” That got their attention and Mac sent Mike an angry glare before releasing his brother. Mike ran a hand through his hair and I saw his chest rise and fall in a deep sigh before he pressed the button again, projecting his voice into the soundproofed room. “You guys are done for the day anyway so take the night to cool off, maybe try to talk things out.”

I rolled my eyes, packed my guitar away and headed out the door before anyone could stop me. With anger burning in my chest, I entered the studio where Jenna and I practiced, and took a seat at the piano, waiting for her. I stared down at the white and black keys as I waited and without thinking about it, my hands were flying over the notes, playing Prokofiev’s Piano Sonata No.7 Op. 83, third movement. The piece was incredibly fast and fully utilized the entire keyboard. I gritted my teeth as I played through it, feeling my anger spike and flow through my fingers as I played, my hands slamming down on the keys hard whenever the dynamics called for it.