The Girl Next Door > jariana (COMPLETED)

thirty-nine

Justin

A stone-faced man stared back at me from across the room. I sat down on the bed quietly waiting, watching the clock's bright numbers glare back at me.

"What is going on with you?" He paced, angrily. "Do you have any idea the mess you've caused?"

My stomach began to boil, a surprise reaction. Now I was getting pissed. Was he really blaming me for this entire thing? "Oh really," I said condescendingly. "You have no idea the shit I put up with. Mike, he's a piece of shit and I don't wanna be around him. I can't put up with it anymore."

Notting pointed his finger at me. "You two are in some serious trouble. This is going to cost us money. Money we don't have." Notting's voice raged. "I don't give one shit about the little issues you have with Mike. He was your choice to be in the band. This is a business we're running here. He's an important part of the equation, my friend. So whatever your problems are, you'd better work them out."

Notting stood at the foot of the bed glaring at me, if he had fangs, they'd be showing.

"What if I said I don't want him in the band anymore?" I closed my eyes quickly, waiting for another eruption, instead the bed moved. I opened my eyes to see Notting sitting at the edge of the bed, with his back facing me.

"Why?" His voice was raspy and tired.

"For one, I don't like how he treats Bobby...and the drinking and drugs is more than I thought." I wavered, not sure if I should mention Ariana's name, but who was I kidding? "I don't like how he is with Ariana. There's something' going on there."

I continued my explanation of what led me to this place and Notting just kept pinching the bridge of his nose and squinting his eyes. He looked overwhelmed. Periodically I glanced over at the clock sitting on the table next to the bed. I felt evermore anxious as the red digital numbers clicked closer to five-thirty.

He didn't say a word about Ariana and her obvious part in my decision.

"It takes two to tango my friend." Notting got up, pacing again. "It takes two or more in any spectacle. I'm done here. You are the one who needs to make this whole. School is beginning. Next tour may or may not happen now. When you're ready to make a decision let me know." He laughed quietly at my audacity. "Call your mother. I'll let you tell her. You better do it now."

He walked toward out the door and the sound of it slamming shut absorbed into the walls. Realizing I needed the keys to the van, I ran to the door. "Notting, I need the keys to the van." I yelled out. I wasn't going to say a word of my plans. By the time I returned, he would be asleep and none the wiser, until morning and I'd be gone anyway.

***

Walking out to the van I explained and apologized to Bobby for dragging him into my mission. We hadn't said one word to each other since the incident. "Naw man, no biggie," Bobby said, slouching along. "He deserves that broken nose. Maybe he'll learn to shut the hell up. So, are you serious about getting rid of him?"

"Yep, I just need to figure out how to do it."

"Just fucking say you're fired!" Bobby laughed hysterically, flipping a dual middle finger to an imaginary Mike.

The heat index was still intense. Invisible waves rose up in a blurred haze off in the distance, everywhere I looked. Driving the van and trailer to the backside of the hotel, we unhitched the trailer and were on the road before six. I prayed that no one would screw with it. Notting would definitely cut me off if anything happened with our gear, I'd be dead. I had to let him know.