The Summer at Lake Minnetonka (Completed)

IV

April 25th, 1983.

Monday

Three weeks had passed by at a steady pace. Billy had added us on for Tuesdays as well so that I meant I had to shuffle around my work schedule at the music shop to come in on time for rehearsals. Aunt Rose had found herself with a new beau named Duke within that same amount of time which wasn't surprising to me anymore. He gave off vibes I couldn't place but I made sure to keep away from him whenever he visited her.

The Kid hadn't said another word to me since that day a couple weeks back. After our sets on stage, we'd see each other as we passed the entrance to the stage with him giving me a polite nod before he went out there and did his thing. I wasn't sure whether we stood as acquaintances or friends at this point.

It was when we were rehearsing that Jill, someone who seemed to have a gigantic crush on The Kid that even a blind woman knew about it, came running in. She seemed to be in a panic so I sped over to her to ask her what was wrong. She pushes right past me, grabbing for the first aid kit, leaving me confused until I decide to follow her to the dressing rooms.

She heads straight for the dressing room for The Kid and his band, I know it because I've passed it a billion times. Feeling some genuine concern, I head into the dressing room behind her and find that she has handed off the first aid kit to him. He has a black eye and a bloody nose, definitely from a scuffle with somebody.

Jill looks at me with annoyance as The Kid is made aware of my presence as I stood quietly in the doorframe.

"Thanks, Jill," he quietly thanks her and turns away from her so he can open the kit. Taking some sort of hint (whatever it may be), Jill swiftly exits the room but not without a look of jealousy thrown in my direction.

I cautiously walk towards him, leaning myself against his vanity as he attempts to clean himself up. I don't know what takes over me but I politely take the kit from him and decide to help him myself. I press a cold compress against his eye, earning a small grimace from him as I hold it there.

"Your name is Sapphire, right?" I nod in response, hoping that this will keep him talking to me.

"Where did you get that name from?"

"My mother named me after her birth stone. What about you?"

"What about me?"

"Well, surely your name on your birth certificate isn't just The Kid, is it?"

"Maybe, maybe not. It's a closely guarded secret," A smirk plays on his lips as he makes eye contact with me. I almost have the urge to punch the smirk off his face, among other things.

"So, how did you get this lovely black eye you're sporting?" I knew I had asked too much when he broke eye contact and looked anywhere but at me, while holding the compress to his eye. Maybe it wasn't right to pry into his personal life just yet.

"Obviously from a fight, where else?"

"Who are you fighting with at this time of the day?"

"Is this twenty questions? Do you need the time I took a shit this morning as well?" I roll my eyes at his remark, hopping off the vanity so I can get back to rehearsing. He seemed like he had a bit of misdirected rage at me, which caught me off guard. The technical term for this is being an ass.

"My apologies, asshole." I mutter the last part to myself quietly as I slip out the room.

I don't know what it was, he looked like an angel but that mouth of his made him a devil. The saint and sinner inside me began a tug of war in my mind about him, which one would win? I wasn't sure yet. Everything about him read bad news to everyone else but not to me, there had to be something under the surface of all that.