Never My Intention

i run to you.

My interest in music started when I was fairly young; I had no real sense of creativity so I thrived off of the passion and imagination that music held. I was a firm believer that music had healing powers.

When I was young, late at night, I used to sit under my blanket with my earbuds popped in and just allowed music to take me to a different place - a place where I forgot about the family that was tearing up before my very eyes. His infidelity and her naiveness normally would've had a disastrous result on an only child; the emotional, psychological and mental damage I have heard about over and over again, but have yet to personally endure. I just chose to stay away from the four-lettered word as much as possible.

I had a set of rules that I followed the majority of the time to make sure that I successfully did not become a cliche product of divorce. One - don't whine or complain. Two - don't explain yourself to anyone unless absolutely necessary. And three - do what makes you - and only you - happy. As long as I'm able to follow my rules, I'm okay.

I snatched the box cutter from the small table beside the new loveseat and quickly sliced open the box in front of me. There were boxes everywhere - the living room, the kitchen, the bathrooms, even the halls. I was tired of seeing cardboard everywhere.

It had been about a week or so since Dre, Ashleigh, and I had landed in Vegas with the majority of our things, along with the band's. This weekend would mark their first residency performance at Drais Nightclub; Dre and I had worked extra hard for this one. Meetings with executives and club owners were a drag but with Kells by our side, it seemed like it was all effortlessly accomplished. We found out the good news a few weeks back, but since Kells was away shooting for a movie, we hadn't had much time to celebrate together.

It was pretty insane to think that just a few years back we were just normal kids in Cleveland crazy enough to help support a tall, vivacious white boy with some wild dreams. Who knew we'd make it this far?

I sure as hell did.

"Did you find it?" I heard Dre's booming voice from down the hall and I immediately jumped. I tore open the box and began to ruffle through the folded clothes in search of the valued piece of fabric.

After high school, I had planned to go off to Hocking College to study music management and everything that comes with the territory; all that changed when Kells got signed. I was prepared to take a chance on the kid, just like all the rest of our friends were.

Dre took me under his wing, showing me everything there was to know about tour managing; not many people appreciated the behind-the-scenes work it took to accomplish some of the best shows on Earth. He was even able to show me a thing or two on managing Kells, even though Irv and Ashleigh did most of that.

"How many of these boxes are just his clothes?" Ashleigh asked, emerging from one of the halls into the living room, where I currently was sitting in front of an open box. I shrugged as she tied her blonde hair up into a ponytail. "None of these are even labeled."

"You and I both know he isn't that organized," Dre said appearing from the kitchen. He had a box cutter in hand too, which made me begin to wonder how we got so many.

"Especially when it comes to his clothes," I muttered. Some things just never changed regardless of new height in success.

When I was seventeen, I vividly remembered being bribed with a McDonald's meal to fold his laundry for two hours while he was working in his studio in Ash's basement. Not only did he eat the majority of my chicken nuggets, but I was also stuck with the work. I didn't complain, though. I would've done virtually anything for the kid.

"The movers probably fucked everything up anyway," Dre continued as he walked over to a row of boxes and split one open. "The shit has to be somewhere."