Down Under

Chapter 2

Chapter 2

I didn’t ask questions. This is what I had been waiting for, I couldn’t waste any time. I flew into action, calling each boy. I told them all to meet at the studio, ignoring their rejections. Jesse was the only one who didn’t answer his phone. I had to track him down and force him to get in the car, despite his efforts to fight me and continue his walk down the beach. I think he only got in to stop me from shouting at him and begging. 

Somehow we managed to make it to the studio without killing one another, which is a God sent in itself given the tension you could practically see in the car. Damon was already sitting on the couch outside Phil’s office when we walked in. He was staring at his arm, his sleeve pushed up to his elbow. He pulled it down as quick as he could when he saw us, but I thought I saw a flash of bandages. I couldn’t have, could I? No, there’s no way he would go back to that…

“Hey!” he said, flipping his shaggy blonde hair out of his eyes. He lit up when he saw us, his face practically glowed with joy. I hadn’t realized how much I missed his happy-go-lucky self. It had been too long since I last saw him.

I nodded and sat beside him. “How have you been? I haven’t talked to you in awhile.”

He shrugged but I thought I witnessed his smile falter for a fraction of a second. “Fine, I guess. I haven’t really been doing anything. It looks like I’ve been better than Jesse though, that’s for sure.” He snorted and gestured to the black haired boy.

Jesse looked up and narrowed his eyes, but didn’t respond with anything other than giving the carpet a look that could kill.

“Harmony left him this morning,” I explained.

“Oh, ouch. I’m sorry, mate.”

Jesse still didn’t answer, but I swear for a split second there was a tear in his eye. He must be taking it harder than I thought he would. Normally, I would have tried to console him, but Harmony was like my sister. Jesse deserved whatever sorrow he was feeling right now. It was his fault for screwing up.

The door swung open and knocked me out of my thoughts. It rebounded off the wall with a loud echo as an obviously drunk Finn stumbled into the room. He had a whiskey bottle in his hand and was steadily chugging it down while he made his way to a chair. He collapsed beside Jesse then waved the bottle at us.

“Hello, you lot!” he slurred, swaying in a circle in his seat.

I couldn’t believe my eyes. It had been months since I saw Finn, but I never, never would have thought he was this bad. Especially since the accident…How could he possibly turn to drinking after that?

He turned the bottle upside down as he took another long swig. 

“Finn, you need to put that bottle down,” I warned, standing up to try to take it.

“Don’t touch it, Blaze,” D cautioned. He had a worried look on his face as he reached out to grab my arm, stopping me from advancing any further. “He’s not Finny anymore. He looks like he would kill you if he got the chance.”

I frowned, my eyebrows furrowing. Finn used to be the one who would solve any problems in the band and break up all the fights. He would never start one, but he was sure to put a stop to any and all disputes among us. He was the responsible, reliable one. But ever since his little sister Julie died in that car wreck seven months ago, he had changed. I had heard rumors that he started drinking heavily, even though it was a drunk driver that caused the crash that killed Julie, but I hadn't believed them. It was clear now that they were in fact true. You would think something like losing his only sister would turn him off alcohol forever, but I guess it had the opposite effect.