Higher Octave
A Heavy Influence Novella
2.5
By Ann Marie Frohoff
Copyright © 2015 Ann Marie Frohoff
All rights reserved. In accordance with the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, the scanning, uploading and electronic sharing of any part of this book without the permission of the publisher is unlawful piracy and theft of the author's intellectual property. If you would like to use the material from the book (other than for review purposes), prior written permission must be obtained by contacting the publisher. Thank you for your support of the author's rights.
AMF Publishing
Ann Marie Frohoff
[email protected] First Digital Edition: February 2015
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is coincidental.
Frohoff, Ann Marie, 1971—
Higher Octave : a novella / by Ann Marie Frohoff.— 1st edition
ISBN: 099165725X ISBN: 978-0-9916572-5-4
Ebook formatting by www.ebooklaunch.com
Table of Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
"If you are not too long, I will wait here for you all my life."
~ Oscar Wilde
1
A golden pink haze hovered over the Malibu hills as the sun began its decent from the sky, as if it were about to take a dip in the ocean. A light, foggy, ocean mist began to roll towards the compound I'd been staying at for the last three months - the Promises rehab facility. It was the beginning of April, and the spring season fluttered and bloomed around me as I sat waiting for Bobby to visit. Bobby was my bassist and childhood friend. Other than calls and texts, it'd been over a year since I'd seen him last.
It was the third spring season to come since my complete fall from grace. The music had gone completely silent.
I was a free man. Free from answering to a manger, a label, a band or a girlfriend. My entire life was a sad E! True Hollywood Story, or something from Behind the Music - literally. I'd watched those episodes more times than I could count. I even recorded them so I could watch whenever I wanted, and it was a lot. I'm a free man, I thought, but I wasn't really free. I still thought about and what I'd done and Alyssa every day. All the things I'd done and continued to do while I was in and out of the four other rehab facilities around the country.
Alyssa, my childhood friend, love of my life and the girl next door, was in her last year at Pepperdine University. The pull of her was real and more intense as the days went by at Promises. I'd stayed away from Promises on purpose, knowing it was too close in proximity to her, to keep me from wanting to see her. Now there I was and there she was, just over the hill, and I felt the grip on my heart. I could have left Promises whenever I wanted, but I didn't have anywhere else to be. I wasn't sure about where I was headed or if I even wanted to make music. Though my notebooks were filled with lyrics and my head was filled with melodies, I'd yet to touch a guitar to string anything together. I wondered if Aly thought about me at all anymore. I had to come to terms that she'd ended up with Nathan, the guy that'd always been there to hold her up when we'd broken down - fuckin' Nathan. I had to give it to the guy; he never gave up. He loved her and treated her better than I ever did. She'd spat in my face when she found out that Sienna and I had been sleeping together - Yep, I'd done the unthinkable. I'd slept with my dead best friend's wife.
The thought of Sienna sent a wave of nausea through me.
I'm sorry, Dump.
Sienna and I had used each other in so many ways after Dump's death and my breakup with Aly. We'd both went to the first two-rehab facilities together, in and out, fucking around until it wasn't fun anymore. Sienna began losing major modeling gigs, and the band got dropped from our label. The media went to town with speculation about our supposed sordid relationship. Even though Aly and I weren't involved romantically, we maintained close contact, and the news sent her bursting through the doors of a Phoenix rehab facility. Sienna and I never admitted to anything. We'd kept our intimate moments to ourselves and let the media run amok, but when Aly confronted me, I told her the truth. That was the real end of our relationship, and the last time I'd talked to Aly.
A flutter to the right of my ear startled me, and I swatted the air, noticing two hummingbirds at the red bird feeder right above my head. I marveled at their hovering tiny bodies and nearly invisible wings.
"Thank you," I heard Bobby say, and I turned to see Lydia, one of the many staff counselors, pointing in my direction. A smile sprung to my face. Bobby looked great. I stood, and was surprised that my knees were a bit weak from excitement.
"Hey man!" I met him halfway, in the middle of the grey flagstone patio. We were the only ones outside. "Thank you, Lydia." I waved to her, and she vanished inside with a smile. "Welcome to my humble abode." I bowed.
Bobby grinned, looking around. "Can I smoke out here?"
"Yep."
"Do you mind?"
"Nope." I shook my head and I led him back to the table I'd sat at. "I'll just sit on this side so the breeze will carry that shit in the other direction." I'd always hated smoke, and blamed cigarettes for killing Dump. "I'm gonna keep sayin' it. Stop smokin'. I don't want to have to bury you for some cancer bullshit."
Bobby frowned and lit up anyway. "My dad smokes, my granddad smokes, and my great granddad smoked until he was eighty-nine. I'm goin' with good odds."
"Fair enough."
"Why are you still here?" He looked at me, perplexed, as he bit his cig between his teeth and lit it.
That's the million-dollar question. "Don't really have anywhere to be."
Bobby sucked on his cig, inhaling deeply, and blew out a stream of smoke. He nodded and smiled at me like he had a story to tell. He leaned towards me with his elbows on the table. "I came here to tell you I'm getting married."
A shock tingled at my fingertips. Wow. "Damn. Congratulations." I sat back into my wooden chair. "Holy shit, man. So you and Marshall?"
"Yeah." His eyes beamed with confirmation. "He popped the question two days ago. He's been a great fuckin' partner, Jake. I love him. He wants kids, and I kinda do, too, ya know."
I was truly happy for them. "I'm stoked for you. Seriously."
"You're the first person I've told."
Thinking about Marshall made me think about Aly. I was sure she knew they were getting married.
"When's the wedding?"
"June fourteenth." That was just around the corner, and as if Bobby read my mind he explained, "I know it's fast, but I'm leaving on tour and Marsh is going to Paris for an interview at some high profile fashion house." He waved his hand with raised eyebrows. "I should pay more attention."
"You guys going traditional? Like a real wedding?"
He nodded with a corny grin. "Marshall wants a wedding. I'm gonna let him do whatever he wants."
Having Bobby sitting right in front of me had me all jacked up with happiness. I hadn't felt uplifted in a long time. I almost forgot what it felt like. "Man, it's good to see you." I leaned in slapping my palms on the Beachwood table. Guilt crept up my spine, and I leaned back, shaking my head. "I'm sorry I haven't been communicating and you felt you had to drive over here."
He blinked twice, looking a bit serious. "I wanted to. I miss you, man. How are you?"
"I'm actually really good. Been writing a shit-ton, but not sure what I wanna do with it all."
Bobby sighed and snuffed out his cigarette in a little silver cup. His eyes searched mine, an indication he had more to say. "What? What else you got?"
"If Marshall really goes for a traditional wedding, I want you to be my best man."
"Sure. I'm down, man." I said enthusiastically. "And I'm gonna be the best godfather your kid will ever have. That is, if you'll allow me the honor."
Bobby chuckled. "Of course." He nodded, taking me in for a beat. "And you know if it's traditional, Aly will probably be Marshall's best chick."
This time, my hands and arms went numb and heat flashed over me. "Okay. Is what it is." I shrugged, sucking in a deep breath. I gestured with a serpentine wave of my arm. "Life rolls on."
Bobby's smile was tight. "And there's more."
My heart was already pounding like a jackhammer, and now it felt like it would pop out from my ear. "What?"
"Nathan asked Aly to marry him, and he may be at the wedding, too."
I could barely spit any words out, and felt like I was choking. I sprung up and walked to the mini-fridge next to the barbeque. Anger, jealousy and loss ignited in my stomach. Taking a can of Coke in my fist, I wanted to throw it through the window and watch the glass shatter like my heart. Instead, I sighed deeply, controlling my emotions, and took a big gulp as if it were a shot of whisky.
"Sorry man. I didn't know how else to say it." Bobby's shoulders inched upward, gesturing apologetically.
I belched unexpectedly and patted my chest. "Damn. I never drink this shit," I said, staring at the can and then back at Bobby. "You know she's right over the hill?" I pointed with the can in my hand. "That's why I haven't left here."
"I'm sorry." He said looking as pained as I felt. Fuckin' Nathan. I didn't want to ask if she'd said yes. I assumed she had; otherwise, Bobby wouldn't have said anything. My memory flashed with Aly's hurt, tearful, and angry face as I'd confirmed my despicable relationship with Sienna. She threw the ring I'd given her at my face.
I sniffed, took another drink, and cracked my neck. "Thanks for telling me." I held my can of Coke out to him. "Cheers to everyone's happy endings. I guess it's really time for me to move on."
But for some reason I couldn't, and I didn't understand why. I stayed at Promises for another two weeks, talking to Lydia about it. She told me to keep journaling and to play music again.
No shit.