Just Before You Go

I’d been hunched over Blair’s contract all night. The only break I’d taken was to attend to the merch booth, per my bank account’s request. The instant I’d finished, I was back at the table, disassembling every gritty detail of Blair Peterson’s work life. Brian had read my mind, sliding a fresh cup of coffee my way just as the clock struck midnight. We were on the road, hurdling toward the next location.
It was my mission to have Blair’s contract in perfect shambles by time we were reunited in the morning. She’d entrusted me with her livelihood and I was not keen to disappoint.
“How’s it coming?” Brian asked curiously, sliding into the seat across from me.
I grumbled, sliding my fingertips ever so slowly into my skull.
“That well, huh?” he smirked.
“It’s…lengthy,” I told him, totally defeated, flipping through the pages as demonstration.
Brian smiled, “Well, I’m sure she really appreciates the effort.”
“I’m not sure Blair appreciates anything,” I countered, grumpy and tired.
“Of course she does,” he challenged me promptly.
I glanced up at him, taking a sip from the coffee he’d set down for me, “Sorry, I’m just exhausted. This is out of my league.”
“Then tell her that,” Brian shrugged.
I shook my head, “No, I can sit with it for a while…It’s kind of nice to be using my brain for a change.”
Brian laughed softly, letting his eyes wandered to the window as the darkened highway slipped by.
“Why does she want out?” I asked curiously, knowing Brian would have the answers to my curiosity.
He mulled the question around between his teeth, his brown eyes flickering with light movements as they fixed on passing trees.
“I think she’s tired of the dynamic,” he finally offered quietly. “They’re pretty distant over there.”
“I’d noticed.”
He nodded his head gently, “She’s bored. I can tell you that much. She’s really fucking bored. And, to be fuckin’ frank, she’s being smothered.”
“Smothered?” I repeated curiously.
“Yeah, totally,” he declared, shifting his gaze back to me. “She’s a really great writer. Her voice…It’s not being utilized like it should. Her creativity is being snuffed out.”
I considered this, “You don’t think it’s something Haven can work itself into?”
“No,” he replied flatly. “They don’t respect Blair. She doesn’t totally believe me about that, but it’s the truth. They don’t know what she’s capable of.”
“Change is scary,” I offered.
He shrugged, “I’ve never seen Blair freer than when she was writing that song, Aria. You wouldn’t have even recognized her.”
“She played me something back home,” I smiled. “It was beautiful. Haunting even.”
Brian smiled back, his adoration showing through, “Just like Blair.”
“It was really good, by the way,” I said seriously. “It was weird to see you and Jim playing something slow.”
He laughed, “Yeah…Jimmy was so fuckin’ excited when she asked him. Anything he can do to help, you know?”
“I do know,” I nodded. “That’s why I love him.”
“Me too,” Brian beamed fondly.
Jimmy had retreated to bed immediately after the show. He was sure he was coming down with something and was determined to cut it off before it had a chance to fester. The others weren’t far behind him, which was strange considering it was the first show back. I’d anticipated a long night of drinks and drugs—but, no. Brian and I were the only soul left living on the highway that night.
“Blair’s lucky to have you both,” I said pointedly, realizing full well how lucky I was too.
Brian smiled, “She’s lucky to have you too.”
“Yeah, maybe,” I grunted, pulling the enormous stack of papers back into my grip. “Why did she even have this with her?”
He smirked, “Because she’s a smart woman.”
“What about Tyler?” I asked slowly, cautiously glancing up at Brian.
“What about him?”
I sighed, settling in for the talk, “You must know how this is going to affect him…Right?”
“Nothing’s set in stone, Aria,” Brian replied simply. “She’s weighing her options.”
“Who’s idea was this?” I asked then, a bit more pointedly than anticipated.
He shrugged, “Call it a group effort.”
“Brian,” I pressed.
He laughed sharply, “What does it matter? She’d be better off on her own.”
“Maybe,” I breathed.
“Look,” Brian moaned. “This isn’t a blossoming war or anything, Aria. But if Blair wants out, it’s worth letting her explore that. I just want her to be happy.”
My defensive armor for Tyler was smoothed over by Brian’s unadulterated adoration for Blair. It was marvelous how far he’d come from jabs and mind games. Now he was pushing for her to have the illustrious career he felt she deserved; the family she’d always craved.
“You really like her, huh?” I smirked.
He nodded, his cheeks blushing enough to make me giddy, “Most of the time.”
“You’ll totally end up marrying her,” I predicted playfully. “You’ll have a B-named baby and you guys will hit the road like the Von Trapp family. It’ll be wholesome as hell.”
Brian’s eyes widened in horror, “Please don’t use the m-word. Or the b-word.”
“Commitment scary to you, Bri?” I grinned as all the muscles in his body tensed.
He furrowed his brows at me but made absolutely no effort to confirm nor deny my accusation. Instead, he slowly scooted himself to the end of the bench, spilling himself onto his feet to rid himself of our conversation. I hadn’t pegged Brian as a settling-down kind of guy, but I also hadn’t anticipated he’d pull so far away from a hypothetical forever. It was tragically hilarious.
“I’m going to bed,” he announced flatly.
Unable to retract my digging claws, I peered at his fleeting silhouette over my shoulder, “You know you totally love her, right?”
He froze in place.
“You don’t move planets for people you don’t love, Brian,” I informed him warmly. “Just saying.”
I heard him sigh but he hardly acknowledged me further than that. He disappeared into the bunks silently.
My attention immediately fell back to the contract before me, sighing deeply to myself as I re-read the first twelve pages over and over again. I needed a miracle. I needed something to jump out in bold, screaming in my face to alert my attention.
Maybe I’d let my laurels rest for too long. Maybe I’d forgotten everything I’d spent thousands of dollars to learn. Maybe I wasn’t cut out for law after all if I couldn’t even find one simple clause to get her out of this mammoth of a contract. All I needed was a loophole. One short-sighted error on the labels behalf and I was set.
I needed something.
As my eyes scanned the endless pages, my mind wandered back to Brian’s reasonings. I thought about the way Haven behaved with one another, the lingering disconnect that lingered around them like shadows. The only member I’d seen at the hospital, beyond Blair, was Justin. He, of all people, hardly struck me as the sentimental type.
And yet, he’d shown up. I was a frequent visitor, constantly bumping into Blair as she exited the trauma with grace. I hadn’t seen John and I certainly hadn’t seen Chris. But then I thought of Blair in the hospital, under Brian’s watchful eye…They hadn’t shown up then either.
Except Justin.
Was it possible that he was the only other human in the lot? He’d supported Blair’s performance that day, he’d silenced the negativity as it spewed around him. Maybe Blair had a bit more respect in her camp than Brian thought—but maybe Blair knew that. Maybe she didn’t.
I decided it wasn’t my job to work out whether or not Blair should leave her life behind. She knew what was best for her—she’d been surviving on her own for most of her life. If she thought this was the best way to proceed, then I was happy and willing to lend a hand.
“Find the exit yet?” Jimmy’s voice nearly scared me to death.
I gripped at my chest, letting all of the oxygen slip out from my lungs.
He snickered, smiling down at me as he whirled around to pull a plastic bottle of water from the mini fridge tucked beneath the counter. As he poured half the bottle down his throat, he leaned against the cupboards.
“My brain hurts,” I told him with a pout.
He smiled, “You can get it. I’m sure you can.”
“I don’t know if I’m smart enough for this,” I confessed lightly. “This was drawn up by a team…A team looking to keep her bound forever.”
“Find anything useful yet?” he asked, trying his best to be helpful without knowing how.
I shook my head, “No…Not really. They’re tied in for three studio albums. There’s a clause in here for touring but it’s nothing to lean on. I don’t know, Jim. She might just be stuck for another two albums.”
He frowned.
“Is that so bad?” I asked, genuinely curious.
He shrugged, stepping across the narrow walkway to tower over the contract. His eyes squinted and strained to make out any of the inked words without his glasses.
“I don’t know,” he finally sighed. “If you’re done with something, any extra time invested is kind of a fucking bummer.”
I nodded sadly, “Fair enough.”
He grimaced as his thumb shifted through the corners of the massive workload, “This is fucking huge.”
“Is your contract this big?” I asked him curiously.
“Nope,” he replied, an emphasis on the p. “But mine’s just for me, so…”
I tilted my head, “What do you mean?”
“What do I mean?” he laughed softly. “I mean that my contract is for me, you know, James Sullivan? My Avenged contract is with Larry somewhere. I couldn’t tell you what it fucking says.”
I narrowed my eyes, “Aren’t Avenged and Haven on the same label?”
He smirked, running his thumb gently across my cheek, “You’re pretty but kind of dumb.”
I rolled my eyes.
“Yeah,” he chuckled. “Same label.”
“And you have a personal contract,” I reiterated.
He nodded, “Yeah.”
“What does it say?” I asked hurriedly.
My antics caught him off guard in his half-asleep state. He contemplated my question for a minute, swaying his head back and forth atop his long neck.
“It basically just says I’m bound to Avenged,” he finally answered, taking another long swig from his water.
“And that’s it?” I pressed impatiently.
He shrugged, “There abouts.”
I quickly fluttered through the pages until I’d started back at the beginning. I ran my fingers along until I found the money shot.
“This agreement is for Haven,” I gasped.
Jimmy looked at me like I was completely void of a brain, “Who else would it be for?”
“I thought it was Blair’s,” I managed.
On a high, I flipped through the pages with a newfound glory. I’m not sure how I’d missed it, but thrown into the back of the Haven agreement was Blair’s personal agreement. It was as if the contracts had been written to mislead anyone combing through it; which I was sure it would.
Jimmy watched me curiously as my mind went into overdrive. I compared the script with Haven’s binds, immediate relief flushing through my system. I looked up at Jimmy with pride beaming out from beneath the anguish.
He smiled, “Got it?”
I nodded, “I fucking got it.”

Notes

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