Author: Olivia Cunning

Trey tucked his hand under the covers again and Sed forced his attention to his scowling face.

“I want you to concentrate on getting better. Don’t worry about the band,” Sed said. “We’ll wait for you to recover. Cancel tour dates. Put the new album on hold. Whatever is necessary. I haven’t talked to the guys, but I know they feel the same way.”

“Jesus, Sed, I’ve been awake three hours and you’re already deciding if you’re going to kick me out of the band?”

“That’s not what I meant. I just…” God, he was bad at this serious discussion bullshit. “I don’t want you to feel any pressure. Well, yes, some pressure. You’d better work your ass off to get better because we need you, but otherwise, don’t worry. We’ll wait.”

“You really suck at pep talks.”

“Yeah, I know. Fuck.” Sed took a deep breath. “Did I make you feel worse? I’m sorry, man.”

Trey shook his head slightly. “Nah. How long do you think they’ll keep me in this place?”

“Are you bored?”

“Fuck yeah, I’m bored. And I’m dying for a cherry sucker.”

Sed grinned. Something he could do to help. Even if it was minor. “One cherry sucker coming up. Then you have to get some rest, because tomorrow everyone is going to be all over you.”

He smiled slightly. “You’re probably right.”

“You know I am.” Sed stood to leave.

“Sed?”

“Yeah, buddy?”

“What am I going to do if I don’t get better?” Trey asked in a small voice.

Sed paused, his heart rising to his throat. “Don’t talk like that, man. You are going to get better.”

“Guitar. The band. That’s all I have. All I know. I don’t know how to do anything else.”

“You don’t have to know how to do anything else. We aren’t going anywhere, okay?”

Trey lowered his gaze and nodded. “Is Brian still here?”

“No, he left a while ago. Do you want me to call him?”

Trey shook his head. “No. He has Myrna now.”

Sed didn’t know how to deal with someone this depressed. It just wasn’t in his skill set. “I’m going to go get you that sucker now.” Maybe that would help.

He wasn’t sure if Trey even heard him. His eyes had drifted out of focus.

Sed headed for the elevator in search of some place that would sell him a cherry sucker. The gift shop was closed. The cafeteria didn’t sell candy. He found a vending machine that sold Life Savers and used all his change to buy as many rolls as possible. On his way back to Trey’s floor, he called Eric. “Hey, are you coming in to the hospital soon?”

“I thought Trey didn’t want to see anyone.”

“Do we care? He’s majorly bummed. Bring some cherry suckers with you. He’s going through withdrawal.”

“Will do. How’s he doing? I talked to him, but it’s hard to tell on the phone.”

“Better, I think. He looks good. The staples in his head look hardcore. The fans will love that. You know about his hands, don’t you?”

“Yeah, Brian told me. I’ll be there in a few with his lollipops. Jace is fuckin’ missing again. I swear I’m going to kick his ass when I see him. Doesn’t he know I need a ride?”

“You could call a cab.”

“I guess. Dave wants to come visit too. Do you think Trey would be okay with that?”

“I don’t know. He needs someone to cheer him up.” Their soundboard operator wasn’t known for his amazing sense of humor, but he was a good guy.

“I’m on it. Later.”

Sed ended the call and headed to Trey’s room with his meager offering of Life Savers. Five flavors? There was no guarantee any of them were cherry.

Sed walked in without knocking. “I couldn’t find any cherry suckers, but…”

Trey had his pretty brunette physician’s assistant in his arms, kissing her as if there was no tomorrow.

“Whoa! Pardon me.” Sed spun on his heel to leave, but the PA brushed passed him and ran from the room, fleeing for her life apparently. Sed glanced over his shoulder at Trey, who looked rather pleased with himself.

“Even crippled, I still got it.” He smoothed his eyebrow with the side of his finger.

Sed didn’t like his use of the word crippled, but didn’t know what to say. “Uh. I hope these Life Savers will tide you over until Eric gets here with your suckers.”

“Eric’s coming?”

“Yeah. He’s bringing Dave.”

“Cool. Why don’t you call Jake and have him round up some groupies for me?”

Sed’s brow crinkled with confusion. “Huh?”

Trey unwrapped a roll of Life Savers, flicking candies off one at a time with his thumb until he came to a red one. He popped the red one in his mouth. It took some concentration for him to use his hands, but he was already doing better than he had been even a half hour ago. What had changed? Sed decided he was pissed instead of feeling sorry for himself.

“I told you I was bored,” Trey said. “Some group sex should take care of that.”

“Where is this coming from?”

“Well, you’ve got Jessica back now and Brian is fuckin’ married, so that leaves more pussy for me and Eric, right?”

“Trey—”

“Where is Jessica, anyway? Gonna take her out and play along the Vegas strip like you did last night? Did she give you some? I bet she did. I’d take that over a subdural hema-fuckin-toma any day.”

Trey started flinging all of his non-cherry Life Savers across the room. Some of them hit the wall and shattered, spreading candy confetti across the floor.

“Can I come in?” Jessica asked from the doorway.

“Speaking of your good piece of ass. I guess she got lonely. Probably wants to give you some right now.”

Sed didn’t know how to react. This wasn’t like Trey at all. When he was a teenager, yeah, Trey had been like this. Chip on his shoulder. The world out to get him. But he’d been content for the past decade.

“Come on in, sweetheart,” Sed called to Jessica. “Help me keep Trey company.”

“Are you sure?” Jessica asked, stepping through the doorway but not venturing any deeper into the room.

He was more than sure. Maybe she could calm Trey down where he had so utterly failed.

“By all means,” Trey said, “join the party. I’m currently waiting for a surprise enema as a punishment for sucking contraband Life Savers. Pull up a chair. Should be fun to watch my continued misery.”

“Trey, what the fuck is wrong with you?” Sed asked.

“I don’t know, Sed. Maybe I have brain damage or something.” He poked himself in the head much harder than necessary.

Sed winced. Where was Brian? Brian would know how to handle him.

Jessica came further into the room and perched on the edge of Trey’s bed. “What’s the matter, sweetie?” She traced his eyebrow with her thumb, leaning close so only inches separated their noses. Jade green eyes stared into emerald green. Had it been any other guy on the planet, Sed might have been jealous, but this was Trey. He had no interest in another guy’s woman. He could get what he wanted from an infinite variety of available ass.

“Don’t baby me,” Trey grumbled at Jessica.

“I’m not babying you. I’m concerned about you. You don’t really think you’re going to be stuck in the hospital forever, do you?”

He crossed his arms over his chest, bunching his hospital gown across his shoulders. “Maybe.”

“Youse wants me and Sed ta bust ya outta dis joint?”

Trey grinned, watching her from the corner of his eye. “Maybe.”

“Sed,” Jessica whispered.

“What?”

“Start tying bed sheets together.” She stood and crossed the room to press on the window with both hands. “I’ll work on getting this open.”

“We’re on the fifteenth floor,” he reminded her.

“So it will take a lot of sheets. Raid the supply closet.” She glanced at Trey. “You aren’t afraid of heights, are you?”

Trey grinned and shook his head at her.

“Good.” She looked down at the ground far below. “I’m not sure we can get enough sheets. That’s a loooooong way down. Maybe we should make a parachute instead. How do you feel about base jumping?”

“Uh, no.” Trey chuckled, his scowl completely gone. “I think I prefer being stuck in this hellhole over attempting your brilliant escape plans.”

“If you want to survive,” Sed murmured in all seriousness.

Trey and Jessica exchanged glances and burst out laughing.

“Oh jeez,” Trey said, wiping tears of mirth from the corners of both eyes. “He thought you were serious.”

Sed chewed his lip, feeling like an ass. He had been taking it all too seriously. No wonder Trey had been so uptight. “Nah, I was just playing along with her.”

“Suuuuure,” Trey said, laughing even harder.

Jessica’s eyes met Sed’s. She smiled and winked at him. And just like that all the tension left the room. This woman, his woman, was amazing.

Jessica seemed to enjoy caring for Trey. Fluffing his pillow. Adjusting his bed to a more reclined position. Rubbing his wrists, which he claimed were cramping up on him. Sed was convinced Trey was making stuff up just to get her attention. Sed considered making up a few aches of his own. She was practically ignoring him and he didn’t like it. At all.

A while later, Eric entered the room with a garbage bag. “It’s about time you woke up, lazy ass,” he said to Trey. “You think you’re on vacation or something?” He crossed the room in several long-legged strides and upended the sack over Trey’s lap, burying him in an avalanche of cherry suckers. “I hope they don’t keep you in here longer than a day. I can’t keep up with this addiction of yours.”

Dave, their soundboard operator, entered with a laptop and set it on Trey’s lap. “Dude, I’m tired of answering your fuckin’ fan mail. Do it yourself.”

“What?” Trey scrolled down a screen of messages, his fingers curled awkwardly over the touch pad.

“A thousand get-well-soon messages and counting,” Dave told him. “Your fans have always been loyal.”

“Not to mention crazy as hell,” Eric said. “There’s a whole crowd of them camped outside the hospital. Getting through security was insane.”

“Awesome. I could use a little fan lovin’ right now.”

“Oh, there’s plenty of love in there,” Dave said. “Trust me.”

“Any interesting pictures?”

“Slutty, you mean?” Eric said, fingering the cleft in the center of his chin.

Trey grinned his orneriest. “Obviously.”

Dave, the most normal-looking roadie on the planet, sat in the chair beside the bed. “I put those in your save folder.”

“I think I love you, Dave,” Trey said, poking keys with one finger.

“You ready to go eat?” Sed asked Jessica. “Eric and Dave will keep an eye on Trey. And you must be starving. I know I am.”

She nodded. He moved his arm to circle her shoulders and directed her toward the door. “See you later, Trey. We’ll stop by again this evening.”

“Later,” Trey said absently, pointing at something on the computer screen and laughing with Eric. “She’s right. That does make me feel better. But I don’t think that bikini is legal. Not even on a nude beach.”

“Dude, dude, email her back. Wait. Let me get a picture of your head staples.” Eric snapped a picture of the side of Trey’s head with his camera phone. “Fuckin’ brutal. You are gonna get so much sympathy pussy.”