come. And sometimes it’s not
until I listen to the recordings that I find it. It might be a note that I
randomly hit. It might be a sequence that I didn’t even realize I played. Or it
might just be something I’ve said. Or the silence... the worst sound of it all.
Right? Silence.”
“Yes,” Jessica said. “Silence. It’s
scary.”
“It’s ending,” Slader said.
“Silence is... death. And death will take us all.”
“I hate silence,” Jessica said.
She thought of her sister right
then. The silence of her sister’s voice. The silence of her sister’s room. The
silence of what her sister had done...
As tears came, she closed her eyes.
A few tears made their way out and when she felt Slader touching her face
again, she jumped.
“Sorry,” she whispered. “I didn’t
mean...”
“It’s beautiful,” Slader said.
Jessica watched as Slader stared at
the tear on his finger. He was amazed by it and something about that sight made
Jessica feel as though she needed to weep some more. Just being that close to
Slader did something to Jessica. She felt so open. She felt so willing to trust
him. Everything about his eyes called to her, controlled her.
Slader slid the covers off
Jessica’s body.
It was definitely time to leave.
“Thank you, Slader,” Jessica
whispered.
Slader touched Jessica’s chest.
With his pointer finger, he drew a line down between her bare breasts.
“Don’t thank me just yet,” Slader
said.
Jessica found the strength to leave
the bed, get dressed, and leave the hotel. Each step she took away from Slader
was like a little shot to her heart.
When she got home, she was relieved
to find Carrie sitting at the dining room table, leafing through a magazine, a
cup of tea in front of her. There was power in the innocence Carrie had,
innocence that made Jessica feel more at home.
“How was your night?” Carrie asked.
She stared down at the magazine.
Jessica knew that sign from Carrie. Something had happened with John. Normally,
Jessica would sit with Carrie and talk to her. Help her through whatever it was
John did now.
But this morning Jessica had work.
“Long night,” Jessica said. “I have
to type my story.”
“So... you got it?”
“And then some,” Jessica said.
Carrie looked at her. It was a
distant look. An empty look.
“Are you two going to see each
other again?” Carrie asked.
“I have no idea,” Jessica said. “As
far as I’m concerned, it was the greatest one night stand in the world. But,
honestly, Carrie, there’s something about him...”
Jessica felt emotion overcoming
her. She had to back off fast. She couldn’t talk about Alex Slader. Not to
Carrie. No offense to Carrie. She didn’t understand this stuff. She was an
innocent woman. She had a boyfriend who controlled her but for all the wrong
reasons. Aside from that, Jessica didn’t know much about her roommate. Other
than at the right time they both needed a roommate and found each other.
“I really have to get this story
written.”
Jessica walked away.
Her mind, her body, even her heart
was all focused on Slader.
When she sat at her laptop, the
words came fast. The problem was that they weren’t the words she needed to
tell. They were the words she wanted to tell, just to see in writing the truth
of Alex Slader.
None of it would work though.
None of it.
Jessica printed what she wrote,
then deleted it. She repeated the same process a total of four times. Each time
she read her printed words, they were golden, but not meant for Mr. Plink. No
way. Jessica couldn’t imagine painting Alex Slader as a dominating romantic
rockstar. That wasn’t her job right then. Her job was to tell the story of the
show. The man behind the show. The band...
Ashes in Vain.
Jessica closed her eyes and typed.
An hour later Jessica had the story
written, edited, sent, and she stared at her cell phone. The call came five
minutes later, the fastest she’d ever gotten a call after submitting a story
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