TWO SOULS: INTO THE FIRE
52nd installment
warning...adult content
~
The next morning Steve woke first, expecting Ghost to have already made coffee, but Ghost was still in bed. Steve went ahead and made it, and had some cereal. Still, Ghost wasn't up, so he went to check on him, even if he figured Ghost was still mad at him. Opening the bedroom door, he saw Ghost in bed, but something didn't feel right. Ghost was breathing funny. Going over to him, he brushed Ghost's hair off his face.
"Ghost, wake up. You're burning up." He shook him several times, before he got a response. "You've got a fever, Ghost!"
Ghost was shivering and could hardly croak out a word. He just pointed to the back room, wanting Steve to get him some weird concoction, but Steve wouldn't, this time.
"No way, man, this looks serious. You're going to see a real doctor for once."
Ghost was too sick to protest much, so Steve helped him out to the new car. "Thank goodness we have a car now," Steve thought, as he sped toward Raleigh, and the nearest hospital.
It was weird going through the sign in process; it took forever, but finally they saw the doctor. He told them it was strep throat, and he gave Ghost a shot and some medicine to take home.
At the house, Steve settled Ghost into the bed, so he could tend to him. He was a little worried about doing a show on the weekend, but Ghost recovered pretty fast, and they had a day to practice their set. Nothing else was said about the confrontation that had gone down before.
~
Kinsey, hadn't had much time to advertise that Lost Souls? were going to perform, but word got out, and the club filled up fast on that Saturday night. Steve and Ghost had come in early to set up, getting everything working on stage, and Kinsey was glad to see they were getting along. He knew from past experience, that they would be a well oiled, magic machine on stage, no matter their quarrels.
Having worked out some new songs, they planned them for the cornerstones of their set list, and had some of their old favorites to fill in the middle. As usual, Kinsey could sense the connecting thread of the song choices and lyrics, that told of Steve and Ghost's journey together. Again, he was brought to tears, by the way they presented themselves on stage, to the crowd, and to each other.
They began with a new one, *"If I Die Young", then a couple of old ones. Next was another new one, *"The First Cut is the Deepest". Kinsey was a little confused at the lyrics of the new ones, though. He knew they held some meaning for the guys, but he did not know their whole story. All he knew, was these new songs were sad, and then again, hopeful. They flowed in a sort of story telling time line, just like Lost Souls? songs always did.
The club kids were digging it, no matter what they meant..they all had different experiences that were reflected in Ghost's songs...it must be a universal mind set, he guessed. Then, they changed it up a bit. Steve hardly ever sang a song by himself; he usually just came in on the chorus, but for some reason, this was different.
No explanation was given...they just continued. Steve had written the next song, and wanted to sing it to Ghost...and even in his off key voice, it was amazing. He called it *"Truly, Madly, Deeply", and he sang it with such emotion, it didn't matter if his voice was out of tune, and broke up in parts. Ghost just stood there, looking into Steve's eyes the whole time, tears flowing freely. The crowd was hushed, just mesmerized by Steve baring his soul in a love song to Ghost.
There were a few minutes of silence after that one, then Steve started playing an upbeat tune to get things going again. Their next two new ones, *"Always", and *"Stuck With You", were still telling a timeline story of their life, going from pain and heartbreak, to having come through it all, and now are happy to be together again. These got the crowd smiling and dancing.The last new one was *"Home", which was where it should be in the lineup. As usual, they ended the show with *"World", the sad, yet uplifting song that gave hope to all who heard it. The kids sang along with the familiar words that meant so much to them all. Then it was done.
The guys were mobbed by the fans, who congratulated them, and welcomed them back. But, there was one stranger in the back of the club, that was not happy...not at all. As Steve and Ghost made their way backstage to cool off and pack up, the stranger followed. When he saw his chance, he took it. As Ghost walked down the hallway, he heard someone call out to him. He turned, coming face to face with Maxy.
"Maxy, what are you doing here?" Ghost asked. He had a feeling it wasn't going to be good.
"I missed you, Ghost...you ran out on me, remember? That pissed me off. Now, I'm here to drag you back where you belong, you little bitch..." Maxy said, grabbing Ghost, actually trying to drag him away.
Ghost screamed and yelled for Steve, kicking Maxy, but Maxy was bigger and stronger, and took a tighter grip, yanking Ghost around by his hair. Steve had not heard Ghost cry out, over the crowd noise, and the jukebox, which was now blasting out music, but some of the kids noticed Ghost being practically kidnapped. They burst into the dressing room, telling Steve to come quick...Ghost needed him.
As he ran out of the dressing room, he saw the tall stranger trying to manhandle Ghost out the door. In a split second, Steve realized this must be Maxy, and he was going to kill him with his bare hands, if he had to. He ran full out, as the crowd parted, jumped on Maxy, knocking him down. He hit him as hard as he could. Ghost was able to scramble away. The crowd, seeing what was happening, charged in to help Steve. Ghost grabbed a beer bottle, whacking Maxy on the head a couple of times, before it even slowed him down.
Maxy didn't count on all the kids there, jumping on him, or their loyalty to Steve and Ghost, in this little backwoods town. Kinsey called the sheriff, who finally got there, and broke up the brawl. He hauled Maxy off to jail for attempted kidnapping.
The club was a mess of overturned tables and spilled drinks. Kinsey yelled for everyone to clear out, deciding then and there he needed a long vacation. He went to the back room, where he found Steve and Ghost gathering their equipment.
"You guys, ok?" he asked.
"Yeah," Steve answered, and Ghost just nodded.
"Was that the guy you were involved with out in L.A., Ghost?"
Ghost looked down through his hair, saying softly, "Yeah...he shouldn't have come here."
"Damn straight, he shouldn't have come here," said Steve. "How could you ever get with that creep, Ghost? How could you...I'm still gonna kill him."
"No, you're not," Kinsey said. "He's in jail and will be charged. Then, he'll do his punishment and crawl back to where he came from. You'll only hurt yourself and Ghost, if you go after him."
"Yeah, well, we'll see," said Steve.
*"If I Die Young"...The Band Perry...written by Kimberly Perry...Label - Republic Nashville...Released on self titled album, October 12, 2010
*"The First Cut is the Deepest"...Sheryl Crow...written by Cat Stevens...published 1967...released on A & M, October 20, 2003, on the album "The Very Best of Sheryl Crow"
*"Truly, Madly, Deeply"...Savage Garden...written by Darren Hayes and Daniel Jones...Label - Columbia (International), Roadshow (Australia), Sony Records (Japan)...from the album "Savage Garden", released March 3, 1997.
*"Always"...Erasure...written by Vince Clarke and Andy Bell...Label - Mute (UK), Elektra (U.S.), released on the album "I Say I Say I Say", April 11, 1994.
*"Stuck With You"...Huey Lewis and the News...written by Chris Hayes and Huey Lewis...Label - Chrysalis...released on the album "Fore", August 31, 1986.
*"Home"...Phillip Phillips...written by Drew Pearson and Greg Holden...Label - Interscope...released May 23, 2012 on the album "The World From the Side of the Moon"
*"Hole in the World"...The Eagles...written by Don Henley and Glenn Frey...Label - The Eagles Recording Company II... released on the album "Eagles - TheVery Best Of" on July 15, 2003
~
Next installment coming soon!
Peace, Love, & Writing
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