Smolder (The Road to Rocktoberfest 2024)

3. Chapter Three

Chapter Three

Skyler

I was determined to storm out of Mom’s house because I didn’t want to hear her defend Regal, which she was prone to do. It had happened far too often, and I was tired of it. Then, my mom spoke up.

“Please, Sky. We need you. You don’t understand what’s going on, and I’d like the chance to explain it to you.”

God, the pleading in her voice had me anchored to the spot. I knew in my gut I should have left because she was going to guilt me into doing something I didn’t want to do.

I sat at the table again. “Mom, you know how much I don’t give a crap about Regal. He never gave a care about me, so why should I try to help him now?”

Mom sat forward and grabbed my hand. “Sky, he didn’t know how to be a good father, okay? He loves you, and he wants to see you. Please, son, come with me to talk to him.”

I sighed. “Will that make you happy? He’s been a real jerk to me since I can remember, Mom. Tell me why he wants to see me.”

“He needs you to help with ‘Bury Me’. The movie studio wants to hear an updated recording of the song with more heavy metal influences, and Regal can’t write it by himself. He needs you, Sky.”

Why did I have to deal with this crap? I was a schoolteacher, and a darn good one. I tried to be a resource and support system for my students and the members of my school community, and I found a lot of satisfaction in my job. I’d seen too much of my father’s world as a kid and wanted no part of it. I’d walked as far away from Regal Ashe as I could get—all the way to West Peoria, Illinois.

Now, Regal wanted to use me as if we’d had a relationship all along? Nope!

“No. He never gave a crap about me, Mom. Why should I help him now?”

Hope stared at me for a moment. “I’ve never asked you for anything. This is me asking you for one favor. This is me asking you to help your father, not for him, but for me.”

I stared at my mother. At forty-seven, she was still beautiful with her long blonde hair and bright smile. She was right. She’d never asked me for anything, but now she was asking me for something I didn’t believe my father deserved. She would always be my Achilles heel.

“Mom… Fine, I’ll go with you to the hospital to talk to Regal, but I’m not making any promises.”

My mother nodded and tried to hide her smile, the dirty dealer. She’d won, and she knew it.

I went upstairs to my room to shower the airplane off me. I was fucking exhausted and only wanted to sleep, but instead, I was going to the hospital to see a man I cared nothing about.

What a fun trip this was turning out to be…

I stood in the hallway of El Camino Hospital outside of Regal’s room, where he was recovering from surgery. Mom went inside to talk to the doctor, and I waited for her to flag me in.

After a few minutes, the doctor came out and offered a tight smile, Mom hot on his trail. “Will you come in now, Sky?”

I blew out a huge breath as if I were preparing to walk across hot coals. “Sure, Mom.”

I followed her into the hospital room, where Regal was propped up in his bed. He had a nasal cannula in place and was pale, but he still had that cocky smile I remembered.

“Regal.” His eyes were closed, but I knew he was awake and wanted to hear what was said about him.

His eyes opened and he turned in my direction. “Son, it’s great to see you.”

“Is it ? Is it really , Regal? Why? Give me one reason why it’s good to see me other than you need something and put Mom up to talking me into it.” My words were harsh, but with everything he’d put our family through over the years, I believed he’d earned my disdain.

“Sky! Don’t talk to your father like that! He just had heart surgery.” Of course Mom would stick up for the jerk.

“It’s okay, Hope.” He took her hand and kissed it before he turned to me. “Sky, you know I love you. That’s why I asked your mom to get you to come. I need you to help me with the song because I don’t trust anyone else to do it right.”

Was I supposed to be grateful for that crumb of praise? Why did it feel so flippin’ good to hear?

“What do you want me to do?” And now, I was the pushover I always believed my mother to be.

As Regal was about to answer, Dusty Carson walked in. “Regal, man, you scared the shit out of us.” He walked over to the bed and grabbed my dad’s hand, half-hugging him.

Regal gave him a cocky smile. “This is what I get for trying to take care of my women at the same time.” He then reached around my mom and smacked her ass, which I didn’t appreciate.

“Where’s Jeanne?” Dusty glanced around the room, his eyes settling on me for the first time in a long time.

From the Ashes didn’t tour much anymore, and Dusty lived in New Mexico, so I hadn’t seen him in a few years. I remembered him always being with Regal when he’d come get me at the farm—the few times he bothered to show up. Dusty was there when I went on tour with Regal a few times, looking out for me more than my own father.

“There he is! How you doin’, kid?” Dusty took two long strides and hugged me tightly. I still felt like a kid in his long arms.

Dusty Carson was fifty-five—ten years younger than the rest of the band. He wasn’t a big talker, but when he spoke, it was smart to listen, or so I’d gotten the impression from the rest of the guys. I looked up to him far more than I ever did to Regal.

“I’m good, Dusty. It’s great to see you.” I stepped out of his grasp and leaned back against the windowsill where I’d been standing.

“How’s Illinois?” Dusty had been supportive of my decision to teach band and music at a small school in West Peoria, while Regal wanted me to join their band. After everything I’d seen the few times Regal had taken me out with the band when they went on tour, I wanted nothing to do with that lifestyle.

“Things are great. We had our end-of-year concert last night, which was fantastic. I have a job lined up to work at the nursery in town for the summer, and then marching band camp starts in August.”

“You didn’t ask him?” Dusty’s head swung in Regal’s direction.

“Didn’t have a chance. All I asked—” Mom cleared her throat. “All Hope asked was that he help with ‘Bury Me’.”

Dusty turned to me. “Did you say yes?”

“Not yet. What’s it need? That was one of your number ones.”

“The film producers asked that we give it the heavy metal treatment. They wanted to license it and get another band to sing it, but your dad and I don’t trust it with anyone outside the family. Regal and I were rewriting the music—or at least trying. We were planning to lean heavily on guitar riffs and add in a metal break, but then this idiot thought he was twenty-five again and could fuck two women at the same time.”

I winced at Dusty’s choice of words. The dude was talking about my mom.

“Sorry, kid. Anyway, I think we can rewrite it, perform it, and get it in the movie. He’s”—Dusty pointed to Regal—“worthless at this point, so will you work with me and the guys to get it up to what the studio is looking for?”

I’d double majored in music education and composition, so it wasn’t like I couldn’t do it. I did it for the kids in my classes all the time, usually to simplify the orchestration for their skill level or to write parts for instruments not included in the original compositions. I also played piano, which was what got me into my music program in the first place.

I lifted my eyes to meet Mom’s. “It’ll take more than a few days, and I didn’t pack for that. I have a job waiting for me, and I’d need a place to work and a piano. I need the money I’d make over the summer to live on. I have my own life and responsibilities in Illinois.”

Mom mouthed, “ I know. Please .” She then placed her palms together like she was begging.

I sucked in a calming breath through my nose and blew it out, just as I’d learned in the Saturday morning yoga class sponsored by the school district. It helped after a long week of teaching band to kids between the ages of eleven and eighteen, though my high schoolers gave me a rougher time than the middle schoolers.

Regal stared at me. “Please, Sky. I know you’ll do it justice and give it the treatment—”

“I don’t listen to metal music, and what you guys played back in the day was nothing like the music metalheads today. How do you know the studio will like what I come up with?” I was teetering, which I didn’t like in the least. I was usually stronger in my resolve not to allow Regal’s crap to seep into my life. Why was I even considering this?

Dusty stepped forward and put his hand on my shoulder. “We need something more than just rewriting the music, Skyler. We need you to sit in and record the new track with us. I’m asking you to take Regal’s place as the drummer and lead singer for the band until he’s back in fighting shape.”

I stared at Dusty with my mouth open, then swung around to my mom. “You knew this? You knew they were going to ask me to—”

“And they’ll need you to tour with them so they can try out the song at a few venues their manager is setting up.” Mom’s cheeks flushed as her eyes scanned the room, not meeting mine at all.

“Wait. You dragged me out here under the pretense that Regal might die—when you knew he was going to be fine—all because you want me to score ‘Bury Me’ and tour with the band?” I put my hands on my hips and stared at my mother.

I respected Dusty because he was just trying to do what was best for the band. I didn’t give a damn about Regal because he only thought of himself. But my mom? I’d have never thought she’d stoop so low as to manipulate me in such a fashion.

“Walk with me, Sky.” Mom crossed the room and took my arm, leading me out to the elevator. “Let’s get some coffee.”

We stepped into the box and she pressed the button for the second floor where the cafeteria was located. There were other people with us, so we didn’t speak.

Mom found a table away from anyone before she went to get our coffee, returning with a tray and a couple of sweet rolls. She set it in front of me and sat in the chair to my left.

“We’re broke.”

I nearly dropped my coffee cup at her confession. How had this happened?

During their heyday, From the Ashes made money hand over fist. Their concerts were sold out in every US city, and after ‘Bury Me’ hit number one on the charts and stayed there for ten weeks, they had three successful international tours.

John Cordell, their manager back then, made the guys invest their money, always saying, “You need to plan for the future.” I thought my father had enough sense to listen. Clearly, I was wrong.

“How? What happened to the money?”

Mom sighed and began shredding a beverage napkin. “Child support. Alimony for me and Jeanne. My farm. Her house. A lot of it went up his nose, and then there was rehab—three times. After he overcame his addictions, the idiot met Cassie, and they had a whirlwind romance, which is Regal’s favorite thing. The first part of a relationship is his favorite, but the follow-up is where he messes it up every time.

“Your dad asked Cassie to marry him because that’s his go-to when he thinks he’s about to be caught doing something he shouldn’t, and when Cassie found out he was still seeing Jeanne and me, she drained his bank account. He was stupid enough to put her name on it and give her a credit card with an unlimited line of credit.

“Regal’s made a lot of mistakes over his lifetime, but Jeanne and I still love him. I wanted to help him, but the grants I get for taking care of rescue animals can only pay the few bills I have. Regal needs more than I can give him, and Jeanne’s job doesn’t pay much either. We don’t have enough to cover the bills Cassie racked up.”

“Mom, you shouldn’t be giving him anything. He walked out on us.” My teeth were gritted so tightly that I was afraid they would shatter.

“Honey, just because he left doesn’t mean I stopped loving him. I’m sorry for the shitty way he treated you as a kid, but I know he wasn’t purposely trying to hurt you. He wasn’t deliberately trying to hurt me, Jeanne, or River either. His actions are a by-product of the lifestyle he got sucked into. The band became a success too quickly, and none of us knew how to handle it.”

I shook my head and pushed the tray of pastries away, having lost my appetite. “Mom, I love you more than anything, but I can’t sit back and watch Regal weasel his way back into your life. He leaves a wake of destruction everywhere he goes. When did all this crap go down?”

Mom gave me a tender smile. “You don’t curse anymore, do you?”

It struck me as funny that she would focus on my lack of swearing instead of the cesspool that had become her life. “Teacher, remember? Shaping young minds is what I do.”

“We sold Jeanne’s house last year, and she moved in with me at my invitation before Thanksgiving when your father couldn’t afford to pay the mortgage in Santa Clara. It was nice having River in the house. Made me miss you a little less.

“Anyway, Regal told Cassie he was taking River to see your dead grandmother’s grave in Pasadena so he could spend the holiday with us, but she had him followed and confronted him at the farm. She threw him out of the condo, but thankfully, they were just leasing it. She’ll get the boot from it at the end of June.

“Look, Sky, I didn’t tell you because I knew you wouldn’t approve, but Jeanne and I still love your dad. River’s been doing much better by having Regal around, and I wish you’d had the same opportunity. Riv had been hanging with a crowd that could be problematic, but things have become more stable with all of us now. We’re trying to figure out how to pay for River’s college if he decides to go, but that’s not certain. I’m not sure if college is best for him, but it’s a place to start for him to build a future.”

“Except there’s no money for him to go, right? You kept all this from me? Is that why you said you weren’t hosting Christmas last year because you were going camping instead? You were hiding Regal, Jeanne, and River from me?” I was boiling mad, and keeping my voice down was hard.

“No, no. It wasn’t designed that way. I planned to tell you what was happening, but I didn’t know how to do it without upsetting you. I’m sorry I didn’t invite you to come with us. I’ve been trying to figure out how to get you and your father in the same room so you could talk, but then this happened.”

I finished my coffee and stood. “I need to think. I’ll meet you back home.”

I walked out of the hospital cafeteria, took the stairs to the lobby area, and exited through the emergency room.

What a disaster!