All is Found - Chapter 7: Chapter 7

Five days ago
When I woke up on Pat and Eds couch the next morning I woke up with a smile on my face. Finally after 7 year I will be free of Bobby's controlling nature. Pat and Ed made me stay for breakfast which was more like a brunch complete with mimosas which left me a tipsy. When I finally told them I needed to go Ed gave me bundle of sage. He told me to cleanse myself of the industry to help my soul be at peace.
I gave them both a large kiss on the cheek and almost skipped home. Once I got in the door I went to the kitchen and grabbed a lighter to start burning the sage. It took me a good half an hour to go through the whole house but when I was done I put the sage down in the ash tray on the coffee table and just took a breath. Final free.
Well almost I still had a phone call to make. Standing up to quickly made the room spin and I had to reach out for the edge of the couch not to fall. Once the world stopped spinning I made my way to the kitchen and picked up the contract Logan left me. I grabbed my phone from my back pocket and dialed the handwritten number. As the phone rang looked around the kitchen and started to think about what I should make for dinner. The phone rang three times before I heard a dial tone I'm sorry but the number you are trying to reach is not in service, please check the number and try calling again.
Okay that was weird. I double checked the number as I dial it again. The phone rang three times before I got the message that the number is not in service. Shit. I guess I'm going to have to call Bobby. I dialed his number and the phone rang twice before he answered.
"Hello?" Bobby asked
"Hey Bobby it's me. I just tried calling the phone number Logan left for me but it's not in service." I said.
"Oh that's strange but wait one second and I can put myself on speaker. Logan is here with me." Bobby answered.
"Hi Ash you are now on speaker with Bobby and me." Logan said.
"Hi guys, listen, after going through the contract and giving it a lot of thought I'm not going to sign. I do want to thank you for all you have done for me and for giving me this generous offer but I'm going to have to pass." I said trying to let them down easy.
"Thank you for the phone call with your decision Ash. If it were possible Bobby and myself would like to take you out to dinner as a token of our appreciation for all the work you have done for the label. We could set something up for two days from now if that's okay with you." Logan offer.
"One dinner, you can pick some place in Boston and just let me know when to show up." I said.
Thinking about it I did owe Bobby a lot and going to this one dinner for them would give me some closure on this chapter of my life so that's why I agreed to it. And if this is going to be the last time I'm going to see Bobby might as well have him pay for a fancy dinner.
"Sounds good I'll make the reservation and Bobby will text you with the details." Logan said.
We said our goodbyes and I almost started jumping up and down in excitement. Freedom is so close I can taste it. Just get through this one dinner with Bobby and Logan and I'm free to finally be myself. I walked to my wine cooler and pulled out the one bottle of champagne I had and popped the cork. I felt like spraying it on myself but then I would have to clean it up so I just drank straight from the bottle. After the champagne ended up going up my nose I decided on pouring some in a cup and made my way back to the couch.
I flipped through some channels and settled back on the food network again. As I was starting to feel a buzz I heard someone knock on my front door. I sighed and put down the cup and got up to answer the door. When I pulled it open Eli was standing on my doorstep with his hands up.
"I come in peace I promise." Eli said.
"What are you doing here?" I asked.
"Bobby called me with the news you weren't signing on with the label and I just wanted to come over see you before I head back to LA. Well actually I was hoping you would let me take you out to dinner and maybe a club to celebrate your new found freedom but I wasn't going to push my luck." Eli rambled on. I gave him a smirk and pulled him in for a hug.
"You're buying" I said as I pulled away from him.
"Anything you want." Eli said as gave me a smile.
I let him cross the threshold and got him a cup for some champagne. We made quick work of the bottle and I brought out a bottle of wine to hold us over a little longer before we head to get something for dinner. After our first glass was gone Eli and I went up to my room and he helped me get dressed for the night out. Finally I got to wear what I wanted, black ankle cropped slacks and a black button down that I rolled up the sleeves on.
"You need to break up the black a little, you aren't going to a funeral." Eli mocked and I finished cuffing my left sleeve.
"Well it kind of is the death of my career." I said and laughed.
Eli didn't say anything as he just put some gel in his hair to keep it from going all over the place during the course of the night. Once I was ready Eli called for an Uber and we were off to Boston 20 minutes later. Eli ended up picking a Mexican Tapas Bar and I was all for it. The ride to the restaurant wasn't bad and we were sipping margaritas about 45 minutes later.
As we were drinking Eli and I order a bunch of food. I know that I won't survive the club if I don't eat something now. I'll be blacked out for the most of the night. So I didn't order a second margarita and went with a water as I devoured plate after plate of food.
After I ate enough food to feed a small army Eli and I thought it would be best for us to find a club. It was still pretty early but I didn't want to have to pay for an Uber back to my house to come all the way back to Boston a few hours later in another Uber.
At the last minute Eli and I walked past Boston Commons and I pulled him into the park with me. The sun has set a while ago and the night wasn't as bitter cold as the last few so I thought it would be okay to stay in the park for a little. Eli and I watched a few others walk through the park as I plopped down on a bench.
"You know, this has been the best night I've had in a long time." I said looking for stars above my head.
"Yea it's shaping up to be a night to remember or don't if we keep drinking like this." Eli said and put his head in my lap as he laid out across the bench.
"Well now that I'm free to do whatever I want, I'm hoping I can have more of these nights. Maybe without all the drinking but I'm just so happy to be home. I'm happy that I can visit my siblings and that I have Pat and Ed next door if I need something. I think I might even get a dog." I said pushed his hair back into place.
"You think you can keep a dog alive? I've seen you barely keep yourself alive on tour this past year, what makes you think you can handle a dog?" Eli said and chuckled.
"Fair point but now that I have all this free time on my hands I have all the time in the world to learn. Oh I've got it! I can go back to school now!" I said like I had the best idea ever.
"I forgot you dropped out of college, what were you studying again?" Eli asked.
"God I think it was just liberal arts because I didn't know what I wanted to do with my life. Then I posted that cover on YouTube and Bobby called a few months later and my fate took a different path." I said.
"Just remember your favorite guitar player if you are ever looking to go back to music when you drop out of college again." Eli said and I hit him in the stomach.
We both just laughed and I looked up at the stars again. I hope my siblings are proud of me and the help me make my next move in life.
"You're more then my favorite guitar player Eli. You were my rock when everything fell apart after the home invasion. Please don't forget that. You're like the little brother I got stuck with and now I can't picture life without. Yes we have our fights but I wouldn't have it any other way." I said.
Eli sat up on the bench and pulled me into a hug. For better or worse Eli was there to help me out of my tail spin. After my siblings past away I still had to finish out my tour. Bobby was able to push off some dates but he couldn't cancel the tour completely due to the contracts. I only had two weeks left but by the middle of the first week I was constantly drinking. I would end up going on stage drunk. Bobby has able to keep the press at bay and it didn't get huge that my siblings were killed.
I had to leave Salem and finish my tour before I could bury them. With the police investigation ongoing they wouldn't release their bodies to me so I had to leave them in the morgue until the tour was over. That thought finally got to me and I almost couldn't get it together. Eli helped me stay sober enough to perform the rest of the shows and when I was done I got to come home and greave them. He stayed with me and made sure I wasn't going to do anything stupid.
The police finally caught the intruders and they were charged with murder. Both of the men admitted that they broke into the house to kidnap me and hold me for ransom. Things were starting to calm down before I heard that news. It was a week before I had to start the European leg of my tour and I couldn't get it together.
The back half of that tour was the worst of my life. I had no interest in performing and I made Bobby cancel all of the meet and greats that were purchase because I couldn't deal with having people in my face. Then the nightmares started coming and I drowned myself in liquor. I tried to keep everything inside but Eli always had a way of breaking down my walls. He wormed his way inside and didn't leave.
After our mushy moment was over Eli pulled me off the bench and we made our way to the club. Aura was displayed in dark purple neon lights. The club actually looked pretty busy for the early hour as Eli pulled me to the front of the line. When the bouncer saw my face he waved us right through. We went right to the VIP area of the club and ordered a bottle of champagne. A few minutes later one bottle turned to two and Eli and I were on the dance floor with the bottles.
We danced the night away. The drinks kept flowing as Eli and I danced and grinded on girls who came up to us. I have no doubt they know who I am but I couldn't be bothered. Towards the end of the night I settled up the bar tab because I know Eli doesn't have enough money to cover the total.
As I went to the bar it felt like the ground was moving. Every step I took it felt like the bar was getting farther and farther away from until I walked into it. I couldn't help but let out a chuckle as I pulled out one of the barstools and sat down.
"Look who I found." I heard someone say and I turned next to me. The voice sounded familiar as I focused on the guys face.
"Bobby! What are you doing here?" I asked and flashed him a smile. I wasn't going to let him ruin the great night I was having.
"Eli told me that you guys were out and I just wanted to have a drink with you." Bobby said.
"Last drink, I'm about to settle up my tab. Bartender two shots of your best tequila and then close out my tab please." I yelled at the man. He nodded and set up the shots.
The bartender filled the shot glasses and Bobby and I knocked them back. I made a face as the liquor burned on the way down my throat and that shot might put me on the edge of blacking out.
"I'm happy that we are getting to have one more dinner together before we finish out our run." Bobby said and got closer to me.
"Same it will be a nice closure to this chapter of my life." I said and sucked on the lime the bartender pushed my way.
"Here is the tab it just needs your signature." Bobby pushed closer to me and handed me a pen. All of the words blurred together and I couldn't even see the line where I needed to sign.
"Bobby where's the line?" I asked looking at the paper.
"Right here, now just sign." Bobby said and held my hand a little.
Once the signature was done Bobby handed it back to the bartender and helped me find Eli. When we were together again Bobby called us an Uber and we went back to my house. It didn't take long for us to get home but it did take a while for us to climb out of the car and up the stairs to my house and even longer for me to unlock the door to let us in.
I made sure the door was shut behind us before I fell onto the couch with Eli right beside me. Not to long after that we both ended up falling asleep on each other.