The dimly lit bar smelled strongly of beer, mixed with the slightly biting odor of urine. The women behind the counter shot a smile their way as they entered. Ashley returned the woman's smile, as the others direct their attention towards their favorite booth in the front corner. They slid into their seats as the bar woman walked over, her eyes locked on Ashley. The rest of the band looked at each other and groaned.

They ordered a round of drinks, the bartender giving Ashley one more seductive smile before strutting off.

"I can't wait for this tour," he remarked, turning back to the group.

"Do you think there will be as many groupies as last time?" They all laughed simultaneously as one of the middle aged men at the counter turned to give them all a disgusted glare.

"I'm not sure," CC shrugged. There was something in his voice that implied he hoped there would be.

"Probably more," Jake said. "I mean, more bands, bigger crowds. It makes sense."

Ashley smiled into space, clearly thinking about the possibilities that hordes of whores could bring.

"What about you, Andy? You planning on getting laid?"

"What? No. I'm just happy to get to perform every day. I'll leave all the chicks to CC and Ash."

"How's it gonna feel leaving behind your girlfriends?" Ashley directed at Jinxx and Jake. "Means you’re not going to have sex for a while."

Jinxx shrugged, ridiculously dedicated to Sammi. Jake followed suit.

"I actually wanted to talk to you guys about that..." Jake’s voice trailed off as he looked down.

The other guys looked at him with confused expressions. He took a deep breath and continued.

"Do you guys think it'd be okay if Ella came along?" The table was silent for a moment as they comprehended Jake'srequest as the bartender came over with their drinks. She bent over a little too far, exposing her breasts beneath her low cut neck line.

“Well it’s cool with me, but would there be room on the bus?” asked CC.

Jake smiled. “She’d take her car and just follow us. She’s visiting her friend in Mass anyways, so I thought it’d be fun to have her sorta road trip with us. She’d only be around until the Boston date.”

“Fine by me,” Ashley said, returning the waitress’s flirty wink while she handed him his drink.

Jinxx nodded. “Of course she can come. If Sammi wasn’t going to be touring herself, I’d ask the same thing.”

The band looked expectantly at Andy.

“Yeah, of course! You know we all like Ella,” he said, slapping a huge grin on his face. The mere thought of being around the super couple almost 24/7 made him feel sick as he took a sip of his drink. He didn’t have a problem with Ella, or her relationship with Jake for that matter. It was the memories that their public affection evoked that formed the hard pit in his stomach.

“Thanks guys,” Jake said with a smile. "I'm hungry!" he complained suddenly.

Ashley motioned for the bartender, who was now flirting with one of the guys at the counter, to come over. She sauntered her way to the booth.

"What can I get you, darling?" Ashley ordered a large fry for them all to share and some pizza.

Andy sank down into his seat as he sipped his drink again. He couldn’t help but be a little jealous of Jake. If he had brought Olivia on tour with him last time, then she would still be around. He would be spending his nights curled up with her in bed instead of tossing and turning with horrific nightmares that seemed like they would never end.

"Andy, you okay?" CC asked.

"Yeah!" Andy said, nodding and snapping out of his selfish thoughts. He wasn't going to strip Jake of his happiness because of his own twisted needs. He was about to get up and order himself another drink when he realized everyone else was only half done with their first. He sat awkwardly with his empty glass as he waited for the others to slowly sip from the rim of their glasses.

“So what stage are we playing?” he asked as he watched Jake take a sip, realizing that the obvious question hadn’t been asked yet. He was of course hoping for main stage, but it really depended on who else was playing. From what he had heard, the line up contained a lot of popular bands this year.

“Main stage, baby!” CC called out enthusiastically, earning a few disgruntled looks from the middle aged patrons seated at the bar. He shrugged at them un-apologetically.

“That’s awesome!” Andy said, a smile spreading across his face. He had been half expecting it, as everyone knew that the Army wasn’t exactly small, but it was nice to have it confirmed. It lifted his mood a little bit to have his band, something he had worked so hard for, on main stage.

"And the after parties," Jinxx commented with a small wink, probably directed towards Ashley. "Don't forget about those."

Andy had almost forgotten how wild things had gotten last year after everyone went home and the sun went down. All the bands would get together in the bus lot and bring their own booze. By the end of the night, almost everyone was at least slightly drunk.

Ashley laughed. “How could I? Not that I exactly remember all of them either.”

The group laughed, and soon the discussion turned to the crazy events that touring always seemed to bring. There was nothing like essentially living in a giant tin can for a few months with your four best friends and making memories. Andy laughed with the others, mulling over all the good times. This tour would be a good thing, he would make sure of it.

Pretty soon everyone was ordering drinks again and Andy was cheering on the inside. There was nothing like spending time at the bar with the band to celebrate touring. Another hour passed and Andy was beginning to feel buzzed, although not as much as he'd like. CC was about to ask everyone if they wanted another drink when Jake's phone began vibrating rapidly.

"What's wrong?" CC asked, matching the concern evident on Jake's face as he read the message. Jake got up from the booth. His hands were shaking.

"What's wrong?" Andy asked, mimicking CC and suddenly becoming worried.

"Ella’s at the ER. I’ve got to go. Sorry guys,” he said as he headed for the door. Everyone looked at each other in concern.

“What happened?” Ashley asked, for once ignoring the bartender as she smiled at him yet again.

“I don’t know, that’s all I was told.” Jake pushed open the bar room door and stepped out onto the sidewalk. The remaining band members turned and looked at each other.

Andy felt sick. He knew that panic, the worry that the one you love wasn’t going to be okay. He stood up, unable to ignore the growing pain in his gut.

“I’m going home,” he said as he slid out of the booth. “Call me when any of you know how she’s doing, okay?”

The other guys nodded. Andy walked up to the bar and handed the bartender a bill, telling her to keep the change before exiting the bar.

He squinted in the bright daylight. He had almost forgotten what time it was, and decided to walk rather than call a cab.

There were only a few other people on the sidewalk, leaving Andy to feel more alone than he liked. For a moment, he thought about turning back and just staying with the others instead of going home to the apartment he'd come to hate. He felt sick deep in his gut and too much was going through his mind. He quickened his pace, the sooner he got home the better, he realized. No matter how hard he tried to keep them out, a flood of abandoned memories came back to him all at once.

The paramedics banged on the door. Andy sat on the floor, cradling Olivia’s blood soaked body. His own clothing was drenched in both the water from the shower and the crimson of her blood. It was smeared across his skin in rusty red tracks, drying and cracking as he gently rocked her corpse. This wasn’t happening. This was all just a dream. The banging on the door came once again. It seemed to echo, as if he was hearing it from underwater. He held her closer to him, despite her body growing colder and stiffer by the minute. This couldn’t be real.
The door flew open with a massive bang as the white coated EMTs rushed in. Andy stared at them blankly before returning his gaze to Olivia. He wasn’t under any delusions; there was nothing they could do to help her anymore.

The only thought that seemed to linger was how much blood there had been.
He held onto her body as the EMTs took in the scene, staring down at her. He never understood why EMTs wore white, soon they'd be just as caked with blood as he was. Suddenly, he didn't want them there. Calling them had been a mistake. This moment was too precious for intruders.

He went to tell them to leave, but found he didn’t have the heart. She was gone. She wasn’t coming back. The permanence of the statement jarred his numbed mind and made him realize that there was going to be a tomorrow. And another day after that, and then another. And none of them were going to have Olivia in them anymore. Just like that, everything solid seemed to vanish. He had never done enough for her. All the plans he had for the two of them were gone, swirled down the antique bathtub’s drain in a scarlet river.

Time went by too quickly and soon the paramedics were by his side, pulling him away from her.

"Stop!" he yelled, but they didn't let up. "What are you going to do with her?"
A third EMT walked over to her body holding something Andy couldn't see because his eyes were glossing over again. He choked out a loud sob as he was led out of her apartment. The hallway was filled with people in white rushing around and nosy neighbors craning their necks to figure out what was going on. Several of them grew wide eyed when they saw his blood soaked clothes and skin along with the tears streaming steadily down his face.
This couldn’t be happening. It wasn’t real.

The paramedic led him to a bench, protected from prying eyes by over-sized potted plants. Andy gripped the seat until his knuckles turned white. She couldn’t really be gone. He had just talked to her on the phone last night. How was it that she was dead that morning?

His skin was covered in goosebumps despite the warm early summer temperature. He remembered what it felt like to have everything slip out from under him. He hoped Ella would be okay, for Jake's sake, as he reached his apartment. He swung open the same heavy door as always and suddenly felt the vibrations of his cellphone going off in his pocket, making him jump nearly a mile. The few people in the lobby gave him a strange look as he answered.
“Hello?”