Page 2 of Falls From Grace
“Are you sure you want to hear it right now?” Noah looked up. “We can stay depressed if you want.”
“No, come on, I’m sorry. It’s fine, cheer me up.”
“It’s… big.” His brown eyes were sparkling.
“How big?”
“The biggest.” He shook his head slowly. “I don’t even know; I keep pinching myself. It’s finally here… the actual big time.” He looked a little shellshocked at the words leaving his mouth.
“Noah, what the hell? Tell me!”
He grinned.
“You know how Bella had been calling me and wanting to meet up?” She nodded. Noah was a musician - a pretty successful one, even by LA standards - and Bella was his manager. “I had lunch with her today. She’d had a call, wanting to set up a collaboration.”
“With who?” Brynn bounced slightly in her seat with impatience. Noah took a deep breath for effect.
“Savannah Grace.”
“Who?” She frowned, trying to place the name.
Noah wilted.
“Twice Struck?” he tried.
“What?”
“Ah fuck, man. Savannah Grace. Twice Struck. She’s an enormous deal. It’s because you don’t pay any attention to country music.”
“Ohhh, country music, yeah. Not really my thing,” she confirmed apologetically. “But she’s big?”
“So big!” He shook his head in exasperation. “They were pretty much the number one act for forever until her band broke up a couple of years ago. Wait, you know the song…” He began to hum. “Your blood, my veins, your heart, my pain…”
“Oh.” She brightened, joining him for the next line, her voice going high and silly. “These bones, my cage, your hands release me…” She stopped and grinned. “Talk about a co-dependence anthem. I hate that fucking song.” Noah groaned and threw a strip of seaweed at her. “But her voice is stunning,” she allowed, picking nori out of the long strands of her dark hair.
“Look, she’s famous as hell, her voice is insane, and she wants to work with me.” Noah spread out his hands, his grin wide and goofy. “This is a big deal. She wants to break out of the country music box and I’m who she wants to collaborate with. The fact that she even knows my name is crazy enough, to be honest.”
“I’m stoked for you.” Brynn reached across the table and punched his slender bicep. “But I’m not surprised. You’re kind of a huge deal yourself, you big ole superstar.” Noah rolled his eyes, uncomfortable as always at any reference to his success as indie music’s newest critics’ darling. “What does it mean to collaborate, anyway?”
“Well, in this case, it means I’m leaving LA for a little while,” he said. “Could have been better timing, it turns out,” he added awkwardly, as he met her eyes.
“It’s okay,” she lied, trying not to let her face fall. No home, no best friend. A one-two punch. “For how long?”
“Maybe a month… maybe three months?”
“Oh… wow…”
“She has a winter home. You know, celebrities; it’s a rich person version of a log cabin.” He shrugged. “Just, you know, massive. It’s super secluded, somewhere in the woods in Vermont. She’s up there to bunker down, get away from everything and just get the right vibe.”
“Yeah… the vibe,” Brynn said distantly. She was trying not to cry. Three months without her best - and really, only friend - while she would be living god knows where, with god knows who - and, for that matter - doing god knows what. She couldn’t afford to stay living in Santa Monica on her salary, and there was no way she’d find a place that wasn’t closer than about ninety hours of commuting in the traffic to the beach for work. Which likely meant finding a new job to boot. Three strikes to Loserville, population: Brynn. Suddenly, she felt incredibly tired. A stubborn jerk of a tear forced its way over her lashes and she tried to brush it away before Noah noticed.
“Oh man.” He noticed. “I’m sorry. I’m blabbing away about winter homes and you don’t even have a home.” He looked at her. “I’d say you’re welcome to sublet my apartment while I’m away, but Jack’s already half moved his girlfriend in. You know how he gets. If I’d known, I’d-”
“It’s okay! I’m okay.” She was not okay. “Honestly, I’ll work it out. I’ll start looking tomorrow; it won’t be that bad.” It would be that bad. Her solitude and peace were two pillars supporting her wellbeing and sobriety. Her job with its sun and surf kept her sane. The idea of living with strangers again made her chest feel tight. She’d have to move fast, because without a job, she’d have no references. Shit, maybe she could just move into her car for a while? The AC was broken but with the back seats folded down-
“Wait!” Noah jerked her out of her ever-increasing anxiety spiral. “I have the best idea! You should come with me!”
Brynn shook her head, confused.
