Page 92 of Conquest

Evan’s voice faltered and cracked. His body swayed, he looked ready to collapse. He dragged the headphones off his head, dropping them to the floor, and sank down in a chair behind him, his head lowered, his hands buried in his hair.

Jesse opened the door to the vocal booth and stepped inside. Evan’s head remained down. Jesse skimmed the lyric sheet, noted the music and rhythm of the song, took the mic, and started to sing,

“Some people think,

I live a life of fairytales and dreams.

But if that’s true,

Then where is my happy ending?

They don’t know what I’m really like,

When all the lights go down.

And the tears I cry,

In the dark alone,

When no one’s around…”

Jesse stopped singing and glanced over his shoulder. Evan blinked up at him as if he disbelieved he truly saw him. Now that he could get a good look at his eyes, Jesse noticed the edges were red, the whites bloodshot, but what hurt him most was the light behind their radiant blue was gone. Jesse turned back to the sheet music and started making notes on it. He took a deep breath to steady his voice as he spoke.

“I think you’ll want to extend the second line by bringing a slight pause after fairytales. Then pause again after happy, and at ending, hold the ing sound for just a second longer so that line plays off the rhythm in the second line, because right now it sounds a little off unless you slow them both down and stretch them out. It sounds okay to pick the tempo up after the fourth line, though.”

“Thanks,” Evan mumbled. Achilles pawed at his leg, and he reached down to pet him.

Jesse took a tentative step toward him. “I don’t suppose you’d want to go get some breakfast with me, would you?”

Evan slowly lifted his eyes to him. “I’d like that.”

Jesse picked up Achilles’s leash and walked from the booth, pausing in the control room to switch off the recording equipment. He led the way out of the studio, grateful that the early hour meant there were no paparazzi to disturb them, and turned on the sidewalk to check on Evan. Evan leaned against the building, his fingers pressed to his forehead, his eyes squeezed shut.

Jesse went to him and laid his hand on his back. “Are you okay?”

Evan gave a tight nod. “It’s just a dizzy spell. I’ve been getting them lately.”

Jesse wrapped his arm around Evan’s waist to support him as he steered him toward the parking garage. “You don’t look like you should drive. Maybe I should just take you home.”

“Maybe,” Evan said softly, putting his arm over Jesse’s shoulders.

Jesse guided him to the F430 and opened the passenger side door for him. After Evan slid in and got his seatbelt on, Jesse picked Achilles up and put him on his lap. Evan closed his eyes, his fingers buried in the puppy’s thick fur.

Jesse climbed in and fired it up, aiming the car toward Lake Shore Drive rather than the interstate. On the way, he glanced over at Evan and saw he had fallen asleep despite the chill wind blowing in through the open windows. He watched the wind toss Evan’s hair around his face. He had always thought Evan looked beautiful when asleep, like an angel in repose, his lips parted ever so slightly as if in invitation.

Jesse shook his head quickly and faced forward, clutching the steering wheel.

He pulled onto the road to Evan’s house and stopped at the gates. He wondered if Evan had changed the code since he left and decided to give it a try since he didn’t have a remote anymore. He couldn’t believe it when the gates swung open, and he was able to manually override the driveway gates, also. As he coasted down the long drive, he saw the lawn had turned wild and overgrown, the flowerbeds taken over by weeds, the manicured shrubbery now unruly. He parked outside the garage and gently shook Evan awake, then followed him into the house with Achilles, taking off his leash once inside.

“He’s housebroken. He hasn’t made any messes in Brandon’s apartment.”

Evan waved the comment away. “It doesn’t matter if he makes a mess.”

“I guess not.”

Jesse walked into the trashed family room. Empty bottles of Guinness were scattered on the floor around the couch and covered the surface of the coffee table. A nearly empty bottle of vodka was tipped over on the couch, and one completely empty had rolled under the coffee table. The remnants of a third lay shattered against the stone hearth of the fireplace. A bottle of Jack Daniels, barely a splash in the bottom, sat on one of the end tables next to two empty wine bottles. A pizza box with a whole pizza in it lay open on the table and looked a couple days old with crusted, congealed cheese.

Evan stood with his back to him, his shoulders sagging. Jesse grabbed him by the wrist and led him upstairs to the bedroom.