Lost In The Stereo Sound

Alex's POV:
Jack left me sitting in the chair. I was surely in a weird mood and all I wanted to do was reflect on what had happened and try to figure out what happened. Literally, it was as if my memory was wiped. I had no recollection of anything past taking the first shot.

I don't know how much time had passed, from the place where the sun was in the sky, I guessed it was around noon, but Jack and Ronnie, the guy who woke me up on the bus, came running up to me in a huff.

"Dude, did you hear the news?" Jack asked through heavy breathing.

"Well, I've just been sitting here by myself so I have no idea what you're talking about," I said distantly.

"I'm so sorry," Ronnie said wrinkling his face up sympathetically.

"About what?" I asked rubbing my eyes. The sun was too damn bright.

"Apparently, our drum tech is a fucking creep," Ronnie said.

"How would that concern me?" I asked rudely.

"For starters, we didn't know him before coming on this tour," Ronnie said desperately trying to explain himself. "He seemed like a nice guy from the get-go and sure as hell knew his shit. But we found out from at least four girls' accounts from last night that someone may have slipped something in the rum."

"What the fuck?"

"I know, it's weird right?" Ronnie said looking at his feet. "I mean, you took a few shots to start the night didn't you?"

"Yes..." I said trying to piece everything together.

"Well, I guess our drum-tech thought only girls would drink it?" he offered.

"That would explain the whole not-sleeping-with-Natalie thing," Jack said.

"Really?" I asked apprehensively.

"Yeah... I mean, it's not a rock solid theory, but at least it's something. Plus, there are four other people that were affected the same way you were so it had to have been our shit drum-tech," Ronnie said.

"Damn," I said trying to process everything I'd just heard.

"I know, dude. I'm sorry. Look, I got to go and make some calls to find a replacement for that fucker. He's making us all look bad. I heard BOTH APs have written articles about this little incident already and we sure as hell don't need bad press right now. Best of luck to your situation," Ronnie said patting me on the back as he turned to walk back to his bus.

"Do you think this is legitimate?" I asked Jack.

"I know it sounds sketchy, but four people can't be lying and there's no way it could be a coincidence," Jack reasoned.

"Shit," I said still in awe of the fact that I was practically date-raped.

"I think your next move should probably be to find Nat," Jack said realizing that I was sort of out of it.

"Fuck! You're right," I said getting up from my chair. "Thanks," I yelled back to Jack as I started sprinting towards our bus.

A million scenarios and thoughts were in my head as I was trying to find the right words to say to her. There was no good way to explain waking up naked to someone who is not your significant other. I hate to say it, but it sure as hell wasn't the first time. I just hoped she understood.

"Nat!" I yelled the second I entered the bus. "Nat, where are you?"

The bus was silent except for some rustling in the back lounge. I followed my ears and found Matt fiddling with the TV.

"Have you seen Nat by chance?" I asked him.

"Uh, no?" he said uneasily. His eyes were wide and he looked terrified.

"Really?" I asked quizzically.

"Ok, yes, I did see her but she told me to not say anything to you. It was weird and I can't do it," he said quickly.

"What did she say?" I asked slowly.

"She left," he said simply. He avoided all eye-contact.

"What do you mean she left? She left the bus? What?" I countered frantically.

"No, as in she called a cab to come pick her up about an hour and a half ago," Matt said still fiddling around with the cables behind the TV.

"FUCK!" I yelled as I slammed my fist into the wall. "Where did she go? Home?"

"No, she went to D.C.," Matt said. "It was the farthest the cab service would take her."

"Son of a bitch!" I fumed. I was furious with her for just leaving the situation and not confronting it. She'd done it before, I know, and she was trying to do it again. No, Nat, you don't get out of this that easily. Hell no.

Natalie's POV:
I waited at the entrance to the amphitheater for only five minutes before a cab showed up. I loaded my luggage into the car and we started our trip back home. Everything was so surreal to me. This week and a half was supposed to be the last fling before I left Alex. This was his idea! The beginning of tour was amazing. We partied hard and were together every minute of every day, well, almost. As the days went on, the more and more in Alex changed. I could see it in his eyes. The tour life fit him well, apparently better than life dating me. It's one thing to be cheated on, but it's another to catch them in the act, practically.

"Miss, would you like a tissue?" the cab driver asked. My hand instinctively went to my face and to my surprise, it was wet. I hadn't even noticed I was crying.

"Yes, thanks," I responded. He handed me a small Kleenex box and I plucked two out of it.

"Rough night?" he asked. I hadn't noticed before but he was a little younger than my grandfather. His wrinkles around his eyes, from laughter, reminded me of him. He honestly looked happy to be doing what he was doing, which is a rare thing for cab drivers, I've noticed.

"Definitely," I said with a laugh. "And morning."

"I'm sorry, dear. You're to pretty to be crying," he replied with a warm smile.

The majority of the ride was silent. All of the sudden, my phone started vibrating out of control. I received text after text from Alex, Jack and Matt. Alex called me at least twenty times before I couldn't take it anymore. I grabbed my phone from my purse and rolled down the window. We were on the highway. I saw the cab driver's expression in the rear-view mirror and he raised his eyebrows. With a deep breath of fresh air, I threw it out of the window. Quickly, I turned around to see it shatter in hundreds of pieces.

"Feel better, Miss?" the cab driver asked.

"I can breathe," I responded. I inhaled and exhaled deeply for a solid minute. In with the new, out with the old. It's an endless cycle for me, it seems. And so, it starts again.