I Swear That She's the One

I brought my jack and coke to my lips, and leaned against the bar while fiddling with my iPhone. Austin Gibbs had just gotten off of the stage, meaning there were only two more bands until we took the stage. I scanned the crowd, hoping to find Callie, but only saw fans, and the occasional familiar face. I ruffled my hair, before turning back to my drink, and feeling someone clap me on the shoulder.

“Hey bro,” I said as I turned to see Justin Godsey standing to my left.

“Hey Stephen,” he said signaling over the bartender, “Any change in the littlest Gomez’s condition?”

“He actually woke up today,” I said with a big smile, “They’re running a shit load of tests on him to make sure there’s no long term damage, but they’re saying he should be out of there really soon.”

“That’s great news!” Justin said with a smile mirroring mine, “Nicky keeps asking about him, and when he can visit his best friend. I’ll have to take him by tomorrow or something when he gets out of school.”

We talked about Jackson for a few more minutes, before switching over to talking about band matters and our own personal lives. Justin was telling me about some girl he had met at work, but all I could think about was Callie. I was nervous to see her outside of the hospital, but excited at the same time. As I listened to Justin endlessly ramble, I rescanned over the crowd with no luck once again.

“Dude, if you’re looking for Alisha, she’s not here,” he said taking a drink from his beer, “I think she got the hint last time Jess chewed her out.”

“I’m not worried about Alisha, she’s old news,” I said cringing at my ex’s name, “I’m looking for this girl I invited. Her name’s Callie, and she’s Jackson’s main nurse.”

“Is she hot?”

I let out a laugh at Justin’s question, and nodded not being able to deny the truth. As I went to respond and explain Callie to Justin, I saw her walking towards the bar, and I quickly excused myself from Justin. I briskly walked up to her, still clutching my jack and coke, and noticed the brown haired girl following her. When she finally locked eyes with me, she smiled and grabbed onto the girls wrist pulling her towards me.

“Callie, you made it!” I said as she came to a stop in front of me, “And I see you brought a friend like I told you too!”

“I couldn’t turn down a free concert,” she said smiling, “And this is my friend Alex. Alex, this is my patients brother Stephen, who is quickly becoming a friend.”

Alex and I exchanged a quick hello, and I invited them over to join Justin and I at the bar. I offered Callie my seat, which she accepted, and Alex took the vacant one to the left of it. I signaled over the bartender, and let the girls order before telling him to put them on my free drink ticket.

“You didn’t have to do that Stephen,” Callie said as the drinks were mixed, “We could’ve paid for our drinks.”

“It’s another way of thanking you,” I said shrugging her comment off, “Plus, why make you pay for a drink that I can get for free? They never make us pay here anymore if we play, they love us.”

“What she means to say is thank you,” Alex said as the girls were handed their drinks.

“Well you’re welcome,” I said with a smile, before having Justin struck up a new conversation.

We continued to mindlessly chatter, and I was disappointed when Courtney came and told me that it was time for me to warm up. I finished my drink quickly, and told Justin to bring the girls to side stage so they could watch us play when we went on.

After doing a bit of a warm up, and our preshow rituals we lined up on the side of the stage, and waited anxiously for our chance to run out onto the stage. When we were all on stage, the crowd was extremely loud, and I couldn’t keep the smile off of my face as we started to play.

During our third song, I finally took the time to look to the side of the stage, and smiled at what I saw. Callie was standing between Alex and Justin, and moving to the music with a smile on her face. She caught my eye, and smiled even bigger, which got her a small wink in return.

“Alright, before we go into this song, the Gomez’s have some really exciting news,” Brian said as he uncapped his water bottle.

“First, I’d like to say thank you for all of the kind words you guys said to us about when we told you about Jackson going into the hospital,” John said before earning a round of applause.

“And because of that we’d like to let you know that he woke up today!” I said stepping up to the mic, “And his nurse Callie is here, so everyone give it up for her!”

The crowd erupted in cheers, and I smirked over at Callie who had a bashful smile on her face. I sent her a small wave, which she shook her head at, before diving into the next song.

===

I walked out from the greenroom, and finished pulling my shirt down, before walking towards the bar. I spotted Callie instantly, and quickened my pace towards her. She was still nursing her first drink, but it was nearing it’s end.

“So did you enjoy the show?” I asked her as she finally noticed my presence.

“You guys did so good!” she said leaning in to give me a hug, “I can’t believe I’ve never heard of you guys before.”

“I’m pretty sure your job keeps you really busy,” I said causing her to laugh with me, “Wanna join me outside? I know there will be a few kids waiting to talk.”

“Yeah, I could use the fresh air,” she said before hopping off of her stool, and following me.

As soon as we stepped into the cool night air, I was bombarded by fans. I sent Callie an apologetic smile, and smiled as I signed their posters, CD’s and whatever else they shoved at me. I forced a smile as pictures were snapped, but didn’t turn one down. As I took the final picture, I turned back to Callie, and saw her smiling at me.

“You’re pretty popular aren’t you Stephen?” she asked as she pushed her bangs from her face, “I never would have guessed you guys were this big after seeing you in the hospital every day.”

“I’m just a normal guy,” I said shrugging, “The truth is that all of these fans giving me stuff, and wanting pictures freaks me out. I’d rather just talk to them about something intelligent, not my personal life.”

“Well aren’t you just Mr. Modesty,” she said causing my cheeks to tinge red, “Oh don’t be embarrassed, it’s cute, really.”

I let out a small laugh, and we talked until Justin and Alex joined us. Callie took that chance to check her phone, and I watched her eyes widen as she realized the time.

“Shit, Alex we have to go,” she said shoving her phone back into her pocket, “It’s nearly midnight! I work at 7 in the morning!”

“Crap, I didn’t realize it was that late,” Alex said with the same wide eyes.

“I feel really bad for leaving so early Stephen, but,” she started in a rushed voice.

“I understand completely,” I said cutting her off, “I’ll even bring you Starbucks in the morning so you have a pick me up.”

“You’re the best,” she said before pulling me into a hug, “Thanks for inviting me tonight, I had a lot of fun. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Bye Callie,” I said with my arms around her shoulders, “See you tomorrow.”

We let go of each other, and she walked down the street quickly with Alex right behind her. I watched her for a few seconds before turning back to Justin. He kept commenting on how hot she was, and shoved his shoulder before stealing a cigarette from him and lighting it up.