All or Nothing

“Is this it?”

“I think so; come on, let’s go in.”

“I hear her!”

“Good, that means we’re in the right place.”

Katie and Val opened the door to hear the band playing together. Acoustic guitars and a small drum kit were held as the foursome sat in a circle, playing the music together. When the door opened, they all stopped and turned towards the two girls in the doorway. A brunette on the couch stood up and looked at them.

“This is closed—”

“Eliza what the fuck have you done to yourself?” Katie asked as she spotted her best friend.

Val’s jaw dropped as her eyes fell on Eliza. She looked like herself, sure, but she was skinnier and more pale than she remembered. That wasn’t what made her jaw drop, however. On top of her head where once beautifully hot pink and black hair flowed now sat a mess of black locks piled into a bun on top of her head. Two strips of hair were different. Right above her eye, pulled back into the bun, sat a white stripe of hair next to a bright teal one. Eliza stood up and walked over to them, hugging them both.

“Hey, guys,” she said softly.

“What the fuck,” Val said, doing circles around Eliza.

“Look, are we going to practice or what?” Hunter called from his seat in the circle.

“You need to shut your fucking face up or else I’m going to shut it for you. You don’t get to speak, asshole, and you’re lucky I don’t fucking castrate you,” Katie said, instantly turning her gaze to the blonde.

He simply raised an eyebrow and turned away. Katie looked back at Eliza, not really able to believe the changes. She raised a hand and touched the black hair and looked at Eliza.

“Ew,” she said only, and Eliza laughed.

“It’s better than the blonde I had back in college,” Eliza said with a small smile.

“Yeah, that’s true. Look, can we go get lunch somewhere or something? We’ve got a lot to talk about.”

Eliza looked back at the group of boys waiting around the room.

“Yeah, we can. Give me a few minutes.”



“Want to tell us why you haven’t answered our phone calls?” Val asked, sipping her drink.

“I just haven’t felt like it.”

“Ouch, Eliza,” Katie said.

“I know, and I’m sorry…I’ve just been so out of it since…that night.”

“Yeah, I’d say so. You’re not the only one, though. Brian’s been moping around for almost two weeks. He’s barely around anymore.”

“Fuck him,” Eliza said, and finished off her drink in one swallow.

“Wow, hello, hostile,” Val said.

“How could he do that to me again? He just walked away without me explaining anything. You guys both know I hate Hunter. I would never do anything with him and somehow he weaseled his way into my apartment and now Brian broke off the engagement.”

“We know,” Katie said, not looking at her best friend.

“Maybe if you just talk to him—” Val started, but Eliza cut her off.

“I don’t ever want to speak to him again, Val. He has officially ruined any chance of me speaking to him again with this little stunt.”

“What stunt?” Katie asked, confused.

Eliza turned and rummaged in her purse for a minute before pulling out the copy of the magazine with him on the front. Both Katie and Val leaned in to look at that picture.

“Eliza, that’s stupid. They’re doing that to cause trouble, paparazzi, because they know you’re in New York. What they don’t show is the rest of us in this picture. We’re going into a venue for a show. She’s been like a little fucking hound dog around him since she knows y’all broke up,” Katie said.

“He hasn’t touched her,” Val said.

“How can you be sure?”

“He sleeps in the bunk between Jimmy and Katie’s. You know Jimmy never sleeps, so Jimmy would know if she comes near. He yells at her if she tries to talk to him. He’s actually almost hit her once.”

“He almost hit a female?!”

“That bitch isn’t a female,” Katie said but Val rolled her eyes.

“Val, you need to fire her before I fucking kill her,” Eliza said.

“Eliza, if you’re not with Brian, why would you kill her?”

Eliza just looked at Val and blinked.

“I’m sorry, that was stupid of me to say,” Val said when she realized what she’d really said. “I didn’t mean it the way it came out. I’m just saying…Why even let her get to you?”

“Because she’s a fucking thorn in my entire existence. I don’t like her at all. At the Halloween party, she tried to talk to Brian and she acted like I wasn’t even there.”

“Well, she was just talking to him,” Val said.

“Val, really? When some girl wants to talk to Brian or Matt for that matter, what does it usually mean?”

“Okay, fine, I see your point, but Eliza I can’t fire her in the middle of tour. I just can’t because she already knows the layout of things, how things work, and I honestly can’t train someone else right now.”

“That’s fine.”

“Can we move on from this subject?” Val asked, sounding desperate.

“Sure. You guys said you had some news for me,” Eliza said, taking a sip of the drink that the waitress had set down in front of her.

“I’ve decided on my wedding date,” Val said with a smile.

Eliza smiled even though she felt like dying inside. She’d forgotten all about Val’s wedding. She knew that she was going to have to go, but the thought of going to the wedding of her best friend where her ex-fiancée was going to be in attendance didn’t sit well with her.

“When?”

“December 19th. I wanted to have it so we could be home in time for Christmas.”

“That sounds great,” Eliza said with a smile.

“You’re still going to be my Maid of Honor, right?” Val asked.

“Of course,” Eliza said and smiled.



Eliza, Katie, and Val stayed at the restaurant for another two hours until they said they had to leave. They’d come to New York while the show in South Dakota had been cancelled. They were flying out to North Dakota to meet the guys. Eliza said goodbye to them and text Annisa. She replied she was at work and gave her directions.

When the cab pulled up, Eliza realized it was a strip club. Nervous, she walked inside. The bouncer asked for her I.D. but Annisa walked up at the same time and waved him off. He shrugged and walked away. Annisa stepped up and hugged her, grabbing her hand and pulling her along.

“You want a drink?”

“Definitely,” Eliza said and they walked to the bar.

“You give this girl whatever she wants,” Annisa said to the bartender. He nodded and continued wiping his glasses. “Whenever she’s in here, it’s on me.”

Eliza ordered her drink and followed Annisa with her eyes. She walked around, greeting everyone, almost as if she owned the place.

She turned back to the bartender and asked for a pen and a napkin, deciding to use her time wisely. She had a few ideas in her head for a song and she wanted to get them out.

A few minutes later, Annisa walked back with a guy in a business-looking suit. She introduced him as her Uncle Vincenzo. Eliza shook his hand and followed him up to the second level while Annisa went backstage to get ready for her dance. Eliza sat down next to Vincenzo as he greeted the people around them. She watched in silence as he leaned down to the pile of white powder that was sitting in the middle of the circle of people. He snorted a line, and leaned back to make sure he inhaled it all. He held out the straw to her and she hesitated.

She looked over the balcony to see Annisa on the stage, moving gyrating, and twisting to the song. At one point, she connected eyes, and she smiled at Eliza. Turning back to Vincenzo, she lifted her hand to the straw and took it from him. She leaned in to the table as he cut a line for her. She leaned back, listening to the music of Annisa’s song as the powder started to take effect.