Angel With the Scabbed Wings

It was still early in the morning when Trent woke up. His mind was fuzzy from the many hours of sleep and remnants of a dream were still flickering before his eyes. The dream had been a good one, something about a girl he used to know better than he had known himself. Her name tasted sweet on his lips and he was both happy and sad that he had come to think of her again after years of suppressing her memory. It made it even more difficult to get up from the comfortable bed for his morning shower.

Trent knew it was going to be a busy day after he had talked to Twiggy Ramirez on the phone. The bassist had been shocked when Trent decided to turn them down on their concert and he had hung up on him when he got too hysterical. Something about that band had been eating on him recently and he had gotten another band to play, not that they were better musicians or so, but he couldn’t quite deal with the vocalist of Marilyn Manson and the Spooky Kids. Usually he didn’t offer the opening band as much as a thought before a show, he wouldn’t even watch them perform and cared little for their music. This Manson guy was different.

He had introduced himself as Marilyn Manson and had given him a sound recording from a live show that had sounded horrible and made him frown with wonderment. What the hell had this guy been thinking, giving him this piece of shit? But for some reason, those deep calm eyes of his had caught Trent’s attention and he had given him a call, wanting to see the band perform live to judge whether they were qualified or not. The only reason he said yes was that he liked Manson, but now he wasn’t sure anymore. He liked him too good, almost like the girl from the dream and it frightened him.

Brian, who was still at home with Twiggy, had grown more and more furious throughout the day. While Twiggy nursed him and fed him on whatever he found in the fridge, Brian was only thinking about one thing, and that was confronting Trent. He even knew which band had gotten their show and they weren’t much to brag about as musicians, and so Brian wondered what had gone through Trent’s head.

He dialled the number Trent had given him last time they spoke and waited, eyes growing darker with anger for every second that passed by. It didn’t take long before he heard the familiar voice. “Hey, you’re talking to Trent!” he said and Brian paused, suddenly having run out of words to say. “Euhm, it’s Brian,” he mumbled into the phone and started twirling the wire nervously in between his fingers. There was another pause. “What’s up, Brian?” Trent then asked, obviously not very happy about this call. “Why did you cancel our show?” the younger one asked. Brian was more than a little nervous to be on the phone with Trent Reznor, a man who could easily crush Brian’s dreams of becoming a rockstar. “Listen, Brian, I got second thoughts about your band and hired another one. They’re not really better than you guys, but they’re not as… intense.”

These words blew life to Brian’s anger once again and he felt like spitting at this snobbish son of a bitch, yet he knew it would do his career little good and what he needed to do was to persuade Trent to let him play. “Look, Trent… I really need this job, you have no idea and I’d really do anything to make that happen.” He heard a long sigh from the other line and then a thinking pause. Trent wasn’t sure about what to do, hanging up on a guy like that was never a clever thing to do and he needed to put this case to rest. “Listen, I’m kind of busy right now… Can’t you come and visit me tomorrow and we’ll talk about it.”

Brian had to sit down for a few minutes after the tiring conversation. He felt nasty after begging like that just to get his show, but this was the show that could save him and the band from falling apart. When he had told them that they were the opening band for Nine Inch Nails, they had all lightened up and Brian had been proud of himself. Now he wasn’t proud anymore, he was angry and felt like that piece of chewing gum that sticks to the sole of your shoe.

“I think we’re going to get the job back,” he muttered as Twiggy entered the kitchen. “What did you say to him?” Twiggy wondered and sat down next to his friend by the kitchen table, but Brian didn’t answer him. His eyes had a bewildered look to them and he seemed kind of puzzled. “Don’t do anything stupid,” Twiggy warned him. “You know those stories about Trent, is it something like that?” Brian gave him a faint smile, shaking his head at Twiggy’s assumption. “You worry too much, Twiggs. It makes you sound like my mom…” Twiggy chuckled and then rolled his eyes at his friend. “Still, you should be on guard around him.”

Brian had pulled another joke on Twiggy after he said that, but he didn’t forget about what his friend had advised him to and kept it in mind. Trent had seemed nice enough when they had met, but the rumours were ugly and he had never denied them. “Twiggs, I’m going to bed… care to join me?”

Besides being known as an exceptionally great writer and musician, Trent was also widely known for his bad temper. And it wasn’t just that his temper was bad, it made him do things, things that could not be forgiven. Very few people knew about the stuff he had done, because after all, none of the accusations had lead to a penalty and he was as clean as the Florida sky. Still Brian knew, and it made him jumpy.

Trent had already been waiting for ten minutes when Brian arrived at the hotel restaurant and he was practically dragging his feet along with him. Trent immediately took notice of it and felt quite good about himself for being able to make such a person insecure. Truth been told, he had been attracted to Manson from the second he first laid eyes on him. He admired the willowy body and the oversized facial features that suited him surprisingly good. “Hello Marilyn,” the more muscular man said and gave him a tender smile. It made Brian feel more anxious and he came to think of what Twiggy had told him: be on guard.

“Hey Trent, how are you doing?” Brian managed to ask and even without sounding too insecure. “Sit down, Brian. And thanks for asking, I’m doing just fine,” the older vocalist answered and pulled out a chair for Brian. The younger felt uncomfortable but sat down without hesitation. A jug of coffee was quickly delivered to their table and a waitress poured the golden liquid into the cups. She smiled friendly at them and asked if they wanted something else, Trent had answered that they wanted two slices of apple pie and vanilla ice cream.

“I’m sure you’ll love this apple pie, it’s just wonderful,” Trent said and took a sip of the weak coffee they had been served. “Trent,” Brian said hesitantly. “What about our show?” Trent looked thoughtful and folded his hands in his lap, almost as if he was praying for something that didn’t happen. A sigh left his lips as he made a decision. “Brian, I’ve already signed a contract with the other band.”

“So, you signed a contract with me as well and broke it off at that!” Brian exclaimed with an unusual strength to his voice and got off his chair to make himself look bigger and more intimidating. “My band really needs this, Trent. I know you don’t understand, but you made a fucking deal and you can’t just turn your back on me!”

Everybody in the restaurant was staring at them shocked by this sudden outburst that had spoiled their lunch. The waitress whom had taken their order looked terrified, almost as if she was scared that Brian was going to lose it completely. Then, after a few horrifying seconds of complete silence, people continued eating just as before Brian started yelling and he sunk back into his chair, leaning his forwards with a look of remorse on his face. “I’m sorry Trent,” Brian whispered. “I’m desperate, and I’m begging you. I need this.”

Trent smiled slightly at the other man’s frustration. “Don’t be sorry,” he replied and petted Brian’s shoulder. It seemed almost like a friendly gesture, yet Brian knew better when he looked into the vocalist’s eyes. Trent rose from his chair and walked over to the waitress. They talked for a few minutes and she was laughing wholeheartedly when Trent left her to tend to her guests. “She’s such a sweetheart, don’t you think,” he mumbled and pulled Brian from the chair by hand. “Let’s continue upstairs, I think these people are too interested in our personal business to be trusted.”