My Warped Summer

Before I knew it, I was surrounded by concerned medics, prodding at me and checking for injuries. The whole thing was such a blur. All I can remember is that car and then all of a sudden Vic was on top of me. Not that I minded that part much.

At the thought of Vic, a feeling of dread came over me. I just accused him of cheating on me with my best friend. Oh God. There’s no getting out of this. I put my head in my hands out of defeat. How could I blindly believe Genevieve like that?

I look up slightly to see Vic walking toward me with a serious look on his face. Here it comes, I think, taking a deep breath. Well, here comes the angry speech.

“Allison?” he says, standing over me.

“Mmhmm?” I manage to croak, looking back at him.

He takes a seat next to me on the long, white stretcher.

“We really need to talk,” he says, pressing his hands together.

I nod softly, looking down at my feet.

“Did you really think I would cheat on you with Scarlet?” Vic asks, eyes wide and searching.

“I don’t know,” I sigh. “It’s not your fault. It’s mine. I let Genevieve trick me into thinking that was the case when it definitely wasn’t.”

“Why would you ever believe that?” He says, hurt showing on his face. “I would never do that to you.”

“I know you wouldn’t,” I say quietly. “I just- it’s crazy you even liked me in the first place. I still can’t believe it. It makes much more sense for you want to be with Scarlet. She’s just so...”
I trailed off, thinking of her. So many adjectives would fit the bill: smart, beautiful, fearless. “And I’m just so not.”

I look at the ground, anxiously biting my lip. I’ve never been so blatantly honest with anybody before. Vic’s face softened. He takes both of my hands and sighs.

“Look at me,” he says, staring straight at me. “I love you, in case you haven’t noticed. Hell, I jumped in front of a car for you.”

I gave a small laugh, but Vic remained serious.

“I’m not kidding. I didn’t want to let you go after that. It was hard watching them take you away. I wanted to hold you forever.”

“Yes, you were getting a little handsy back there, weren't you?” I reply with a smile.

“Handsy?” he laughed, breaking his seriousness. “I’ll show you handsy.”

With that, he lunges forward, tickling the middle of my stomach. I try to wiggle away, but instead, he wraps me into his chest. I laugh and lean into him.

“My point is,” Vic says, peering down at me. “I’m crazy for you, alright? Don’t ever doubt it.”

He gives me a quick peck on the top of my head and then hops down from the stretcher. Just then, a very upset looking Cassie strode toward me, with Emma following behind.

“Ohmygod,” she said, almost in one breath. “We just heard what happened. Are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” I say with a laugh. I look over Cassie’s shoulder to see Rob briskly headed this way. Now there’s a group of us congregated around the stretcher. Party at the medic bus.

“Okay, girls we have news,” he says, looking at each of us. “The police have found something in the car that almost hit Allison. We think it belongs to her attacker.”

He gestures toward me and pulls out a small silver bracelet out of his pocket.

“You know whose this is by any chance?”

Cassie gasps upon examining the bracelet.

“That’s Genevieve’s,” she whispers, running her fingers over the large pendant. “I gave it to her.”

“Alright,” Rob says, giving a solemn nod. “I’ll tell them.”

He heads away, shoving it back in his pocket.

“I can’t believe Genevieve would do something like that,” Cassie says, shaking her head. “I mean, she’s always been dramatic, but this is too far.”

“I know,” Emma replies. “After her fallout with Vic, she hasn’t been the same.”

Vic gives a flinch next to me, but doesn’t say a word.

“What do we do now?” I ask, breaking the silence.

“We do what we should,” Cassie states bluntly. “She can’t stay. We can’t put Allison in danger any more, no matter how long we’ve known her. We pack up, keep going, and audition for a new bassist as soon as possible.”

“Well, damn,” Emma mutters with a slow shake of her head. “We keep losing band members left and right.”

Cassie gives a short laugh.

“We do,” she says. “Come on. We’ve got an audition to plan.”

With a nod, she shoves her hands in her pockets and walks toward the bus.

*#*

“Do you have a boyfriend?”

“Excuse me?” The stunned auditioner says as she walks into the room.

“Sorry,” Scarlet says, clearing her throat. “Do you have a boyfriend?”

“Um, no,” the girl says, clutching her bass. “What are you-”

“How long was your last relationship?” Scarlet continues, chewing on a pen.

“About a year,” she says, clearly confused.

“Good, good,” Scarlet mutters, jotting something down. “Why did it end, may I ask?”

“Scarlet!” I say, punching her shoulder.

“It’s alright,” the girl calls with more confidence. “He broke up with me.”

“Excellent,” Scarlet says, writing more furiously now.

I peek over at her paper to see NO COMMITMENT ISSUES written in large print
across the bottom of the page. Oh God, Scarlet.

“Any more questions?” asks the girl. “Or should I just tell you my life story?”

“Ooh, I like you,” says Scarlet, sitting up. “You can play now.”

The girl smirks and starts playing. I had to admit, even though I know nothing about bass
playing, this chick was pretty good. Not pretty good- she was amazing. By the end of it all, we were stunned.

“So, what did you guys think?” Emma whispers, peeking over at us.

“Best we’ve seen all day,” Cassie replies. “I like her. What about you two?”

Scarlet and I both nod in agreement.

“Alright then, it’s settled,” Cassie says, clapping her hands together. “You’ve got the job...”

Cassie pauses, realizing we don’t know her name.

“Katelynne,” she girl says, smiling.

“Well, Katelynne,” Cassie says, rising to shake the girl’s hand. “Welcome to the band.”