A Helping Hand

“And you said girls are complicated,” Reba commented as they finished their dinner, wrapping her head around the story her best friend had just finished. The pair were sat on Reba’s couch, the take out they had ordered was spread on the coffee table before them.

When Indy had called her two days prior, saying she had a week off and was coming to Pittsburgh for a week, Reba was thrilled. It had been at least a year since she had actually seen Indy in the flesh, and that was far too long. Hearing how the last few months alone had been for Indy, Reba understood why she needed the break.

“Dude, girl drama is way worse,” Indy replied, sticking her tongue out. “How many times have the rolls been reversed and you are asking me advice about your dating life?”

“Yeah, shut up,” Reba agreed, knowing that it was the truth. “So, has he called yet?”

“No, but he did send a few texts while I was on the plane,” she replied, shrugging. Indy was trying her hardest not to make a huge deal about the situation between her and Zacky, whatever it happened to be. She couldn’t deny that butterflies erupted in her stomach as soon as she turned her phone back on once she had landed in Pennsylvania. “He said he was going to call in a few days so you and I could have some catch up time together.”

“Ok, well that is one point to him,” Reba admitted, having to give it to the guy that he wasn’t smothering Indy. “At least he knows that we need our girl-time to discuss this whole situation.”

Indy laughed at her friend’s reaction. “The whole situation? There isn’t that much to it.”

“You’re an idiot,” Reba sighed, “I know is you, lady, and I know when you are falling for a guy.”

“I’m not-”

“If you finish that sentence, I am going to have to hit you over the head until you realise that you are wrong.”

“I forget how violent you get,” Indy commented, steer the conversation into a different subject matter.

Indy had spent the entire flight to Pittsburgh thinking about the kiss that had changed a simple crush into something so much more. Having a crush on Zacky was easy to deal with. It was just an innocent crush. As soon as she realised he reciprocated her feelings, it became so much more complex, so much more real. With the crush, she could live in a fantasy land, safe from any real-world repercussions and just imagine what it would be like to actually be with him. Now the tables had turned, and she didn’t know if she was willing to put herself on the line again. Especially now with her past nipping at her heels, reminding her exactly why she shouldn’t even consider dating a musician.

“I only get violent when you’re being dumb,” Reba replied, shrugging.

“God I missed you,” Indy told her, grabbing Reba in an awkward side hug and pulling the younger girl in. “You should move to LA with me!”

“How many times can I say no in a polite way, Indy?” Reba asked her rhetorically.

“I know, I know, but you can’t blame a girl for trying,” Indy replied, finally letting go of her friend. Reba was in Pittsburgh for the same reason Indy was in LA; to make her music career happen. She was part of a band with 3 others, and were in the early stages of playing local shows, touring in a tiny van and scraping money together for an album.

“That I can’t,” Reba agreed, surprising Indy with one last squeeze before getting off the couch. She started collecting all their leftovers while Indy collected the rubbish, working as a team to finally see the coffee table once more.

“So, plans for tonight?” Indy asked, curious to hear Reba’s thoughts.

“Joe will be home in about an hour, so after that, we are meeting the others at R Bar down the road,” Reba told her while putting their excess dinner in the fridge.

“Awesome!” Indy replied enthusiastically. “I guess I should probably get changed then.”

Indy looked down at her current outfit of sweats, a large jumper and Uggs, perfect clothing for the plane and getting out into the chilly Pittsburgh air, but probably not as appropriate for going to bars.

“Showers up the stairs on the left,” Reba told her, indicating out of the kitchen.

Indy followed the instructions after searching in her bag for an appropriate change of clothes. She showered, changed, blow dried her hair just enough to get the majority of the water out, and then stuck it up in a ponytail. Staring into the mirror, she decided to go easy on the makeup. It’s not like she was trying to look good for anyone else but herself, though she did indulge with a bold red lip that matched the flannel jacket she was wearing.

“How you pull off hot grunge so well, I will never know,” Reba commented when she saw Indy.

Reba had changed out of her ‘around the house’ clothes into her usual ‘going out’ get up. She had the same school of thought as Indy, choosing comfort over style, yet still looking good. She was wearing an old ‘Fear Factory’ shirt underneath her layered hoody, grey skinny jeans and a pair of black combat boots that Indy was going to have to try and steal. She left her gorgeous red hair loose and wild in her signature style, and applied no makeup at all. It was typical Reba fashion.

“Little risqué?” Reba raised an eyebrow at the choice of a black bra under a white top.

“A little different to my style, but hey, when in Pittsburgh,” Indy replied with a cheeky grin. She felt both comfortable and sexy in what she was wearing, and the process of getting ready had helped keep her mind off a certain guitarist. It was a win-win-win for Indy.

“Well you look good, Inds,” Reba complimented.

As the pair headed to the kitchen to make a drink, the front door opened to reveal Reba’s roommate and bandmate Joe. He took off the beanie protecting his bald head from the cold and quickly shut the front door. He looked into the kitchen, seeing Indy standing with Reba. A huge smile broke out on his face. Indy couldn’t help but make the comparison between Joe and Matt, both large, muscular, burly men, and both absolute sweethearts.

“You are really here!” Joe said, taking long strides towards Indy. Before she could reply, he had her in a giant hug.

“I am,” Indy confirmed, laughing at the man.

“I was positive Reebs was lying,” he told her, finally releasing her from his embrace. “We definitely need to celebrate.”

“That’s why we are going out, numb-nuts,” Reba said in a sarcastic tone. Some days she had to wonder about him…

“Oh yeah! Well let’s fucking go!” He exclaimed, moving back towards the door and putting the beanie back on his head. If possible, he looked even more intimidating, but Indy knew that he was a classic case of ‘his bark was worse than his bite’. He was truly a softy.

Simultaneously the girls rolled their eyes, and then shared a laugh at their twin-like reaction. They followed the ginger-bearded giant out of the door, Reba taking the responsibility of locking their door before joining the other two at the walkway.

“Cab or walk?” Indy asked as her friend caught up. Being unaware of this side of town, she had no idea where they were heading. When she had visited Reba in the past, she was living in a different area.

“Walk. It’s like, 5 minutes away,” Joe answered.

“5 minutes for you, or 5 minutes for normal people legs?” Indy challenged.

“Ok, like, 10 minutes then, short ass,” he replied, throwing an arm around Indy and one around Reba. “My girls, together again!”



All too soon, Indy was collecting her baggage at the Detroit Metro Airport and making her way to the hire cars. The only reason Warner had shelled out for a car was because the studio was miles away from town.

After showing her ID and signing away her soul, Indy hit the road, glad to be behind the wheel once more. There was an amazing sense of freedom that came from driving, and she had sorely missed it over the past week. As Reba had sold her car to pay for a bass cab upgrade, she had been relying on public transport to get her around town, so Indy was feeling free once more behind the wheel of the 2002 Camry.

She had made it to the outskirts of town before she heard her ringtone blaring from her carry on. She decided to pull over and check the caller ID, just in case it was someone from Warner, or the hotel she needed to check in to. The phone had stopped ringing by the time she fished it out of the bag.

1 missed call: 12:57pm
Zacky B

Indy couldn’t help the smile that broke out on her face as she read the name. She was still in shock that he was into her.

She debated calling him back but as she thought, the phone pinged and notified her of a voicemail. Quickly she rang the number to check the message. Her smile grew as Zacky spoke to the machine, his voice gruff and gravelly.

“You said you would let me know that you landed safe, you cheeky thing. I had to check with the airline before I lost my mind with worry when I realised you had turned your phone off. Anyway, hope you are safe, and not too stressed about tomorrow. I'll be thinking about you. Well, I will be when I wake up again. Night!”

Indy couldn’t help but check the time on the dash. It was nearing 1pm, which meant it was nearly 10am in L.A. She had to laugh at the sleepy head.

Deciding against calling him back and potentially interrupting his beauty sleep, Indy got back on the road and made her way to her hotel. As she drove, her mind wandered to the last 6 days and how the combination of the time away from Zacky and the advice of not only Reba, but her entire band (which were all male, giving her an insight into the male mind) had helped her come to terms with her potential relationship with Zacky.

True to his word, Zacky didn't call her for the first two days she was with Reba. She had thought he would have given in on the first night she was away. After a few too many beers while at R Bar (plus the shots Joe kept buying her as a ‘welcome home’ present), Indy had texted him, her inebriated state telling her it was a good idea. She was thoroughly surprised when he texted her back, and took it as a sign to continue. It wasn't until Joe stole her phone and told 'lover boy’ to fuck off and to 'let the girl dance’ that she had her first radio silence with him. Too embarrassed to bring up the text the next day, Indy decided she should wait for him to call. If he was going to call at all.

Finally when he got in contact with her, they had talked for at least an hour, Indy telling him about her trip, what she and Reba had done so far, and she even apologised for the abrupt text, explaining that Reba's roommate had gotten sick of her lack of participation during their first evening out.

Zacky listened to Indy's stories eagerly, laughing along with their exploits before catching Indy up on the progress they had made on the album since she had left. There wasn't too much to report, and Indy couldn’t help but find Zacky’s rendition of the recording of the strings endearing. He tried to sing each of the string parts and ended up confusing himself before he gave up. They both laughed once he had finished trying to hum the cello, his voice cracking the lower he tried to go.

Since the first call, they had managed to stay in contact every day, whether by text or phone. Even though they were thousands of miles apart, they could still talk about anything and everything with ease.

Indy was starting to consider the possibility that a relationship with Zacky could possibly work. They were both trying so hard to keep it going, and all they had shared was one kiss. Would they still try this hard when they weren't in the courting phase, but had actually settled down together?

With a shake of her head, Indy stopped the thoughts of the future. There was still far too much unknown. Hell, they had yet to even discuss the kiss, staying on more familiar topics as they talked. Though Indy was glad that they hadn't discussed it, staying away from actually jumping in to anything, especially as she was so far away, she was still curious to hear his thoughts on what had transpired between them. Indy had spent so much time thinking about her own feelings and discussing them with her best friend, now she just wanted to know what he was thinking about, and what he wanted out of this “relationship”. It was starting to make her go mad!

Indy finally reached her destination, a cute 3 storey hotel that was surrounded by acres of grounds. To the right there was a forest, the trees all deciduous so many still barren of leaves from the winter. It was beautiful.

Indy got out of the car, making sure to grab her overnight bag so she could check in at reception. She hurried to the doors, quickly pulling them open to get inside, away from the frosty air. One thing she loved about California was the weather. Even in the dead of winter it never got this god damned cold! She didn't think she could miss her home any more if she tried!

She was wrong.

When Indy finally located the reception desk, her heart sank. Standing at the desk, chatting to the concierge, was Brendan.