14 Days

Feeling the effects of the previous night, Evie breezed into the Atlantic Records offices right on 9am. She followed her brother as he approached reception, thankful once again that she had set up a car pool with Joe and Josh for the meeting that morning. She was probably less that able to drive after her afternoon and evening of solo drinking.

They were lead by one of the receptionists to one of the smaller boardrooms, Phil already present, sitting in one of the seats, paperwork surrounding him while he sipped on a cup of coffee. Evie’s stomach rolled at the rich scent, and she couldn’t figure out if it was because she was nauseous or hungry. She was not willing to play Russian roulette to find out.

As the men in the room were making their greetings, Lzzy and Arejay joined the group, Lzzy giving Evie a questioning once over at her clearly apparent hangover before she too said hello to Phil. Once they had all greeted one another, they took their seats, watching as Phil remained standing and sorting through the papers.

“Now we are all here, we can begin,” he stated, seeming to find what he was after and sliding a single piece of paper to each of the five in the room.

"Aren't we still waiting for Troy?" Joe asked, looking around the room and finding the tech still missing.

"No, he isn't joining us today," Phil replied, giving no further explanation before moving the meeting on. "This is the second page of your contract, showing the expected album timeline set out when you first signed with Atlantic. You can see that we will be needing you in the studio by June 3rd at the latest to start working on the next project so we can set up a release next year to capitalise on your growth from this album."

Evie tuned out for the next portion of the meeting, finding no interest in the expected length, structure and timing of the proposed second album. Instead, her attention was on Phil's cryptic dismissal of Troy's presence. Surely that was a good sign for Evie. There was no way that he could be as cruel as inviting her to the meeting only to fire her afterwards.

If that was his intention, he would have had to have told the band, and there was no way that any of them had kept that a secret from her. The lack of awkward tension in the car this morning had to be another good sign, she told herself. She reminded herself that there was no way if either Josh or Lzzy knew about her being fired that they would have been able to keep that to themselves for any longer than 2 minutes.

Had she actually managed to get through to Phil? Had her last ditch attempt yesterday actually made a difference? She tried not to let herself get too tied up in the idea that she was safe, not wanting to curse herself for her positive thinking, but a part of her warmed with the possibility. Maybe her position was secure, and she had nothing to worry about.

A sharp kick to her shins had Evie’s attention return to the table once again. She didn’t need to look around to know exactly where the blow had come from, and immediately locked eyes with Lzzy. A very arched eyebrow questioned Evie silently, followed by a purposeful eye sweep of her messy hair she had thrown in a bun, the sweater she wrangled her body into, and the exhausted bags under her eyes. Evie slightly shrugged her shoulders, the movement small enough not to attract the attention of the boys, yet she knew Lzzy would pick it up. Unsatisfied with her response, Lzzy narrowed her eyes, making sure Evie knew that the questioning would continue after the meeting.

“So, as you noticed, Troy was not asked to join this meeting,” Phil said, Evie’s ears perking up and her attention moving from her best friend. “He has been let go.”

The band immediately started asking questioned, talking over one another and demanding answers as to why they weren’t involved in this decision, but it all became white noise to Evie.

She had won.

She was unable to stop the almost maniacal smile from taking over her features, the relief flushing her system and replacing all her anxiety with pure happiness.

She had won.

Phil tried to settle down the rest of the band, finally managing to get some silence back in the room, and started his explanation. It took all of Evie’s self control to remain silent and seated, her body just wanting to celebrate her win and explode in relief.

“I am sorry you are feeling left out of the decision making, but I had to handle this one without you. On the evening after your Rock on the Range performance, Troy approached me with a proposition and a plan to take over Evie’s position,” Phil started, but as soon as he had told them the beginning of the story (and the part Evie already knew), the band started up again.

“Why would he try to do that?” Joe asked.

“Did he think it would actually work?” Lzzy questioned.

“Did you know about this?” Josh asked Evie.

“He is a fucking idiot,” Arejay said, his words managing to drown out the others and make Evie chuckle.

“I decided not to tell you that night so you could enjoy the rest of the festival. I was going to bring it up in this meeting, but things changed when he came to see me the day you got home, and tried to convince me again, many of his points being petty and less than dignified,” Phil continued, ignoring the questions asked and the resurgence of noise from the band. “I immediately terminated his employment with Atlantic Records, and as a tech for you, and have sent strongly worded letters to the higher ups in other record labels describing his ladder-climbing nature. I doubt he will be able to get another job anytime soon within any of these companies, and I am sure word has spread within the industry.”

While the band continued asking questions about the situation, ultimately agreeing with Phil’s decision though slightly unhappy that this was the first they were hearing of it, Evie started to become agitated. She had come to his office yesterday to plead her case, to convince him that she was still the right person for this job, and he sat there, questioning her skills and commitment when he had already fired Troy?

“What the fuck?” Evie asked, her voice deathly calm, yet firm enough to have the rest of the table quiet immediately. Evie’s anger didn’t come out often, but when it did, it was less than pleasant to those on the receiving end.

“Excuse me?” Phil asked, taken aback by Evie’s sudden mood change. He assumed she would be glad at the decision.

“I spent half an hour yesterday talking to you, trying to show you how I am still the perfect person for this job, proving your comments and remarks about Troy wrong when all the while you had already fired him? You didn’t think to tell me that my job was safe? You didn’t think that it might be something I should know? Instead you let me stress and worry all night that you would ultimately choose that asshole. You even went as far as to tell me that just by speaking to you, I was ultimately firing him, trying to add that on to any guilt I was feeling by coming to you directly,” Evie said, standing from her seat and glaring down at Phil. “What sick game were you playing? Why would you play mind games with me and let me leave on such uncertain grounds?”

“I needed to know that after your stint with Avenged Sevenfold, your allegiance was still with this[/] band,” Phil answered, seemingly unperturbed by what he had done. “This is business, Ms. Smith, and I needed to know if you were still up to the job, or if I would be needing to replace two techs.”

Evie was silent for a moment, the chaos of thoughts currently swirling in her mind too loud for her to get a single one out. She was astounded that Phil would play her like that, that he could think that was a sane, humane thing to do.

“How dare you question Evie’s loyalty?” Lzzy piped up, unable to quell her own rage on Evie’s behalf. “She has been here longer than you have, she has been by our side for every show since 2004, whether she was skipping out of work early to help us set up, being unpaid for months at a time, even when she had Pneumonia she was in the van with us while we toured North America. She isn’t here just because her brother is in the band, or because we have become close, she is here because she deserves to be, and we need her!”

“If she wanted to, she could quit tomorrow and go work for a Swedish duet that only does covers of Devo and we would never question her loyalty,” Josh added, his attention turning from Phil to his sister as his tone softened. “You know we all love you, and there is no one that can get in the way of you position with Halestorm.”

“I know,” she replied, her tone just as quiet as she tried to wrap her mind around everything that had just transpired. Taking a breath, Evie turned to Phil once again. “I think that is more than enough for today. I will be in touch.”

With that, Evie turned on her heel and headed out of the board room. There was no way that she would be able to pay attention for any more of that meeting, she needed time to sort through what had just happened, and understand the feelings that arose when Lzzy and Josh rose to her defence.

As she found her way outside the building, she had to pause. Realisation struck her like a freight train, and she remembered that she had car pooled with Josh and Joe, and would have to wait for them to finish the meeting before she could get home. So much for a dramatic exit, she thought. She quickly decided that instead of waiting on the steps of the building like an idiot she would instead wait in the parking garage near the car. Evie slowly walked to the sidewalk, retracing her steps from yesterday around to the car park.

She quickly found the hood of Joe’s car, promptly lifting herself up and sitting on the bonnet. Evie dug through her pockets, emptying her cell, 3 lighters and two slightly crushed cigarettes onto her lap. Pocketing the two spare lighters (and making a mental note to take them back out once she was home), Evie put a cigarette to her lips, lit it and slowly inhaled the first lungful. As the nicotine hit her system, she couldn’t help but relax.

Her job was safe.

She may have technically just verbally assaulted her boss, but she would be able to keep touring with Halestorm. She could continue living her dream, working side by side with her brother and her best friend, helping them out and watching them grow into bigger and better things. Not only that, they had come to bat for her, showing their support of her to their label manager. That was huge to Evie, and something she would not let be forgotten. They risked everything by standing up for her and speaking to Phil that way, and she would be forever grateful.

Taking another long puff from the cigarette, Evie lit up the screen of her phone to see 2 missed calls and 4 texts. Her heart fumbled when she saw they were all from Brian.

Missed call - 8:58am - Brian Haner

Text Message - 8:58am - Brian Haner
Missed call from Brian Haner. No voicemail was left.

Text Message - 8:59am - Brian Haner
Must have just missed you. Good luck in your meeting!

Missed call - 10:04am - Brian Haner

Text Message - 10:05am - Brian Haner
Missed call from Brian Haner. No voicemail was left.

Text Message - 10:06am - Brian Haner
Hope everything is going ok. Call me when you’re out. Xx

Unable to help herself, Evie hit dial and listened to the phone ring. After 5 cycles, Brian finally picked up.

“Everything okay?” He asked, his voice scratchy and rough, a clear indication Evie had just woken him up.

“I think so,” she replied, ashing her cigarette as she spoke. “Thanks for the messages. I just saw them.”

“I knew how stressed you were about this meeting, so it was the least I could do,” he replied. Evie could hear rustling in the background and the telltale sound of his bunk curtain opening.

“I didn’t mean to wake you, you can go back to sleep,” she told him, feeling guilty that she had clearly woken him up.

“Don’t be stupid, I am going to talk to you,” he told her, trying to quietly get himself out of his bunk and into the main area of the bus. He could care less about waking the others up, having been on the receiving end of them all grumpy and sleep deprived, but he didn’t want his conversation to be overheard. He had so little time with Evie on the phone, so wanted to make the best of it while he could.

“Honestly, I don’t mind. You already woke up to send me those texts and to try and call,” she said, biting her lip as she watched the cigarette continue to burn and ash away.

“Evie, I am awake. Now talk, tell me what happened,” Brian told her, making his way off the parked bus to smoke as he chatted with Evie.

Evie gave him a quick rundown on what had happened at the meeting, explaining what Phil had said about Troy, and how he had questioned her. She told him about Lzzy and Josh defending her, and how she was now outside waiting for the rest of them to finish up.

“So now I am sitting on Joe’s car waiting for them all to come out so I can go home,” she finished, taking the last puff of the cigarette before flicking it to the concrete in front of her. She couldn't help but stay mesmerised as it continued to burn to the filter before putting itself out.

“I am so proud of you for standing up for yourself like that,” Brian told her, unable to stop himself from gushing. He knew Evie was a woman of few words, so for her to get that riled up took a lot of courage. “I would have killed to see the look on his face when he realised just how much he fucked up by playing you like that.”

“It was pretty great,” Evie said, giggling at the memory of Phil’s wide eyes as Evie ranted at him. She felt a bubble of pride swell up in herself at the memory. “Anyway, enough about me, how are you? How have the last few shows been? How much trouble has Johnny got himself into? Fill me in!”

“I can’t even start on hurricane Johnny. I swear that gnome is more chaos than he is worth.”

“Leave him alone, you lot egging him on counts for at least 75% of that chaos,” Evie told him, laughing at Brian’s phrasing. With the weight of the meeting off her shoulders, she was feeling better than she had in days, and talking to Brian, listening to his stories only increased her mood. “And how are the Berry’s? Missing the skills of this supreme guitar tech?”

“Hey, Johnny takes on our suggestions, it’s not all our fault!” Brian defended quickly, not letting that slide. “But yeah, the boys are missing the routine you guys had. The shows have definitely been… different.”

“Different, that is not a good word,” Evie said, her brows furrowing at his less than descriptive word choice.

“I guess it will just take time to get it back on track,” Brian said, trying to put Evie’s mind at ease.

“I guess so,” Evie agreed, realising that it wasn’t immediate that the shows were perfect when she took over, or when she got back to Halestorm.

The sound of laughter met Evie’s ear, and she looked towards the entry to the parking garage to see Joe, Josh, Arejay and Lzzy finally making their way back to their cars, clearly discussing the meeting they had just finished on their trip back. Evie slid from the bonnet of Joe’s car before he realised, instead leaning against the brick wall the car was parked in front of.

“The guys just came back from the meeting,” Evie told Brian, part of her slightly disappointed to see them return.

“And you have to hang up,” Brian finished, immediately feeling his mood drop from the abrupt end to their conversation. He knew the conversation had a time limit on it, but had hoped for a little longer.

“Can I call you later?” She asked, feeling like a teenager again.

“We will be in soundcheck from about 4, and go on at 8,” he told her, trying to remember their schedule that day, and hoping he had the figures correct.

“Okay, well I will try figure out the time difference and call you between,” she told him, trying to do the math mentally but coming up blank.

“Sounds good,” he replied.

“Okay, well, talk to you soon,” she said, unsure of what else to say, but unwilling to just hang up.

“I miss you,” he told her.

“I miss you, too,” she replied quietly, remembering just how badly it felt to say goodbye.

“Bye Evie,” he said, finally getting to the point of no return.

“Bye Bri,” she answered. With that, they hung up, each of them feeling both a little closer to the other, yet so much further away.

Luckily for Evie, she didn’t have much time to dwell on those feelings. As soon as she pocketed her cell, the band had reached her and immediately jumped into a thousand questions, all of which overwhelmed Evie further.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa!” She said, holding up her hands in surrender and trying to stop the Halestorm Inquisition. “One at a time, please!”

“I’ll go,” Lzzy said immediately, not leaving a single second for anyone else to jump in. “You knew about Troy and didn’t say anything?”

“Uh, yes?” Evie answered, though her reply was more questioning in tone.

“We could have helped you out, you idiot! You didn’t have to do this alone,” she said, scolding Evie lightly before enveloping her in a hug.

“Exactly, you know we could have put an end to it right away,” Joe agreed, his hand reaching out and rubbing Evie’s back as Lzzy pulled away.

“I know you could have, but it isn’t your place. I can’t always come running and crying to you guys when something goes wrong, I need to stand on my own two feet and fight my own battles,” Evie pointed out, appreciative of their gesture, but trying to explain the situation she was in. “I am my own person, and needed to remind people that just because I happen to be Josh’s sister, it doesn’t mean I am here because of that alone.”

“And you definitely got that point across!” Arejay said, an excited giggle in his voice as he continued. “Phil didn’t know what hit him when you went off.”

While Joe, Arejay and Lzzy started to talk about Phil’s reaction and how impressed they were at Evie’s defence, Josh decided that there was just one last thing left to say. He pulled Evie slightly aside, assured that the others would keep talking and not realise the moment between siblings.

“Look, you know we would keep you on forever and ever, until we all keel over and die and our children take our places in the band to start Halestorm, Gen 2,” he started, his tone low so just Evie could hear. She laughed lightly at his words, loving how he always mixed a little humor into his more serious moments. “But just know that no matter what happens, we will always love you and would never stop you from chasing the future you choose.”

Evie looked to her brother, her eyes starting to gloss over with tears at his words. The two Smith siblings shared a lot of traits, from their matching eye colour, the weird shape of their pinky toes, and even their height, but the most prominent was their stoic nature. They were observers, and as usual, Josh had picked up on the things Evie had no idea how to tell him. He had perfectly worded exactly what she needed to hear.

Unable to verbally reply, Evie wrapped her arms around her brother’s waist, leaning her head on his shoulder as he returned the gesture. He gave Evie a little squeeze before she dropped one arm, leaving one behind, and the pair returned to the conversation with the others being none the wiser of the moment that had transpired between the siblings.