Phoenix Chapter Nine: Consequences

Chapter Nine: Consequences

When Rogan got home Tuesday night, he slumped on his couch, holding his head in his hands. Not from the hangover. Memories had been ambushing him all day with piercing pain. Now at home, with nothing to distract him, he felt like he might be going crazy. He couldn’t control his mind. It kept dragging up images and emotions. This had never happened to him before. Always in the past, he had been able to compact his feelings about his sister into something very small and put it away. There was no putting it away tonight.   

He gave up trying to avoid it all and turned on Fade to Black by Metallica.

Things are not what they used to be

Missing one inside of me

Deathly lost, this can't be real

Cannot stand this hell I feel

Emptiness is filling me

To the point of agony

Growing darkness taking dawn

I was me, but now he's gone 

He listened to this over and over after Lucy died. Listened until he came to hate it. Now he listened again and it hurt just as much as it had back then. The guitars faded away and he was left empty of all emotions. It was only eight o'clock, but he went to bed and fell asleep right away.

Wednesday morning, Rogan felt terrible when he got up, couldn’t remember why, and then it came back to him. He showered, hoping he could somehow wash it all away. Getting to work, clocking in and starting with his first car was a relief. It was some distraction from all the pain he'd been feeling. He forced himself to smile and joke with the other guys as usual.

Eventually the distraction of work succeeded in driving away unwanted thoughts and memories. He started feeling a bit more normal by lunch.

Andy found Rogan at the bus stop just outside Midas, after work. Found him and called his name. When Rogan turned, Andy punched him in the face. Rogan stumbled back, caught totally off guard. He covered the side of his face with a hand and said, “What the hell?”

“Deny it. Go ahead and deny that you and Allison spent the night together!” Andy demanded.

“Jesus, Andy, all we did was sleep.” 

“Yeah right, that's what she said, too. Some story about a dead sister,” Andy scoffed.

It took all of Rogan's self control to not launch himself at Andy. Through gritted teeth, he growled, “That's right, My sister died when I was 12. She died seven years ago as of Monday night.” 

“And how does that make it OK for my girlfriend to spend the night with you?” 

“Is she still your girlfriend?” 

“What?” Andy seemed puzzled by this.

“Is she still your girlfriend, now?”

“Why? You want a clear playing field?” 

“If she isn't your girlfriend anymore, what she does is none of your business. And what I do is definitely none of your business.”   

Gary and Ryan arrived at Rogan's side at this moment. 

“What's this creep want, Rogan?” Gary wanted to know. 

“Do you want to press charges?” Ryan asked. “That was assault.” 

Andy's fury did not lessen in the presence of two witnesses. 

“She was dating me when you slept together, so you are both my business.” 

“The only business you got is to shove off, buddy.” Gary unconsciously rubbed his knuckles, as if he was itching to punch Andy.

Ryan stepped between Gary and Andy. “OK, you need to get out of here,” he said to Andy. “Rogan, if you want to press charges, we can call the police right now.”

“No, no pressing charges. Just stay the f**k away from me. Allison isn't a cheater and neither am I. Go away.” 

Andy spat at Rogan's feet, gave him one more glare and turned away, stalking off.

“I'm glad I saw you from the front window,” Ryan said. “What was that all about?”

“Ah, I dunno, he thinks I slept with his girlfriend.” 

“Is your reputation catching up with you, Casanova?”

Rogan shrugged.  

***

The next night, Thursday after work, Rogan collected his guitar and headed over to the warehouse for practice. Buzz greeted him. Rogan could feel the man's eyes lingering on the bruise high on his cheekbone.

“Got into a rumble?” 

“Guy punched me.” Rogan considered telling Buzz the story behind the bruise. He'd have to mention Allison's overnight visit, though. He didn’t want to talk about that. 

Buzz didn't pry, just went back to his work on his drum set. Rogan got started on setting up.  

It was a good practice. Rogan felt fused into something larger than just the four of them. It was an exhilaration he felt nowhere else. It filled him with deep happiness, despite all the s**t going on in his life. 

After their usual two hours, J.D. had an announcement.

“I've got a line on a gig. I've been trying to get my foot in the door over at Benny's, and something might pan out. Rogan, you'll need an amp of your own, this practice one isn't good enough. If this comes through, we'll be playing the 24th, a Tuesday night. Does that work for you guys?”

Wednesday was Rogan's normal day off, so that worked perfectly for him. Now he needed to shop for a gig-worthy amp. He had two weeks. He planned to hit the pawn shop right after work tomorrow.

When they were all packed up, Buzz beckoned to Rogan, offering him a ride again.

Climbing into the large truck, Rogan said, “Thanks for giving me a ride all the time, man. It's silly being a mechanic and not having a car of my own.” 

“It's no problem, I drive down Hanover on my way home. If you can't get some transport for your amp by the gig, I can pick you up on the way. You'll have to help me with my drum kit, though. You can show your gratitude then.” Buzz laughed. 

Rogan laughed too, as he knew what a pain drum sets were. All that carrying back and forth, and then the putting together. It was a real b***h. 

An impulse took over and he found himself telling Buzz, “Thanks for not interrogating me about this bruise back there. It's not something I want the whole world to know, but truth is, some guy thought I was sleeping with his girlfriend.” 

“Were you?” 

“Only in the most literal sense, we were in the same bed and were asleep at the same time. That's it.” He thought about this. “It does look bad on the face of it, but why doesn't he believe her? He claims to love her, doesn't he trust her?” 

“Love can make people insanely jealous. Irrationally so.” 

“Yeah. Anyway, he hunted me down and punched me in the face. I guess they're not together anymore.” 

“Is that good news for you?”

The results of the break up finally made their way into his mind. She was single now. She didn’t belong to someone else anymore. She was no longer off limits. 

Buzz laughed again, at Rogan's silence. “I'm guessing the answer is Yes.”

Rogan squirmed a bit and was glad the cab of the truck was dark. “I suppose so.” 

They were pulling up to the snakehouse now, and Rogan was relieved to escape this conversation.

“Good luck in your matters of the heart, Rogan.” 

Rogan slid out of the truck with a quick thank you, his head full of Allison.    

Author's Note

Thank you, my kind readers, for getting this far. Any and all comments are welcome.

Reviews

[Samuel Dickens]

"Gary and Ryan materialize at Rogan's side at this moment." Of course the meaning is clear, but it made me think of Kirk and Spock materializing on some rocky planet.
"Rogan can feel the man's eyes lingering on the red spot high on his cheekbone, a souvenir from Andy's attack." Here is how I might slim that sentence down--"Rogan feels the man's eyes lingering on his bruised cheekbone." I left off "a souvenir of Andy's attack" because we already knew where it came from.
I find this to be a pretty clean chapter. You're getting better with commas, I believe.

[SweetNutmeg]

Thank you so much for your review. I attended to those items you mentioned. You are, as always, ever helpful and encouraging.

[MoonlitWillow]

Things seem to be moving in a good direction for Rogan, with his band, with his connections with people around him, with Allison. I found it interesting that instead of being the “white knight” and defending Allison’s honor by doing everything he could to make sure Andy understood nothing happened between them, you allowed some of his selfishness to show through. He did say that they just slept, but it was clear Andy didn’t believe it, and rather than focus on trying to get him to see reason (and not be angry at Allison for something she didn’t do) he wants to know if they’ve broken up. I think it’s good to show all these facets of a character, especially the main character, to make them more real.

Now I just wonder if Allison will be interested in pursuing a relationship with Rogan, or if she’ll be upset about what happened and blame herself or him for it, or both.

[SweetNutmeg]

Yeah, Rogan is no white knight. He has his flaws. I'm glad you feel it made him more real.

And what about Allison indeed? I guess we will have to wait and see. :P

[wtp]

I liked this chapter because we got a lot of character development, mostly for Rogan but also for a number of minor characters.

There are a couple of rather nice touches in the altercation with Andy that offer insight into Rogan's character. First, Rogan shows restraint in spite of being physically larger; he stay on his feet when sucker punched but doesn't retaliate. Second, he asserts that "Allison isn't a cheater and neither am I."

The third might be the most interesting: he asks if Allison "is still your girlfriend?" He isn't a cheater, but is interested if the field is cleared. This is the first time he has admitted that to anyone but himself.

You also show us a bit about his coworkers in that scene. They may not be quite his people, but he can clearly count on them. Last, and perhaps least, you show that Andy is a jerk...

We got a lot more insight into the man Rogan is becoming in the band practice and the ride home with Buzz. The band is very much where he belongs, where he is "fused into something larger". We all need that, and he is finally finding it.

The confessional with Buzz on the ride home was the most interesting part to me, though. Buzz noticed the bruise but did not push for details. Two hours later, Rogan chooses to share details from his life. He finds himself sharing a little more than he expected, and it still feels awkward but the net effect is positive. This is a big change from the beginning of the book.

Nice work. Thanks for sharing.

[SweetNutmeg]

Thank you for your thoughtful review. You've got me blushing with so much praise. I'm very pleased with your reading of the story because it matches what I saw inside my head and what I wanted the reader to experience. You've really made me happy.

[Wathanya.5KY3]

The story is moving forward, hurray! I just got back from camping with 61 strangers, and it seems people have already picked out technical mistakes for you (though it's, as Samuel says, a pretty clean chapter).

Except for one tiny thing, though it's something not many people know.

“Do you want to press charges?” Ryan asks. “That was assault.”

Since Andy's punch physically landed in Rogan's face, it's no longer assault; it's battery.

https://criminal-law.freeadvice.com/criminal-law/violent_crimes/assault_battery.htm explains this well, but you can look up "assault vs battery" for more info.

But then again, it's not that important. I'm just a nerd who reads and writes crime. :P

[SweetNutmeg]

Would that be assault AND battery? That's something you hear on TV a lot. I might just stick with assault, because it is a common term, and lots of people, including Ryan, don't know the difference. I will think this over.

Thank you as always for your careful reading and thoughtful, encouraging response. You are invaluable.

[Wathanya.5KY3]

Yes. That would make Andy's actions assault and battery, and he can be charged for both (but Rogan just wants to be left alone anyway). And, yes, you hear that on TV a lot (I'm looking at you Hollywood and police TV series. Don't "over and out" me! Note: "over" means "I'm done speaking. Over to you" while "out" means "I'm done speaking and out of this conversation." The more you know).

Talking about little things, upon my second read (I reread people's writings before scrolling down to the reviews section), something bugged me.

“And how does that make it OK for my girlfriend to spend the night with you?”
“Is she still your girlfriend?”
“What?” Andy seems puzzled by this.
“Is she still your girlfriend, now?”

Why would Rogan ask if they broke up out of the blue? Did Allison or someone tell him? Did he know Allison spending the night at his place would enrage Andy and cause the breakup? Will this be revealed later in the story and I'm just being impatient? lol

Re: compliments: Right back at you, SweetNutmeg.

[Shep]

another excellent chapter as always they seem so short because I seem to burn right through them. then again I am a fast reader LOLO. Rogan seems to be causing problems everywhere he goes these days I notice good for us reader fans not so good for him.

[SweetNutmeg]

He's causing trouble, trouble follows him, trouble all around for poor Rogan. Thank you for reading.