Chapter 3

CHAPTER THREE

HENDRIX

While the rest of my friends had jobs during the day, I bounced around a lot to earn money. I taught some guitar lessons at a guitar shop in town once a week, did some modeling for an art studio, whatever I could get my hands on really. It wasn't glamorous by any means, but it paid my portion of the bills. And I didn't have to do as much now that I was splitting the rent with three people instead of one.

It had been some kind of miracle that my bandmates' leases were up right after Mal said he was moving in with his mate, Zach. He knew my situation and offered to continue to pay his half of the rent, but that rubbed me the wrong way. I didn't want to have to rely on my friends for money. When Ruby mentioned getting a new place, I asked if she wanted to room together and the other two followed suit a few months later. Only Zion refused, saying he was too good to have roommates. No one else complained about that. It was cramped, since it was a two bedroom, but none of us minded. It meant most nights after work we could practice as a band and we didn't have to herd people to get to gigs.

I shared the loft with Ruby, since I was the only one in the band who didn't hit on her regularly. Pretty sure Duncan was teasing, his type was more sweet girl next door, but Laz and Zion were definitely interested. Zion because he was a douche, always looking to get laid. Laz… Poor Laz. He actually really liked Ruby. I'd seen the looks he gave her when she wasn't paying attention. He was crushing hard, and it killed him when she didn't look his way. Ruby was pretty adamant about the no dating band members rule, and I didn't think Laz could change her mind any time soon.

Narrowing my eyes, I frowned at Athena. "What exactly am I delivering this time?"

Athena was an oracle and an old friend. Usually Callum did deliveries for her when he visited home, but he had an extensive project at work this week, so I picked up the slack for a little extra cash.

"Never you mind. Just make sure not to say anything when you cross over," she snapped, handing me the package. It was small, easily fitting into the palm of my hand, but heavier than I expected. I turned it this way and that, trying to figure out what it was, until Athena smacked the back of my head.

"If I find out you opened that before delivering it, I won't pay you. When is Callum coming back? He asks fewer questions than you."

I fought off a grin. "I'm going to tell him he should be asking more questions then. He seriously never asked?"

She scowled at me, but since she was a tiny little thing with a hunch and a bum knee, I wasn't afraid of her. Even sitting down, I was taller than her. Besides, she was a friend of Callum's family, so I'd known her for over half my life.

"Are you going to deliver it or aren't you? I've got customers waiting."

"Shouldn't you already know the answer to that?" I drawled. I loved teasing her. It drove her batty, but it always made her smile in the end. And I was less obnoxious about it than Felix.

She opened her mouth, probably to say something snarky, but then she froze, her eyes darting back and forth. We'd all experienced this before, and I knew better than to interrupt her until the vision passed. I got her chair and moved it closer to her. Sometimes the visions were strong enough that she needed to sit down afterwards.

When she finally blinked a few times, I let out a breath. "You okay?"

She looked around slowly, nodding slightly. I gave her a minute to process, helping her sit in her chair, when suddenly she thrust her hand out at me.

"Give it back. That won't work anymore."

Frowning, I handed the package back to her. "Okay… So you don't need a delivery, then?"

Her brows creased tighter together, her head tipped. "No, you still have a delivery. Just not that. I need to cross over and I'm too old to do it alone anymore. Bring me to the tunnel, boy. And make it snappy."

Giving myself a mental shrug, I followed her out of her little tent. She snapped the curtain closed, pinning a sign to the front, and turned to the person waiting on the other side.

"Something has come up. Come back tomorrow. And don't eat the dumplings. They'll make you ill."

The woman who was waiting blinked rapidly, obviously confused, but Athena didn't wait around. She wrapped one bony arm around my waist, giving me an impatient look, and barked at me.

"Let's go, boy. I don't have all day."

Fighting back a laugh, I teleported us to the tunnel to the Other Realm. It didn't require much energy to use it, the government built it so anyone could pass through freely, but Athena was slow moving and needed a hand to navigate the passage. I led her through, helping her over to a bench on the other side to rest.

"Where are we going from here?"

She waved me away. "Together? Nowhere. My ride will be here soon. You should check on your father, though. He and your uncle were kicked out of the bar last night."

I sighed heavily. "Of course they were. Which one?"

"McNeelys."

There were times when I hated the fact that my dad lived so close to a bar. Like most musicians, he had a vice and no matter how many times I told him to cool it, he didn't listen. As long as people bought him drinks, he was going to accept them.

"Alright. I'll go check on him. What time am I meeting you here?"

Her face softened a little. "Bless you, boy. I'll be back just after lunch. You can meet me right here."

I was still unbearably curious about where she was going in such a hurry and why she needed to go by herself, but I knew better than to argue with her. I waited for the car to show up to get her before teleporting home. Dad and Uncle Marley hadn't even made it into the house. They were passed out in the front yard. Luckily, this wasn't a nightly occurrence. Just more often than I'd like.

With a heavy sigh, I moved past them to the side of the house. I grabbed the hose, filling up two buckets of water. I used to be nice enough to drag them both to bed, but this was funnier. And they kind of deserved it.

I went to my uncle first, since he took longer to wake up. Dumping the water on him, I nudged him with my foot. "Up. Before I get the ice."

He groaned, rolling onto his side, but didn't immediately wake up.

Moving on to my dad, I dumped the second bucket out over him. He gasped and spluttered, sitting up quickly. "Wha– What?"

"You two make terrible lawn ornaments," I commented dryly.

He looked up at me, his eyes narrowed like he was trying to figure out who I was. Once he was awake enough to figure it out, he beamed at me.

"Hendrix, my boy! I didn't know you were coming for a visit."

I shook my head with a smirk. "I was in the neighborhood. I hope you didn't forget your guitar at the bar this time."

He flapped his hand dismissively. "Don't gotta worry about that no more. Me and Bob made a deal. I can keep my guitar stored there as long as I don't play any more songs about your mama. He said I was depressing the crowd."

My mom, the smart woman that she was, left my dad when I was still a baby. She naively thought he'd straighten his act to spend more time with his kid, but no such luck. I was raised mostly by her while Dad wallowed and wrote songs about lost love to ease the pain. She loved him enough that she'd probably have taken him back if he at least put in the effort, but Dad was a free spirit at heart. He loved music more than he loved her. It was a shame, but she remarried right after the integration and she was happier for it.

"You need a new muse, old man. You're going to lose your fans if you don't move on."

"Psh. I've been playing these parts since before you were born. My fans are die hard. I'm not losing nuthin'."

Another groan behind us signaled my uncle finally waking his ass up. Good. He was heavy, and I didn't want to hurt myself by dragging him inside.

Despite the trouble he caused, I loved my dad. I really did. He taught me about music and used to sneak me into the human realm when I was just a kid, using expensive glamours to make us look human so we could watch bands together. When he wasn't drinking, he was a fun guy, and I loved playing music with him when I came to visit. As long as the visits were short. Taking care of him got tiring after a while. He was also the reason I very rarely drank and never had more than two drinks a night.

"Come on. Let's go inside. I'm sure you've got hangover cures in the bathroom."

Dad took my hand when I offered it, getting to his feet. When he was balanced, he pulled me in for a hug, slapping my back hard. "I missed you, kid. We gotta jam sometime soon."

"We can do that. At your place, though. Ruby says you're not allowed in the apartment."

He wasn't even offended, chuckling as he went to nudge Uncle Marley again. "Can't say I blame her. Come on Mars. Get your ass up." He looked over his shoulder at me while hauling my uncle off the ground. "You finally got under that skirt, then?"

I made a face. "Ew. Don't say it like that. And no. Ruby and I are just friends. I don't hook up with my bandmates."

And even if I did, I wouldn't step on Laz's toes like that. I wasn't a douche. Besides, I wanted something new. Something exciting. It'd been a while since I was truly excited about something. I didn't know what I was looking for yet, but I'd figure it out once I found it.