Rhythm in Blue Read online

  Table of Contents

  Prologue

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  Chapter Thirty

  Chapter Thirty-One

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  Chapter Thirty-Three

  Chapter Thirty-Four

  Chapter Thirty-Five

  Chapter Thirty-Six

  Chapter Thirty-Seven

  Chapter Thirty-Eight

  Chapter Thirty-Nine

  RHYTHM

  IN BLUE

  By

  tfc Parks

  Published by tfc Parks

  An Archilochus Press Book

  Copyright April 2010 by tfc Parks

  This book is a work of fiction, and all persons appearing in this work are fictitious. Any resemblance to events or people, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  Haunted Dreams, co written by Aston Drees and tfc Parks

  Cover Design by tfc Parks

  Prologue

  Shelby dug her stubby nails into the wet tie of her dress, desperate to untangle the knot. The tips of her fingers burned as she pinched at the thin strip of material, each finger slipping away, only to meet the other once again. It didn’t help that she was in such a rush to change clothes and get out of the house before her mother discovered her home from work. Judy would find some unnecessary chore for Shelby, if only to make sure she never forgot Judy had the ultimate say in her life. Just below her window, her mother made a pathetic attempt to converse in Greek with the neighbor lady.

  Shelby gave up and squeezed the knotted dress up over her head to the sound of stretching seams, pulled on a dry one, and hurried out of her room. She crept down the stairs, through the back of the house, and out onto the veranda. She stopped short to listen for her mother’s footsteps, but only the sound of her pounding heart met her ears. With no sign of her mother, she made a dash for the back wall and hefted herself over. A strand of her long hair caught in the branch of a tree. She stifled a yelp and yanked it free.

  Once on the other side, she ran down the street. Behind her, Shelby’s mother called her name. She reached down and removed her flip-flops, knowing the sound they made slapping her heels would echo off the houses and give her away. The whitewashed cobblestones, blazing hot from the afternoon sun, stung her feet. When she was around the corner, she paused to shuffle back into her shoes. Raising her head, she met the disapproving glare of an old grandmother dressed in the black of mourning crocheting on her front stoop. The old woman wished her health as Shelby passed, but her tone made it obvious that it was not an actual wish. Respectfully, Shelby returned the greeting.

  Working her way through the winding back alleys, Shelby remained vigilant for any trouble possibly lurking around the next corner. She passed under vine-covered archways, past more grandmothers dressed in black – many closing their windows and doors to block the heat – and past the main shopping street where the stores closed for the afternoon.

  Her heart leapt at the sound of an approaching, familiar laugh. Its resonance sent chills down her spine. She slipped into the covered archway of a chapel and hid behind a twisted grapevine growing from between the stones until the owner of the laugh and his company passed.

  When she was sure they were out of sight, she left her hiding place and continued on her way. Shelby turned onto the narrow alley leading to Erin’s house. Only when she arrived did she feel she had made a clean escape.

  ~

  “Erin, how old were you the first time you did it?” Shelby asked as she flipped her end of the sheet over the clothesline. Seeing the look on Erin’s face made her regret the question. The look signified an painful memory.

  “Too young,” Erin answered. After a moment of silence, she asked, “Why? You’re not thinking of doing something stupid are you?”

  “Nooo,” Shelby exaggerated the word as she caught the bag of clothespins Erin tossed. “I just like to know people’s stories.”

  Erin laughed. “Trust me – you don’t want to base anything you do on my past.” She pulled the last sheet out of the basket and moved down the line.

  “Why? Do you wish you had waited longer?” Shelby rushed to grab her end of the sheet.

  Erin didn’t answer, and at first, Shelby wondered if maybe Erin hadn’t heard her, but she didn’t repeat the question. At last, Erin told her, “I didn’t have the choice to wait longer.”

  With this, Shelby grasped why the subject made Erin so uncomfortable. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have asked.” She pulled a pillowcase from the basket and removed two clothespins from the bag at Erin’s feet.

  “You don’t have to be sorry. There’s no way you could have known and it’s not a crazy question.” Erin hung the bag of pins back on the line and walked to the wall enclosing the rooftop. She leaned against the edge and watched Shelby wring the water from the last pillowcase before hanging it on the line. “My father was a drunk. He wasn’t bad when he was sober, but that was rare.”

  Shelby joined Erin at the wall.

  “I remember when I was little he used to beat the shit out of my brother all the time, for no reason at all. It made me cry to see him hurt like that, and even though I felt guilty, I was glad it wasn’t me. Afterwards, I’d sneak into Ricky’s bed and lay beside him while he cried. I’d hug him, but I knew it wasn’t enough.”

  “How old were you guys when your mom died?” Shelby asked when Erin paused.

  “I was just a baby. I don’t remember her at all. Ricky was only four, and he doesn’t remember her much either.” Erin lifted herself up to sit on the wall, and Shelby followed. “One night my dad came home really drunk. He came into our room while we were sleeping, and he just started punching my brother. I remember, Ricky was screaming at him to stop, but that just made it worse. Dad took off his belt and started whipping him with it so hard, and he kept it up until Ricky’s back and legs were bleeding.”

  Shelby couldn’t stop the tears rushing to her eyes as she listened in horror. Erin wouldn’t look at her, but Shelby knew she wasn’t the only one with tears.

  “Ricky left that night.” Her voice cracked as she spoke. “Once Dad passed out, he packed his bag and left. He hugged me and told me he was sorry, and he left. I remember watching him walk out the door – I could see the blood seeping through the back of his shirt.” Erin paused, but Shelby knew she wasn’t finished. “It was a few months before Dad even thought about me. I suppose it was inevitable that he would, though. After that, he was beating me. A couple of months later I guess it occurred to him that I could be useful for something else.”

  Shelby wanted to stop her. She didn’t want to hear anymore, but she took a deep breath, and reached for Erin’s hand.

  “One night when he came home drunk, he crept into my room and I braced myself for the usual routine. But instead, he crawled into bed with me. He started rubbing my arm and my cheek. I liked it – it was the only tenderness he’d ever shown,” Erin confessed. “But then, he started rubb
ing other places, places that just didn’t feel right.” Shelby squeezed her hand as Erin took a deep breath. “That went on for a few months, but then he wanted more. I was just twelve the first time. I never knew when he came home drunk if he’d beat me, or rape me. It didn’t matter which, it was all the same.”

  Shelby could feel Erin’s pain as she related the events of her past, and couldn’t believe Erin was opening up to her like this.

  Then, Erin’s expression changed to one of satisfaction. “Ricky rescued me though. When I was fifteen, he showed up one day while my dad was at work and told me to pack my bag.” She smiled. “He was my hero. I wasn’t even afraid to leave with him, I was just so happy.”

  “Did he know what your dad was doing to you?”

  “He wouldn’t have, except as we were leaving he saw a box of rubbers by my dad’s bed. He asked me, ‘Who the hell would fuck that son of a bitch?’ I turned really red I guess, and Ricky’s eyes got huge. Then he wanted to go find him and kill him, and he could have – he was a lot bigger than my dad by then, but I begged him to just take me and leave, so he did.”

  Releasing Shelby’s hand, Erin stood and picked up the basket, “So, that’s my story. God, I can’t believe it’s been six years.” She shook her head and looked at Shelby, “I was your age then.”

  “I’m so sorry Erin. I can’t even imagine what that must have been like. Thank you for telling me.”

  Erin set the basket back down. “Here’s what you need to know Shelby – don’t have sex until you’re ready. Make sure it’s with someone you love, and who loves you just as much. As long as you wait for that, you can’t go wrong.”

  “Like you and Kostas?” Shelby smiled.

  “Yeah, like that.”

  Shelby followed Erin to the stairs leading down to the veranda of the house she shared with Kostas. “I can’t wait for you to meet Ricky, you’re gonna love him,” Erin said as she descended the metal, spiral stairs, the excitement obvious in her voice.

  “When is he coming?”

  “They’ll be here in a couple of weeks.”

  “They?”

  “Yeah, the guys are all coming with him, I guess.”

  Shelby stopped halfway down the stairs.

  “What?” Erin asked when she noticed Shelby had stalled. “What’s wrong?”

  “Nothing. It’s just so cool is all.”

  “You’ll like them, they’re all good guys.”

  “Why are they coming so long before the wedding?”

  Erin laughed. “I think it’s because Ricky wants to have plenty of time to talk me out of it.”

  Shelby laughed too and shook her head as they continued down the stairs. She loved spending time with Erin. Shelby knew that Erin was someone from whom she could learn a lot. Anyone with that much strength, who could overcome such an awful past, was someone who made those around them stronger, and it was that kind of strength Shelby wanted to have.

  Chapter One

  Summer 1979

  Rick awoke to the sound of pounding. His mind struggled to determine if the pounding came from within his hung-over head or outside his body. Opening one eye, he saw the girl next to him on the bed. The pounding returned. Someone at the door. The girl stirred, opened her eyes, and smiled.

  “What?” Rick yelled.

  “Ricky, you gotta get up. Everybody’s waiting on you!” It was their road manager, Johnny. “Devon’s pissed as hell you’re not on the bus. Says he’s gonna come up here and kick your ass!”

  “Tell him he can come up here and kiss my ass.” Rick looked at the young, naked girl beside him and reconsidered. “No, I’m up. Tell Devon I’ll be down in just a minute.”

  If Devon found him with the girl, there would be more to it than just getting his ass kicked. Though she told Rick she was nineteen, he guessed she was closer to sixteen. Devon would freak out, and he always warned them all to stay away from the young ones. Devon, lured and lied to by a mature looking girl, spent six months in prison for statutory rape when he was nineteen. It was a mistake he intended to make sure the rest of them never had to deal with.

  In his drunken and stoned stupor, Rick had no problem believing she was nineteen. When he took her to bed, however, her cry of pain as he plunged into her depths belied her claim of maturity. At the time, he didn’t care, and he figured she wanted to be there. Now sober, he saw the innocence in her eyes and the bloodstain on the sheet, and he knew he’d screwed up. It wasn’t the first time his inebriated judgment put him in a tight spot, although most weren’t this sticky, he would have to take care with his escape.

  “Sweetie, you gotta go.”

  The girl’s face fell as he crawled out of bed and began to dress. “Can’t I come with you?”

  “Baby, you’re sweet, and so beautiful,” he leaned over and ran his fingers down her cheek. “But this is just gonna have to be a onetime thing for now.”

  Seeing tears well up in her eyes, he added, “If I could, I’d take you with me. Honest. But I can’t. We can’t bring girlfriends on the road, it just doesn’t work.” A smile crept back to her face, hearing herself referred to as his girlfriend. “Now you gotta go, because I can’t stand long goodbyes.” He kissed her lightly on the lips, and then headed for the bathroom. As he relieved himself, he heard the door close behind her.

  He washed his face and observed his reflection in the mirror. Rick wondered what it was that made women want him so badly they would lie and tell him anything he wanted to hear just to be with him, or any rock star for that matter.

  Taking a deep breath, the remnants of the previous night’s fun hit him like the stench of a public toilet – stale beer, Crown Royal, and sex. There was no time for a shower, but his aroma might buy him more room on the bus. The nausea would make for a long day on the road, but it would be worth it. He tugged at his signature puka shell necklace, pulling it out from under his shirt, gave his reflection a crooked smile, and headed for the bus.

  ~

  Parked in front of the hotel doors, anyone who wanted in or out had to walk around the tour bus. As Rick pulled himself up the steps, a woman dragging a little kid behind shot him a dirty look.

  “Good morning,” he beamed his winning smile that had taken him so far. She was not impressed. “Sorry,” he muttered as he continued up the steps.

  When he reached the top, he found Devon, scowling. “Every time Ricky, every single fucking time! You know, we’re finally done, finally going someplace worth going – you’d think we wouldn’t have to wait on your sorry ass for a change!”

  Sometimes it was hard to take Devon seriously. His thick Alabama accent made him sound a little like a male Dolly Parton. As Rick pushed past him, he saw Devon breathe deeply and catch a whiff of Rick’s morning after aroma.

  He chuckled as Devon gagged, “Shouldn’t be in such a goddamn hurry all the time, asshole.” The bus was already moving as he worked his way to the back to find some open space. Keith and Randy shook their heads as he passed by, even though it was a daily ritual for Rick to keep them waiting.

  As he found his spot and began to settle in, he saw Randy trying to get his attention from his seat a few rows ahead, waving a joint in Rick’s direction.

  “Here.”

  Rick met him half way. “Thanks, man.” Randy nodded. Rick lit up and inhaled deeply. The nausea would soon subside, and he closed his eyes to settle into the familiar jostling of the bus. A thump on the head jolted Rick and his eyes flew open. The wadded up cigarette pack fell from where it hit him on the head, down his chest, and into his lap. He looked up to find Randy hanging over the back of his seat, waiting for acknowledgement.

  “Bet you can’t make that same shot again,” Rick challenged as he handed back the joint.

  “Give it back and I will.”

  Rick tossed him the pack as the bus rumbled along, passing miles of cornfields and pastures of cattle. Randy shot and missed as Rick plucked it from the air and tossed it back. The game continued and Rick considered the mu
ndane things that kept them occupied on the road. Not very glamorous, he thought as the pack smacked his ear and he threw it back. In previous years, they had bet on this kind of stupid, made-up game, but after Randy ended up a few thousand dollars in debt, they stopped.

  “Do you suppose they have nude beaches on the island?” Randy asked.

  “I don’t know. They might.”

  “Man, I hope they do. Can you imagine it? Naked women everywhere…” Randy’s shot went wide left as he imagined the scene. “What are you gonna do if this guy turns out to be a big asshole?”

  “Not really sure,” Rick said, shaking his head. The question kept him up nights, but he still didn’t know how to answer. They were heading to Europe in a few days, to an island in Greece, where his little sister had fallen in love with a Greek man, a man she intended to marry in less than a month. Rick asked Devon to accompany him to the wedding, but Randy horned in on the trip. After that, Rick had no choice but to invite Keith.

  “Nick says Greek men are chauvinistic bastards and mama’s boys,” Randy said.

  “Yeah, he told me too.”

  Nick, a roadie who worked with them on the last leg of their tour, was of Greek descent, and considered himself an authority on all things Greek.

  Over the phone, Erin had assured him that Kostas wasn’t like that. “He is a good man and we love each other. When you meet him, you’ll see.” But Rick had a bad feeling about the whole thing. Ten years older than Erin, why did Kostas had to go cradle robbing instead of finding someone his own age, not to mention nationality?

  She was the only thing Rick regretted about leaving home at such a young age. He hated leaving Erin behind, leaving her to deal with the mean, alcoholic mess that was their father. He started out sending her a little money when he could, and even more as time went by. Rick knew it wouldn’t protect her from their dad, but at least she could treat herself and her friends occasionally. When she was old enough and he thought he could handle it, he went back and took her away. If Rick had known what else the old man was doing to her, he would have risked it and taken her years before.