Destined by Suzanne Falter

Author:Suzanne Falter [Falter, Suzanne]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: New Heights Publishing
Published: 2019-06-26T22:00:00+00:00

14

Lizzy bent over her guitar, tuning it yet again in the midst of the Breakdowns’ rehearsal. The band had been hard at it for more than an hour. Carla, the bass player, gave her a confused look. “You’re doing that again? I thought you just tuned five minutes ago.”

“Something’s wrong,” Lizzy muttered.

The drummer slumped against the wall behind her and stared at the ceiling. They’d gathered for one of their regular Thursday night rehearsals. And this time, it wasn’t going well.

Carla shook her head. “You’re off your game, girl. This is like the seventh or eighth time you’ve tuned in the last half hour.”

“When’s Tenika getting back?” the drummer asked.

“Or Kate, for that matter.” Azeb, the sax player, threw a critical look in Lizzy’s direction. “It’s fine, Lizzy. For real.”

“Yeah…just one sec.” Lizzy kept fiddling with the tuning peg on her top E as she listened to its pitch once more. She glanced up at the various players arranged in a semicircle in her garage. “I’m sorry, guys. Just bear with me.”

The band just looked at her. Lizzy had been lead singer and guitarist for The Breakdowns for more than five years. Through all of their gigs, their sound checks, their rehearsals, and the endless process of trying to get booked in the East Bay, she’d been their steadfast rock. Furthermore, her instrument was always in tune.

This was new and disturbing behavior.

Carla broke the silence. “Lizzy…if you need a break, just tell us. You’ve got a lot going on, right now.”

“I don’t need a break,” Lizzy protested. “Okay, so Kate’s in sanctuary but that’s all that’s wrong.”

The band members glanced at each other dubiously. “That’s actually a lot, Lizzy.” Azeb said gently. “Maybe you need to take the rest of the night off.”

“It’s not a lot!’ Lizzy snapped. Then ran her hands through her hair nervously. “I’m sorry. Believe me, this is therapy. Anyway, we need to rehearse.”

The fact that they had a gig in less than forty-eight hours wasn’t a concern. Lizzy would show up and play. They knew the tunes cold. They were even tight on their endings.

The band would push on as the consummate part-time pros that they were, though admittedly they could do little without their lead singer. The bigger issue was that one of them was now quietly falling apart, and she was doing it under protest.

“Ten-minute break,” declared Carla, and everyone put down their instruments and wandered away.

A moment later, she came up behind Lizzy and patted her shoulder. “So what’s going on, baby girl?”

Lizzy turned around with a crestfallen look on her face. She was holding her phone, regarding her texts, and suddenly tears filled her eyes. “It’s…I mean, it’s dumb.” She pushed at the tears on her face with annoyance and stuffed the phone into the pocket of her jeans. “It’s a passing thing. That’s all.”

Carla was unmoved. She just looked at Lizzy, demanding more information.

“Kate’s not speaking to me,” Lizzy finally admitted. “I don’t even know why. She threw me out the other night, just after I got to the church.

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