Dear Tabitha by Trudy Stiles Read Free Book Online

stalk toward the front of the bus so I can go out and get some fresh air.
    “Sharing a bunk is fending her off? C’mon, Alex, I’m not a moron,” he says with sarcasm ripping through his voice.
    I ignore his comment and walk down the stairs. I’m immediately hit in the face with hot, sticky air. Florida. We’ve been averaging four shows a week. When we left home, we headed west, and now we’re already back on the east coast. The tour promoter booked as many shows as she could, and we’ve snaked across the country haphazardly. We’re due to play in Arizona in ten days, and I wonder if we’ll make it.
    Garrett saunters toward the bus with a smirk on his face. “Hey, lover-boy,” he says. “Hot night with Stacy?”
    Jesus what’s with these guys?
    “Dude, I just told Dax and I’ll tell you for the last time. There. Is. Nothing. Going. On. With. Stacy.”
    I walk past him toward the public restrooms.
    “Keep telling yourself that, bro. You can only say no for so long. That chick knows what she wants, and that’s you.” He snickers as I walk away from him.
    I am sick of having this conversation with every fucking person on this tour, including Stacy. I need to make some rules for the bus, effective immediately.
    No chicks.
    ~
    We arrive in Ft. Lauderdale just in time to get the set ready for our show tonight. The rest of the trip was thankfully uneventful. I spent most of my time in the back lounge, listening to my iPod while reading a book on my iPad. I’ve been reading books about adult children of abusive parents. Yeah, heavy shit.
    I need to sort myself out since I beat the crap out of Seth and raised my hand toward Tabby. At least I think I raised my hand toward her. I felt so much rage over their hookup that I scared myself. I’m worried that it might get out of control, so I’m trying to understand what it all means. Am I capable of the same violence that he was?
    Someone plops down next to me on the couch.
    “Hey, Dax.” I remove my ear buds and hurry to close my iPad so he can’t see what I’m reading.
    He pats me on the shoulder and says, “Hey, I didn’t mean to be an asshole this morning. Its just … Stacy is so skanky. We never should have picked Bitter Pill to join our tour. We rushed into that decision and, well, we shouldn’t have.” His regret is tangible and I know he feels bad for helping push us into this hasty decision.
    He’s right. The other two bands that we auditioned weren’t a good fit either, but we should have spent more time searching. Who knew that Stacy and Bitter Pill would be such a cluster fuck? They’re talented, but right now it’s not worth the aggravation.
    “Whatever, dude. There’s nothing we can do to change it right now. They’re only on the first leg of the tour anyway because their manager double booked them.”
    I realize that means that Garrett will lose his hookup for this tour and I’m not sure if that’s good or bad. It’s good because he finally has a steady hookup, but bad because his hookup will be gone and he’ll start whoring around again. I like the one-girl hookup Garrett, not the man-whore.
    “Well, that’s one way to look at it, but the first leg of our tour lasts almost six months. A lot can happen in six months.” Dax has a way with making me feel more dread.
    “Seriously, Dax. Enough of the doom and gloom. And from now on, please give me the benefit of the doubt when it comes to Stacy. You’re like my brother, and well, your lack of faith in me just sucks.”
    He pats me on the back and shakes his head. “Sorry, bro. I just don’t want to see you get hurt. I’m going to sound like a chick when I say this, but I’ve been watching you get the shit beat out of you since you were a kid. I don’t want to see anyone hurt you again, physically, or mentally, you know?”
    “Yeah. But, just lay off for a while, okay? You have my permission to say ‘I told you so,’ if I do something stupid.” I stand and stretch my back. My