Rockin' My Soul

Chapter 10

"...Look. Just clean yourself up and, be ready to go on that stage."

Steve escorts Phil to the door, after the brief talk with him...He walks out of the door, closing it behind him...Now, him and Michael are left alone in the dressing room...Steve is furious with Michael...

"What the hell is wrong with you!? I thought you were done with this whole Roxanne thing."

"You didn't hear how he was talking about her."

"I don't care! There's a better way to channel your anger than hitting your best drummer in the face."

There is silence...Steve really doesn't know what else to say.

"I just hope you know what you're doing." He continues.

"I do, actually."

"You don't know shit about this girl! She's not worth it, if she's making you fight your crew members. I say we let her go."

"I am not letting her go. I did what I had to do, because I wanted to."

"You're beyond help...You know that?"

With that, Steve slams the door. Michael plops in the sofa by his vanity... "Did I really do what I had to?" He begins biting into his nail...He knows he has seriously made a mess of things...And by the time it is over, someone will get hurt...

The concert goes on as planned...Michael looks over to a now semi-sober Phil playing away at the drums as though nothing happened...The bodyguard made sure to hydrate him in about two cups of black coffee before entering the stage. And as far as everyone in that audience knew, there was never any kind of misunderstanding. The members run backstage after leaving the audience quite satisfied. And, it seems everything is back to normal...Phil does walk past Michael, giving him an unusual stare, which Michael ignores.

"Hey, Michael. You okay?" Will approaches Michael when he sees him packing up some things.

"Yeah. I'm alright."

"Phil is a jerk. Roxanne is really sweet. And, I can tell you really like her."

"I do. Thanks for having my back earlier."

"No problem. I'll keep an eye on him."

They shake hands before parting ways...Michael then looks around, and Roxanne is nowhere to be found...

Michael waits patiently at the restaurant. He reserved it so it could just be him and Roxanne for some alone time. Though she never came to the limo, he figured she would meet him at the restaurant. After an hour of her not showing up, he doesn't hesitate to get up after leaving a tip. He drives back to the hotel, heading up to Roxanne's room...After knocking a few times, seconds later, she comes to the door...Michael is shocked to find her in nothing but a robe...Her eyes are swollen from crying. He lets himself in, without her saying so.

"Where were you!? I've been waiting at the restaurant for an hour."

She storms past him and by the bed...After closing the door, Michael follows her and, he can't help but scratch his head...She's packing her things in a suitcase as though she was leaving...

"What's going on?"

"What does it look like? I'm leaving, Michael. I heard what your bodyguard said about me. I was standing right outside the door."

"I'll talk to Steve. He's a little harder to understand. Just, don't leave."

Michael plops on the edge of the bed...He really doesn't know what to say...She walks past him several more times from the closet to the bed, as neatly folding her clothes.