Opening Strains (Passionate Beats #1)

Chapter 1

Chapter One

T he mask I often wear—front man for the multi-award-winning Untamed Coaster—slips over me as I tug on the door. Inside the conference room, Jeremy Davis, reporter for the Record News , awaits. Usually Luke Allen, our manager, either does these by himself or I join him, but he’s busy today, so I get to do this interview alone. Whatever. After more than a decade, I can handle any question thrown at me.

“Hey, Jeremy, nice to see you again.”

“If it isn’t Bennett Hardy, in the flesh.” The journalist, a few years older than me, stands. He extends his hand, and we shake. “Looking good.”

“You too.” Adjusting my rings and leather bracelets, I take in his appearance. His hair, which used to be shoulder length, is now short. While I remember when he was scrawny many years ago, he’s filled out. Yet his piercing hazel eyes remain, reminding me of his profession.

While I settle into a comfy chair and open a bottle of water, Jeremy sets up a recorder and takes out a notepad. “Ready?”

I incline my head. The sooner we start, the sooner we end. I can already picture my reward, complete with unlimited Manhattans and a random brunette with a nice rack. My stomach reminds me I didn’t have lunch, so I add tacos to my prize.

“As usual, I’m going to ask you questions and feel free to answer them as you see fit. I’ll make sure to clean up any grammar issues. We at the Record News are interested in getting behind public-facing information but we don’t traffic in gotcha situations. We aren’t a tabloid.”

Appreciating his honesty, I take another sip of water. Truth is, I wouldn’t be here if he were working for a lesser magazine. “Fire away.”

He plays with his shorter hair. Probably still getting used to it. “The buzz around your upcoming movie Untamed Coaster Unleashed is staggering. I think the public is excited to see the rise, fall, and rebirth of UC. It’s okay if I refer to the band as UC, right?”

Why I need to give him permission to use our initials every time we sit down is beyond me. “Everyone on the inside does.”

Jeremy makes a note. “All of the rumors swirling around the movie have been positive, although the subject matter is quite deep. I was lucky to get an early screening of the film and can attest to how powerful it is.”

It is a great fucking movie. Quinn Walker, the director, went above and beyond.

Jeremy continues, “At the beginning, UC was riding high, selling out stadiums with no obstacles in your path. Until Darren Hilliard, the band’s original keyboardist, overdosed. At that point, everything collapsed. Can you give me some insight into what it was like back then?”

Our keyboardist died. How does he think it was? “Darren’s death truly was awful for the band. After all, he was the one who invited me into UC, when we were all working at Amazing Amusements.” Really, Bennett. Why did you open this door?

“The amusement park.” Jeremy’s eyebrows raise. “Tell me about it. ”

And he walks right through. “You want to hear about how I joined UC?” Please say no so I can get to the fun part of my day. And tacos.

Jeremy motions for me to continue. I sigh as my hopes for a quick exit fall off the music stand.

Here we go. “Well, the summer before senior year in high school, I worked at the amusement park with the guys. We were all assigned to the Untamed Coaster ride. I was the operator while Darren, Río, Coop, and 007 ensured all the riders were safe and the coaster was ready.

“I’ve already brought up Darren, your original keyboardist. Could you give me a quick rundown on the others?”

Is this necessary? “Sure. Río is River Sullivan, who plays drums, and Coop is short for Cooper O’Shea, UC’s guitarist. I think you can figure out how we came up with their nicknames. As for 007, that’s Pierce DeLuca on bass. I actually dubbed him that since both he and the actor Pierce Brosnan, who was playing James Bond when we were born, have dark hair and blue eyes.” Proud of that one.

“Clever.”

I soak in the accolade. When he doesn’t say anything else, I add, “Yeah, well, at the beginning of summer, they heard me singing along to ‘Gives You Hell’ by The All-American Rejects. The song was being piped into the amusement park before it opened and it spoke to me. You see, I had been thrown over by my girlfriend so she could attend the senior prom with my then best friend.” Why did I share that detail? I never ever share that detail. At least I managed not to blurt out Lissa’s name. Or Curtiss’s.

Jeremy sits straighter. “Ouch.”

Annoyed at myself, I stare at the ceiling for a couple of beats . I wave. “Old news. So, the guys were impressed with my voice. After work, they invited me to join them at a local sports bar.” I lean toward him, as if sharing a deep, dark secret. “One they knew didn’t card.” We both laugh.

Latching onto the safer topic, I continue, “Anyway, I showed up and a band was playing, and they were good. That’s when Darren told me all the guys played instruments and had formed a band themselves, but their lead singer had left for the military, so they were looking for a new front man. I didn’t know it at the time, but my audition happened when I sang The All-American Rejects song earlier in the day.”

“And the rest is history?”

“Basically. It took some deft finagling”—in terms of introducing me to a bunch of young ladies at the bar who convinced me I was hot enough to assume the role. Back then, I needed reassurance. I soon left Lissa’s betrayal in the dust when those chicks were all over me. Got rid of my virginity, too. “Finally, I did agree to drop out of high school and join the band.”

We share a smile. After consulting his notes, Jeremy asks, “Let’s step back for a second. How did your parents like the idea of your quitting high school to be in a rock band? I mean, you were only seventeen, correct?”

Not going down this rabbit hole. One trip down memory lane was enough for this interview. “I was, yes. My father had passed away from a heart attack a few weeks before all this went down, so he never knew. As for my mother, I made sure she was taken care of. Because the other guys already had graduated, Darren rode me hard to get my GED.”

I can still picture Dad lying on our hallway floor, pleading with me. “Promise me you’ll always look after Mom.” With tear-filled eyes, I’d responded in the affirmative. No way would I deny a dying man, one whom I loved with my whole heart, his final wish. At that moment, it didn’t matter that the woman in question had chastised me all my life, blamed me for something it was impossible for me to have done, and was mentally unstable. He added, “You’ve always been such a good ? —”

He never finished his sentence.

To this day, I want to know what he was going to say.

Have I lived up to my promise to him about Mom? Well, I made sure she was safe and secure. Even if our parting back then? —

No. More . I squeeze my thigh.

“I’m sorry for your loss.”

I allow silence to chase itself around the four walls of the conference room.

“So, uhm, when did you name the band?”

A relieved chuckle escapes. Thank God we’re moving on. “I didn’t. You see, Untamed Coaster was the original name. The guys didn’t tell me until I agreed to join, though.”

“Nice.” He grins. Water slides down my throat as I wait for his next question. Which comes quickly. “In the movie, you talk about the famous huddle you do before all your shows. Care to shed some light on it?”

Uncomplicated territory. “Of course.” See. I can be easy-going . “It’s a throwback to our Amazing Amusements days. Before I could start the ride, I had to check in with the guys to confirm that it, and the guests, were all set. When they were satisfied, they raised their fists into the air, which prompted me to shout, ‘Strapped, locked, and loaded, are you ready to roll with Untamed Coaster?’ It sort of stuck. Now we use it to remember where we came from and to get hyped to rock the crowd.”

Smiling, Jeremy flips the page on his notebook. “I’d like to change the subject a bit. I understand one motivation behind the movie is to introduce Tristan Lambert, your new keyboardist, to the general population. How has his transition been?”

UC’s PR team prepared me for this question. I puff up. “Once we decided to offer Tris the position, which was a grueling process, it took some time for him to gel with us, as Quinn shows so well in the movie. But he’s one of the band now, for sure.” All the details about our hunt for a new keyboardist were depicted in minute detail in the film, so no need to go into them now. Although, discussing video applications and live auditions would be preferable to running my mouth off about my mother, my former best friend, and ex-girlfriend.

Jeremy interrupts my thoughts. “What dynamics within UC have changed with Tristan’s introduction? ”

I ponder his question—one I haven’t thought about much. “First of all, he’s great on the keys. However, Tris is his own man, without a doubt, and has different traits than Darren had. For example, he’s quieter than Darren was, but still manages to get his point across.” Like when he got UC to agree to some embellishments to Darren’s song, “Crushing Blow.” None of us wanted to change a note in the song, but his ideas were freaking good. What else can I say? “Plus, the ladies sure have welcomed him into the band.” I don a smirk.

Without missing a beat, Jeremy asks, “Speaking of, any woman catch your eye?”

This, again? My palm raises. “Me? No one woman in particular—there’s way too much going on in my life. In case you missed it, we’re preparing for our upcoming tour.” I rest for a second. “When we’re introducing Tris to the world.”

“What a tour it promises to be. You’ll start in America then fly over to Europe, right?”

Score! Diversion succeeded. “Yes. Our first shows are in New York City, and we play venues throughout the United States before we hop across the pond to Europe, then Australia and South America. There’s even talk about hitting the Far East, so stay tuned.”

“We sure will.” Jeremy reviews his notes. “Before I let you go, I need to circle back to Darren’s death. We know he passed away in a Florida hotel room. What more can you share with us?”

Luke warned me to expect a proctologist exam, but why? I hate reliving this shit. The whole world knows Darren was prescribed Oxy following his wrist injury. Overdosed. As much as we are able to determine, that night he took a pill prior to going out. Between the drinks and joking around with everyone, he must’ve forgotten and took probably two, three or more before falling asleep. As a result, a panicked 007 called me to Darren’s room. Get your mind in the game and finish this interview.

I take a deep breath. “It was in the early morning. I was in my own room when I got a frantic call from 007 that Darren was in trouble.” This is accurate. No need to share I had left a redhead’s room only a couple of hours before, thank you very much. I do send off another thanks to the universe she didn’t try to cash in on the timing of our tryst.

To stall, I tip up the water bottle. Jeremy stares at me expectantly. “I ran down the hall and met 007 in Darren’s room. We tried everything we could to revive him, but he was gone.” My fingers close around the UC pendant I always wear. “I called the rest of the band, who rushed to his room. As a goodbye, Coop led us in singing ‘Amazing Grace,’ then I reached out to the hotel to take care of the details. I also had the unenviable tasks of calling Mother Hilliard as well as his girlfriend, Jenna Westfield.”

Jenna. She had given all of us UC pendants the Christmas before. I loosen my fingers and drop the necklace. The woman who, Darren informed us in no uncertain terms, was on our Do Not Fuck list. A list never to be crossed, no matter the fact he’s no longer on this plane.

Despite sitting with a journalist, memories stir. The first time I met Jenna, everything about her entranced me. We were at a club, and she was all alone. I ordered her a glass of wine and gave her the cherry from my Manhattan. When she took it and winked at me, I fell in lust. She quoted The Godfather , and it was upgraded to love. Although she somehow believed the second movie was better than the original. I shake my head. I will never get over that.

Then, Darren appeared, kissed her, and broke up my stupid white-picket fantasy. Turns out, Jenna had been the physical therapist he’d been raving about for months, who helped rehab his wrist injury. Once the professional relationship ended, their personal one took off.

Jeremy clears his throat. Focus, Bennett. “As you can imagine, they were not easy calls to make. But we got through it, together, and now with Tris in the band, we’re carving out a new identity for UC.”

In a lower voice, Jeremy says, “Thank you for sharing these intimate details. I didn’t realize you were the one who took care of all the items on the terrible to-do list, including calling his mother and girlfriend.”

“Our manager, Luke Allen, wasn’t at our hotel that night, so the responsibility fell on my shoulders.” We’re all members of the same band, yes, but I don’t do friends. Not since Curtiss...makes my life easier. Besides, following Dad’s death, one thing I’ve learned well is to detach and run on autopilot. Getting shit done is the main reason why I’m the de facto lead of UC—it would take the band forever to pick a restaurant, let alone handle any heavy stuff. I lift the bottle of water to my lips.

“Have you kept in touch with either of them?”

Do not go near the hornet’s nest that is Jenna Westfield . “We still talk with Mother Hilliard. She’s an amazing woman who raised Darren and his sister as a single mother. In fact, we’re planning on seeing them when UC’s tour is close to her home.”

He looks happy with my answer. “How wonderful. I’m sure his mother’s thrilled to see the band succeeding.”

I consider his comment. “She is. She knows Darren’s right there with us, rooting for our continued good fortune.”

Jeremy flips another page in his notebook. “Great. And how about his girlfriend, Jenna?”

A more detached tone emerges from my throat. “We haven’t spoken with her since the funeral, as her connection to us was through Darren.”

My mind jumps to the awful call I had to make to her when Darren died. I remember dialing her number—the one Darren himself proudly had shared with the band when they officially came out as a couple.

“I’m calling because I wanted you to hear this from one of us before it comes out in the media.”

“Oh boy. What did Darren do now? Dance on some table? Trash a hotel room? Hijack a cop car?”

Her laughter rips something inside of me. “I wish.” I pause. “I’m so sorry to tell you this, but Darren passed away in his hotel suite this morning.” I rush to ease any of her possible outrageous fears. “He was alone.”

“No!” she screams. “When? How?”

If only I had any answers. “I’m not sure exactly when. He left the club pretty early last night.”

She jumps in. “He called me. We—he was alive when we hung up.”

I refuse to mention the pill bottles on his nightstand. “All I know is 007 phoned me around nine this morning from his room, and Darren was already gone. He was in his bed, wearing boxers.”

“Because he promised me he would.”

Alright, not going there. “He also had your UC necklace on. I’m so sorry, Jenna. Know that Darren loved you very much. He never flirted with any other girls. In fact, just last night, I saw a bunch of women surround him and guess what he did? He whipped out his cell and showed them photos of you.”

Sobs come through the phone.

I lift up the UC necklace to show Jeremy. Hopefully this will be a needed distraction. “However, Coop, 007, Río, and I still wear these pendants that Jenna gave to us the Christmas before Darren passed. It has UC’s logo on it.” I pause. “We even had one made for Tris when he joined the band.”

The reporter sits forward and examines my necklace. “What a nice gift.” After a minute, he reviews his notes while I take the opportunity to tuck it away, together with Jenna, where she belongs. “I have one final question. How about telling me about Untamed Coaster Unleashed.”

Thank you for this softball. “The movie debuts worldwide next Thursday. Quinn, who I mentioned before, was our director and she captured our return to the stage with perfection, in my humble opinion. You’ll see our trials and all we went through in replacing Darren. It’s a pretty wild ride.”

Jeremy turns off the recorder. Made it! Even though I let this one get deeper under my skin than most, at least now I can move on with my life. And tacos.

“I think that about covers everything.” He collects his notebook. “Thank you, Bennett, for sharing some time with me. As I said before, I loved the film and am looking forward to attending its premiere. I wish you all the best.”

I finish my water and stand. Play nice and get out of here. “Thanks so much for having me, Jeremy. Here’s a tip...UC is planning to perform after the movie.” I tap his shoulder. “See you on the flip side.”