Chapter 28
The Dusty Brooms take a break to eat some lunch.
Dennis calls for pizza delivery, so thankfully no one has to leave the studio to get food.
Especially so, when all they have for traveling is either the bus or their own feet.
Ray sits on one of the couches in the main room of the studio with Carol, both eating a pepperoni slice.
Though, Gene seems to be done eating already.
He’s sitting on a folding chair with an acoustic guitar in his lap, Toshiko right beside him.
They’re close enough to eavesdrop on if Ray pays attention—because, well, of course he’s paying attention.
After everything that happened during this tour, Gene reuniting with Toshiko is like a punch to the guts.
Ray knows he shouldn’t be mad. Hell, he’s just as much at fault for trying to stay with Carol.
It’s completely reasonable for Gene to want to make sure his girlfriend doesn’t suspect a thing.
But Ray can’t help but be curious about what they’re talking about.
So far, what he’s caught of their conversation is nothing much.
Just Toshiko telling Gene about her own Japanese tour and Gene doing the same with the Brooms’.
Ray hasn’t been able to hear everything since Santiago is rather loud, chatting up a storm with Pat and Maurice.
Santi sure sounds excited, and rightfully so, beaming about the girl he met during the Halloween party.
Apparently he got her number, and is hoping he can convince her to visit them all in Michigan when they’re done recording.
Carol has been rather quiet, though. She’s been quiet ever since her return last night, only talking to Ray when absolutely necessary.
They only have one bed in their room at the hotel, and when they slept, she didn’t touch him at all, facing the other way.
He wonders if she really does want to repair their relationship, since she’s become rather apathetic about it.
Granted, Ray hasn’t been doing much himself to repair things either.
He’s been more focused on the tour, wanting to record, and, most importantly—Gene.
Ray takes another bite of his pizza as he intently watches Gene.
He didn’t catch what he said to Toshiko, but there’s no missing the strumming of his guitar.
It sounds like fairly simple chords, could be any ol’ song.
But the more Ray keeps listening, he hears Gene singing—lyrics and a melody he doesn’t recognize.
That’s odd. Could it be a cover of a song by an artist that Ray hasn’t heard? But that’s very unlikely; Ray and Gene basically have identical music taste. Anything that Gene knows, Ray should know also. So if it’s a song only Gene knows…
Does that mean Gene wrote it himself?
Ray’s pulse spikes as he continues to listen. Gene’s voice is so calm and soothing, the lyrics like a sweet love song—
“Yeah baby, I need to hold you…
In my arms, baby, I wanna adore you…”
Ray nearly crushes the paper plate in his hand.
What the fuck?
He can’t take it. A lump forms in his throat. Fire burns in his chest, so hot that he can’t just sit here idly by and let Gene sing that to her.
Ray stands up from the couch. He’s done eating, throwing his plate and napkins into the nearest bin as he walks toward Gene. He doesn’t say a word to Carol, doesn’t say a word to anyone until he’s right next to his best friend.
“Hey, Gene?” he says, setting his palm on Gene’s shoulder, making him stop his strumming.
“Oh, hey Ray. What’s up?”
“What is that song you’re singing?” He removes his hand, afraid that if he keeps it on Gene any longer, he’ll clench him too hard.
Gene adjusts his position in his seat, facing Ray more. “I, uh… I just wrote something new. Something for Toshiko.”
“You… wrote something new?”
“Yeah.”
“You wrote a song. Without me?”
The fire in his chest burns hotter. His lungs feel tight as he breathes heavier.
“Yeah, I figured it was fine,” Gene says, frowning, standing as well. His acoustic guitar hangs over his abdomen by its strap.
“No, that’s not fine at all,” Ray huffs.
“How are you even able to write like this, without me? If you have no problem writing with girls around, why did you get so pissed when Carol interrupted us that one day?” He knows he sounds like an asshole bringing it up, but the fact that Gene is here writing something—writing a song for her—gets on his fucking nerves.
“Jeez, Ray,” Gene scoffs. “That was fucking different, and you know it. You and I were writing together. I’m writing this one by myself for Toshiko.”
“And that’s what I don’t get! What happened to writing songs with me?!”
“Woah, Ray, what the hell are you even talking about?” Santiago butts in, walking up to him.
“No, wait, Santi—” Ray raises his pointer finger, but can’t say anything when another Broom speaks up, too.
“You wait for a moment, Ray,” Pat says, shaking her head as she also walks up to them. “Sounds to me like Gene just wanted to write a song, and you’re here interrupting him.”
“But it’s not just a song…”
“Yes it is, Ray,” Gene says, snapping Ray’s attention to him. “What the fuck is wrong with you?”
“Wrong with me?” Ray points to himself.
“Please, Ray, let’s settle down…” Santi says, waving his hands in a frantic manner.
“Yeah Ray, come on,” Pat says.
“I get you’re upset, but we don’t need to fight about this,” Maurice says, stepping into their orbit as well.
“Augh! I’m not fighting!” Ray clenches his fists. “I was just trying to make a point—”
“That’s enough!!”
Carol stands abruptly from her spot on the couch. The room goes quiet as she walks forward. Her plate is left carelessly on her old seat. Her sights are set on Ray, and solely Ray.
His heart beats madly. He gulps, watching her. His fists loosen by his sides, palms soaked with sweat.
“I can’t take it any more.” Carol scowls. “You completely ignore that I’m even here. No, instead you care more about your fucking music than you could ever care about me. Well, that’s it then. I’m done with your bullshit!”
Ray blinks. His lips feel ridiculously dry. “Carrie, hang on—”
“No, I’m not hanging on.” She points at him, aiming at his chest. “Nothing you can say to me will fix things. I gave you a chance to fix things, and you treat me like I’m not even here.”
“B-but you were mad at me—”
“For a good fucking reason.” She tsks. “Whatever. You can have your band. Your music. Your best friend. I’m over all this. If you can’t care for me the same way you care for him, then why am I even here?!”
She motions toward Gene, his eyes wide.
“Carrie, I never said I didn’t care for you…” Ray lifts his hand to tug at his shirt, clenching it by his chest.
“Your words mean nothing. It’s your actions that prove it to me. And I’ve had enough of this shit! If you don’t want me as your girlfriend, you should’ve broken it off a long time ago. Well, I’m breaking it off now!”
She turns about-face.
“Goodbye, Ray. Good-fucking-bye!”
She storms off, grabbing her purse by the couch before she heads toward the door to the entry foyer.
“Carrie, hey!” Ray calls out.
“Carol, wait, hang on—” Pat says, rushing toward her.
She doesn’t pay them any mind. She keeps walking, pushing past Stefan and the sound engineers.
“Where are you even going? We’re your ride!” Dennis says. Carol walks out the door, Dennis following close behind her with Pat in tow.
And Ray stands there, in the same spot as he was, dumbstruck. He stares at the door as it swings shut, catching a glimpse of Dennis through the glass window in the middle.
His hand is still clenching his shirt. His heart thwacks against his chest, the beating rushing through his head, in his ears.
“Oh my god, she just… left like that,” Santi says, still standing next to Ray.
“Carol…” Ray mutters.
“Ah, excuse me…”
Ray turns his head—finding Toshiko raising her hand.
“Um… yes?” Ray says.
“Is she… Is she going to be alright?” Toshiko asks.
Ray shrugs. “Yeah. I think so.”
Me, on the other hand…
They stand there in silence, still staring at the door.
Ray’s heart is working overtime. Gene tugs his guitar off his shoulders and sets it down on his seat.
Dennis and Pat come back in after a few minutes, but Carol is nowhere to be found.
Their manager shakes his head, pulling his sunglasses off and placing them to hang on the front of his shirt.
“I’m gonna make a phone call,” Dennis says. He doesn’t wait for anyone else to respond before he rushes into another room—the secretary’s office—shutting the door behind him.
“That’s really it for you guys, huh?” Pat says, crossing her arms.
“It… seems like it. Fuck.” Ray sighs, long and steady. There really is no coming back from this. Carol made her point known.
Their relationship is finally over.
“What happens now?” Stefan asks, jolting Ray out of his thoughts.
“Denny is going to call Tim Price,” Pat says. “Carol is waiting outside. Tim’s still staying here in LA for a bit, so I think Denny’s hoping he can pick her up.”
“Alright,” Santiago says, nodding. “If they can’t get ahold of him, I can always call a cab and ride with her back to the hotel, if she wants.”
“You’re too nice, Santi,” Pat chuckles. “But I have a feeling Denny and Tim can take care of this. We need you here to record.”
“Alright, true.”
Ray has nothing to say. Not about Carol, anyway.
He still stands there, static buzzing around in his brain.
The only thing he can think of doing is to look at Gene.
His best friend gazes back at him, almost sad, a pain-crease forming between his brows.
Maybe the others are right—Gene isn’t doing anything wrong writing a song all by himself.
Hell, maybe it would’ve been worse if he’d asked Ray to write it with him, since it’s a love song for Toshiko.
Of course he wouldn’t want to do that. Instead, Ray just made a fool of himself.
He freaked out over nothing, setting Carol off, making her leave in the process.
“I’m sorry, Gene,” Ray says. “I’m sorry! I never should’ve fucking said anything. Just forget it. Forget I said anything in the first place. I won’t bother you anymore with my nonsense.”
He turns to look away. But as he does so—Gene grabs his hand. That gets him to look up.
He grabbed my hand right in front of Toshiko?
“Hey, Ray. It’s okay,” Gene says. “Let’s, um… come with me for a sec.”
“Come with you?” The lump in Ray’s throat dissolves.
“Just for a sec.” Gene then looks to Toshiko. “We’ll be right back, dear. I just want to talk to him for a moment.”
“Oh, go right ahead,” she says, always so polite, not even bothered that their hands are linked. “After all that happened with your girlfriend, Ray, I’m sorry.”
“It’s… it’s alright. Thanks,” he says awkwardly.
“So… here,” Gene says, pulling Ray into the recording booth.
He shuts the door behind them, leading them to stand behind one of the large partitions, out of sight from the band.
They’re not completely hidden—someone could easily come around and find them—but they’re hidden just enough to where they have a little more privacy than they would’ve if they’d stayed out in the main room.
Gene hasn’t let go of Ray’s hand this entire time. Their fingers link together, held up close between their chests. “Gene…”
“Ray, baby, look,” Gene says. The soft look in his hazel eyes makes Ray’s cheeks heat up.
“Everything’s fine. I’m just writing one song by myself.
We still have everything else we write together.
Think of ‘Golden Sunset’, that one’s ours.
Same with ‘Someone Like You’. We’ll write so much more like that, too.
Together. We’re the Flare Twins, after all. ”
Ray smiles his first smile since they’d recorded vocals earlier.
“Yeah, you’re right,” he says. “All the songs we’re recording are ones we’ve written together. All the stuff for the Dusty Brooms. We’re the Flare Twins.”
“See? You get it now.” Gene smiles back, always so very handsome. “Though I… I can’t say I’m surprised that Carol just bailed.”
Ray can’t help but let out a chuckle. Shouldn’t I be more upset? After everything? But it’s hard to be upset when Gene’s right here with him, holding his hand. “Yeah. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised either. I wasn’t exactly… the best boyfriend.”
“You can say that again,” Gene chuckles as well. “Here, we should probably get back out there.”
“Yeah, for sure.”
They finally, unfortunately, let go of each other’s hands and walk around the partition toward the main room.
So much is running through Ray’s head. He’s glad that even after all this, Gene isn’t really upset with him.
He was rather caring, bringing him over here to talk with him in private.
Though, on that note—it further proves Carol’s point that Gene is always first in Ray’s mind.
Gene takes up so much of his thoughts that it’s not even funny.
While he probably should be sad that his own girlfriend broke up with him, honestly, he doesn’t really feel that way at all.
He already heard the worst of it back when Carol first found out about his cheating.
Now, something’s been lifted from his chest—a weight is gone.
It’s relieving.
But he can’t admit that to anyone. Well, anyone except for Gene, maybe Santi.
Another emotion creeps up, though: guilt.
While Ray feels relieved, what about Carol?
He did this to her. He caused her turmoil, her frustration, making her believe he wanted more than he actually did.
Or, maybe, perhaps she’ll feel freer, too?
Maybe Santiago was right—that this all is for the better.
As long as she doesn’t tell anyone that I cheated on her with Gene.
He trusts her well enough to not say anything.
But that worry will always be at the back of his mind, regardless.
He’s not sure what’s going to happen from here.
Carol still lives with them all back in Michigan.
Is she going to move out? He’ll figure that all out later.
And so, he schools himself as they walk into the main room, Gene reuniting with Toshiko.
Gene’s girlfriend.
Just because Ray and Carol broke up does not mean that she’s gone. But it’ll have to be fine for now.
If Gene still has a girlfriend, Ray can’t keep dwelling on her.
He’ll let Gene write her a song. But the rest of their music they record here in this studio will be songs they’ve written together.