Sketch

91 - Sam

I know it's short, but at least I'm writing again. Enjoy :)

Exhausted. Shattered. Broken?

I refocus my gaze back on Tanya to see that she's still spitting words as she stalks around the flat. Vince is watching her but Ollie's staring grimly at the carpet, his eyebrows knitted together and his mouth set in a sharp line.

I hear my name being said but I know I'm not being spoken to. Tanya is just saying her thoughts out loud; she ran out of things to say moments after we'd told her what's happened. My eyes follow her around the room with a pitying expression. I can tell she's angry with Michelle, but she can't burst into a blazing tirade without forgetting that it's her eldest daughter who's caused all of this.

Emmy's clutching my hand, her grip so hard my fingers are starting to go numb but I don't break the contact. She needs me right now and I need her. Sure, it's not like there's been a terrible death in the family, but said family is in danger of being split up.

I can't help feeling, as I watch Tanya pause to pour herself a glass of water, that Sketch is cursed. I voice my concerns, gaining a sad nod from Emmy.

"But it's not over yet!" Tanya says, determination lighting her eyes.

I want to agree with her but, this being the second time that things haven't worked out, I'm not so sure. I'm hard pressed to see things getting better. I can't see us coming back from this. It took long enough for us to recover after Michelle left and, even though I got to meet Emmy out of it, things haven't exactly gone our way. We've failed on our journey to match the great bands out there. My dream of making a music video, playing in front of crowds just like the Foo Fighters, is slipping further from reality. No tours. No merch. No album.

"We need to make a statement," Tanya says, more to herself than anyone else. "The fans need to know what's going on."

"We need to know what's going on," Ollie says and his voice trembles with frustration. "We're just as in the dark about this as they are."

Tanya nods sadly. "It's a shock to everyone."

"Can't we get a meeting with Steven Walter's?" Emmy asks, but she doesn't sound sure. "You know, find out why they've done this."

"It's obvious why they've done this," Vince says with a fleeting glance at Tanya.

Tanya stiffens ever so slightly. "Michelle." She pauses, letting out a sigh. "I didn't know she'd go this far."

"She's upset I'm here," Emmy says. "It's all my fault." She looks so sad, her eyes glistening with tears and her grip on my hand weakens.

"Don't say that," I reply. "Michelle can't stand to see us happy. She'd have still done this if we'd carried on Sketch without her or you. I know it's hard, but you can't take anything she says or does personally."

"But she's ruined everything," Emmy continues. "I don't understand why."

"What she's done is unacceptable and pretty unforgivable too, but we've got to carry on. Like Sam said, she's angry that you all carried on without her. Instead of being happy for you, she got jealous. We need to pretend she doesn't matter as far as Sketch is concerned, because she doesn't, and we need to focus on getting back on track."

It must be hard for Tanya to say all of this, but it's true. Every single word of it. Michelle is evil, selfish and manipulative but, even though I shouldn't, I feel sorry for her. It's sad that the only way she can be happy is to spoil things for everyone else.

"Tanya's right," I say. "Our fans have a right to hear our album and see us live. Michelle shouldn't take that away from us or them."

Ollie grabs Emmy's laptop and begins tapping furiously on the keyboard. "We'll write a statement, just like you said Tanya, and then we'll go from there."