Bad Romance(Book 6)

Chapter 8-Remedy

"Hey man everywhere you roam...your demons come and go...but at least you're not alone..."

"Good. That's what I wanted to hear. I will have my lawyers contact yours so we can draft everything up. Legally.", said Anka standing up from the desk.

Irving felt that jolt of happiness turn into something bigger. If there was someone in the world that could keep Thirty Seconds to Mars alive, that was Anka. He nearly burst into tears when he heard her say that Mars was still in the cards.

It was a hard thing to mix everything up and to balance it, but he was sure that Anka would've pulled it off. She had the same determination Jared had and she was a Leto. There was something about the name Leto that screamed determination.

"Let's go to The Hive. Call everyone to get back to the office. We have an emergency staff meeting. Thank you Emma.", said Anka as she opened the car door.

"Anka I'm sorry but don't you think that's a bit irrational right now? People want Jared. I know you have a side career which is a stellar career, but..."

"People need to know that there is also Shannon and Tomo in the band too. And that this is what Jared would've wanted. He clearly didn't want this dream to die with him. Am I right Shannon?"

Shannon stood baffled through the whole meeting. Anka was basically putting her career at stake so that she could keep theirs and several other employees' career afloat. He looked at her and somehow found a bit of Jared in the look in her eyes.

"I'm in it for the long run. Mars is coming!", he screamed as he revved up the car engine.

"Hold on cowboy we still need to get to the Hive in one piece.", laughed Anka as she placed her hand on Shannon's.

It was the first time she laughed since Jared passed away and Shannon was happy she was happy. He enjoyed her touch and gently put her palm under his. She blushed slightly as he squeezed her hand gently.

They arrived at The Hive where a sad Tomo, helped by Babu was putting away in boxes various pieces of equipment. Anka hasn't been here since she and Jared moved into the new house. She would come to the Lab, just because it was closer, but the Hive was rarely blessed with her presence. And with the kids on the way there were little to no chances of her showing up there. Jared took the liberty of turning large the warehouse along the years into a complete living and working space. It had two bedrooms, bathrooms, a small kitchenette and the offices, including another built-in recording studio.

Still, there were so many memories still scattered around the place. She saw with the corner of her eyes Jared's colorful shawl thrown on a chair. Everything looked almost the same, minus the stack of boxes scattered all around various corners of the house.

Tomo gave Anka a hug and a quick 'hello' and kept on packing.

"Came to see how everything is packed up? Dunno what you're gonna do with this...I can suggest you selling them...it's useless to have so many of the same things...anyway...it's the end of an era...", said Tomo sadly, as he wrote on a box in marker. 'Microphones'.

"So you heard about the meeting too?", said Anka.

"Yeah...everyone at AIW are organizing to refund people the money for this year's Camp Mars...thankfully it's the only thing they had to refund and concert tickets weren't given for sale...still...it's such a shame..."