Repeating Apologies [An Austin Carlile Story]

Contagious Chemistry

Chapter 5: Contagious Chemistry

The weeks leading up to Of Mice & Men's headlining tour came and went much faster than I had expected them to. I wasn't exactly ready to go on tour with these guys. Mostly just because of Austin. I had everything set for the tour, I just wasn't ready to deal with him.

Things with Jasmine were rocky. I barely ever saw her at home and when she was there she did her best to avoid me, although I could feel her icy glare when my back was turned. She refused to speak to me because she had decided that I betrayed her. I guess she hadn't meant her prior apology after all. Maybe the things Austin had done in his past were too much for her to bear, and honestly, they were too much for me to bear too. That didn't matter to Jasmine though. It only mattered that I was 'sacrificing my dignity for a little bit of money.'

I walked into the living room with my bag and set it by the door. I turned to see Jasmine sitting on the couch, watching TV, completely ignoring my existence, which was normal as of late. I watched her for a moment, wondering if I should try to talk to her before I left.

I knew I shouldn't have brought Austin into our house. Regardless of how I felt about him at the time, I knew how Jasmine felt about him. I knew how she would feel about him being in our house. It didn't matter that I thought it was silly or childish, what mattered was that it mattered to her, and by bringing him into our home, I disrespected her and our friendship.

I should've just listened to her from the get-go. Sure, at first I was skeptical, but his simple actions from the short amount of time I spent with him solidified what Jasmine had told me. At least it was enough for me to believe the words she spoke. So while I would take the blame for the things that I had done, part of me still wanted to blame Austin. If he wasn't all of the things a person should never be, this wouldn't have ever been an issue at all.

"Jasmine. I'm going now." I told her, but she didn't even bat a lash. "You know, I'm sorry about everything." She still didn't respond. I considered sitting down with her and telling her all the things that went through my head but thought better of it. Maybe she just needed some space and a little more time. "Well, if you need anything, I'm just a phone call away." I opened the door. "Bye, Jas."

Off to my next daring feat.

&

I pulled up to the lot where we were meeting and found that the tour buses were already there. It was obvious which bus was Of Mice & Men's seeing as how it had their name scrawled on the side of it, but there were a couple other buses and a van for the supporting bands. I half-smiled to myself upon seeing the van. I had toured in a few vans in my day, and I had been lucky enough to get out of that and never return.

I got out and made my way to the bus that I'd be staying on. I thought about the fact that I'd be sharing a bus with Of Mice & Men, more specifically Austin, and it made me a little queasy. I threw my stuff into one of the bunks and began posting the schedule for today and tomorrow. It wasn't long until I was greeted by the driver who was friendly enough. I made my way off the bus to meet with the other tour managers to which I was gifted a familiar face.

"Mitch?" The guy looked up at me. "Is that you?"
"Ada! It's been forever!" My old friend pulled me into a hug.
"I know! You look good, dude!" I said, nudging him with my elbow and giving him a wink.
He laughed, "Thanks, I'm sober now."
"Wow. Congratulations, Mitch. I am so happy to hear that." He smiled back. "What are you doing here?" I questioned, trying to divert the conversation. Mitch and I went way back, but discussing his personal issues, or non-issues, felt mildly uncomfortable to me.

"What do you mean what am I doing here? I'm Woe Is Me's TM!" He spoke with pride.
"No shit? Right on. I'm managing for Of Mice & Men."
"What happened to the last guy?" He raised a brow.
"Leave of absence or something." I shrugged.
"Well alright. I'm happy to see a familiar face. It's gonna be one hell of a tour." He assured.