ᴏᴀᴋʟᴇʏ ᴄᴀʀʀɪʟʟᴏ was discovered at fourteen years old, being praised as a musical prodigy by the media ever since. His fame had only increased until now. At nineteen old, he's the most remarkable musician of his age, and he's only getting started. At...
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ɴᴏʟᴀɴ ᴍᴜʟʟᴇɴ
I didn't expect Oakley to get into a screaming match within two hours of him waking up. In fact, I didn't expect him to be in a screaming match at all, but something his bass guitarist Danny had said had completely ticked him off.
"I told you not to tell her!" Oakley yelled, burying his face in the pillow. "I told you I wanted to forget it!"
I had only just stormed into the room along with his family upon hearing something being thrown—some dry vegetables were lying right next to the door in shards of ceramic.
"What happened?" I asked, looking at Danny who looked at Oakley with wide eyes. I couldn't pretend to not be at least somewhat frustrated, I only left to pick up the call from today's audition and I didn't even get to hear the result before all chaos ensued.
"I'm trying to help you," Danny said, not even glancing at me. He was calm, standing still a good few feet away from the hospital bed.
The doctor only came in a few seconds later, asking everyone to leave the room. I looked at Oakley behind Dr. Rojas' shoulder, but he was looking up at the ceiling now. He didn't want me to stay either.
"I think it's best if you keep it between the three of us for now," she told Danny, who nodded. He followed closely behind me and Dr. Rojas closed the door gently behind us.
"What happened?" I asked, crossing my arms.
"I told her something he didn't want me to tell her. But you can't keep medical information from your doctor."
"Is this about his last episode or..." Mrs. Carrillo—Nia asked.
Danny huffed. "It's about an episode for sure."
"Hey," Mr. Carrillo said, losing his temper. I hadn't seen this man angry before, but Oakley had told me about his disdain for the bassist. "You watch your tone."
"I'm sorry. I'm just... frustrated," he said, sitting down. His leg moved up in down in a steady rhythm for several seconds before he got up again. "I need a smoke."
Mr. Carrillo rolled his eyes as Danny walked away. "That boy always gives trouble. Always reeking of marijuana."
"Dad, he's the only other person looking out for Oakley besides us and Genevieve," Trisha argued. As far as I was aware, it was true. He was the one constantly reaching out to Oakley when he was bedridden, calling and texting to see if he was okay as he missed band practice so often.
"You have seen what that stuff does to people, Trisha? Did you not see your uncle on your quinces last year?" he replied, raising his voice and not bothering to mask his heavier-growing accent. Trisha looked smaller as Mr. Carrillo's eyes grew smaller the deeper his frown got. "It starts with marijuana. I've seen it happen first-hand. Then it's the ADHD drug, until that isn't enough..."
