Two Days Later
With Julie and Carlos at school, and Ray Molina off at work, the guys decided to take advantage of the empty home and work on new music.
They'd been warming up for about a half hour, trying to get themselves into the zone, when Alex went from smashing hard on his drums to sounding like a drummer of a speakeasy. Reggie and Luke exchanged a silent look for as long as possible until the curiosity got the better of Luke. The last time Alex had been out of it during a jam session, they'd found out Caleb had them under a soul-destroying curse. Aside from being there for his friend, Luke needed to know there was nothing else he should be concerned about taking them from Julie.
"Alex, what's going on?" Luke blurted, stopping his strumming to meet Alex's eyes. The blond ignored him; still tapping out a rhythm absentmindedly. Luke looked at Reggie again.
"Is it something to do with Willie again? You know we're here for you," Reggie added. Still, no response.
Sharing one final, slightly annoyed look, Reggie stopped the cymbal Alex had just hit while Luke snatched the sticks out of his hands.
That got his attention. "Hey!"
"Hey right back," Luke said sarcastically. "Dude, what's going on with you? You've been out of it for a couple of days now."
"Yeah, we figured you would tell us eventually, but—"
"We're impatient," Luke interrupted, meeting his friend's green eyes. "Now spill. What's up? Did something happen between you and Willie?"
"What, no," Alex finally answered, still seeming a little distracted as he backtracked slightly. "I mean, now that you mention it, I haven't actually seen him since the night of the Orpheum but I guess I'm just hoping he's hiding out from Caleb somewhere..." His brows drew down in concern, a new worry for him to dwell on in his mind.
"So, what's bothering you?" Luke prodded gently.
"Does it have anything to do with what Julie pulled you away to talk about the other day?" Reggie added.
Alex's face twitched as he tried to hide the emotion there, but it only served to confirm Reggie's question. Alex balled his hands into fists, pressing them into the tops of his legs, his shoulders stiff by his ears. "Yeah, actually," he sighed quietly. "Carlos wanted to help and... he found my sister. Julie gave me the address."
"Oh," Reggie said softly, somewhere between happy and nervous for his friend.
When they were alive, Alex's sister Johanna was one of their first fans and supported Alex through everything, including his coming out. But in the weeks before their deaths, something had shifted between them at home and their relationship had grown tense. Where he once had someone at home he could confide in, he'd ended up with someone who barely looked his way outside of direct contact. None of the band knew what had happened and none of them asked.
Reggie looked at Luke again, this time a nervous glance, before focusing once more on Alex. He said his words carefully, not entirely sure where Alex's head was on the topic. "Well, I mean, that's good, right? We wanted to at least know how are families were and now you can check in on her."
"I know, it's just..." Alex trailed off, closing his eyes as he took a deep breath. "It's not just Jo, it's...her daughter. I have a niece. I mean, I probably should've expected something like this, right? We've been dead for 25 years but life went on for everyone else. I guess, in my head, I never really saw Jo growing up and having her own family, you know? I just saw her as the same nineteen-year-old we left behind. And now..."
"And now there's a whole other family member you never got to meet," Luke finished and Alex nodded.
"Yeah."
The boys fell silent as they all took in Alex's confession, thinking of what to say or do next. Alex opened his eyes again, taking in his friends concerned and loving expressions. Reggie shuffled awkwardly in place a moment while Luke silently fingered the strings on his guitar as if he were playing.
"You said Julie gave you the address?" Luke asked suddenly, pulling the guitar strap over his head and placing it back on its stand.
"Yeah," Alex answered.
"So let's go," he declared. "Me, you and Reggie, right now."
"I don't know, I mean—"
"We know you're freaked, Alex, but we're here for you," Reggie said encouragingly, following Luke's lead. He smiled his warm and contagious smile, willing his friend to push on. "Whatever you do or don't want to do. We've got your back."
"Exactly," Luke agreed, not giving Alex time to respond. "But I think you should do this. Now. It's the middle of the day, there's probably no one home and there's no better time to go. This way you can see how she's doing without overwhelming yourself and seeing her. Or your niece. What do you say?"
Alex looked between his friends, a small smile crossing his lips. "I say I both hate and love you guys right now. Let's go."
* * * * *
The one thing Lessa loved about Thursdays was that her final period of the day ended an hour and a half earlier than the rest of the week.
Normally, she hung out with Tony somewhere but with him out of school for an appointment, she was heading home and determined to get a nap before the rest of her family got home. Her younger stepsister, Kate, wouldn't be home for hours thanks to the wonders of afterschool programs, her stepfather Henry was scheduled at the hospital through tomorrow morning and her mother wouldn't be home until after she picked up Kate. It was the perfect time for her to get a quick recharge in before looking through her mom's closet for old photo albums. She would've tried sooner but she was never home alone long enough and she was really tired today.
Scheming was draining more of her energy than she'd expected.
After closing her front door and heading towards the stairs, Lessa paused, thinking she'd heard something down the hall. "Hello?" she called out, thinking Henry had stopped in on a break from work. It wouldn't be the first time he'd caught her off guard that way, but the silence told her she was wrong. She waited a beat more just in case, but when she heard nothing else, she trudged up the stairs towards her room.
The door was closed, just as she'd left it that morning, but a chill went through her suddenly as if warning her something was off. Maybe it was hearing something downstairs or just her own tiredness, but she suddenly felt a bit paranoid. Slowly, she moved her hand towards the doorknob before hearing something again; in her room.
Voices.
"Linkin Park. Simple Plan. Good Charlotte. Dude, this is nothing like Julie's room."
"Do you think this is... her room?"
"Man, I hope so," the first returned. "Do you know how awesome it would be to know that Rock didn't stop with him? It's like his legacy went on, you know."
"Yeah, I like that."
The voices continued assessing her room, clearly oblivious to her on the other side of the door. The logical part of her mind told her it was time to run and call the police.
A more intrigued part of her wondered why the voices sounded so young and familiar, undeterred by the fact they were trespassing.
"Jo?" a voice said softly from behind her and she dropped her hand from the door, spinning on her heel.
Her eyes widened at the tall, dark blond figure standing before her in shorts, a lavender tee and a fanny pack slung across his chest. He stared back at her, just as surprised if not a little more so, and taking a startled step back as if she'd pushed him. His mouth fell open slightly, their eyes locked on each other and unable to look away.
"Definitely not Jo," he said, more to himself than her. In fact, she was positive it wasn't directed at her by the flinch that occurred when she spoke.
"A-Alex?" Her voice shook as the reality of saying his name seemed to fall down around her. She was sure it was a side effect of her sleepiness; there was no way her dead uncle was standing in the hall with her.
Right?
He turned to look around behind him before turning back to her, one hand coming up to rest on his chest in disbelief. "Wait, you- you can see me?" he said in response, his tone a mix of surprise, relief and fear.
Lessa started to nod—or at least thought that she had when she realized the odd direction her vision was taking with her movement. Alex and the rest of the hall seemed to turn on its side as she began to lose consciousness.
The last thing she remembered was hearing a worried, "Oh crap!"