Rhythm and the Blue Line Ch 03

Rhythm and the Blue Line Ch 03 © 2011 All rights reserved "Hi, Mom," Ryan said. "Hi, sweetie. How are you? I've been worried about you. Maybe you should come home while you heal up." "I'm fine, Mom. Really, I'm fine. I promise." Ryan stared at the ceiling. "The insurance is covering it. I can come off the crutches this week, and they'll give me a soft cast for a week or so." "I called you last night but you didn't answer. Were you all right?" "I was fine. I was with the band last night. I didn't hear my phone and when I checked messages it was too late to call back." Mentally, Ryan sighed; she knew she'd left at least two messages telling her mom where she'd be. "All right, hon, so long as you're okay. Did you have fun?" "Yeah, we got a lot accomplished." Ryan hated the way her parents dismissed the band as a hobby, as something to pass the time. They had no idea, she thought, of how hard she and the others were working. "In fact," Ryan continued, "I was going to call you later. Lara's been working hard and it's paid off. We're going to be headlining at the 9:30 Club in a couple of months." "What day will that be?" "I'll have to double check with Lara but I'll let you know," Ryan said. She steeled herself against what was probably coming and wondered why she'd bothered to hope it would be different. "I don?t know, hon." Her mom tsked. "JT might be playing that night, especially if it's a weekend. I'm never sure of his schedule, and you know how your dad wants to go to the away games. Still, someone will probably record it, right? You can show us later, at home. It'll be so much calmer." "Mom, this really means a lot to me." Ryan bursa escort forced her voice to be even. "We have new material that I think will go over well, and like I said, Lara's been trying like crazy to get us this booking." "I'm sure she has, Ryan. You know how much it means to JT, though, to have us there, and how your father enjoys it." "It will be in December," Ryan said through gritted teeth. "JT's season will be over." Why? she thought, furious. Why does sports always trump anything else? "Now, Ryan, you know how your father and I feel about those places you play. We're not comfortable there." Ryan sighed. "Mom, you could sit with friends of mine that you know. No one would make you feel uncomfortable." "Ryan," her mother said in a voice that was both soothing yet distant, "we wish we could go to everything you and the boys do, but that's just not possible." "Right." Ryan dropped her head. She was angry but tired and didn't want to talk anymore. "Look, Mom, I have to go. I'll talk to you tomorrow." She waited?just barely?until her mother said good-bye, then clicked the phone shut. Why do I do this to myself, she wondered as she stood resting on the crutches. She stared at the wall as though the answer might appear in the eggshell paint. It was useless and she knew it. Hadn't years of the same thing taught her anything? Hadn't she learned over the past twenty-three years what the answer would be? She stared at the phone in her hand. Apparently not. "You'd come if I had a dick and was hitting some stupid ball." She glared at the phone. When she heard a noise behind her, she started and turned to bursa escort bayan see Brody stifling a laugh. Ryan gaped; she had forgotten Brody was there. It hit her that he'd heard not only the conversation, but her last comment as well. She felt the blush start at her toes and race to her face with lightning speed. "Oh. Oh, my God." Ryan bit her lip. "I am so sorry. I forgot . . . I didn't realize . . . oh, crap." She dropped the crutches to the floor and leaned against the wall. "Shit." "It's not that bad," she heard him say around a chuckle. "I used to argue with my parents all the time." Ryan looked at the floor, lost for words. She wanted to curl up on the couch and be mortified in private. Later, when she felt up to it, she'd hammer out some awful song on the keyboard to get it out of her system. After that, she could go back to more productive music. In a few days, she might even be able to look at him again. "Look," she said when she managed to find her voice again, "I'm sorry, really. Thanks for everything, but . . . ." She pushed herself off the wall and leaned down for her crutches, nearly falling in the process. "Whoa, whoa." Brody caught her around the waist and she grabbed at his shoulders on a reflex. "Are you all right?" he asked when she had her balance. "I'm fine. I am!" she protested when he gave her a skeptical glance. "It's just family drama, that's all. It's a cycle, I'm used to it. I'll get over it. I just need some comfort food and a nice dark movie and I'll be good." "What kind of comfort food?" Ryan studied him, looking for any signs of a joke, but found none. His golden-brown escort bursa eyes were serious. Or, she amended, as serious as Brody Lang was likely to get. "Sushi." "Sushi?" Ryan noticed that he still had his hands on her waist. Not sure just what she thought about that, she stayed still. "Yes, sushi." She gave him a wry grin. "No one else in my family can stand it, so I guess it's my way of getting back at them. When I get ticked off at my family, I go get sushi." "All right." Brody nodded and stepped back. He made sure she was steady, then leaned down and picked up her crutches. "So, where are we going?" "Excuse me? We?" "Why not?" Brody flashed her a lazy, sexy grin that unsettled her just a little. "You look like you could use a little time to cool down, and I haven't had dinner. I'd make something, but I already know you don't keep real food around here." "Are you hitting on me?" Ryan asked as she got her crutches under her. "Because if you are, you picked a bad time. I'm not great company right now." She made her way to the kitchen, where she'd left her purse. "Well, if I'm seeing you at your worst, then it can only get better." He stepped in front of her and caught her eyes. "This is your worst, right?" She scoffed. "You're lucky that was just a phone call." * * * Ryan eyed the pile of ginger Brody had piled on top of his sushi roll. "You're going to destroy your sinuses with that," she said, gesturing at the pink strips. "Nah." Brody grinned. "Ginger's nothing compared to the smelling salts we use during games." He took a bit of wasabi and placed it on top of the ginger. "Well," he said in response to Ryan's skeptical look, "if you're going to eat it, you might as well do it right." "I'd prefer to keep my taste buds intact." Ryan shook her head. She picked up a roll with her chopsticks, dipped it in the soy sauce and placed it in her mouth. "So, tell me about your band," Brody said.