Page 60 of Doc Rock
“Fuck,”he yelled and punched the steering wheel again.
Ford jumped whentherewas a tap on his window. Steve, the neighbour, stoodthere, a look of concern on his face. Shit, he didn’t need the police called on him. Putting his game face on, he wound down the window.
“Everything okay?”Steve asked. Worry clear in his voice and on his pinched face.“I was coming back from getting the paper and couldn’t help buthearyou.”
Ford sighed in relief. At least Steve hadn’t overheard them arguing. He figured the old man would have phoned the police if he had, as the walls sounded thin between their houses.
“Yeah. Sorry. I hadn’t seen Si- Mai, in a long time. It brought up some things for me.”Ford plastered a smile onto his face, the same smile he used in hour six of interviews, when he would much rather be at home in bed.
“Yes. I can understand how she would bring up old feelings. She’s the whole parcel that young lady. Smart, kind, talented.”
Ford added in his head, beautiful. And only just stopped himself from swearing again. He was not going to think about her that way.
She left him.
Shecouldbe the most stunning woman on the planet, and it wouldn’t change the way hefeltabout her.
In love,a voice whispered in his ear.
Ford almost glanced over his shoulder toseewho was in the back of his car, but didn’t, as heknewthe voice was internal. After all this time, and everything she'd done, if someone asked if he still loved her, he didn’t think, if he was being honest, that hecoulddeny it.
Squeezing his eyes closed, Ford steadied his breathing.
He still fucking loved her, after everything she did to him.
Fuck.
“Yeah. I’d better head out. I’m sure-“ Ford hesitated before he said her new name, it sounded so alien to him. “Mai will come andseeyou later.”
“She will. She’s a good neighbour. Nice to meet you, Graham.”Steve stuck his hand through the window, and Ford reached out and took it.
“You too, Steve.”
“It really is uncanny how much you resemble Ford.”Steve didn’t let go of his hand and examined Midnight Thunder’s frontman again.
“One of those faces, Steve.”Ford gave him a well-practised, easy smile.
“Hmmm.”Steve released his hand and stepped back from the car.
Ford started the engine and pulled away from the curb, giving a wave as he left.
The old man stood watching him until he was out of sight.
Ford paced nervously around the house he was renting as he waited for Donnie and the band to arrive. The original band, not Ryan, who was tucked up somewhere in Switzerland in an eye-wateringly expensive rehab facility. He was waiting for Scotty, Joel and Sie.
He stopped pacing to stare at Sie’s guitar that sat on a stand in the corner of the room. It had been his anchor in so many dark moments, as apart from her notebooks,it wasthe only thing he had left of her. And now he needed to give it back.
Picking it up, he began to play. Quietly singing along as he strummedSummer Days, the song that set him and Midnight Thunder on the crazy ride that was their lives.
He closed his eyes and lost himself in the melody, his mind back in her childhood bedroom as they made out whenever theycould, and wrote music when her parents insisted that the door was open.
A car pulling up in front of the house had him placing the guitar carefully back on its stand. He turned to the door, checking his reflection in the glass and tousling his already tousled hair before he pulled it open.
He huffed when hesawit wasJoel, Scotty and Donnie.
Fuck, he wanted to see Sie.
She was all hecouldthink about since their argument. He wished he hadn’t gone overthereand yelled at her, but he hadn’tknownwhat else to do.
