Carrie and Keith 15

Keith's skin felt like it had a life of it's own. Every beat of the drums, every note sung, every thump of his bass, every wail of the guitar brought a new wave of goosebumps. When they finished the song, Keith took a deep breath and smiled down at the floor. He couldn't hit a wrong note tonight.

When he looked up, Justin was watching him intently. He gave him a half smile. Justin simply nodded and they started the next song on their playlist.

When practice was over and they were putting everything away, Justin patted his shoulder.

"It's good to see you happy again," he said so Joey and Michael couldn't hear.

Keith smiled at him. It's good to feel happy again.

***

The day started out bad. He tripped and fell getting out of bed. Then, he broke his coffee pot and had to clean up the glass. This made him late for work and the boss chewed him out in front of everyone.

It didn't improve as the day wore on. He got home late and so missed Carrie. He could have stopped by her house, but the guys were coming over for practice and he didn't want to make them wait.

Keith sat on his stool, tuning his guitar. Joey turned to look at him.

"Hey, I paid a visit to your little massage therapist," Joey purred. Keith clenched his jaw and stared at Joey, waiting for what was to come. "She was very good. She even did me a little extra," Joey winked. "To ease my tension, ya know?"

Keith felt a white hot flash go off in his head. He slipped off his stool and calmly set his guitar on its stand. He took a couple steps toward Joey. He heard Justin call out to him, but he ignored it. Then he lifted his cane and grabbed the bottom of it like a baseball bat and swung at Joey's head.
Joey ducked and dove at Keith. They tumbled to the floor and began exchanging punches. Justin and Michael pulled them apart, but not before blood ran from Joey's nose and Keith could taste iron in his mouth. Justin brought over his cane and helped him to his feet.

Joey shook off Michael's grip and put his face in Keith's. "You could have killed me, you crazy bastard!" Joey yelled.

"It's too fucking bad I missed. Get the fuck out of my house," Keith growled.

Joey raised his hands. "I'm outta here," he said and stormed up the stairs. The basement windows rattled when he slammed the front door.

Keith turned a cold gaze on Justin and Michael.

"I guess I'll see you later," Michael said and went upstairs.

Justin sat down on Joey's stool. "You know he just said that to piss you off." Justin said.

Keith limped toward the stairs. "I should have known this was going to happen," he muttered and slowly made his way upstairs. Justin followed him closely.

When they reached the kitchen, Justin stood in front of Keith. "You don't really think she did anything, do you? He was just trying to piss you off." Justin repeated.

"What are you defending her for? She doing you, too?"

Justin pressed his lips together. "Whatever. I'll see you later," he said, turned on his heel, and walked out.

Keith sighed and went to his room. Fully clothed, he laid on the bed. He spent the night thinking. About Carrie. About Joey. About Carrie and Joey alone together in a small locked room with a bed in it.