Read Online A Real Disaster by Molly Ryan - Free Book Online

wiped away the dried blood. His lip
was swollen, not unexpected, and on his jaw there was a nice flourishing
bruise. He winced as I cleaned him up but not once did he complain or tell me
to stop.
    Finally, when I was finished, Nash took
my hand and led me around the house. We were ending our tour with his bedroom.
    “And this is the bedroom. This is where
I do all of my best thinking and creating.”
    “Nice,” I said as I took a tentative
step inside.
    The last time I was near a bedroom with
Nash, he wanted to join me. The room was painted a deep blue with white
checkered curtains and lamps in each corner. There was a queen bed against one
wall and a desk on the other side. In the corner was a
guitar and a stand. Clothes littered the floor but the closet was closed.
    “Yeah, it’s one of my favorite places,” he
said, pushing the clothes out of the way and patting the bed. “Sit down for a
bit.”
    “Nah, I’m okay,” I responded, eyeing the
bed. “I don’t need to sit, I’m not tired.”
    “Lily, sit down,” Nash said as he patted
the bed again. “I’m not going to try and fuck you here.”
    I cocked an eyebrow and Nash chuckled.
    “Okay, I’ll try not to... I can’t make
any promises, though.”
    That’s what I was afraid of.
    After hesitating a moment, I sat next to
Nash on the bed. He grabbed my hand and squeezed.
    “Thanks for taking care of me. You
didn’t have to come home with me or make sure I was okay.”
    “ It’s fine,” I
said as I waved away his thank you. “What kind of person would I be if I let
you go home by yourself? You looked half dazed when I pulled you up off the
floor. I’m not sure you would have been able to make it here by yourself,
honestly.”
    “Well, I appreciate it either way.”
    Nash dropped my hand and stared around
his room.
    “So what kind of greatness happens in
here? And don’t say sex,” I said, smiling.
    He laughed.
    “Well, do you know how many songs I
wrote in this room? How many times I paced back and forth, thinking of the best
words to use or a new verse? I play my guitar for hours in here, sitting on the
bed, until my fingers are raw and my body is stiff.”
    “So you’re passionate about your writing.
You’re passionate about your music.”
    “Yeah, I always have been. Music is my
life; it has been since I learned how to play the guitar when I was kid. It was
an escape from everything.”
    “An escape?”   I asked. “An escape from
what?”
    “Life… Reality… You know, just
everything. Writing and playing music has been my way to dealing with growing
up and the people around me. It helps me figure stuff out.”
    “Life couldn't have been too hard for
you considering you are so popular.”
    “I was anything but popular. Everyone
looked at me like I was just the guy in a rock band. It was nothing like how it
has been in college. I had a couple of friends that were in a
band with me and that was it. No one else.”
    I was surprised. After going to the
party and seeing all the girls that wanted his attention I never suspected that
it was any different when he was in high school. It felt good to be around
someone that felt alone in high school just like I did. Going to college has been
good for him and it is already pointing towards it being good for me too.
    “Really? You must be in heaven
with all these girls screaming your name now then.”
    “I guess you could say that...” he said,
pausing. “So you don't have anything like singing to help you escape from
life?”
    “I was really into chorus but it didn't
help me escape from anything. I just did it for an extra-curricular activity.
Sure, I loved it, but it didn't help with any of my life problems. All I really
did was study and read books. I always wanted to get perfect grades. That's
just who I was.”
    Nash looked at me, tilting his head.
    “Really? There wasn't
anything that helped you get away for a bit and not worry about anything?
Reading books didn't even do it for