Eventually Rob climbed back out of the shower, and threw on a pair of sweatpants, before re-entering the guest bedroom. Out here, Sam and Austin were both waiting for him.

“What is this, an intervention?” Rob joked, reaching into his bag and pulling out his phone cable. But his bandmates were less than amused. Austin walked over, picked up Rob’s bag, and handed it back to its owner.

“After yesterday?” he said, “Yeah. You’re sleeping on the pull-out.”

Rob laughed. “Yeah, I guess I deserve it. But you forgot something. [i]Jane’s[/i] on the pull out.”

Sam and Austin gave each other a worried look. Rob’s smile slowly dissipated. “What?” he asked. “There’s only two bedrooms, right? Obviously she’ll be on the pull out.”

“Then where is she now?” Sam asked. Rob thought for a moment again. [i]No…really? She couldn’t be—[/i]

Rob ran out into the living room, the kitchen, and saw the closed door into the master bedroom. No Jane to be found. Quickly, he made his way back to the guest room before he could hear anything. “I don’t want to be a door away from…[i]that.[/i]” He said, but Sam and Austin wouldn’t budge.

“It’s never bothered you before,” Sam said. “So why does it now?” 

Without answering, Rob grabbed his things and walked out into the living room. He put his headphones in and threw on the heaviest track he could find while he pulled out the bed within the couch: [url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F1O2xEV8ohg]Nine Inch Nails - March of the Pigs.[/url]

It was an old track he used to listen to to play along on drums. The tempo was lethal, the key signature changed twice every four bars, but most importantly…it was angry as fuck. In his high school days, this sort of music defined him. And now, it was loud and angry enough to cover anything coming out of that master bedroom. On his knees, he softly tapped out the rhythm, counting down the endless pattern, counting the beat off in his head:

[i]1[/i] 2 3 4 5 6 7 |[i]2[/i] 2 3 4 5 6 7 |[i]3[/i] 2 3 4 5 6 7 |[i]1[/i] 2 3 4 [b]5 6 7 8[/b]|

[hr]

Rob let the rest of the album play out as he tried to sleep, having cut off every light in the house and constantly tossed and turned on the old, lumpy mattress. 

His phone vibrated the bed towards the end of the record: 

[i]10:45, Anna:[/i] [b]Fell asleep yet?[/b]

[i]10:48, Rob:[/i] [b]Not yet.[/b]

[i]10:49, Anna:[/i] [b]I can’t either. We’re somewhere between El Paso and Dallas. The bus won’t stop shaking! lol[/b]

[i]10:51, Rob:[/i] [b]This couch probably isn’t much better.[/b]

[i]10:53, Anna:[/i] [b]…Jane kick you off the bed? Haha[/b]

[i]10:58, Rob:[/i] [b]Jane and I aren’t seeing each other.[/b]

[i]10:59, Anna:[/i] [b]Ooff, no need to be so formal! We’re all friends here! And you can’t blame me for assuming. You two looked like an old married couple today.[/b]

[i]11:04, Rob:[/i] [b]The road is hard. Sometimes, we all fight. I’m sure the Vulture guys do the same thing. Rich fucks.[/b]

[i]11:05, Anna:[/i] [b]And you’re poor enough NOT to justify it! Especially when your front woman fucks around :p[/b]

[i]11:07, Rob:[/i] [b]I’m assuming that’s pretty well-known?[/b]

[i]11:09, Anna:[/i] [b]Nope, I was just assuming it, but you confirmed it. :)[/b]

[i]11:10, Rob:[/i] [b]We probably shouldn’t talk about that.[/b]

[i]11:12, Anna:[/i] [b]You’ll lulled me to sleep anyways. Damn, I wish I had you every night. Good Night, Rob. [/b]

[i]11:13, Rob:[/i] [b]Good Night.[/b]

[hr]

Rob tossed the phone and headphones aside and rolled back over. After another ten minutes of trying to sleep, Rob heard footsteps slowly move through the house. After being in the dark this long, the house was no longer pitch-black, but instead a room of shadows. He saw what he assumed to be Jane’s silhouette move through heading out to the patio. As she did, his own words rang through his head. 

[i]If you wanted to talk…[/i]

It seemed as if she didn’t. 

Rob rolled over, leaving an empty space on the pull-out next to him, and fell asleep after another five minutes.