Rob waited another thirty minutes for Jane to respond, and even tried calling, but there wasn’t any response. He was beginning to overstay his welcome at the store he was at, and Zoe was waiting. [i]Was something wrong? Surely not. I mean, Jane had a thing with Lena, but it was[/i] Lena,[i] not some stranger or guy. Jane can handle that. I think…[/i] After some thought, I shot a text to Zoe: [i]8:40, Rob:[/i] [b]Alright. Where am I going?[/b] … Vicarious’ van was parked in a Wal-Mart, of all places. Certainly, with a band as large as Vicarious, the venue would’ve let them park with them for a night? Judging by the sight in front of Rob? Evidently not. He knocked on the door, and was greeted by Andy—standing shirtless, with a toothbrush sticking out from his mouth. “Oh,” his voice came, distorted by the toothbrush. “Izz you.” “It’s me,” Rob repeated, waiting for Andy to step aside for him to enter the van. “Whrzz Jay?” Andy asked. The way his face read seemed a bit more frustrated than usual. Almost like he was mad at Rob. “With a friend,” Rob said, slipping past him and hoping to making a break for the back room, as he usually did. “Whateevr, mearn,” he muttered to himself, spitting frothy dribbles of toothpaste and saliva out of his mouth as he did. Rob didn’t much else to say, so he slipped off, closing the door behind him. Surprisingly, it was just Zoe in here—she laid out by herself, her body sprawled across the bed, her eyes down into her phone. Behind her, [url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DD1ir1Hsdbw]Get It Together by De Saat[/url] played over the speakers, filling the room with the dance-worthy tone. Her eyes only looked up once Rob had ensured the door was closed. “Where’s Trent?” Rob asked. “Wal-Mart” She said. Her hand patted the free space beside her. “Come check this out.” Nodding, Rob moved forward, laying across the bed next to her, looking to the phone. On there, Zoe pointed to the article on the screen: [u]Rob Pennie may not be an asshole, after all[/u] “Good,” Rob muttered. “Glad to know I’m not an asshole.” “What I’m really wondering,” Zoe asked, “is if you all really did drive around in a Camry for your stateside tour two years ago.” [i]Shit,[/i] Rob thought to himself. [i]She listened to the podcast. Had it already come out? That was just an hour ago![/i] “Yeah,” he said. “You try loading a whole band’s equipment into a Camry sometime. It wasn’t easy. We slept in the same clothes for like a week.” For some reason, each encounter Rob had with Zoe was more and more disarming. She seemed to have this way about her. She was direct, but not pushy. She said what she thought and pointed out what she felt needed to be. In some ways, it had been the opposite of what he and Jane were sometimes; overthinking, wondering, hoping not to offend the other. Rob worried so often about how to ensure he didn’t fuck things up with Jane. Zoe didn’t seem to worry about anything. And that difference was relaxing. Down at their feet, Rob felt Zoe’s leg slip atop his own leg—her jeans against his, and her boot against and on top of his own shoe. Despite his better judgement, Rob let the physical contact slide. It was just a legs and feet. That didn’t mean a thing. [i]Right?[/i] “Here,” Zoe said, scrolling down. “The comments are the best part.” Rob looked to what she had pointed out, reaching each comment as she passed by: [b]Anyone else think this was just a PR stunt? Dude was a total asshole with Simon. This doesn’t fix a thing.[/b] [b]I like how he pointed out how fun it was to make that last EP. You can really tell. I mean, don’t get me wrong, Ways and Means is good, but seriously. The older stuff kicks ass.[/b] [b]Look, Rob can have his own opinion, but the single kicks ass. I dunno what the hell he’s on about.[/b] [b]Is no one else listening to Vicarious? Just me? Because that band is miles better than this Paramore shit.[/b] “You ever notice that any female-led band gets compared to Paramore relentlessly?” Zoe asked. “I swear, they should call that shit [i]William’s Law[/i] or something.” “Any band with a female singer must and will be compared to Paramore,” Rob played along. “William’s Law. Has a ring to it.” Zoe laughed brightly, and showed a smile he hadn’t seen before. It wasn’t just happiness. But, something about the way her eyes shone. Behind him, he could feel Zoe’s leg slip more over to him, and her body slipped closer to him. [i]What the hell is she doing?[/i] Before he could get an answer, the door opened, and Trent slipped in. Rob hardly had time to recognize him before Zoe hopped off the bed, moving to the iPod responsible for the music. “Trent’s here,” she joked. “Back to that Stoner Rock shit.” “Fuck off,” Trent said. He reached over to a drawer and pulled out a few ziplock bags; the edibles he had talked about. “Trust me when I say, you’re not ready for this shit.” He said, tossing the bag to the bed. … Soon enough, three hours had passed, and Rob was higher than he could ever remember being. So much so, Trent and Zoe had to get the address to his hotel out of him, so they could call him a cab. He fell over into the back of the cab, laughing at a face Trent had made almost an hour ago. “I’m so sorry,” Rob said between bursts of laughter to his driver, who said nothing. By the time he got back to the hotel, he had sobered up to act normal. It was then that he thought about what Zoe had done in the bus. Rob had a huge history of misreading signs from prospective lovers. As time went on, he typically didn’t go out socializing or looking into the bar scene for sex, but mainly through friend-of-friends and Jane, of all people. She had actually suggested Lena at one point, years ago it felt like, but the thought of it was wrong then and even now. He dropped his key card twice, before finally getting into the room. In here was quiet and dark, and there wasn’t a sign of Jane’s roommate to be found. Rob reached into his jacket pocket and set over leftovers from the bus, before scanning the hotel for Jane. After some searching, he found her phone—shattered, laying near a wall in the living room. On it, notifications still glowed between the jagged cracks of what used to be her screen. [i]Fuck.[/i] An overwhelming sense of guilt swept over Rob. Whatever had happened with Jane, it wasn’t good. And it certainly wasn’t something he should have been away from. Why hadn’t he come back when he had the chance? Here he was, high and happy, slipping in to some aftermath he should’ve been present for. Had she argued with Lena? Had she done something [i]with[/i] Lena? He felt even worse for even thinking that. Especially after possibly being too flirtatious with Zoe. That was a whole other issue he’d soon have to deal with. The stress of managing the different facets of his life was starting to overwhelm him. The expectations he was putting on himself were only serving to harm him rather than help. Trying to shrug it off, he ripped off his clothes and walked into the bedroom, seeing Jane’s frail frame buried in the mountainous blankets. He slipped next to her, feeling her warmth, and dozing off quickly. Whatever she had done, he would surely hear about in the morning.