Morning came and went in waves . Hangovers of this magnitude seemed to keep Rob in a perpetual state of nausea. One of the unrecognized problems with having as strong a stomach as Rob did, was that all the alcohol most people would vomit out would stay in him—and have the added benefit of making him feel like shit. But the vague sent of vomit still lingered in the air. [i]It wasn’t him, was it? What happened again?[/i] Translucent images of Aaron and a bar faded into his mind. A drive home. A familiar moan of a car horn as it faded into the night. Sights, sounds, and images all in one, yet with no relation to any of the others. None of the pieces formed the whole. At some point, Rob felt another body lowered by his. The strong sent of more vomit and a strange concoction of other aromas floated about. He could barely manage to open his eyes and see…Andy? Or maybe Aaron? The figure said something about….[i]dealing with something? Dealing with Vicarious?[/i] None of it registered. None of it stuck. The waves continued to come and go, and a terrible buzzing filled Rob’s head for several hours after. Finally, Rob crawled out of his bed, trying not to mess with the other person in the bunk. [i]Wait, that was…Jane, right? I thought she was in a hotel. Why is she here?[/i] Rob blinked a few times and moved himself forward, into the restroom. The figure that looked back at him in the mirror was grotesque. Matted hair stuck to the side of his face, coated in booze and other ungodly substances, most likely. His beard had been unattended to for days, and he could smell food coming off of it. At this rate, he was unsure of whether or not it had been hours or days, but his last memory of Zoe in the rain was too raw to try and dwell on. Perhaps he hoped it had been so long ago. Rob ran a few fingers in his long hair, and pulled it into a point on the back of his head. It had gotten so long on this tour. Long enough to tie back. Rob groped around; eventually finding one of Jane’s hair ties and tying the long strands out of his face. He slipped a guard on his beard trimmer, and trimmed it back down to a respectable length. He then slipped a beanie over the bun atop his head, hating the look of hair tied back but far too drunk to actually shower without injuring himself. He slipped on some clothes, and walked out to the front of the bus. Out here, much of the band—including Sam, Aaron, and Lyla, sat around, seemingly waiting for him. Rob moved without speaking to the refrigerator, pulling out the drink that seemed to have the most caffeine in it. He walked to the couch, and sat with the others. “We were going to go out, if you wanted to come, Rob,” Sam offered almost bashfully. “There’s a nice park north of town. And it’s kind of a really nice day.” Rob looked out the nearest window—seeing the rays of the sun shining through the curtains, down unto them. It seemed Sam was right. “Sure,” Rob said, his voice hoarse. “That sounds great.” He moved to get up, but struggled—Lyla and Aaron both had to help lift an arm to get him standing—but once he was, he went quietly with the others (minus Austin, who seemed to be missing) and got off the bus. — The park north of Kiev was nicer than the one Rob had spent much of his time in only yesterday. The city seemed to be more alive with foliage and greenery than many of the other cities on the recent tour. Where Moscow had stark grey hues, and a few of the other eastern cities before that, a concrete jungle, Kiev seemed too be less developed—and for the better. There wasn’t a whole lot of talking, either. Rob walked as an observer with his friends and busmates, listening to what had been going on in their own lives as his had taken such a drastic turn. And perhaps they weren’t all happy (Sam seemed to have his own stress correlating to Harold as well), they all seemed managed—happy, and glad to be across the ocean, doing something they loved and being paid to do it. It was a cathartic outing that Rob had really needed. And as the hangover he was experienced was slowly faded with time, he felt more and more prepared to handle the consequences of the past few days. He made a few arrangements, left the group as soon as he proved he was sober enough, and trekked out of the park and into a nearby coffeeshop. Zoe was waiting for him here. Her eyes seemed as dreary and baggy as ever—her typical makeup couldn’t hide the grayness that had filled her in the evening past. Rob, having tried to hide his own physical flaws, knew he most likely looked just as horrid. Which was alright. Maybe it was best if they saw each other in the real light of day. “Hey,” Zoe said weakly as Rob sat across from her. She seemed ready to talk, but not quite as motivated to begin as yesterday. Perhaps she had come from a long argument with Andy as well. Vicarious was difficult to read at times as a whole, and this recent explosion had done nothing to quell that thought. “I’m sorry for walking away like I did,” Rob admitted. “That was rude of me. I guess I just needed time to process what had happened.” “It hurt,” she likewise confessed, “…but I don’t blame you.” “But we’re too intertwined to simply fade from each other’s lives,” Rob said. “I’m going to see you every day. I’m going to see Vicarious every day. If we don’t discuss things, we could do something we both regret.” “Yeah,” Zoe said. Her tempered nature and quick fuse were replaced by stoic empathy. “I’m sorry I involved you in this,” Rob said. “I shouldn’t have engaged if I had known what would have become of it. Even without knowing, I should have figured it wasn’t going to be good.” “I’m sorry for what I said yesterday,” Zoe said, eyes locked onto the table. “I hope that goes without saying.” “It does. But I’m glad you said it.” Zoe looked up to Rob. “We’re not going to be seeing each other anymore, are we?” Rob shook his head. Zoe chuckled softly. “I guess I had figured this was going to go the same way my relationship with Andy went.” “How so?” “He never had the decency to break things off admirably,” she said. “Not like this.” She stood from the table, taking her coffee with her: “I hope you figure it out with Jane. Honestly. I really do. I figured that when it had finally come down to a choice, she would be the one at the receiving end of this conversation. Maybe I didn’t know you as well as I thought I did.” Zoe smiled, then turned away, exiting the coffeeshop. Maybe it wasn’t the prettiest of terms, but it was a good start, and Rob was glad Zoe had been receptive enough. Next, he lifted his phone from his pocket, and dialed a number. The other end picked up after three rings: [i]”Hello?”[/i] “Hey, Dad,” Rob said into the speaker. A long silence followed. “Hey, son,” his dad finally answered. “Anything wrong?” “No,” Rob said. “Well—not really. Nothing terrible. I’m…I’m in Ukraine right now, sitting in a coffeeshop, and I guess I figured I should call.” “Did you want me to pass the phone to your mom? She’s right here—“ “No no,” Rob said. “But send her my love for me, alright?” “…alright.” “How are things stateside?” “Fine enough,” his dad answered. “We’ve been working on a huge middle-management shift for our brokers and—well, it’s a whole lot of corporate talk.” Rob laughed. “That’s fine, Dad. It’s how things are.” Silence. Then: “I uh, I keep hearing about you from my friends at work. One of the guys told he his daughter bought a turntable just to play the thing on vinyl. You know they still sell those?” “Yeah,” Rob chuckled. “Crazy how that came back. I ended up buying a few of them this tour.” “Well,” his father said, “I don’t have the biggest collection, but I’m sure I’ve got a box in the basement with some. You’re free to have it whenever you get back.” “Thanks, dad.” More silence. “I uh,” his father started, then re-started: “It’s cool that you’re doing this, Rob. I never would’ve thought all that racket in my house would’ve resulted in all of this.” “Me either,” Rob admitted. “For a while there, I never thought I’d leave California. Now I’m in countries I had to look up to figure out where I am in the world.” “I know we’re not one for talking,” his father said. “But I’m glad your happy, at least.” Rob thought for a moment. “Thank you. …I’ve got to run and get some other things done. It’s still morning here.” “Yeah, yeah,” his father said. “I forgot. Got to go live the rockstar life.” “It certainly feels like it sometimes. And…thanks, Dad.” “For what?” “Whatever you want.” — Rob spent the next several hours milling about the city. The silent solitude was perfect for Rob, but not in the usual way. He thought of very little as he admired the different architecture of Ukraine, the people, and the shops around them. A way of life for so many people. Maybe there was a kid around here, playing guitar or pounding the drums. A kid who had only known Kiev his whole life. Someone who wanted to succeed. Someone like him. After a while, texts filtered in from Jane. [i]“You don’t have to answer me now, but you have to eventually.”[/i] She was right. But so much had changed in 24 hours. What had she done in the time between them? Was was she thinking? What would they think of each other? What would come of all of this? — Rob walked up to the busses as the sun was beginning to set. He slipped past In Bloom, past Vicarious, and approached the venue that would sit empty for the night. Maybe Vicarious hadn’t cancelled their own setlist. Who knew? It may be a long time before Rob would be admitted back into their lives again. Rob entered the building, which remained silent for now, and searched around for the staircase. He climbed to the top, found a comfortable enough stop, and sat down. He pulled out his phone, and sent a text to Austin: [i]7:45 P.M., Rob:[/i] [b]I’m on top of the venue if anyone needed me.[/b] [i]7:50 P.M., Austin:[/i] [b]Thanks for checking in.[/b] Rob closed his phone and set it away from his to avoid seeing any more messages. He probably should’ve answered Jane. Or gone into the busses. He should have done so many things. But for now, there was the roof up here, the cool air of Kiev, and the silence. The silence Rob loved and idolized. The same one he regularly chose over the others. He was certainly guilty of that. Rob’s eyes closed as he rested his mind, and body. Funny, how so much could change in just a single day.