THURSDAY - JUNE 3, 1976

Sarah stood in the shower and cried. She had still been awake when Sam had crawled into their bed early this morning.

She lay on her side, turned away from him, and faked sleep as she heard him getting undressed, and slip between the sheets.

He didn't try to cuddle next to her as he usually did, instead he lay on his side with his back to her. She knew that he couldn't sleep either, but they both were quiet, highly aware of each other.

She had been thinking all night, wondering what she should do. Her first instinct was to leave and go home. But she couldn't bear the thought of not being with him.

She still hadn't come to a decision.

Finally, with a huff of disgust, she had got out of bed and went to take a shower. She let the tears that she had been holding back flow freely, mixing in with the water, as it rushed over her face.

She heard the bathroom door open and she laid her forehead against the wall, gathering support from it.

"Get out!" She yelled angrily.

Sarah heard the shower curtain rip off its hooks as Sam tore it open. "I don't want to talk to you now, you bastard!"

"Too bad, Sarah! We are going to talk about this. I know what you think happened last night."

Sam was angry as stepped into the shower, standing behind her. "It didn't happen! Nothing happened!"

His voice turned impatient. "Would you just turn around and look at me?"

Sarah felt his hand on her arm, trying to turn her around. "No!"

She stepped around him, keeping her head down. "I can't look at you right now! All I see is that fucking slut with her mouth on your dick."

She stood, dripping water, outside the shower. "You let her give you a blow job! You fucking son of a bitch!"

Sarah yelled, her voice reaching near hysteria. "I was in the next room, Sam! She gave you a fucking blow job while I was in the other room! What kind of person are you?"

She stalked into the bedroom and walked in circles as she ranted. "What the fuck am I doing here? I thought you wanted me! Only me! Then I catch you with that slut Cherry! Isn't one girl enough for you, Sam?"

"Hello?"

Sarah stopped suddenly and looked up to see Gisette, in the doorway.

Gisette stepped into the room, smirking as she sized up Sarah's naked body.

Sam stormed out of the bathroom, ready to continue his argument with Sarah. He stopped when he saw Gisette.

"You really should make sure you close your door all the way, Sam."

Gisette's eyes were fixed on him as Sam turned on his heel and went into the bathroom. She licked her lips in appreciation. "God, he looks good enough to eat, doesn't he, Sarah?"

"Fuck off, Gisette!" Sarah was in no mood for the french bitch right now. "This is between Sam and I."

She looked smugly at Sarah. "I heard you arguing as I was ready to knock on your door."

Gisette looked over at Sam, coming from the bathroom, a towel wrapped around his waist. She glanced in and saw the shower curtain hanging limply from its hooks.

"You two can really get carried away when you argue. You will pay for it when the hotel sends me the bill." She glared at Sarah then turned towards the door, "We're leaving for Louisville soon. Practice may be longer today, you said you have some new songs you wanted to play."

Sam and Sarah were still standing there, the silence hung heavy in the air after the door slammed shut behind Gisette.

Sam walked towards Sarah, holding out a towel. "You're shivering." He attempted to wrap the towel around her, but she grabbed it and stepped away.

"I don't know what to do about last night, Sam." Sarah shook her head, sadly, and stared at the floor. It hurt too much to look at him.

Sam sat on the bed, and held his head in his hands. "If I explained what happened, would you believe me?" He asked, softly. "I can tell you that nothing happened, but will you believe me?"

"I don't know." Sarah said, sadly and started getting dressed. "We better get our stuff together. We don't want to be late."

"Can we talk about this first?" Sam looked up, startled.

"No, not right now. I need time to think." Sarah went to the bathroom and started packing their toiletries. "Get dressed, Sam."

At the bus, everyone was hanging around, drinking coffee to clear their minds and wake them up. Trish pulled Sarah aside.

"How are you this morning?" Trish whispered, her eyes scanned Sarah's face, anxiously.

Sarah just shook her head, so Trish went on. "Sam was really pissed when he woke up and saw Cherry on his lap. I don't think he remembers much. Georgie said that he saw Sam take some pills after the show."

Just then, someone yelled "All aboard!"

"What were they?" Sarah asked.

"I don't know, but I think the combination of everything was what caused last night." Trish told Sarah as she stepped on the bus. "Think about it."

Sarah did think about it, as she rode behind Sam on his bike. He had taken so many drugs and combined it with alcohol. She was terrified when she thought of how dangerously stoned he had gotten. Her stomach bottomed out when she realized the evening could have ended much differently if he would have OD'd.

Sam pulled into a gas station, and climbed off his bike. He took off his helmet and Sarah saw how bloodshot his eyes were. His face was pale, his eyes, sunken in and shadowed.

"I'm going to the bathroom and I need some cigarettes. Do you need anything?" He avoided looking at her directly.

Sarah shook her head, mutely, fiddling with her helmet strap.

"Here, let me." Sam stepped in front of her, forcing her to look up at him as he unhooked the strap. He pulled off her helmet, then stood, staring at her face.

"Sarah.." He began, hesitantly putting his hand on her cheek. "I don't even know where to begin."

She saw him swallow, nervously, then he continued. "I don't know what you saw. I came to this morning with that girl, lying on me. I don't know what happened. I wish I could remember. But, I can honestly tell you, that it was no where near what you think happened."

He gave her a wry smile. "I don't think I could have gotten hard, even for you, I was seriously messed up."

"Sam, promise me that you will never take that many drugs again." Sarah looked at him angrily. "And even the idea that she was near you and had her hands on you makes me sick."

Sarah stepped back and pulled her face from his hand. "If you ever let another groupie touch your dick again, I will cut it off!"

Sarah was still cool towards him as they walked into their hotel room. She headed straight for the bathroom and closed the door, without speaking.

Sam sighed as he looked at the closed door. He had some serious making up to do, he knew. He knocked on the door, calling her name, but there was only silence coming from the other side of it.

Giving up on talking to her, he left the room and headed for Georgie's room.

Trish answered the door, opening it to let him walk past her. She watched the dejected way he walked across the room and collapse into the chair.

"You fucked up bad, Sam." She sat on the corner of the bed nearest him.

Sam groaned, "I know, that was a dumb thing to do."

"Which 'thing' are you talking about? Taking too many combinations of drugs or letting some groupie blow you?" Trish asked sarcastically."You're lucky Sarah didn't leave. I thought she was going to last night when she walked out the door. She was pretty pissed. And do you blame her?"

"She's locked herself in the bathroom and won't speak to me."

"You hurt her bad, Sam."

Sam buried his face in his hands, "Her heart! Oh fuck! I promised to heal her broken heart. Did you know that?"

He saw the puzzled look on Trish's face. "When Sarah and I first met, she told me that she had once had her heart broken, badly broken. It hadn't really healed. I promised her that I would help heal it. She trusted me with it, and I have fucked up! What is wrong with me?"

Trish sighed, looking at the anguished pain on Sam's face. "I don't know why you did that last night. I just know that it was the stupidest fucking thing you could have done."

Sam squinted as he tried to recall his actions the night before. "I know I was really pissed at Gisette. I thought taking a couple pills that Leon gave me would help me mellow out."

"Yeah, right. But when you mix it with pot, coke and JD, don't you think that's a little too much?"

Trish narrowed her eyes and continued. "Gisette is making some unusual demands of the group, that's true. But she is new at this, and so far some of them have worked. The dinners together have helped us stay connected with each other. The everyday practices certainly have helped, too. You guys are sounding more polished and put together because of it. I think the whole bus thing, that you ride with us, is part of the connecting with each other. The only shitty part of that was purposely leaving Sarah out of it. She's a bitch. She is loving the fact that you and Sarah were arguing today. She couldn't keep that smug smile off her face all the way here. I just wanted to slap her!"

Sam let out a short laugh. "She must have really gotten under your skin! You wouldn't hurt a fly! And you wanted to hit her?"

Trish gave him a big smile. "Don't let her get to you. She isn't worth it. You and Sarah have to adjust to your relationship, alone. Don't let Gisette get the upper hand in this. Do you understand?"

"I don't know what to do. Do you think Sarah will forgive me?" Sam's voice was pleading and Trish's heart melted at the worried look on his face.

"I don't know. Give her some time to cool down, maybe?"

Sarah heard Sam leave the room after he had knocked on the bathroom door. She opened it a crack and peered out, to make sure he had was gone before she came out.

She didn't want to face him yet. She knew she wasn't leaving, she loved Sam too much. But that didn't do much to take away the anger that still boiled in her. It still simmered too close to the surface, and she didn't trust herself not to say anything that would hurt Sam.

She wanted to be able to sit calmly and talk to him; she had a lot to say and she wanted it to come out very clearly. She wanted Sam to understand that she would not put up with the groupies.

She didn't want to mention Gisette, that was something she would just be more aware of. Gisette was trying her damnedest to break them up, and Sarah planned to fight her on it.

Sarah was thinking about this and pacing the room when the phone rang. She stopped and looked at it curiously, no one had ever called their room before.

She picked it up and cautiously said hello, then held it away from her ear when she heard the high pitched scream.

"Sarah! Oh my god! I finally found you!"

"Midgie?" Sarah sank down on the bed in surprise.

"Fuck yeah, it's me!" Midgies laughter floated across the phone lines, sounding like music to Sarah's ears. "How the hell have you been? My god, why haven't you called me? Do you know how many other hotels in Louisville I've called trying to find you?"

"But how did you know I was in Louisville?" Sarah was still trying to believe that she was talking to Midgie.

"Your mom, idiot. So, tell me, how is life on the road with your handsome rock star?"

Sarah sighed and leaned back on the head board. "It's different. It can be rushing around to go somewhere, or laying around, doing nothing. Although Trish has been a lot of fun, we've become friends. She helps me understand some of the things that go on. She gets bored too, so we get together to talk. We went shopping one day."

"Sarah," Midgie sounded concerned. "I asked you how life is with Sam. But I didn't hear his name mentioned."

"I know, because I don't know how to answer you." Sarah sighed loudly. "Fuck, Midgie, I wish you were here."

"Well, this is the next best thing. Tell me what's going on. I'm calling on Dave's phone, he won't care what it costs. We're going to have a good long talk." Midgie spoke calmly, ready to listen and help her friend.

An hour later, the two girls were still on the phone. Sarah had told Midgie everything that had been going on and was winding down, waiting to hear what her friend would say.

"It started out so good, why is he being such a shit now?" Midgie asked.

"I don't know, god, I wish I did."

"It sounds like Gisette has a lot to do with it." Midgie hesitated.

Sarah had a right to know what Gisette had said the night Midgie had stayed in her room. Midgie wasn't sure if Sarah wanted to hear it.

"You know, I heard a lot of the conversation that Gisette had with her friend."

Sarah squeezed the receiver to stop her hands from shaking. "Tell me what she said, please. I have to know what I'm dealing with here. She is such a bitch, I don't know what she will do next."

"She said that she caught Sam by surprise in the shower. Sarah...," Midgie stopped, "Are you sure you want me to tell you this?"

"Midgie, after what I saw last night, nothing could hurt me worse, believe me."

Midgie sighed. "Is he worth all this pain? You've known him less than a week, Sarah! Why put yourself through all this?"

Sarah thought about it for a minute, then tried to explain it so her friend would understand. "Midgie, never, ever, in my life have I known someone like Sam. Until last night, he has been the most kindest, sweetest man. This attraction came at us both, out of the blue. We didn't expect it, neither of us. We connected almost instantly and it knocked us both off our feet."

"Kinda like love at first sight? That's romantic, but I think it only happens in fairy tales. Are you sure you aren't just looking at this with blinders on?" Midgie sounded dubious. "Sam is a nice guy, I agree, but is he worth this pain that you're going through?"

"I think he's feeling the pain too. That's what makes this whole thing so bad. We are both caught up in this."

"Yeah," Midgie snorted, "It must be really tough to have two women fighting over you."

"He's with me though, not her. He won't leave me, I know. Gisette will have to realize that sooner or later and leave us alone." Sarah was determined on this.

She also wanted to drop the subject. Now that she had confided in Midgie, she was anxious to hear how things were back home. "How are you and Dave doing?"

"We're good." Midgies voice turned dreamy. "He told me that he loves me, Sarah. I love him too. He's busy with the campground and his realty business is doing good. We've talked about marriage even."

"Oh my god! That's so cool! What about school? Will you get married after you graduate?"

Sarah was happy for her friend. Midgie and Dave had gone back and forth for so many years, she was glad they finally realized they were in love.

"Yeah, probably. I mean, he hasn't actually proposed, but the words marriage and kids has come up in conversation. Who knows, right?" Midgie sounded so hopeful and upbeat.

"You will let me know the minute he proposes. I want all the details, you hear?"

"I will. Does this mean you will call me? Or do I have to keep tracking you down?" Midgie asked.

"I will call you, I promise." Sarah tried to sound casual as she asked, "How's Pete?"

"He's doing ok."

Sarah heard the hesitation in Midgie's voice and pressed her further. "What has he said about me?"

Midgie sighed, "He was pissed when he first heard about you going with Sam. He's had a couple days to think about it. Dave said just this morning that he thought Pete was accepting that this was your decision. It hasn't been easy on him, but he has been staying busy, so that helps. He's been helping Dave around the campground and he talks to Dave while they work."

"I wish I could talk to him." Sarah whispered. At first, she wanted to avoid Pete, but now, she missed him. She wanted him to put his arms around her and tell her it would be alright. She needed to feel the comfort she had always gotten from him.

"Give it a little bit more time." Midgie advised. "When he's ready to talk to you, I'll let you know. Ok?"

"Yeah, will you tell him that we talked?"

"Do you want me to?" Midgie asked curiously.

Sarah thought it over, then nodded her head. "Yeah, but don't tell him what I told you about me and Sam. Tell him that I said hello and I miss him."

"I can do that." Midgie paused and Sarah heard muffled voices in the background.

"Sarah, I have to go now. You know you can call me anytime to talk to me. Please, don't let things get you down, call me, I will be here for you."

"I know, Midgie. Thank you for listening to me. I will call you soon, I promise."

Sarah looked at the clock as she hung up the phone. She realized that Sam had gone to practice already, without coming back to their room.

She shivered as she remembered Gisette's warning about leaving him by himself, realizing that is what she'd just done. She had sent him away by not speaking to him. He was at practice right now, with Gisette.

Sarah paced the room, again, as she thought about what she had to say to Sam. The clock hands were moving agonizingly slow, and she was beginning to feel like a caged animal.

Looking through her purse for her cigarettes, she found the pill that Trish had given her the day they went shopping. She turned it over in her palm, looking at the small white pill with the V in the middle.

Trish had told her that sometimes they had helped her through the tough days.

"This is a tough day." Sarah mumbled to herself as she popped it into her mouth.