MONDAY - JUNE 28, 1976

Sarah was woken up by the sound of the phone ringing. She jumped up to get it, only to hear Pete's sleepy growling voice as he said hello. She ran into the kitchen and stood by his side as he asked the caller to repeat his name.

Pete looked at Sarah, warily, as he held the phone out. "This is Tex, do you want to talk to him?"

Sarah grabbed the phone from his hand. "Yes! Tex! How the hell did you get my number?"

Tex chuckled, "Directory assistance, honey. Luckily, your friend's number isn't unlisted. I wanted to find out how you're doing. Have you been eating?"

Sarah laughed and turned away from Pete's inquisitive look. She leaned against the counter. "Yes, I'm eating, silly! I told you, I'm not anorexic. So, how have you been?" Sarah looked at the clock. "It's only 6:00 there! What are you doing up so early?"

"Ah, well, honestly?" Tex laughed. "I haven't been asleep yet." He reached over and rubbed the rounded cheeks on the ass of the blonde, asleep beside him.

Sarah giggled. "And what have you been doing?"

"You know me, honey. Never say no to a girl." He paused. "Even when she says someone else's name."

Sarah smiled, sadly, as she remembered. "Sorry about that. You know I was messed up that night."

"Yeah, I know. Oh hell, anyway, I just wanted to know if it's true, what I'm hearing about you?"

"I don't know. What have you been hearing?" Sarah asked, cautiously.

"Did you really move in with someone? Already, honey? I didn't even know you were leaving that day. I would have been right there, with my arms open."

Sarah saw Pete moving around the kitchen, making coffee and getting his breakfast, so she went around the corner, into the hall. She slid down the wall and sat on the floor.

"You won't tell Sam that you called me, right?" She asked, her heart pounding.

"No fucking way! If he knew, he'd be pissed, for sure. I'm doing this on my own. I wanted to see how you were doing. I was a little surprised when a guy answered. I didn't believe it when Sam said you had moved in with this other guy. It sounds like maybe you're alright. Are you doing okay with this whole break up thing between you and dick head?"

Sarah spoke thickly, through the tears. "It's tough, you know? How is Sam?"

"I think he's hurting as bad as you. I was with him last night. He was busy drowning his sorrows in whiskey. Alone." Tex could truthfully say this. He told Sarah about how he had gone out, a couple hours ago, to get something from the vending machine and had seen Sam blearily stumbling at his door, trying to get his key in the knob. Tex had unlocked the door for him, then closed it after he saw Sam drop down on his bed and pass out.

"Well, that's good, I guess." Sarah felt relieved.

"He's going to miss you pretty bad when he sobers up. Are you sure you don't want to come back? I'm sure you two could patch things up. He loves you, Sarah. No matter what happened with Gisette."

Sarah closed her eyes when she heard that name. "I can't do it anymore, Tex. I can't tag along with him, like a groupie, just waiting for him to love me. He had his chance, and he blew it."

"I wish I had met you first, honey. I would have held on to you and never let you go." Tex whispered into the phone. "You would know that love every night. I would make sure of that."

Sarah squeezed her eyes shut to stop the tears. "I believe you,Tex. I'm sure you would have."

"Sarah, I didn't call to make you cry. I just wanted to make sure you're doing okay. Can I call again sometime?"

"Yeah, I'd like that." Sarah said softly. "Let me know how Sam is."

"Well, that's not why I would be calling." Tex said dryly. The girl beside him had woken up and was wrapping those lovely lips around him, her tongue slithering around, getting him hard.

"I gotta go, honey." Tex pushed his bed partner away, motioning for her to wait a minute.

"Ok, Tex?" Sarah asked as she heard the female voice in the background. "Take care of him, please?"

Sarah went back into the kitchen and hung up the phone. Pete was leaning against the counter, eating a bowl of cereal. He concentrated on the bowl in his hand as he asked.

"Did Sam put him up to it?"

"No, Tex is my friend. He was just checking to see how I was doing. He was there for me that night......" Sarah paused as she thought about it. "Tex was always nice to me."

Pete raised an eyebrow. "Really."

Sarah laughed and pushed against him. "God, Pete! Get your mind out of the gutter!"

***

Sam was awoken by a burning stinging pain in his left wrist. He lifted it up groggily to look at it then threw his arm down, groaning.

"What the fuck was I thinking!" He said to the empty room. Then he remembered why he had gotten it. It was a permanent reminder to him, to never let his heart get broken again. He lifted it again and looked at it closer.

It was a perfect picture of the broken blue stone, the two halves apart, but held in place by filigree crushed against the the stone, the tip of the filigree that curled around the tip of the heart was bent and broken apart.

The colors were brilliant, the artist had captured it exactly as the original looked. And it was imprinted forever, on his body, blown up to the size of a half dollar.

He went next door to Georgie's as soon as he got dressed. Trish opened the door at his knock, still in one of Georgie's T shirts over her undies. She hopped in the bathroom, saying over her shoulder. "Georgie is down in Gisette's room."

A second later, she came back out with a pair of shorts on under the tee. She giggled, "Sorry about that. I thought it was Georgie at the door. He forgot his key."

Sam chuckled. "That's ok. Will he be back soon?"

Trish bit her lip. "Sam." She began. "Have you seen Gisette at all since you've been back?"

"No, why? Should I?" His voiced raised as he felt fear growing in his gut. "Am I out? She has no fucking right!" He spun on his heel, headed for the door.

"Calm down, asshole! You're losing your temper and it's not doing any good." Trish grabbed his arm and pushed him down on the bed.

"You just fucking sit there and listen to me!" She commanded him. Trish paused then continued. "You are so full of anger. God, I wish you would take that fucking anger out on stage! Take every emotion you have in you and use it! Your brother is down there right now, talking to Gisette. He'd never break up this group, you know that. He also believes in you. You said aren't going to screw up any more performances. He's telling her that right now. But you better get your fucking shit together and prove him right!"

Sam looked down at his hands. "I guess I'm going to owe him big time." He said, quietly.

Trish giggled, softly. "He'll just put it on the tab. I think there's an amount on his tab, too. He told me that you stuck up for me when you caught him with Cherry. I don't think I ever thanked you."

"That's what brothers do I guess." Sam smiled at Trish. "You're like a sister to me."

"Yeah, well, I've been around you and your crazy brother so much." Trish paused and looked at Sam. "Tours are tough. We're finding that out. Being together so much, the schedules we keep are terrible, and our lifestyle is out there. Some people can't handle it. Georgie and I are trying the best we can."

Sam stared into the air. "Sarah would've been able to handle it, if I hadn't treated her so bad. I was an asshole. I know that now." He glanced down at the tattoo. "I will never let that happen again."

Trish noticed the blue on his wrist. "What is this?" She took his arm and turned it over to look at the tattoo on his wrist. "Wow!" She whispered in awe. "That's beautiful."

"I didn't put it there to be beautiful. It's there to remind me to never fall in love again."

Trish looked at him sadly. "Sam, you can't go through life with that attitude. Let it be a lesson, not a reminder. If, no, when, you find a girl that you love as much as you loved Sarah, hang onto her, stay true, and let her know how much you love her, always."

"I don't plan on falling in love again." Sam stared at his wrist.

The heart broken look on his face brought tears to her eyes. she sat beside him and wrapped her arm around his shoulder.

"You will. There is someone out there for you, I know." Trish assured him.

Sam knocked nervously on Gisette's door. Georgie was still in there, and he felt he should come down and be a part of this conversation since it was about him.

Gisette opened her door and let him in, saying nothing as he moved past and sat on the side of her bed. He looked over at Georgie in the chair, and nodded.

Gisette leaned against the dresser, eyeing him warily. "Georgie tells me that you are going to be more committed to the band. Is that true?"

Sam looked at her. It was the first he had seen her since he had come back. She definitely looked better. Her color was back in her face, and the dark circles were gone; she had a more confident air about her.

"I'm back. I will devote 100% of my time to this group. And I promise to give a kick ass show tonight, to prove it."

Georgie grinned at Gisette. "There! See, I told you."

Gisette narrowed her eyes at Sam. "We'll see. I want to see you give your fucking best performance tonight, Sam. No more of this half assed shit that we've been seeing. No more broken phones or damaged things left in hotel rooms. Stop acting like a little boy who isn't getting his way."

Sam gave a wry smile and made a criss cross motion across his chest. "You got it, boss."

Gisette pointed her finger at him, smiling. "I will hold you to that."

"Great! Now that's settled, I'm going back to my lady." Georgie shot up out of the chair. "See ya later!"

After the door closed behind Georgie, Gisette lit a cigarette, studying Sam, closely. "I heard about you and Sarah. I'm sorry."

"I'd rather not talk about it." Sam said.

Gisette poured him a glass of whiskey, from the bottle on her dresser, and handed it to him. "You're in one of the best party cities around. I think you should get out there and party. Just be back in time for our dinner before the show."

"Ah, yes, our family dinners." Sam said, sarcastically.

"We are a family, Sam. It hurts us to see one of our own get slammed. That's what happened to you. You have to get back up, fighting."

Sam drank his whiskey, emptying the glass in one gulp. "Then that's what I think I'll do." He looked around the room. "Why don't you come with me? We can hit the roulette, I had good luck on it last night."

Gisette shook her head. "I have work to do. I'll see you later."