Sheet Music - A Rock 'n' Roll Love Story

“Sammy!  Wake up!  We’ve got to get out!”

“Annie!  You’re not in a car!  It’s only a dream.  You’re here, in bed, with me.  It’s okay.  You’re safe.”

Gently he shook her.  “Manny, go get me a cold face cloth.”

The elder man quickly disappeared into the bathroom and returned with a cloth drenched in cold water.  The light from the bathroom illuminated the bedroom and the blood on Michael’s face.

When the cold of the cloth hit her forehead, Annie stiffened in his arms.

“Take a breath, babe.  Can you feel the air coming in from the windows?  Relax.  You’re safe now.  It was only a bad dream.”

Annie’s hands reached for her head.  Her shoulders slouched and she began to cry.

“Shall I call her doctor?” Bonita asked.

“No.  I think she’ll be okay now.  At least she’s awake,” Michael answered.

“Do you want a bandage for your face?”

“Why?”

“You’re bleeding,” Bonita answered.

Michael touched his cheek and smeared the blood away.  “No, I’m fine.  I’ll get her back to sleep and see you in the morning.  Okay?”

Bonita and Manny nodded and headed for the door.  “I really wish you’d let me call her doctor,” Bonita said.  “I think he needs to know what’s going on.  This is getting serious.”

“Bonita, I will handle this,” Michael stated firmly.  “And I’m sorry she woke you,” he called from the bed, as the door closed.

“Annie, are you okay now?” he asked, his voice smooth and comforting.

She nodded.

“Do you want to talk about it?”

She violently shook her head.

“It’s okay,” he answered, rocking her back and forth in his arms.  “You don’t have to.

When the sun came up, they were still in the same position, leaning up against the headboard.  A shiver from Annie woke him.  He pressed his face against her neck and kissed the skin.  “Good morning,” he sighed.

She sat forward and turned to look at him.  Then she saw the red mark on his cheek and reached to touch it with her finger.  When she did he smiled.

“Did I do that to you?” she asked.

Michael shrugged. “Yeah, you were having another dream.”

“Oh God!  I’m sorry.  I didn’t mean to hurt you.”

“I know.  It’s all right.”

Her eyes filled with tears.  “The dream was about the accident.”

“I know.”

“I can remember the whole thing now.”

“Do you want to tell me what happened?”

She nodded and pushed the hair from her face.  “Sammy was speeding, showing off,” she said her voice nothing more than a whisper.  “He was showing me how his sports car handled at high speeds.  I told him to stop messing around - begged him, but he wouldn’t listen.  Then an animal bolted from the bushes and ran in front of the car.  Sammy swerved to avoid it and lost control.  I tried to grab the wheel,” she cried.  “I did everything I could, but we were going too fast.  I couldn’t stop the car.”

Michael leaned forward and held her tight.  “It’s okay, Annie.  It’s not your fault.”

“I thought he was sleeping, Michael, but when I turned his head toward me - I just knew he was dead, then I panicked.  I was desperate to get out of that car, but my leg was pinned and the pain was just too much.  I saw his phone and I tried to call you.  I could hardly breathe.  It hurt so much - everything hurt, then my head…I don’t know.  At that point I must have passed out.”

Michael held her in his arms until she stopped crying.  It became a painful nightly cycle; as she relived the horror of that night and also the memory of the accident which killed her family.  All of this deepened her need for medication.

By the end of the second week, Michael’s attention from Annie became distracted by the practice schedule of his band.  At first, the guys had agreed to meet in the music room at Michael’s house, but he was overly cautious of the noise they were making and disturbing Annie.  This caused endless feuds between them.  Brian wanted to turn the amplifiers up and Michael was constantly turning them down.  Finally they voted to move their sessions to their rehearsal studio in a town several miles away.

It didn’t matter to Annie.  With the extra medication floating in her system, she was managing to sleep through almost any amount of racket.  The days she stayed alert, she was plagued with guilt issues over Sammy’s death and the break-up of her band.  In an effort to ease her conscience, she decided to contact Gary and schedule a meeting.  She hadn’t seen him since her stay in the hospital and she hoped they could discuss some of the issues resulting from their disqualification from the contest.  To her surprise, he agreed to visit her at Michael’s house the next day.

“You don’t mind if Gary comes by tomorrow for a visit, do you?”