The party for Midnight Steel was still in full swing several hours later. Laz had managed to entertain himself longer than he anticipated, but during this whole evening, he found that he just could never completely relax. 

After attempting to socialize around the suite a bit, he exiled himself to a back corner. Laz grimaced as he saw Crystal return to the room with a disheveled, but smiling member of the band that opened for them. “And she remains a cheap tramp,” he said to himself, thankful that he was rid of her. 

“Maybe it’s time go,” he started to think. He was back to being completely bored again. The scotch was making him more impatient and less tolerant of these people than usual. He laughed at himself when he realized the craziness, the noise, and the women here were no longer to his liking. “When the bloody hell did I get so boring?”

But instead of leaving, he walked over to the bar and started to pour himself another glass. In the middle of his pour, he felt someone bump into him, causing him to splash the Glenlivet on the bar.

“Bloody hell! Watch where you’re going!” he growled turning to the clumsy individual.

“Oh wipe that damned scowl off your face, mate! You’ll scare all the pretty birds away.”

Laz looked up and saw Ethan grinning from ear to ear.

“That’s the point!”

“When did you get so bloody weird on me, Laz!” Ethan laughed.  “Well, it’s over, and we did it, Mate! We just finished the hottest fuckin’ tour on the face of the earth!”

“Thank God for that,” Laz said raising his glass in a silent toast.

“So you ever gonna tell me, what’s the hell’s going on with you?” Ethan took a purposeful sip of his beer to give Laz a moment.

“What do you mean, Ethan? I'm all right.” Laz put a quick smile on his face, but that didn’t convince his friend.

“Don’t bullshit me Laz, I’ve known you too bloody long. You’ve been an unsociable mean son of a bitch lately, and actually, it’s been more like months. You’re snapping at everyone and everything, drinking too much and just being a fucking wanker at times. You’ve always been moody, but not like this man. I’ve waited long enough for you to come out it, so since you haven’t, we’re gonna deal with this now.”

Laz could see that Ethan was serious and it was rare for him to confront him like this, but still, he tried to play it off as nothing. “Ethan, I’m fine. See, I’m here at this party enjoying myself. There’s nothing to worry about.”

“Enjoying yourself? Yeah right, dude. That pissed off sneer you’ve had on your face all night was just my imagination, right?” Ethan’s sarcastic tone was not lost on Laz. “You’ve spent more time in this corner alone, than out in the crowd. So what gives?”

“Well, I’ve been practicing being aloof. Makes me look mysterious.” Laz tried to hide his grin.

“Mysterious my arse! Stop kidding, Laz, I’m really worried about you. Tell me, should I be?” Ethan touched Laz on the arm in a show of concern.

“It’s been a long tour, Eth. I’m tired. Just really tired and I’m just anxious to get home…home to London. Aren’t you ready to go back?” Fatigue and frustration showed in Laz’s soulful blue eyes.

“Yeah, I am. And we’ll be going home tomorrow night, but the pressure is off us. No more hotel rooms, no more stress from the label, and no more of Stephen waking us up at some ungodly hour to travel to the next city. It’s done Laz. And we did it brilliantly!”  Ethan flashed his world famous smile to his best friend.

Laz looked at Ethan and knitted his brows.  “We sold out most of our gigs, right?”

“See I knew you had your head up your arse! We sold out all of the gigs, Laz! Every damn one of them!”

“That should shut the bleeding label up!” Laz said in contempt. His eyes searched for the “suits” in the room and narrowed in disgust when he found them.

“The label is happy, the fans are happy, and most importantly our bank accounts are happy. So Laz, you need to be happy, okay?’

“I am or will be soon, just looking forward to being back in London. Okay? But there is one thing I’m concerned about. Take a look over there.” Laz pointed over across the room to the threesome on the sofa. “He’s doing coke again, Eth.”

“Damn! I was hoping I was reading the signs wrong, but there’s the proof.” On the table in front of Davey were several lines of coke and a straw. There was still the faint residue of already used lines on the table. “We’ll have to keep an eye on him, which will be much harder now that the tour is over. Shit, that’s not good news!”

Laz readily agreed. “Maybe Tony will be able to get through to him, he’s done it in the past.”

“I hope he can. If Davey didn’t have him as such a good friend, he’d probably be dead from the booze and the drugs by now. We’re lucky that he kept it under control for this long.” Ethan knew that would have sounded a bit cold-hearted to anyone but Laz. It was the truth, though.

Unable to control himself, Laz started to really laugh for the first time tonight. “Damn Ethan, that chick is working a dead horse, but look at her trying!”

Ethan just shook his head. They were watching this woman going down on Davey who was still sitting in his drug and booze induced haze. His pants were wide open, and he was exposed to everyone in the room, but he was too out of it to tell her to stop.

“Gotta love rock and roll,” Laz chuckled. He ran his fingers through his hair as he glanced around the suite. Surfaces were filled with bottles, glasses and carelessly discarded food, while the guests were all in one state of intoxication or another. Just another typical Midnight Steel party.

“Amen to that, Laz.” Ethan finished off his beer and grabbed for another from the cooler next to the bar. “So, I saw that Crystal tried to get you into her bed again.”

“Damn, that…that bitch just won’t take ‘no’ for an answer! She made me lay it on the line to her. I told her that I didn’t want her anymore. I didn’t mean to be so blunt, but when she had the nerve to grab my crotch, I had enough,” Laz sighed in frustration. “Eth, I found out that she was hanging around Remi a few months back. And that just brings back too many bad memories. I wouldn’t go near her now if my life depended on it. “

“The ghost of Caroline has returned,” Ethan mumbled under his breath.

“I heard that Eth. Do not mention her. Ever!” Laz growled.

“You gotta get over her, man. You really have to. But staying away from tramps like Crystal is a good start.”

“That chick is history.” Laz chuckled as he recalled his words. “I think I called her overused and a cheap fuck. Hmm, I may have also used the word whore at some point.”

“No wonder she tried to slap you,” Ethan snickered at his friend.

“Damn, do you miss anything?” Laz rolled his eyes at his friend.

“No way! Ethan knows all and sees all!” Both men laughed together, feeling the camaraderie they’ve had for years. “Anyway mate, we go home when tomorrow…or is it the day after? I can’t keep track of days anymore, but I know it’s soon! So in the meantime, we got booze, we have women, and I’m ready to party all night long. Tomorrow I will think about tomorrow, and about going home. Right now, I want my best mate to enjoy himself and quit being such a boring wanker!”

Ethan’s enthusiasm never failed to make Laz smile. “Oh my god, that red head that just walked in the door is in desperate need of…me. Later, mate!” And he was off in hot pursuit of what he hoped would be his nightly entertainment, leaving Laz chuckling.

Typical Ethan.

He smirked as he watched his friend work the red head. Ethan’s dark head leaned in close to his target and Laz could imagine the lines Ethan was feeding her. And from the look on her face, she was falling for every single one of them.

Since Ethan was busy, Laz looked around the room. It seemed that everyone was occupied talking, laughing, drinking, and just having a great time. He knew this wasn’t the place for him anymore. He had put in his time, and now he was ready to go.

He finished his drink with several quick gulps and placed the glass on the cluttered bar before turning to leave. Nonchalantly he made his way to the door and left as quietly as he had arrived.

It only took a few minutes to make his way back to his floor and his own room. Thankfully, he did not run into any fans in the hallways. This was the bonus of staying in a five-star hotel. They did really well with the security for their VIP guests.

Laz used his key card to get into the room. He carelessly flicked on the lights as the door slammed behind him. He was finally alone.

Slowly he wandered over to the bed. The quality of the room was lost on him. He had been in hundreds of hotel rooms over the years, and they all ended up feeling the same.  The same furniture, the same colors, the same starkness and they all held the same loneliness. Five star, four star or three star hotels all seemed the same to him after all these years.

He sat down on the blue bedspread and removed his boots. Then he stretched out his sinewy frame and clicked on the television.

After twenty minutes of channel surfing, Laz could not find anything to hold his interest. He was lying on the bed with the backs of his interlocked fingers on his forehead. He sighed deeply in boredom.

“What am I going to do?” he asked himself out loud. “I certainly don’t want to go back to the party, the telly has nothing on at this late hour, and I’m not tired enough to sleep. Damn it, this sucks!”

Laz popped off the bed to pace around the room. The thick beige carpet muffled his impatient footsteps. He was filled with conflicting emotions. On the one hand, he would have loved some female companionship, but it wasn’t a one-night stand he wanted. Then again, he certainly didn’t want to get involved with anyone. “Now, that makes no sense at all!” he thought to himself. ”I don’t want a cheap lay, then again I wouldn’t go near a relationship. What the hell is left? Being bloody confused, that’s for sure!”

In frustration, he dropped down on the sofa. “God, I don’t want to be here!” he shouted to the empty room. “Then why am I?” he asked himself. “Why be here?” 

“That’s it!” he said jumping to his feet. “If I don’t want to be here, then I’m getting out of here!”

Before he could change his mind, he picked up the phone and called the front desk. He requested the impossible, but the loyal staff was able to pull it off. A luxury rental car was reserved and would be delivered to the hotel shortly even though it was the middle of the night.

Once Laz received the call that the rental car was indeed going to be a reality for him, he started to pack. The minute the Mercedes Benz 500 series was brought to the main door, Laz was on his way down the elevator. He had thought about leaving left a brief message for Ethan telling him he was leaving and not to worry, but in his hurry to get away, he forgot.

Laz placed his two bags along with his carry-on in the car's trunk along with his favorite acoustic guitar. He thanked the rental agency’s delivery man with a hundred-dollar bill and then slid into the leather driver’s seat of the expensive black car. Then Laz was off into the dark night, without any real destination in mind.

A few hours later, he was wondering if this was such a good idea after all. He had totally forgotten that he left the only major city in the area, in fact, he didn’t know much of where he was at all. All Laz knew was that he had crossed the Canadian/US border a little earlier on. Except now he was driving on and on down a very dark highway, and he was not coming to anything that resembled a city or large town at all.

Basically, he was lost.

“Oh fuckin’ great,” he sighed as he realized that the spots in his headlights were snowflakes. “This is just going to be just fucking great if this continues.” Laz started to realize that his rash decision to leave the hotel was not the smartest thing he had ever done.

Then again dreaming of being in a famous rock and roll band as a kid seemed pretty crazy too, but that had worked out.  Even though he should have been focusing on his driving, Laz let his concentration drift back to when he was a snot-nosed kid hanging around the streets of London with his best mate Ethan.

They had both grown up in the Tottenham section of London. Their families were quite poor, with both sets of parents working many long hours to keep the roofs over their respective heads. The boys had found themselves on their own more times than not, learning about life on the streets of one of London’s roughest neighborhoods.

They learned to take each other’s back in a fight, lost their virginity with two sisters at fourteen, and they also discovered music together. Laz remembered that they had always dreamed about getting out of that neighborhood for years, all they had to do was to find a way to do it.

As young teenagers, they would go to Ethan’s and watch music videos and Top of The Pops. Ethan was gifted with an incredible voice, even at his young age, he could sing almost any song out there. He had decided that his voice was going to be his ticket out of there, but he wasn’t going anyplace without his best friend, Laz.

Meanwhile, as Ethan learned the lyrics to all their favorite rock songs, Laz had watched the guitarists. He memorized their fingers, their style, and their moves on stage.  He absorbed absolutely everything that he saw, but he just had no outlet for it.

Shaking his head, he brought himself back to the present. The snow was starting to stick to the road now, so Laz slowed his car down. He certainly had no experience driving in weather like this, and he was really starting to get nervous. On top of it all, he was starting to get exceedingly tired, so he knew that he had better find a place to spend the rest of the night. The problem was he hadn’t seen any type of town in a long time, so he drove on and the past filtered back again. 

When he was fifteen, Laz had endlessly begged his overworked parents for a guitar. He nagged them day and night, driving them both crazy. That year on Christmas morning, he found a used acoustic guitar under the tree for him. His complete surprise and subsequent excitement brought tears to their tired, overworked eyes. Thinking about their sacrifice could still bring him to tears. He wiped his eyes clear as he continued to drive and reminisce.

He remembered he sat with it cradled in his lap. For a long time, he had just looked at it, afraid to touch the strings. Afraid that it would reject him and the music would not come. Finally, he placed his fingers as he had watched his rock and roll heroes do. After taking a deep nervous breath, he gently strummed. That one chord, that one time, filled his soul with magic. It had changed him forever.

Then day after day, he taught himself to play. He listened to the radio and played along with it until he got the songs right. His ear for the music was uncanny and infallible. By the time he was seventeen, he played wild, he played perfectly, and he played as if he was possessed by the devil.

By now, he and Ethan had teamed up with Davey and Tony. The four boys were neighborhood friends with a shared love of music. They found that they played well together and practiced every chance they got. Then they hit the pub circuit and eventually they met up with Quincy. The rest was rock and roll history.

Laz always smiled when he thought about his old friend. And he hoped he was watching over him as he drove. Laz knew that he needed all the help he could get right now. He slowed down finally coming up to an exit. He had no choice but to get off this main highway and find a place to stop.

But this country road was now narrower, darker and only two lanes. As Laz drove slowly onward, he realized that the snow was thick on the pavement and he could feel it crunching under the tires. Still, he drove on praying to find a town, a motel or even a house to stop at, but he saw nothing.

Even though it was cold, his hands had begun to sweat as he gripped the steering wheel with all his might. The seriousness of his situation slammed into him, and his heart started to pound in his chest.

The Mercedes was sliding on the slick surface, and Laz’s inexperience with driving in the snow did not help either. This was the first time in his life he was truly scared.

All of a sudden he came upon a sharp curve in the road which startled him. Abruptly the wind had picked up at the same time, forcing the thickly falling snow to be aimed directly at the car making it impossible for him to see. In his confusion, Laz mixed up the brake with the gas, so instead of slowing the car down, it sped up considerably.

The Mercedes slid out of control as it hit the far side of the curve and it flew off the road. Laz was completely filled with panic as he desperately tried to regain control of the car. He saw the trees rapidly approaching and knew the car was going to hit them. His last conscious thought was “I don’t want to die,” as the car slammed head-on into a tree.