Straight from the Heart Read Online Free PDF Page A

was one letter. It was the way the syllable rolled off
of his tongue, and…dang I couldn’t keep thinking about him like
this!
    So I sat on the cool cement floor and
watched the guys play through a couple of originals Cale wanted to
perform on tour. I immediately fell in love with each one of the
songs. Most of them had a heavy melody and drum rhythm, while one
was a slower ballad about losing someone you loved. I didn’t tell
him, but that was my favorite song so far. It somewhat reminded me
of losing my parents in a way. I knew some day things may be okay
between us, but I still felt like I lost them.
    “You ready to try them Bryn?” Cale asked,
and I nodded, as he helped me up and handed me an electric guitar,
which I assumed was his.
    “Ready as I’ll ever be,” I replied
playfully, throwing the strap over my shoulder and grabbing a pick
from Cale. I strummed a couple of chords to warm up and tune the
strings. I was ready to play.
    We practiced the ballad a couple of times
through, which were self-explanatory. I think I surprised Cale that
I caught on so quickly. After playing one of the covers we were
planning on doing, “Afterlife,” by Avenged Sevenfold, Raptor’s
phone started to ring.  
    “I’m sorry dudes, I have to take it.” He
said to us, mainly Cale, as he snatched it up and ran outside. Cale
told us to take a quick break and he sat down, drinking some
water.
    “Since I’m a part of the group, can I just
make a suggestion?” I asked him, sitting down mere inches from
him.
    “Of course, B, what is it?” He asked me, and
handed me the bottle of water.
    “I think for ‘Time,’ since it’s a love
ballad and everything, maybe I should sing along with you, to make
it feel more real you know?”
    He looked at me as if I made the best
suggestion ever. “That’s actually pretty fucking brilliant. I
haven’t told you since the audition, but you had an amazing singing
voice. Let’s run through it when the rest of the guys leave and
tweak it.” Wow, he thought I sang well? I always thought I sang at
okay, I mean for the few people that heard me sing when I played
the guitar. But hearing it from him gave those opinions
credibility. “We could be like that one group…isn’t it Skillet?
Lead singer and the drummer?”
    “But instead lead singer and lead
guitarist,” I corrected him, and he winked at me.
    “Why don’t you just sing back up on all of
our stuff Bryn? People dig the two, three part harmonies when it
comes to hard rock,” Cale suggested, and my eyes lit up like the
Fourth of July. We looked over and Raptor was coming back in,
looking completely pissed off. “Don’t mind him. He’s just in a
really messed up relationship with this girl who’s a slutty
groupie.” My eyes opened wide, and I wasn’t going to ask any more
about it..
    “Sorry, that girl is messed up in the head.
Trying to convince me she wants to follow our tour the whole way
through and stay with us.” Raptor ran a hand over his Mohawk and
the guys started cracking up.
    “You say that now, man, but come first show
and she’s up in the front row showing off her tits you’ll be all
over that shit!” Vince teased him and Raptor gave him the finger.
“If you don’t do her, I will.”
    “Shut up Vince, let’s get back to practice.”
Raptor pushed Vince and Vince went back to tuning up his guitar for
the next song. 
    Cale readjusted my mic-stand for me as he
told everyone what song we needed to work on. We transitioned into
“Away from You,” which was one of the heavier songs I heard them
practice. Cale told me about the small solo I had in the middle of
the song, and I was a little nervous, especially handling an
electric guitar when I was used to playing my acoustic. But my
fingers hit the notes like expected, and when he landed his high
note leading into the guitar solo I was more than ready to prove I
belonged in this band. I loosened up, my body swaying from side to
side, running over in my mind