The I-5 seemed to stretch for miles into the distance over a sinking California sun. Perhaps that was because it did stretch for miles. It was the California Turnpike after all. The highway ran from Tijuana Mexico all the way through Oregon as far as Steven could remember.
This drive was a calm before the storm he knew he'd hit once he reached his hometown. Time spent on the road was Steve's chance to get away from his fucked up life for a while. Driving alone on the interstate with nothing but the hum of the road and the sweet sounds of his CD player was the best way he knew how to relieve stress, save maybe doing some of those recreational drugs that got him into this big mistake of a life to begin with.
Traveling back to Los Ojos was just under a three hour drive and it gave him a long time to be alone and think. Thinking was good sometimes, it cleared his mind... or so he thought.
Los Ojos Township was rarely ever mentioned in the news. It never received any recognition beyond maybe a few charity events held for the local church. The only thing good to ever come out of Los Ojos, and all of Redeemer County for that matter, was this little rock band. This little band that played these pretty little songs that people in the music industry seemed to like. Luckily for Steven, he was the lead singer. Unfortunately for Steven, he was the lead singer.
About two hours into his drive, after he'd sang through his favorite CD twice and the drone of the road was making him groggy, Steven began to reflect on the past two years of his life.
He'd been the lead singer in the band Red Summer Sun and they were lucky enough to be offered a record deal from multiple labels after their wildly successful opening for a big rock band playing in San Francisco. The trouble with new money was the change it brought along.
It wasn't the typical rock and roll story where the band began to party too much, have casual sex, and get high on cocaine and pot. It wasn't that at all… they'd already been doing that well before they got signed. No, the problem wasn't a change of lifestyle; it was the girl Steven had fallen for before anything had happened.
Her name was Madison Daniels. Steve's infatuation began with her when they met at one of his shows on the local club scene just outside the town four years before the band got signed. She wasn't even there to see his band. Rather, she was there because her boyfriend was playing in the punk band The Punx who was playing with Steve's band that night.
He remembered hating The Punx while they played and being a real weasel and telling them how good they were after the show so he could talk to this amazing girl who seemed to be hanging with the band.
After they'd met they didn't talk for months. If it hadn't been for Steve's band playing so frequently he would have never seen her again. But, after seeing each other so often at local venues they became close friends, to the point where they talked about their relationships and they're sex lives. Interestingly enough, the only sex life Steve ever dreamed of having was one that involved Madison, but he could never tell her that, even though he told pretty much everything else. Thinking about all this made him chuckle when he realized how far he'd driven while reminiscing. The time seemed to have stood still. But, sadly it hadn't, and he was only ten minutes from Madison's house.
He knew he shouldn't be there, but he couldn't help himself. It's not as if she would know he was there or not... he just wanted to see her before he stopped around town to see old friends and family. Although, an old friend was probably what he'd become at this point anyway.
Taking care to shut his car door quietly, Steven nearly tiptoed out of the car to the back door of Madison's one level home.
Incidentally he remembered the rusty hinge on the screen door so he opened it just slightly so he could squeeze in and slip inside unheard.
As the door swung open lazily he could hear the soft patter of water hitting the floor in the shower. The bathroom door stood ajar as he saw a shapely figure slip through the doorway with an almost angelic calmness. The door stayed open as he crept down all six feet of the hallway. When he came to the door he first looked to the clear glass shower door he remembered buying with Madison when they went to the hardware store. He remembered talking her into buying a clear shower with the logic that they need not have a shower curtain if they were living together, and they planned to live together forever so what was the difference?
