Title: Angels in a Cage: Chapter Twenty-five, Rock and Roll
Rating: PG-13 [language, sexual situations, drugs]

Summary: Chris has to take care of band and wife issues. Alyssa spends some time with David, again.





Waking with a pounding headache, Alyssa softly groaned and rolled over in bed. She covered her eyes with her arm, trying to block out the day. They had only drunk a few beers and shared a cigarette. She should not have felt so poorly, and yet she did. It was enough of a reason to not go to school yet again, not that she had been planning to have Chris drop her off at her high school. She would just lounge around the hotel room until classes were over. Then she supposed she would call David and… and what? She did not know, just felt she needed to call him.

“Aly?” Chris spoke softly. “You awake?”

“Yeah,” she muttered.

“I have to head over to Kim’s for a band meeting. Do you want to come?” he asked.

“Do I have to move?”

He chuckled lightly, “Yes, sweetie, you’d have to move.”

“Then no.”

Chris leaned over and kissed her forehead, “Then you rest. Order anything up to eat that you want, when you want.”

Moving her arm, she looked up into his green eyes, “Thanks, Chris.”

He kissed her mouth sweetly, “I’ll be back… I’m not sure when. If I’ll be gone longer than a few hours, I’ll call the room and let you know.”

After he left the room, Alyssa turned onto her side and grabbed his pillow. Pulling it tightly to her, she fell back asleep, hoping the extra sleep would chase away her slight hangover. She inhaled his scent deeply as she drifted into late morning dreams. A loud ringing woke her seemingly right after she fell asleep. Rolling over, Alyssa reached for the phone, muttering a hello.

“Aly? Are you still in bed?”

“Chris? What time is it?”

“Twelve-thirty. I left almost four hours ago.”

“Oh. I should get out of bed then, I guess.”

He chuckled, “No need. I won’t be back for a few more hours.”

“Oh? Is everything okay?”

There was a long silence, “I’ll tell you about it when I get back.”

“Oh… okay. So see you in a few hours?”

Hanging up the phone a moment later, Alyssa rolled out of the bed and headed into the bathroom. Briefly, considering a bath, she instead turned on the shower and stepped in. Leaving the bathroom wrapped in towels, she sat on the bed and picked up the phone. Though she was hungry, she called David first instead.

Not actually expecting him to answer, she smirked when he did, “Skipping class again?”

“Aly! Where are you? Are you okay? Did you go to school today?”

“I just got up not long ago. I’m fine.”

There was a long pause, “Did you sleep with him last night?”

“Sleep, yes. Fuck, no,” she responded. “Why didn’t you go to school today?”

“There’s no reason to be there without you.”

She flushed slightly, “So does this mean you want to get together for awhile?”

“Lover boy leave you alone?”

“He had work to do. Yes or no?”

“Sure. Where can I pick you up?”



Sitting in the car outside the house, Chris reached into his cigarette pack for another. Kim’s hand plucked the cigarette out of his fingers and shoved it back in the pack. Staring blankly at his friend, the singer sighed and nodded. Wordlessly both men got out of the car and headed up to the front door. He dug out his house key and inserted it into the lock. As his other hand went to the door, Chris attempted to turn the key.

“Fuck,” he muttered. “It doesn’t work.”

“Lemme try,” Kim requested gruffly.

Chris stepped aside, allowing the guitarist access to the door and keys. Attempting the same thing, going as far as to remove the keys and reinsert them, Kim growled obscenities before handing the keys back to Chris. The two men stared at each other for a long moment, trying to decide what to do.

“It’s still technically your house,” Kim pointed out. “Is it breaking and entering if your name is on the deed?”

“I don’t know,” he responded. “But I don’t think that it’s worth it to try.”

“Dude, she has your dogs, your guitars, everything you’ve written,” he stated. “You’re seriously not going to let her get away with this, are you?”

He shook his head, “No. But we’re not going to make this more melodramatic than it already is.”

Kim stared at him without blinking.

“Look, the safer we play this, the better it is for the band. It won’t be long before the separation goes public and the fact we’re looking for new management. We do not need to be adding to that breaking into my house,” Chris said.

“When the fuck did you become so rational?”

“You know the girl I brought to your house?” Chris turned and headed back towards the car.

“Yeahhh,” Kim said cautiously as he followed the singer.

“Well… I think Aly would not think it smart of me to break into the house. And… if we make this breakup more dramatic, reporters are going to sniff around and…”

The guitarist opened the door and got into the car before replying, “Find out that you’ve got extracurricular relationships too?”

“No. I have never cheated on Susan. Ever,” he declared strongly before starting the car.

“You’re not boning that pretty girl?”

“No.”

“You want to, right?”

Chris glanced at his friend, “Fuck yes. But I’m not going to sleep with her just to sleep with her. It’s going to be something special when it happens.”

The guitarist began to laugh a low deep rumbling laugh, “Fuck, Chris.”

“What?”

“How long have you known the girl?”

“A couple of weeks. Why?”

“Fuck, man.”

“What?” he repeated.

“You’re in love with her.”



Sitting on the floor, Alyssa watched as the bowl was passed around. She did not inhale a hit, but passed it along to the guy to her left. Her eyes flicked to David’s, instantly bringing a smile to his face. He shifted over on the couch and leaned over to her. Before she could protest, he kissed her ear. She playfully slapped his cheek, but did not leave either a sting or a print. The other guys teased the two of them for a few moments before something else tickled their stoned minds.

Eventually David’s other friends left, leaving just Alyssa lounging on the couch. After making certain the door was closed, he plopped down on the couch near her head once more. David snatched the TV remote out of her hands, flipped through a couple of stations before turning it off. Alyssa pivoted, looking up at him.

“Chris Cornell is not your boyfriend,” he stated.

Alyssa bit her bottom lip and looked away, “He is.”

“I don’t believe that for a second. He’s like twice your age!”

“Age doesn’t matter.”

David snorted, “Of course it does. Has he met your family? Has he met your father?”

“No, we’re not ready for that.”

“Does he even know that your father prosecutes people like him that prey on little girls?” he pressed.

Alyssa sat up quickly, “Chris is not preying on me.”

“Did you sleep with him last night?”

Her eyes narrowed, “Why does everyone seem to think I fuck anyone with a dick? First, my stepmom thinks I’m sleeping with you and now you think I’m sleeping with Chris. My god. Do I have easy written on my forehead or something?”

“I don’t know where your stepmom got that, except the fact that we do spend a lot of time together. But as for you and Chris? Men like him only get with girls like you for theyoung sex. I mean, come on, that’s what rock and roll is all about. Ever hear of Led Zeppelin?” he retorted.

She snorted, “Chris is not Led Zeppelin.”

“Are you having sex with him?”

“As often as I am with you,” Alyssa proclaimed and got to her feet. “Take me back to the hotel.”

“What? So you can suck his cock?”

Her hand darted out and quickly connected with his cheek, this time leaving a very red mark on his face, “Take it back.”

“No.”

“Take it back,” she growled.

“No.”

“Take it back.”

David stood up, his eyes level with hers, “Make me.”

They held the gaze for a long moment before his arms circled around her, pulling her into a kiss. Alyssa struggled for a moment, before giving into the kiss. Her arms circled around his neck and the two teenagers tumbled backwards onto his couch. David quickly shifted on the couch so that he lay on top of her. Pushing up briefly, he looked down into her eyes, almost as if he was checking that it was okay what they were doing. Alyssa did not protest but did not reach for him either. Taking her silence as agreement, David kissed her again, his right hand groping her breast.

That touch garnered a response from the teen girl. Her hands flattened on his chest and she pushed him off her. She scrambled off the couch, holding the edge of her shirt down.

“Take me back to the hotel.”

“No.”

“Please.”

“No.

“Fine. Take me home.”

David hesitated for a moment, “Okay, fine. But this–”

“Will never happen again.”



Lighting another cigarette, Chris stared at the phone. He had returned to the hotel room an hour before to… nothing. There was absolutely no trace of Alyssa in the room at all. Not her bag, not a forgotten item, and certainly not her beautiful self. There was not even a note left explaining where she was. As the minutes passed without her, he began to believe he had dreamt her presence in his arms the night before, but that was proved wrong by the absence of the beers he recalled she drank. He wondered what he had done for her to leave like she had. He had thought he played everything right, but she was… gone.

Not only that, but he was expecting his lawyer to call back about the small issue of being unable to retrieve his things. He had hoped that Susan was going to be rational about the entire separation, considering she was the one sleeping around on him. Apparently, he had been wrong and would have to fight her not only for his guitars and dogs, but also for his band. It was complete bullshit, but he would remain calm. It was the only way to come out of this in one piece.

But then again, why did it matter if Alyssa wasn’t around?

Fuck, why did he even care what she thought, where she was? She was just a girl who – Kim was right. He had already given his heart to her. It was a dangerous game to play. And yet it did not feel like that at all. It seemed like the most natural relationship he had ever been in – not that he had strings of girlfriends. There was just something different about Alyssa that he could not quite understand. Whatever it was, it was core to his affection of her.

He just wished she had left a note or would call or something.

Though it had crossed his mind a million times in the past hour, that particular time apparently triggered the phone to ring. Chris instantly jumped up, dropping his cigarette into the ashtray, and reached for the phone. He coughed a hello, hoping beyond hope that it was good news.

“Sorry I wasn’t there when you got back,” Alyssa stated.

He sighed and sank into the chair near the phone, “It’s okay. I’m sure it was boring to just sit around by yourself.”

“I probably could have found something to do. But I met a friend for lunch and… I’m sorry, Chris.”

“What? Is something wrong?”

“Um, no, not necessarily. But I can’t come back to the hotel tonight.”

“Why not?”

“With that ass still not caught and being away from home the past few days, my father has gr – asked me to stay home for the next few nights,” she explained. “I work Thursday, Friday, and Saturday evening though. So you could come and see me at work.”

“Maybe I could meet your father and prove to him that you’re safe with me,” he suggested.

“No,” she responded quickly. “I’m not ready for that. We’re not ready for that. A few days break isn’t such a bad thing, Chris. I mean it’s really just two nights until you can see me at work. And it will give you the chance to do band things without worrying about me.”

He sighed, “I guess. We do have to find a new manager this week.”

“Oh? How did the meeting with the band go?”

“Well…”