The Mixtape

With the loss of Alex, the world didn’t simply lose a talented musician. It lost a great advocate for human rights. From his voice in the Black community, to being on the front line of marches for equality, Alex Smith did a lot of good for this world. He is definitely gone too soon.

Twitter Trending Hashtag

#RIPAlexSmith

ShannonE: That awkward moment when the wrong Smith brother is killed. #RIPAlexSmith

HeavyLifter: Oliver is nothing but a fucking loser. If he didn’t have Alex leave early, he’d still be alive. His death is on Oliver’s hands. RIP to the best guitarist this world has ever seen. #RIPAlexSmith #FuckYouOliverSmith

BlackJazz4235: Who the fuck is Alex & Oliver? Sounds like an emo band who cries in their mother’s basement #RIPAlexSmith #BullshitMusic

UptownGirlz: How is it only January 6th and one of my idols is already dead? Fuck you, new year. I want a restart. #RIPAlexSmith

UntitledSoul: And this is why you say no to drugs, kids. Fucking addicts. #RIPAlexSmith

The Fate of Oliver Smith Is at Risk

By Eric Hunter

It has been six months since the passing of Alex Smith, one half of the powerful duo Alex & Oliver, and time has not been kind to Oliver Smith. We saw how his stay at a mental health clinic was tainted by the paparazzi and jaded employees who exposed Oliver’s treatments, which led to him leaving the facility before getting the help he probably needed. Since then, he has been a recluse, hardly ever leaving his home. An insider says he’s on the verge of a mental breakdown.

Many fans were hoping to see Oliver come around and bounce back from the tragic loss, yet as time passes, we might as well pack up our hopes, kids.

It seems that Oliver is hanging up his guitar strap for good. Besides, let’s be honest. Who wants an Oliver without an Alex?

1

OLIVER

Present Day

I woke up lying beside a woman I loved yet didn’t like very much anymore. It wasn’t always like that. There was a time in my life when Cam Jones wowed me. We inspired one another. We had deep, meaningful conversations. I adored her. I even thought that someday she’d be my wife. Over time, though, she was becoming more and more of a stranger to me.

Days after Alex passed away, rumors began to circulate that Cam had been cheating on me, yet she swore they weren’t true. That was the exact reason I never wanted our relationship to be publicized, because when the vultures got their claws in your life, they weren’t going to let go until they ripped you apart.

After she told me the rumors weren’t true, I didn’t dig deeper. It was the paparazzi’s job to spread lies. Besides, my mind wasn’t in a good place. My soul couldn’t even face the idea of having a fallout with Cam, because I needed her. Cam was there most evenings to lie beside me, and maybe I was a little bitch for needing that, but I hated the idea of being alone.

My thoughts were too heavy for loneliness.

Cam yawned beside me and stretched her arms out, smacking me in the face. I groaned from the movement and turned my back toward her chilled fingertips. It amazed me how someone could be so cold, even though they were wrapped in a million blankets.

As I shifted to my left, Cam yanked the comforter to the right, pulling it from me and wrapping herself into it. I grumbled to myself a bit and moved to sit up on the edge of my California king–size bed as my hands massaged my temples. Leaning forward to stand, I paused as the world began spinning faster and faster behind my eyes.

Coffee.

I needed coffee and about fifteen more years of sleep. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d had a good night’s sleep, outside of blacking out. I couldn’t sleep while I was sober; my thoughts were too loud.

“Rise and shine, princess,” a voice chirped, making me tilt my head up a bit in the direction of my bedroom door. My left eye slightly opened as the figure in front of me slowly came into focus.

Tyler stood there with a cup of coffee and a bottle of ibuprofen. Thank God for him and his ability to know what I needed before I even stated the fact. Tyler was a short, bald guy in his late thirties who was built like a superhero. He had a thick Bronx accent that he didn’t leave behind in New York when he moved to the West Coast.

He always dressed in the best designer outfits and ruined his look with the worst set of sunglasses in the world. Honestly, they looked like something someone from the seventies would wear. I was almost certain I saw the same set of glasses on reruns of Welcome Back, Kotter that I used to watch with my dad. If Tyler was a dog, he’d be a mix of a Chihuahua and a pit bull. Built strong with a hell of a lot of bark, and a look that was all kinds of ridiculous. Somehow, it worked for him.