Page 28 of Take My Hand

Reid snorts, and Walker whips his head in that direction. “What?”

“Nothing.” Reid shakes his head with a humorless smile.

“No, fucking say something if you want to say it.”

“It’s not worth it.”

Walker closes the gap between the two of them, invading his space, but Reid holds his ground.

I stand and lay a hand on Walker’s chest, Nikolai doing the same to Reid. But honestly, if these two want to go at each other again, we won’t be able to stop them. Walker is the strongest out of the group, spending most of his gym time weightlifting and his arms are built from years of playing the drums.

And although I’m not short at six feet, Reid has a good four inches on me and two on Nikolai. We can try, but if they’re determined to get into it again, there’s not much we can do.

“What’s not worth it? Ten years of friendship? This band? This career? Fuck you.”

“Don’t play the victim here like you don’t have just as much of a hand in this breakup as I do. You’re the one who called it quits!” Reid yells back, but there is a sense of peace that has washed over his face. Like he’s comforted by the conflict, fueled by the anger. Almost like he wanted to bait Walker into a fight, wanted his rage.

And he got it.

“I called it because you went behind my back and spewed bullshit to the press about my fucking girlfriend’s personal life!”

“I told you I was trying to protect you.”

“Bullshit.” Walker seethes.

“And now look at where we all are. Because of her.”

“Jesus Christ! What did she do to make you hate her so much? What did I do to have you turn your back on me? On all of us? I was your fucking brother.” Walker reaches out and fists Reid’s shirt, and Nikolai goes to step between them.

“Walker,” he whispers.

“No,” Reid says, putting a hand on Nikolai’s shoulder and moving him out of the way. “It’s fine. You know how I sleep at night? Just fine. Because at the end of the day, I know I wasn’t the first one to turn my back on you.”

Walker rears back like he slapped him.

Reid then turns his cold eyes to me, boring into my own as he says to me, “And you too.”

With that, he shakes out his shirt and exits the room, letting the door slam shut.

What the hell did that mean? I never turned my back on him. My mind races, trying to recall anything that might fit what he’s talking about.

The tension with Reid started almost immediately when we started touring again at the start of the year. Over the year-long break, I didn’t talk to him much, but to be fair, I didn’t really talk to anyone. So when we were locked on a tour bus together again for months, I thought maybe it would just be an adjustment period for everyone to get used to being around each other all the time again.

Reid kept to himself right off the bat. He was moody, but he’s always been that way. It wasn’t until we started studio sessions to write the fifth album that things seemed to escalate. He was combative and critical, especially when it came to me. He clearly has a lot of resentment toward us, but refuses to let the rest of us in on it.

And his parting words confirm my suspicions. He feels wronged by me. And Walker too.

But besides a few jabs at my bass playing taking a hit while we were on break and anger toward me for needing to take a break, he hasn’t said anything else.

There just has to be a bigger issue.

“What is his problem?” Walker looks back and forth between me and Nikolai, shaking his head. “Can you guys believe that?”

“No, don’t start that.” Nikolai backs up a few steps, running a hand through his hair. “Don’t keep putting me and Hayden in the middle of this. I love you both and I’m not going to sit here and let you shit on him just for me to walk over to him and hear him do the same. I’m done with it.” He storms off, leaving us.

Walker tips his head back in exasperation, before going over to the table and swiping a hand across the surface, sending the ice bucket and a few bottles crashing to the floor.

“Well, I guess no pre-show huddle, huh?” I say, trying to make light of the shitty situation.

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