Page 29 of Take My Hand

Up until recently, we never got onstage without the four of us gathering in a circle, arms around each other, foreheads tucked in and breathing as one. It was our way to center ourselves, get everyone on the same wavelength and foster the connection we all have not only as a band, but as friends. As brothers.

Apparently, that tradition is dead. And every time we skip over it and step out without that connection time, a part of me dies with it.

11

HAYDEN

Standing off in the wings, I settle my bass over my neck and adjust the strap until it sits just the way I like it on my left shoulder. I crack my neck back and forth and then do the same to my knuckles, trying to dispel any negativity from the scene that just happened moments before.

The fans don’t care. They didn’t wait in the sun all day for the four of us to get onstage and give a half-assed performance because we’re fighting. They don’t even know that they are seeing one of the last Whisper Me Nothings shows. None of the people who will attend any of these festival shows do.

A knot forms in my throat at the thought but I push it down. No time for that. Walker stands next to me, bouncing on the balls of his feet with drumsticks in hand.

“Ready?” he asks me.

I nod.

Nikolai walks up, chugging a bottle of water, with Reid trailing behind him, his favorite midnight blue guitar already in place.

A stage hand gives us our cue and Walker leads the charge out onto the stage, earning screams and cheers as the four of us appear. I walk the farthest to the right side of the stage. Nikolai settles behind the microphone in the middle, and Reid on the left side.

I stare out at the crowd in front of us, seeing flags flying in the wind and signs sporadically pop up amongst the faces I can’t fully make out.

Dipping my head, I wait for Walker’s count to be called out before we head into our first song. My lips lift at the roars the first notes earn us from the crowd. It’s a song from our second album and a fan favorite.

We earned our first number one with this and it’s one of my favorites to perform. As we get into the chorus, I pop one of my in-ears out and listen to Nikolai’s voice being drowned out by the crowd singing along.

My fingers strum over the thick strings of my bass, and I allow the beat to sink its teeth into my bones and move my body to the rhythm. The back of my neck tickles with sweat, and my eyes sting due to the blinding sun.

I’m not the only one feeling the weight of this heat because a chorus of high-pitched screams erupt and when I turn my head to see what they’re screaming at, it’s Walker whipping his shirt over his head and tossing it to the side, leaving his torso naked and exposed. He does it all, barely missing a beat.

Laughing, I turn back toward the crowd as Nikolai moves about the stage, interacting with me and Reid as he comes to each of our sides. From the way Reid smiles and sings a line with him, you’d never know that twenty minutes ago, he was at our throats.

It’s almost halfway through our performance when I catch sight of the blonde I’ve been looking for. She’s in front of Nikolai, taking a shot of him while he crouches at the front of the stage, bent over his knees, singing one of our songs that he wrote the lyrics to with just as much passion and reverence as he did when he recorded it.

He sings out the final notes before standing and calling out to the crowd, “How are we feeling tonight?”

They all cheer and yell affirmations back at him.

“We are Whisper Me Nothings. Thank you so much for being here! And in this heat, goddamn.” He shakes his shirt away from his body, trying to get some air circulating. “I’m starting to think you had the right idea, Walker.” He turns and points to him. Walker stands from his stool, arms held open above his head and whoops out a cheer.

The crowd responds with their agreement and never one to be left out of ogling eyes, Nikolai unbuttons the portion of his shirt that held it close and lets it completely fall open.

If I thought the crowd cheered loudly for Walker taking his shirt off, it’s nothing compared to the noise level Nikolai is earning right now. And from the way he turns around and smirks at Walker, he knows it too.

“What do you think? Should Reid and Hayden join in on the fun?” he calls out to them.

Screams of “yes” and “take it off” reach us, but I shake my head. “I wouldn’t want to embarrass you guys,” I say, leaning into my microphone, earning laughter not only from the crowd but I look to find Carter again and her shoulders are shaking as she laughs too.

“I’ll leave you two pretty boys to it,” Reid calls out and the crowd yells back their disappointment to which he just shrugs at them with a crooked smile, winning them over anyway.

Not many have ever resisted him when he pulls out that sideways smile that shows off a dimple in one of his cheeks. It gives him a softness he otherwise lacks.

If only they all saw him in that trailer…

“Then I guess it’s up to the two of us,” Nikolai says to Walker and turns back to the crowd. “I think y’all know this one, so sing it loud!”

Reid cuts in with a riff, fingers flying over his guitar and Walker joins in with a thrumming beat undercutting it. I wait four counts before beginning my bass line and Nikolai follows shortly after, his voice low with sultry lyrics.

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