Page 2 of Wish We Were There

Taylor’s eyes softened as he nodded. “I think it was love at first sight for me. Parker introduced us, we played a few songs together, and the rest is history.”

“A lot of history there,” Parker murmured. Taylor nodded, and Parker continued, “But we’ve still been friends since then. Although, once Get Well Soon started really blowing up, we didn’t see each other nearly as much, understandably. Zach was charismatic, but he was also an amazing singer and was super dedicated to the band and its success. What was that like for you? Did you think from the beginning that the band you guys had together would make it this far?”

Taylor laughed. “You know, I didn’t really think so… But Zach? He always believed one hundred percent that the band was gonna make it big. When we were younger, a lot of people thought he was too idealistic and didn’t understand what the real world was like, but I think he always knew. He just knew that he was dedicated enough to make it happen. And when he decided he was in something for the long haul, that was it—yeah, he knew right away.”

“Like with you,” Parker said, and Taylor’s fond smile faltered.

“Yeah,” he replied. “Like with us. I think a lot of people thought that would be another thing that would keep the band from being successful—that Zach wanted to make this kind of music as an openly gay man, and openly married too. I think a lot of people would expect him to either play up the hot, single gay guy kind of persona, or be totally closeted until he became successful; but Zach was always super authentic, no matter where he was or what he was doing. He wanted to be the next, you know, My Chem, or Fall Out Boy, or whatever, and he knew he wanted to be completely out as himself. He didn’t see it as two separate things he had to choose between.”

“I mean, it took a long time to see that kind of success, didn’t it?” Parker asked. “Did he have that conviction the entire time? Get Well Soon has been a band for almost a decade, but it’s only been the past two or three years that you guys really blew up.”

Taylor nodded. “Honestly, I really think he believed it would happen the whole time. That’s what kept him going, even when we were only making money by touring and barely breaking even. I tried to talk to him about me getting a part-time job separate from the band a bunch of times, but he never wanted me to make the jump. But it also meant he was ready to keep hustling when things finally started looking up. So when Wish We Were There blew up on TikTok, he understood how to keep the momentum going. And here we are. Big sold-out summer tour in all these stadiums and bigger venues than we’ve ever played in...”

He trailed off with a sigh. “So much for that, I guess.”

“You were about halfway through the summer tour when the accident happened,” Parker said softly. “How much of that day do you remember?”

“I remember all of it,” Taylor said, his voice taking on a cooler tone, as if he were steeling himself to face what came next. “I was still awake when the bus crashed. I was in my bunk, and Zach and Angie were sitting up front chatting with Bobby, our driver, and...”

He trailed off, looking down at the mic silently for a long moment. Parker winced—Taylor had seemed so sure he’d wanted to do this, but from the start, Parker had only been worried about him. It had been three months, but wasn’t that still too soon? It didn’t seem so long ago. He couldn’t imagine being ready to talk about something like this after just three months, but Taylor had been insistent. Now, though, he looked just as uncertain as Parker felt.

“Take your time,” Parker said softly. Taylor blinked, giving a slight start as if he’d forgotten Parker was there entirely, then he nodded.

“The bus fell onto its side, which is how I got knocked out of my bunk and broke my wrist,” he said, holding up his arm, still in a cast. “Angie broke her foot, but our driver Bobby and Dean and Kylie only got a little scraped up. And Zach...”

Taylor sucked in a shuddering breath, looking away.

“Zach, he... Fuck,” he hissed, rubbing his face with his one good hand. “Sorry, can we take a break?”

“Yeah, yeah,” Parker agreed quickly, reaching for his laptop to pause the recording. “Do you need anything? Can I help?”

“I just—I need a minute,” Taylor replied as he stood up abruptly. Without saying anything else, he hurried out of the room, leaving Parker in his office.

He sat there alone for a moment, mind racing. Taylor was his friend, but he had no idea what he was supposed to do or how to help. His husband was dead, and Parker knew that if he had been in Taylor’s place, there was nothing anyone could say to him that might make him feel even remotely better.

It didn’t help that his heart still skipped a beat every time he looked at Taylor. A decade ago, it had been his biggest regret in life that he hadn’t asked Taylor out before introducing him to Zach. He’d long ago made his peace with it, but the crush he’d had from the first time they’d met had never fully gone away. Parker had never said anything, and he never would, but it only made the situation feel even more fucked up than it already was.

Parker stared at the far wall of his studio for a long moment, eyes scanning the myriad tour posters and mounted album covers. Should he try to comfort Taylor? Or would it be better to leave him alone and give him space?

Finally, Parker sighed and stepped out of his office. His apartment was comfortable but far from spacious, so he found Taylor again quickly; the other man had gone out onto the balcony, his back turned to Parker in the living room. Parker watched him for a moment, still unsure of what to do, as Taylor stood motionless staring out at the San Diego skyline.

He pulled himself together, grabbed two cans of sparkling water from his fridge, and opened the glass door to the balcony. Taylor turned to face him, his eyes red-rimmed, but a faint, resolute smile on his features.

“Sorry,” Taylor repeated. “I really thought I could do this, but... I don’t know.”

“Don’t apologize,” Parker interjected, handing him the sparkling water. Taylor took it without question. “We can skip it. Or we can take a break if you want. It’s your call.”

Taylor didn’t respond right away, looking down pensively at the beverage he held.

“Hey,” Parker said softly. Before he could think better of it, he reached out to grab Taylor’s hand. His hand hovered uncertainly above Taylor’s wrist for just a moment, then he gently placed his palm on Taylor’s forearm, the hard material of his cast cool and scratchy against Parker’s open palm. Taylor didn’t pull away. His blue eyes flickered up to meet Parker’s concerned gaze, then back down to where Parker was touching him. “We’ll take things at your pace, okay? It’s alright if you don’t want to do this after all. I have other interviews saved I could do for this episode instead. Everyone would understand if you decide you aren’t ready to talk about it yet.”

Somehow, Taylor’s expression only became more pained, but after a beat, he managed a watery smile in response.

“I really wanted to talk about it, you know?” he finally said, his voice coming out scratchy. “It really felt like I was ready. Like I might explode without being able to talk about it. But now... I don’t know. Actually talking about it feels so different from thinking about talking about it. About him. And the band, and everything... It all just fucking sucks, you know?”

Despite himself, Parker stifled a bark of a laugh. Taylor let out a small chuckle, too.

“Yeah,” Parker agreed. “It really sucks.”

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