Page 22 of Wish We Were There

“Oh,” Parker said, surprised. That was one of the last things he’d expected from Jason—but Get Well Soon was a pretty big name now, even for someone who wasn’t on social media at all. “Uh, yeah. I know them.”

“God, what a shame,” Jason sighed, shaking his head. “How’s everyone doing? Do you know what they plan to do with Zach gone?”

Parker grimaced, unsure of how much he should say. But Jason seemed, if not trustworthy, at least so absent from the media that there was little risk of anything he said now making it to a wider audience.

“I only know a bit,” he said carefully. “I’m, uh, mostly friends with Taylor. He’s, well… he’s doing okay, all things considered. Trying to move on. But, since we’re off the record... There’s probably never going to be any more music from Get Well Soon, at least not the way it is now.”

Jason rubbed one hand over his beard, his eyes tightening in a pained expression. “That’s unfortunate to hear. Their stuff was getting better and better. But I can totally understand that. It would never really be the same, anyway.”

“Yeah,” Parker agreed awkwardly, unsure of what else to say. Jason’s hand lingered over his beard; a brighter tattoo on his wrist caught Parker’s eye, the crisp lines and bright colors indicative of it being relatively new. It took a moment to recognize it: a braided cord bracelet tattooed over his wrist, bright red with the dangling ends creeping up the back of Jason’s hand, blending with another tattoo that was several years older and less distinct.

It instantly brought to mind a lyric from the Astral Complex, Sterling’s band—the realization made heat rush into Parker’s face, and he glanced away before Jason could notice him staring. He could only half-remember the line, something about being wrapped up in red thread—he’d have to listen to the song on the drive home.

“Well, I’m glad to hear Taylor’s doing alright, at least,” Jason finally said, shaking Parker from his thoughts. “We met a couple of times in festival circuits mostly. He was always nice when I saw him, though. Sweet guy. Is he like that in real life?”

Parker laughed. “Yeah, he’s great. Super sweet.” He flushed, hoping Jason wouldn’t notice the color rising in his face. They lapsed into silence for a long, awkward moment.

“Sorry, I don’t mean to overstep—” Jason started, and Parker shook his head quickly.

“You’re not,” he blurted out. “We’re not—it’s not like that. Between us. We’re friends.”

To his surprise, Jason laughed. “Well, that’s not really what I meant. But, you know, if you have to say it…”

Parker was about to burst into flames. Part of him couldn’t even understand what Jason was trying to say to him, and the rest of him was hoping he’d fall into a pit to the center of the earth to avoid having this conversation.

Luckily, the door down the hall clicked open before he could think of anything to say in response. He didn’t think he would ever have been so grateful to see Lyssa as she reappeared in the doorway, looking down at her phone still with a slightly annoyed expression.

“Sorry about that,” she said, clearly oblivious to the awkward silence she’d walked into. “Where were we?”

“I mean, I think we’re good,” Parker said quickly, gesturing toward Jason without looking at him. “Was there anything else you wanted to make sure we had, Jason?”

Jason was silent for a moment, long enough that Parker risked looking over at him. The man was clearly stifling a smile as their eyes met, amusement obvious in his expression.

“No, I think we’re good,” he replied simply, though Lyssa now looked suspiciously between the two of them. Parker resolutely shoved his recorder into his backpack.

“What were you talking about while I was gone?” she asked, and Parker couldn’t quite tell if her tone was teasing or accusatory. Jason only rolled his eyes.

“Nothing,” he said.

“Nothing, huh?” Lyssa repeated.

“My podcast,” Parker blurted out, the lie coming easily. “Uh, I have a podcast. I’m not supposed to talk about it when I’m on interviews for PNN, but I was telling Jason that if he ever wants to do another interview when the album comes out...”

Jason shot him a surprised look, but Lyssa only laughed. “Yeah, I saw you had a podcast. Your numbers look pretty good from what I can tell, actually. Some big names here and there too. I’ll keep that in mind for next time. And I won’t tell Tim. He’s kind of a dick anyway.”

Parker laughed, probably harder than he should have. “You’re telling me.”

After a few more formalities and exchanging their goodbyes, Parker headed out. Jason followed him to the front porch, but he only took a hit of a vape he pulled from his pocket, waving goodbye as Parker loaded his things back into his car.

“I’ll hit you up about your podcast,” he called as Parker got into his car, then he turned for the door again.

When he was safely a few streets away, Parker found the song that Jason’s tattoo had reminded him of—it was one of the Astral Complex’s early sleeper hits, one that had never been a radio single, off their second album. The line he was thinking of was in the bridge.

Wrists wrapped so tight in our tangled red thread, they’ll have to send me down in your coffin, Sterling’s plaintive voice cried. Too scared to go alone, I’d rather die held tight in your bones.

Chapter Nine

Taylor

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