Page 88 of Last Boy

The song slowly fades out, and I look out at the crowd. My eyes land on Cade, and I give him a small smile and nod. Because people like Cade, Van, Walker, Ryann, and heck, even Sutton Savage…they’ve all felt pain. And yet they fight on.

We fight on.

“I don’t think I’ve ever cried to a dang lyrical routine, bitch,” Ryann sobs, pulling me against her as I walk backstage. “Damn you.”

I sniffle, giggling at the same time, and hug her back. “Sorry. Good thing you already performed. Otherwise, that perfect makeup of yours would have been ruined. And you know I couldn’t help you.”

Releasing me, she laughs. “Yeah, that’s an understatement. You’d make me look like Bozo the Clown or probably poke my eye out on accident.” She puts her hands on my shoulders and sighs. “That was beautiful, Pop. I’ve seen you dance many, many times. But that was by far my favorite. It was almost like that song was meant for you to dance to. You were stunning.”

“Thank you,” I say with a smile. “I just wanted to take something sad and turn it into something…I don’t know.”

“Beautiful?” she answers, raising her brows. “Because, baby girl, that’s exactly what that was.” Her eyes narrow a little. “Was it for anyone in particular?”

“It was for a friend,” I whisper. “It was for him. And Van. You, me. Hell, even Sutton.” I chew my bottom lip. “We’re all human.”

“Okay, you are not about to make me cry again. Why am I so freaking emotional today?!” she groans and grabs my hand. “Let’s go see our husbands, shall we? I got a glimpse of mine from the stage, and yummy. I’m going to climb that man like a tree.”

“Too much info.” I shake my head, holding my hand up. “I do not need to know any details about you and Watson Gentry.”

“Your loss.” She shrugs before pulling me along.

When we enter the hallway, I immediately spot Walker standing next to Hunter and Sutton. Next to her is Cade’s soon-to-be baby mama, Haley, and Cade himself. Ryann spots Watson immediately, leaping into his arms, and somehow, he catches her in time, and they start making out, giving absolutely no fucks that we’re all watching.

Walker sees me right away, but when Cade approaches me first, he stays back. He might joke around about being jealous of Cade, but I know that deep down, he’s kidding. He knows that Cade and I just have a weird bond through my brother and his death.

“Princess Poppy,” he drawls slowly. “You know I’m not much of a crier. But that shit had me all choked up.”

My lips turn up in the smallest smile as I take in my friend, looking at him almost as if he’s someone else. Because he sort of is now that he’s clean and sober.

“Felt like it was an appropriate song choice.” I pause. “For both of us.”

He pulls me in for a hug, and I breathe him in. Because this is the first time since Cade left for rehab that I’ve seen him, and he looks so good. And healthy. And for reasons I don’t understand, hugging him makes me feel like…just for a second, Van is here, even if that makes no sense.

Life sometimes doesn’t make sense. Van didn’t get a second chance to be better. He’s just…gone. Meanwhile, Ron has done some unthinkable things, and he’s still alive to tell the tale of each of them. And, yeah, Cade Huff will be an addict for the rest of his life. Even after he’s been clean for years, he’ll wear that title. But unlike Ron—who got out of jail months ago for a total of two weeks before he was caught dealing drugs again, and this time, he’ll be in there for a long, long time—Cade Huff is a good person. A great man. And he will be a wonderful father.

Keeping his arms around me, he squeezes. “Something one of the counselors told me in there is that we don’t have to be the person we were yesterday. We can be whoever we want.” His voice grows thicker. “I’ve chosen to get my life together and be the man my baby and Haley deserve. And you, Princess Poppy, you’ve chosen to let go of all that anger inside you.” He releases me, stepping back. “It’s written all over your face, you know? You look like you feel lighter now.” He smiles. “And I’m so fucking happy to see it. You’re too good of a person for people to think otherwise.”

I cringe. “I was sort of an asshole for a while, huh?”

Holding his fingers up, he pinches them together. “Maybe just a tad. But it’s all right. You and me? We’re going to be better now.” He glances over at Haley, who stands next to Walker. “And I think, deep down, we both know that even if it’s us putting in the work to make sure of that, we should be thanking them. For giving us a reason to want to be better in the first place.”

Walker’s eyes find mine, and my vision blurs with tears.

“One thousand percent,” I whisper.

Because he’s right.

27

Walker

“Can’t believe this is our last game together,” Elias sighs. “Best not fucking lose. That wouldn’t be a way to go out.”

“No shit, Sherlock,” Nixon mutters before looking up at me. “Gonna suck without you, my dude.”

“You’ll both be getting that call soon.” I nod sharply. “I know it.”

“Yeah, once Gentry’s gone, I will actually get to play,” Nixon mutters, only half joking.

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