Page 132 of Reckless

The crowd screams and I laugh into the microphone as Ethan strums a tune on his guitar.

“I mean, what the fuck is up with that? This place rocks!”

More screaming, I can barely hear myself think. My heart is pounding an out-of-control rhythm in my chest, as I look out over the packed outdoor arena laying out before me. I walk to the far end of the stage and hold up a hand. Sol starts a slow drum beat. It builds up and up as Paul’s bass comes in. The crowd gets louder and when it’s at a full-on fever pitch, I run as fast as I can across the stage and out onto the protruding section that has been built into the crowd.

The roar goes even higher and as Ethan’s screech on the guitar blasts through the stadium, I execute a perfect front flip and land on my feet. Flashes are going off everywhere. The crowd is losing their shit and I feel on top of the fucking world.

Of course, I made that move right by the VIP section of the crowd. I always find her amongst a sea of a thousand faces and have to grin at the wide-eyed shock. It rarely comes up in conversation that I took gymnastic in high school, and learned how to do all manner of flips without breaking my neck.

Krista’s arms lift into the air along with everyone else. She screams with the crowd as Sol’s drums change rhythm. The crowd roar the instant they recognize the beat. Like a fucking wave, it hits me, and I tip my head back, arms out wide.

For a moment I get lost there, staring at the blue sky, listening to the fans scream out the lyrics of the opening verse. I haven’t started singing yet because I want to hear them.

They never lost the faith, no matter what the press kept saying, although our return was gradual. Fisher turned out to be a pretty fucking amazing manager. He isn't overworking us. He’s listened to everything we’ve had to say, and he’s smoothed everything over with the people who need soothing.

We couldn’t have asked for a better return of Reckless Soul.

When I look back down, my eyes find hers like a fucking magnet. She’s singing along. Her sister and mom are beside her. Shari was always a fan, but Grace, her mom is a new convert, much to Krista’s dad’s dismay. I love her parents. They welcomed me with open arms, much the same way Krista did.

Shari was more full on. She kept trying to get me to come to college parties until Krista warned her to back off. She’s calmed down a lot in the last couple of months.

Further along the line are Emily and her boyfriend, Stan. She recovered from her ordeal without too many lasting effects. My mom and dad can’t deal with the noise of a gig like this, but my little brother and his friends are in the area with Krista’s family, too. I’ve already clocked how he looks at Shari, or the looks she has been giving him back.

Wayne and Drew couldn’t make it because they were in the middle of an important business deal in Paris, but they’ve been to one of the shows before this.

We changed our original tour to an arena tour, with only eight dates across the states. We’ve spread them out, so we get time to go home between each performance. No long stints of travel on the tour bus involved.

This is the last show we will perform with Sol for a while. She still has over two months before her due date, but after every show, she’s exhausted. She has been determined as hell to see it through to the end, and I’m so fucking proud of her for making it this far.

I almost miss my cue to sing because it’s impossible to drag my eyes away from Krista Benke.

She told me all those months ago that Whispers of the Lost is her favorite Reckless song. So now it is always our opener. But tonight is special.

We have come full circle, back to where it all began in Montana. We’re not near where we met, but it counts that we’re in the state. And in the lot behind the building, the RV is waiting for us.

I join in singing with the fans and walk back onto the main stage, trying not to focus too much on her. It’s fucking impossible. In an arena of thousands, she is the only person I see.

We perform for almost three hours and not once do I succumb to exhaustion but Sol is always in the back of my mind and I check on her regularly.

We are strict on when we end for Sol’s sake and it’s still early in the evening. After the last song is sung, the four of us walk to the front of the stage, me and Ethan with our arms around Sol’s waist, and Paul with his on my shoulder.

I don’t know when we will be a foursome like this again. I don’t know what the future holds for the band, but I’m not worried about it. A certain red-headed bombshell taught me to always focus on the positives, and that is what I’ve been doing in every aspect of my life.

While I wait for Krista to get backstage, I have time to shower and make sure I have everything I need for the trip. It’s a little earlier than Krista normally plans her trips, and it’s going to be cold as shit, but I don’t care. There is a very good fire in that RV that I never got to check out last time.

The four of us are sitting in a dressing room together, waiting. Paul is heading back to San Francisco tomorrow. He’s spent nearly six months working on the solo album, but still isn’t happy with it.

He has met someone too, a guy who lives in the Bay area and he spends all his free time up there.

Ethan has turned into a mother hen and is driving Solene nuts. He’s read every book imaginable on pregnancy and babies and has even threatened to move in with her to help.

I haven’t been able to talk her into finding the father. Krista told me to leave it alone. If Sol is ever ready, I can be there to help.

The case against Smithson didn’t take long either. Turns out Emily’s mom is an assistant DA in California. She had no legal sway over the events in Chicago, but she has friends who could move things along. The trial was brought forward and dealt with quickly.

In the end, she was given a five-year prison sentence for her attack on Emily and an extra three for a lying in wait charge. The stalking shit wasn’t proven, so she got away with that, to a degree.

“Did you ever think when we said the band was going to be destroyed if we didn’t do something, we’d end up here?” Ethan asks.

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