Page 16 of Verses

As his fingers continued flying over the strings, I finally realized he was playing a tune that wasn’t familiar to me.

Pedro was plugging in his bass, ready to join in. “Play us the hardest, heaviest song you know.”

“Hmm. Let me think about that for a second.” Looking down at the stage floor, Wolf was quiet for a few moments, his fingers paused on the strings. Then he nodded and started playing. After a few seconds, Pedro nodded, laughing, and joined in.

It was a few seconds before I recognized the song: “Goddamn Electric,” one of Kyle and Pedro’s favorite Pantera tunes. But did I know the words to it? Should I, like Pedro, get up there and join him? Adrian didn’t seem like he was in a hurry to sit at his drums, so I decided to stay put.

But it washed over me like a waterfall:Holy shit. Wolfcouldbe a part of our band.

No…notcould.

Should.

It would all come down to Kyle.

We were so into enjoying Wolf’s playing that we didn’t even realize when our guitarist walked in.

It wasn’t until Kyle sat at the table between Adrian and me and spoke that I noticed him. “What the fuck is this shit? You guys just decide you don’t want to play with me anymore without even talking about it?”

Oh, shit. I knew immediately that this was going to be another big argument, likely far worse than the one the night before.

But Pedro, a guy full of heart and passion, a man who easily held his own with our guitarist, had already stopped playing, having heard Kyle’s outburst. Stepping off the stage, he said, “Dude, that’s not it at all. Hayley said you guys were kicking around the idea of maybe us having two guitarists again. So when Wolf said he could play, we asked him to demonstrate.”

Kyle didn’t say a word—so I decided to jump in and help Pedro. “He didn’t have a guitar here, so we let him borrow yours.”

Finally, he spoke. “Fucking blasphemy, man.”

“I’m sorry, Kyle. I thought it would be okay.”

As he let a huff of air out of his mouth, a spark appeared in his eyes, making them seem lighter. He glanced up at the stage before turning his attention back to us. “This guy’s damn good.”

Of course, it didn’t hurt that Wolf was playing one of his favorite songs.

I knew both Pedro and Adrian had to be feeling as relieved as I did—because convincing Kyle was more than half the battle.

Looking up from the strings, Wolf stopped playing, realizing his audience had grown. He said to Kyle, “They thought it’d be okay if I—”

“It’s cool, dude. It’s cool.”

With reverence, Wolf pulled the guitar over his head, unplugging it from the amp and laying it back in the case at the rear of the stage. Cool or not, he didn’t want to push his luck, and he headed back to his usual spot at the bar.

Kyle’s eyes were focused on the tabletop. “I still can’t help but feel like it’s shitting on Liam’s grave.”

Adrian patted Kyle’s shoulder, echoing Pedro’s earlier sentiment. “Dude, I know how you feel…but I also know that if something had happened to me, I would want you guys to keep going—and I have to believe Liam would have felt the same way. We all know Liam would want his music and words to live on.Liam wasn’t just a bandmate. He was our friend—and he would have wanted the best for us.”

I put my hand on Kyle’s arm. “If you need time to think about it, that’s fine.”

Pedro said, “Yeah. Take your time, dude—but if you say yes, I think this guy could learn our songs easier than shitting with Ex-Lax.”

Kyle started laughing. “He’s heard our songs every night for the last year and a half. I think it’d be a piece of cake to figure them out.”

“It’s settled then?”

“Yeah, I guess so.”

Pedro pumped his fist. “Fuck, yes.”

I said, “We just need to talk Wolf into it.”

---