Page 67 of Melody

“Exactly,” Wolf said. “All we gotta do is get it down.”

Hayley said, “It’s even good forme.”

“And it shows off your range, too,” Pedro added.

“Do we want to go through it again or do we need a break?” Wolf asked.

Everyone agreed that they wanted to go through it again—including Crazy Stu, Intent to Murder’s number one fan. He stood up from his booth near the door and said, “Do it again. I want to hear you guys play it through without mistakes this time. I can almost hear what it’s supposed to sound like.”

In the microphone, Hayley said, “That’s why this is arehearsal, Stu. That’showwe’ll get better. If you wanna hear us play things perfectly, then only come on Saturday night.”

“Ido.”

“Yeah, I know—but don’t expect perfection during practice.”

Wolf started playing the opening, a slow, almost haunting guitar solo that echoed the riffs of what would be the actual solo inside the song. After several bars, he was joined by Kyle and Pedro, adding a richness to the music that reminded Kyle how much he, like his friends, was a creator. And playing this particular song, while challenging, made Kyle feel like writing a song or two might even be inhisfuture. A year ago that idea was out of the question.

Shortly after, Adrian’s drums came in playing a slow beat and it wasn’t long after that Hayley began singing. Her voice filled every nook and cranny of the bar and, although it was low, it was strong and powerful, poignant, loaded with emotion that Kyle could feel.

Not for the first time, Kyle felt camaraderie and fellowship with his bandmates, people that were like his second family. Hefelt grateful to be here with them, sharing an experience that was almost religious.

It was in that very moment that he knew they would make it. It was as if the heavens had parted and showed him his future. They had the hard-hitting heavy stuff, each member at the top of their game, and now they were adding more dimensions. He was proud to be part of something so beautiful, so creative, so expressive. And, in his heart, he thanked Liam for being part of it too. His brother would always be part of this band.

And this was what it felt like to let go…and to let it in.

He could hardly wait to tell his therapist. She would definitely call this a huge breakthrough.

And they played the song almost perfectly. Stu, for his part, seemed quite pleased as they were reaching the end where Hayley would hold the final note until Adrian ended it with a faint, almost imperceptible cymbal vibration.

Until it was done and Stu was clapping like crazy, Kyle hadn’t realized that he, like Hayley, had closed his eyes to simplyfeel. When he looked around the space, he saw Melody standing near the door.

Jesus…she was a sight for sore eyes, an angel in the darkness. Ever since the blowup at his mom’s house on Christmas, things had felt weird and stiff between them. Now that a couple of days had passed—and, shit, here she was to watch a practice for the very first time—a huge wave of relief washed over him.

Everything was okay.

Wolf asked, “How did everyone feel about that time?”

“Hot damn,” said Pedro. “We kicked some ass.” The expression on everyone’s face told Kyle that they all seemed to agree—but his focus was torn and he really wanted to acknowledge to Melody that he’d seen her.

Hayley said, “I want to try a few things when we go through it again—but we can do a couple of different songs first.”

“Everyone want to take five really fast?” Wolf asked.

Pedro answered for everyone. “Does a duck with a stiffy drag weeds?”

“Oh, God,” Hayley said, clearly not amused.

Although Kyle smiled, he hoped Melody hadn’t heard it. Even though he knew he’d told her about Pedro’s penchant for answering simple yes/ no questions with colorful phrases, hearing an actual response could elicit something more akin to Hayley’s reaction.

Pedro started almost cackling. “I’ve been dying to try that one out. Another winner!” He held up his hand for Adrian to give him a high five and his friend did, albeit reluctantly. Kyle pulled his guitar over his head and placed it in the case at the back of the stage before turning back around to hop off the platform onto the main floor. Everyone else was headed in different directions, either toward the bar or the bathrooms.

Melody moved toward him still wearing her coat. Excited to see her, Kyle pulled her into an embrace.

And that was when he realized something was off. Letting go, he looked in her eyes. “What’s wrong?”

“Can we talk?”

“Yeah. Do you wanna sit down?”

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