Page 29 of Hope & Harmony

I had learned long ago that it was just a party trick, an act to make those around him feel special and seen. I stupidly fell for it once until I learned what he was really like.

“Yeah, fuck. I say bygones be bygones.” Geo laughed. “That mademefuckin’ hard.”

“Which is not difficult for you.” Tobias chuffed.

Ames was the stereotypical lead singer manwhore, though he was particular in wanting models, actresses, and Playboy Bunny types. Tobias took all the ones Ames didn’t, but Geo subtly outdid them both because he had no preference. He was open to anyone who was hot and flattered his ego. Though they might all have to bow down to Drix if rumors of his endless stream of women running through his bed were even partially true.

“Whatever bullshit you guys had.” Emmit stepped in. “Forget it. You want to be the best out there?” He gestured to Drix. “This is the key.”

“I’m in.” Tobias and Geo both agreed.

I was not.

All eyes went to Ames. Though it was a mutual band decision, Ames always seemed to have a little more weight in his vote.

Ames rubbed at his blonde scruff, a debate raging across his brows. Then his head started to bob, his shoulders easing down. “Yea?—”

“No!” My revolt danced through my vocals, producing enough vibration to turn their heads my way. “No!” I shook my head, dropping my sticks, my hands reconfirmed my vote.

Drix’s gaze burrowed into me, peeling at my skin, but I kept my attention on my band. “Hewill not take Ziggy’s spot.” Ziggy fucking hated him. Probably because of me, but I still couldn’t stomach the thought of Hendrix Decker standing in his spot, creating a bond with me only Ziggy and I should have.

“Echo…” Emmit signed my name.

“NO!” My throat cut over the word, and I knew it was extra loud. Ziggy was the one to help me with speaking, from how to measure the vibration in my throat to how clear and loud it came out. While we were kids in foster care he became my everything. Yet, somehow, I missed all the signs he was struggling. That he didn’t come out of what happened to us unscathed. He was goodat hiding his demons, keeping the focus on me, being my big brother and best friend.

Geo started to open his mouth, his countenance speaking before his mouth did, and I could see the empathy to my struggle, but they did not feel the same. Ziggy had been a friend, but clearly, his memory would go to the wayside.

Even Ames looked at me with the same expression. They were all on board with Drix joining us. How easily they all flipped. Their principles yesterday no longer mattered in the face of fame and fortune today.

My head shook harder, my glare sweeping over the brothers I thought would feel the same about Drix.

“It’s three against one.” Ames shrugged. “I’m sorry, but he’s in.”

Disgust and hurt wrapped around my gut, burning the back of my throat.

My fingers spoke what my mouth could not.

“So much for honor and integrity. I guess Ziggy’s memory can’t hold up to your need for fame.”I whirled around, stomping out.

I couldn’t hear but could feel someone call out my name. Being deaf meant we listened with our whole bodies, intuition guiding us when other senses failed.

And mine took me to the only person who had ever really heard me.

CHAPTER 4

Pictures of our band hung on the wall of our rehearsal studio, a hodgepodge of us from the beginning to more recent, though not one picture was taken in the last six months.

My attention zeroed in on my favorite. It was taken here, all of us looking utterly exhausted, but elation had smiles on our faces, a fire behind our eyes. Ziggy’s arm draped around me, my head on his shoulder, while the other guys surrounded us. We had just finished lining tracks for our first LP.

It was before we made a name for ourselves, before our record label started to really put demands on us. We were free to make music, find our sound, and be creative, and when we laidThe Devil Takes Me, we knew we made magic.

It was before you realized your dreams, and the best time in your life was not the marker you set but all the stuff before it. There is a disappointment when you achieve all you’ve ever wanted and find it didn’t fill the hole you thought it would. Success didn’t make you happy. The process is where creative people thrive.

It was where Ziggy was the happiest. He was just another incredible talent, a spark in this industry, who went out too quickly.

My finger glided over his face, heart-wrenching agony yanking a sob up my throat. I missed him so much. I felt so lost without him.Ziggy. A fissure cracked my chest, the tips of my fingers tracing his lazy smile.

I sensed a presence behind me before I felt a touch on my shoulder. Whipping around, a gasp hitched my lungs, my head craning back, surprise pooling anger through me.

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