Page 9 of Broken Chorus

“Shit…” Hawk groaned.

“Go.” Aaron said, disconnecting the call, though a part of him wondered what Liam had thought he’d seen and if Hawk would find anything more than a poorly placed stuffed animal, or a tiny house spider frantically scurrying to find a safe place to hide before it got squished. He’d have to ask the next time they talked, or Friday when he got up there, whichever came first.

Be patient with me.

Yeah. He could do that. It wouldn’t be easy, but then, not reaching out had already been driving him loopy. He’d been dealing with it, even if it had left him growly, frustrated and wishing they could talk the way they always had. He longed to sprawl out beside Hawk and watch a movie, laughing and bullshitting about the catastrophic number of explosions they managed to squish into 120 minutes.

As long as there was still a chance, he could do anything Hawk needed him to, including finish the song that had shredded his heart while they’d be writing it. If there was ever a string ofwords that embodied the breath and scope of their fucked-up relationship, it was right there in Shattered Beasts. The only thing he wasn’t sure he could do, was not fall to pieces while he completed it.

Chapter 3

The New Normal

There was a time when the first thing Hawk would ask when he woke up waswhere are we? Of course, it wouldn’t have been morning back then and the person he’d be asking was a sleepy-eyed Aaron blinking at him from across the aisle between their bunks. Now, he blinked at the clock hoping it didn’t actually read five-twelve and there wasn’treallya little voice calling his name as a tiny fist pounded on his door.

“Unky Hawk! Unky Hawk!” Dani wailed with the kind of desperation that meant she’d been at it for a while.

“I’ll be right there!” Hawk bellowed, one hand thrown over his eyes because why? Why! Whatever it was, he knew it wasn’t going to be good. His sleep deprived brain grumbled a protest as he reached for a pillow, intent on placing it over his head so he could get some more shut eye.

His fingers bumped into his phone, the screen coming to life and momentarily blinding him. His lock screen was a shot of Aaron onstage, cradling his guitar, head bowed over it as he’d played the only ballad Hawk had ever written.

Dani wailed his name again and for a moment, Hawk’s finger hovered over the screen, his loud, selfish inner voice demanding that he text Aaron and beg him to catch the first flight up with everything he’d need for an extended visit…

… or even a forever one.

The problem with that was that it would have been solely for Hawk’s benefit while Aaron would be left with very little to show for it besides having his patience tested several times a day. Maybe that wasn’t a fair assessment, but what the fuck was he supposed to offer the man when every shred of his time was taken up by the three children entrusted to his care ? They needed him for everything, including the latest crisis on the other side of the door.

Blowing out a breath, Hawk scrambled from the bed in sleep pants, in mourning of the days when he could crash naked. Padding across the carpet in bare feet, he hoped he wasn’t about to encounter bodily fluids. The cold, wet squelch was always cringeworthy, yet never enough to serve as a reminder to buy slippers the next time he went to the store.

Okay, not true, he had looked at some in the men’s department the last time he’d taken them to the supercenter. The blue and gray checkered design had reminded him of the pair hisgrandfather used to wear, which was the real reason he hadn’t bought any. He felt old enough these days without slipping his feet into yet another reminder of the way his life had changed.

Dani stood on the other side of the door; one fist poised to beat on it again. Her other hand held her rainbow colored lion pinched between two fingers, the nightlight in the hall bright enough that he could see liquid dripping off it onto the floor. Thank the universe for hardwood. If this place was fully carpeted it would already need to be condemned by now.

“Mr. Whiskers fell in!” Dani wailed as she shook him, droplets of water striking Hawk’s chest and dripping on his feet.

“Fell in what?” Hawk grumbled as he brushed a hand down his chest and reached for the lion.

“The potty!”

“Ohhh for fuc……” Groaning, Hawk pinched the bridge of his nose, certain he was about to regret asking. “How’d that happen?”

“He fell off the seat!”

“What was he doingonthe seat in the first place?”

“He had to go potty!”

“And why didn’t you keep ahold of him while he was going?” Hawk asked as the little voice in the back of his head pipped up to sleepily grumble.

Seriously?

“You don’t keeps a hold of me when I’s goin’,” Dani explained. “You says I’s gotta sits like big girl and go. So I tell Mr. Whiskers, sit like big boy and go, and he went plop!”

Hawk pinched the bridge of his nose, wondering when he would get used to the logic of children, which on one hand seemed so simple, yet on the other, the most complex thing in the world.

“Unky Hawk can you hug him and make it better? I tried but he’s still wet. You said hugging fixed everything but it no fix Mr. Whiskers. I gave him one of my bestest hugs too!”

“I’ll just bet you did,” Hawk groaned, struggling to formulate a plan. His sleepy brain just screamed tired thoughts at him about how soft his pillow was, until the steady drip, drip, drip of water on wood filtered through just as the puddle reached the tip of his toe and he cringed.

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