Page 78 of Tight End

“Yes, I know that.”

Ben sits next to me, tapping his pen against his leg the way he always does when he’s anxious. Tyler is here, too, since he works for the label.

Anthony thumbs through some papers on his desk. “I have a pile of printed articles from the past week commenting on your mental and emotional stability, your insolence, your violent tendencies, and your public displays of affection with Sam Hartley. You’ve been offensive and have blatantly ignored simple instructions for how to handle the situations you’ve single-handedly created.”

“It’s true,” I say. “I’ve been all those things.”

Anthony steeples his fingers and leans forward. “At least we’re all on the same page. Now, the big question is, what are we going to do about it?”

“Anthony, I understand the trouble that’s been caused but Brixton has been working hard to reverse the public opinion,” Ben pipes in. “He’s been working at Play It Forward, an organization that provides after-school sports activities for disadvantaged and troubled kids. He’s made an impact with the teamthere. He’s chosen to stay here in Oakland to spend time with the kids and give of himself.”

“I didn’t invite any lawyers to this meeting. If you have a question, then ask it,” Anthony says gruffly.

Ben nods. “Okay. Isn’t it fair that he gets another chance? Especially when he’s trying to fix the situation?”

Anthony turns his glare back on me. “You blasted your bandmates. They want to replace you.”

“Even Lane?” I ask before I can stop myself.

Tyler hangs his head and I don’t even need to hear Anthony’s response to know he’s in the same camp as Dak and Aiden.

I swallow hard. Truth be told, it hurts more to know that my oldest friend wants to trade me than me losing my front man status.

“Look, I understand if they want to move forward without me. I screwed them over because my head was a mess. It’s clearer now. And no matter what happens, I want to keep giving back because it feels good.”

I wiggle my toes in my sneakers. They’re gonna love it or hate it but either way, I’m doing it.

“I’ve got an idea. What if I worked with the label to schedule appearances by artists in the area who’d visit the local hospitals? I have a…friend who works at Mercy and he says that the kids in the pediatric cardiology floor would love musical visits. It wouldn’t be like a scheduled concert, just surprise visits to brighten kids’ days when they’re struggling to smile.” I look from Tyler to Anthony and then Ben.

They all look at me like I have a dick growing out of my forehead.

Anthony speaks first. “You came up with that?”

“Yeah. The other night,” I say. “I know there are things we need to talk about, security details, crowd control in case wordgot out. But it’s all manageable and for a great cause.” I shift in my chair. “Okay, you guys have to say something. Does the idea suck? Because if you don’t like it, fine. I’ll just do it myself. I just thought it would be a good reflection on the label, too.”

After another long minute passes, I continue, “Okay, so I guess I’ll take that as a?—”

Anthony waves his hand in front of me. “No, no, no. It is most definitely a yes. I think there are certainly challenges we need to address but overall…” He grins. “Great idea.”

“And just so you know, I’m not doing it to win you guys over. This is something I feel strongly about. Something that can help the kids cope with their diagnoses.” I shrug. “And if the guys decide to kick me out, then I’ll perform as a solo act.”

Tyler chuckles. Even Ben cracks a smile, and he’d pretty much been holding his breath, waiting for Anthony to speak.

We go through logistics. I figure I should be the first to deliver my own private concert. Be the trailblazer. Anthony said he’ll talk to the managers of his other bands to see who’d be interested. The meeting ends and everyone is excited.

I realize then that the label is giving me another chance.

But that doesn’t mean my family will welcome me back with open arms.

Maybe Dak and Aiden kept their distance because it had been a long time since we acted like family.

That’s on me.

And now that I know how to fix my image, maybe I can fix my band.

We walk into the hallway. The weight I’d been carrying around for so long actually feels a little bit lighter even though I’m so far from fixing everything in my life.

Ben and Tyler pull out their phones and start walking toward the elevator, but I just take a minute and wander over to the set of windows overlooking the San Francisco Bay. Ican’t smell the salty air, but I take a deep breath, the same sense of peace and tranquility washing over me.

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