Page 76 of Resist

The lights illuminate Fox, and he smirks into the cameras as he strums the guitar before sliding his hand up the mic stand. “I’m Fox, and I’m ready to have the night of my life. Are you?”

The volume of the yells shocks me, and he chuckles.

“I take that as a yes. What do you think, Ry?”

“I think they are, but let’s test them.” I nod as I head to the edge of the stage. “Okay, let’s practice for this next song. When I say ‘sinners, beware,’ you are going to sing back to me ‘sinners everywhere.’ Are we ready? Let’s try.” I take a deep breath. “Sinners, beware!”

I hold the mic out, and they scream it back. Shaking my head, I wag my finger. “Not good enough. I said, sinners, beware!”

They scream it back louder, and I grin. “Okay, let’s try the left side.” I run over and test them. “Now the middle! Finally, all together!”

When their shouts taper off, the drumbeat begins, and we dive straight into the next song, and then into our third.

Once it’s done, I lick my lips, and Fox heads to the edge of the stage and grabs a bottle of water. He brings me one, and I take a drink. When I’m done, he downs the rest and smacks my ass as he walks away again, driving the crowd crazy.

“You dirty birds seem to like that, so how about we show you more? Let’s rock!” I yell as I dive into the fourth song. Fox moves over to me as he plays, and I lean back into him as I sing. His hand leaves the guitar and slides down me suggestively before gripping my dick, and the crowd goes wild. Turning, I shove his chest teasingly, my eyes on him as I sing, and his hand slides around my hip and grips my ass, squeezing in a familiar way. Desire pulses through me, and he smirks before he lets go and swings his guitar around.

When I sing the ending, the stage goes dark, and I breathe quickly as the next song kicks in. This time, we all move down the extended stage and dance and sing at the end. I reach for the crowd as they hype me up, and when it comes to the chorus, I hold the mic out to them, mouthing the words.

Tears fill my eyes as the crowd screams the chorus to us, their voices beautiful and in sync. I drag the mic back to my mouth, making the most of every moment since it could be our last show.

Wiping a tear off my cheek, I sing the rest of the song and turn away. Fox finds me and hugs me for a moment before he takes the mic, giving me time to compose myself.

“Are you having a good time?” he yells, and the response is immediate. “Good, because we are too! I’m so thankful for all of you coming tonight to support us. Every cent of the proceeds will go to three amazing charities that support male abuse victims through their trials, medical procedures, and recovery, something that is very close to my heart.” Turning back around, I see him licking his lips nervously, so I take his hand. Dash wraps his arm around Fox, and then Strike hugs him from behind in a tackle. He chuckles into the microphone as tears fill his eyes.

“I’m so thankful for my band and their support. I never would have been brave enough to speak about what happened without them and without you. The love you showed me after what occurred . . . it blew me away. The people who reached out to me, who shared their stories, filled my heart, and I knew I couldn’t sit back and do nothing. I had help and a support system, but most people don’t, and some people are scared to speak. I will be their voice and their support, just like my friends and you were for me. Nobody, and I mean nobody should ever have to be touched without their consent. Gender, religion, or race doesn’t matter. Here, we are all one, and we stand together. We are the voices for the suppressed, the survivors, and those who are still suffering silently. Tonight is for them. Thank you all for being with me, and for all of the survivors out there, you are not alone. You’re strong, and if you need help, please reach out to anyone you can. Now, how about we say a bigfuck youto everyone who ever hurt us?” he screams into the mic, and the crowd cheers. “Okay then, let’s go to church!”

He passes the mic back, and I hold his hand as I pour the lyrics into it. The crowd shouts along until the arena is filled with our anger for those who would do others harm. When it ends, Fox has silent tears streaming down his face, but I realize they are from happiness. He is healing and sharing his journey withmillions, since it’s streamed live, and when I glance back and see Po leaning out of the wing, I know it’s time.

“Tonight is very special for another reason,” I begin, and Fox looks at me. I wait for his permission, and he nods, stepping up to my side. Dash and Strike join us, knowing exactly what’s going to happen. “Tonight might be our last show.”

I hear the confused murmurs and screamed questions, and I wait for the audience to calm down. “We are Sanctuary. We always were. We started this band to become a home for the broken, the lost, and the misfits. We would be lying to you and ourselves if we didn’t do this now and admit the truth, and we never want to lie to you.” Licking my lips nervously, I look at Fox. “The reason it may be our last show is because I fell in love.” I smile at the audience.

I’m not afraid or shy. Instead, I’m so certain of this that it gives me the strength to face it head-on, even with millions of eyes and ears hanging onto my every word.

“I fell in love with the one person I wasn’t allowed to, and when it comes down to it, I’m not even sorry.” Grabbing Fox, I turn him to me and kiss him.

It isn’t for the cameras.

No, it’s a declaration, a promise of the future, and love.

THIRTY-FIVE

As I pull away, the noise of the crowd fades, and all I see is Ryker’s love for me as he declares it to the world without a hint of hesitation. It’s been a long road, but I know we are in this together, and I won’t allow him to face this by himself. Grabbing the mic, I kiss his head before I turn to the crowd.

“Ryker is telling the truth. We are in love. I’m in love with Ryker and have been for a long time, but we refuse to hide anymore. I know you all saw the photos of us and, well, they are true. We weren’t trying to hide our relationship, but to keep it for ourselves while we figured out where it fit in our world and careers, but that choice was taken from us. Because of this, we will be taking a break as a band. We were given no other choice. Our label feels our relationship will hinder our performance and upset fans, and that is the last thing we want to do. Our lives have been about making music and sharing it with the world, and when you all fell in love with the music just as much as us, we were so happy. You gave four lost men pouring their souls into their instruments and voices their dream, but our entire life isn’t music. I will never apologize for falling in love with my best friend.” I look at him and smile.

“Our label, our fans all shipped us, using it to sell myself and products. They didn’t care if it was real or fake as long as it got them what they wanted, but now that they are faced with the truth of us being together, they don’t want it. As a band, we have decided that if we can’t have this future together, then we will walk away. We have been together since the beginning, and we’ll be together until the end. I won’t say sorry for falling in love. I’m in love with my best friend, and I have never been happier. He makes me a better man than I ever was, and for a short time, we got to live our dreams together, and that’s enough for me. My entire future was focused around music, but now it’s around my family.” I glance at Strike and Dash. “We refuse to back down on this or hide.”

Ry leans into the mic. “I also won’t apologize for falling in love with my best friend. We’ve had the happiest few years of our lives when we started this band together, performed, and became Sanctuary. The idea of walking away from this terrifies me more than you’ll ever know, but the idea of losing him terrifies me more. I hope you all understand. We aren’t going to say goodbye—not now and not ever. We will always be Sanctuary and always be there for you when you need us, and I hope that you still love us the same after tonight and support us no matter where our journey takes us.”

Dash takes the mic. “We love you all, and we support our best friends. This choice was easy for us to make. I am so happy to see them together and in love.”

“They are right,” Strike chimes in. “I watched my best friends struggle to hide what they felt and not cross the line, but seeing them together? How could that ever be wrong? We are with them until the end.”

Fuck, I won’t cry again.

I take the mic back and breathe deeply. “So, my lost souls, music lovers, and our family, tonight we are going to sing untilwe lose our voices and play until our fingers bleed. Tonight, we will give the show of our lives and hope there will be more in the future, but if there isn’t, know that tonight is what we have always dreamed of, and we will never forget the love you have shown us. We love you all no matter where we go next, so let’s make tonight last forever. What do you say?”

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