Page 36 of In the Shadows

“Do you want us to be with you when you tell your mom?” Jackson offered for all of us.

Normally, I might have been angry having someone else make a decision for me, but these guys needed us and my heart went out to them.

Before he could answer, Joe and Maggie walked inside and Brad turned white as a ghost and they put some space between them on the couch.

“Wow, where’d everyone go?” Maggie’s eyes scanned the room.

“When the ball dropped on theNew Year’s Rocking Eveshow they bailed,” I told her.

She looked at Brad and motherly concern crossed her face. “Bradley, are you okay?” She placed the backside of her hand against his forehead, checking for a fever.

I caught his eye and nodded, letting him know if he wanted to say something now that we were here for moral support.

He drew his shoulders up and took Jackson’s hand. “Um, Mom, Jackson’s my,” he shook his head, trying to calm himself, “Jackson’s my boyfriend.” His eyes showed the terror he felt inside.

“Oh baby, I know.” She sat on the edge of the loveseat, pulling his head to her lap. “I’ve known for a long time.”

“You’re not mad,” he managed to say through his sobs.

“Now why would I be mad? All I want is for you to be happy. It’s not gonna be an easy road for you, but you know I’m here for you.”

Joey’s snicker drew everyone’s attention. “Sorry, but that’s the same thing someone said to me when I came out. Damn near word for word.”

Everyone turned and looked at Joe who was smiling. “Well boy, it’s true.”

“Okay guys, it’s almost two a.m. I’m guessing Jackson is sleeping over?” she asked them.

“Yeah,” Brad told her.

We stood, hugging Maggie and although no thanks were needed, she thanked us both and we knew what for but didn’t say.

Brad and Jackson both hugged us and seemed relieved.

“If anyone gives you any shit, you let us know. Got it? Here, give me your phone,” I told him.

He seemed unsure of my request at first.

“I’ll give you my number. Don’t give it out, but don’t be afraid to call me if you need anything or if anyone is fucking with you.”

“You guys are cool as fuck,” Brad said and was met with his mom’s hand against the back of his head.

Laughing, I managed to say, “I see I’m not the only one with a mom who has a gift for the hand to back of the head slap,” and they cracked up.

As soon as they were gone, Joe spoke up, “Whether you like it or not, you know you’re both role models now. Everything you say and do will end up on the internet. But whatever you did for her boy tonight was, well, that was great.”

Unfortunately, we’d learned this the hard way after Joey’s meltdown after the whole Lucas ordeal.

“Happy New Year,” Joe said, hugging us before he went up to his room leaving us to our thoughts.

Sal messaged us in a group text that he was able to get a signing set up at the mall for us at one p.m. on New Year’s Day. He suggested an hour, but I felt we owed the fans more and had him change it to two hours. When we arrived, we were escorted in by security and organized chaos was the best way to describe the scene unfolding in front of us. The line wound through the mall and around the building and I knew there would be many disappointed fans. By the time we finished, my hand was cramped, but we left autographed posters behind for those we didn’t get meet to have. But we needed to get home and pack because the next morning we were headed back to Florida on another long ass flight.

The car once again picked us up curbside, dropping us off at the bus where we found Rob was ready and rearing to go.

“Someone’s a little anxious,” I joked, watching Rob usher us onto the bus. “You got the law after you, man?”

“Nah, nothing like that. I ended up staying here for the entire break and had my fill of family if you know what I mean.”

I clapped him on the back as I passed him to board. “It’s all good, man, we hear ya. Hope you at least enjoyed your holidays?”

He hopped in, closing the door behind us before taking his seat at the wheel. “The holidays were great. I ate so much I should be pushing the bus for exercise rather than parking my fat ass behind the wheel.”

We continued our journey up the east coast, playing back to back shows throughout the Carolinas, Virginia, and Baltimore, Maryland. Turned out, having not played or practiced during our break wasn’t a wise idea. My fingers were sore, and I had to wrap them to keep the skin from splitting.

Pittsburgh was insane, their fans were wild. We easily could have done back to back shows there. Easton told us the tickets sold out the first day they went on sale, so I told Sal to make sure we left an extra day on the next tour in case we needed it there. I didn’t want to leave any fans hanging. Hell without them, we’d be nothing. If the fans weren’t the driving force behind a band well then, that band was doing it wrong. Music was what got me through my tough teen years and I was surrounded by a loving family. I knew other kids who hid behind music, kids who weren’t as lucky as I was. Our ten year reunion was coming up in a couple of years, I hoped we’d be able to attend because I’d like to check in with those kids. See how they’re doing. I hope they got their lives turned around.

As we drove further north on this leg of the tour, the weather became more temperamental. Seattle never saw snow like this and to be quite honest, it unnerved me. Our bus didn’t feature the modern mechanical components to aid in traction control and our tires would probably need to be replaced soon.

I woke with a bounce and a thud, tossed across Joey as we were both pummeled with God knew what landing on top of us. The sound of grinding metal against asphalt was deafening, drowning out the screams I could barely hear as they faded in and out of the background. I tried to get up, but was pinned in place. I knew Joey was somewhere near me, but I was unable to reach out and grab him.

Joey…

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