Make her smile again (A real smile not one she makes when she’s angry and scary)
Learn something new about her
Be her friend again.
Teddy bears – and hope she remembers
Tell her how I feel as often as I can because I might not get a second chance
Convince her I’m worth sticking around for in whatever way she’ll have me.
My vision blurs and the back of my nose stings. I finish and clutch the paper to my chest.
Tucking a strand of hair behind my ear, he says, “I think I’ve completed everything I set out to. There’s nothing more I need to do besides be with you.”
“Does that mean…” My voice goes thin.
“We tell the world we’re done. That we’ve given all that we’re willing to share. Then we keep the rest for ourselves.”
30
Wesley
January 2026
“You’re sure about this?” Kendal asks, eyeing Avery and me as we hover over her desk. She’s sitting with an email pulled up to send to one of the magazines she’s freelanced for. Attached is the exclusive interview we did with her about our retirement.
It’s been two weeks since Christmas, and in that time we’ve worked with Lydia and Derek on next steps. We both have unfinished contracts that we need to buy ourselves out of. Albums we’ll never write. Or maybe we will, but we won’t be sharing them with anyone else.
Now we’re ready to tell the world.
“Do it,” Avery says. She finds my hand at my side and squeezes it.
And I can’t believe how lucky I am. We’re making it out of this together. We have a future that shines so bright it makes me squint.
Kendal jams her finger into the button and the messagewhooshesoff.
With the world notified, I pull out my phone to tell our friends that it’s finally over.
Me
It’s official, we’re jobless losers.
Evelyn
Well, you were always a loser.
Jared
Congrats you two.
Avery
you’re all still in for one final show together?
It was Avery’s idea. She was talking about how we all started together and it’s a shame that we didn’t end the same way. After a few calls, everyone, well, almost everyone was on board.
Evelyn
