Steven chuckles. “Just kidding, babe.”
Sam lifts his eyes from his phone. “Oh no. You said it, Stevie. No backing out now.”
“Fuck you,” Steven mutters.
“I’m deeply devoted to you too, don’t worry,” Sam teases, grinning.
Steven ignores him, rolling his eyes, while Sam goes back to his phone. I pull out my own phone to see if Vincent has texted yet—he should be done with his session by now. I find a text from ten minutes ago and I smile as I open it.
Vincent:
https://open.spotify.com/track/2nGFzvICaeEWjIrBrL2RAx?si=VZQslfTETt-AP_4f-RwcyA
Go to minute 1:36 :)
It’sPut Your Records Onby Corinne Bailey Rae. I skip ahead, read the lyrics, and something clicks in my mind.
My head snaps up. “I have a great idea,” I announce.
Three pairs of eyes turn to me, curious. I open YouTube and scroll through my uploads—past animal compilations and tutorials—until I find the one I need. I hit play and motion for them to come closer. Sam and Will crowd in on either side of me, while Steven leans over the counter.
“Look.”
It’s a video of Vincent when we were seventeen. I’d just convinced him to try street performing and let me record so we could upload to YouTube. The videos were shaky, the audio rough, but he was brilliant even then. Hardly any views, but maybe it’s time to try again.
“Is that really him?” Sam and Will ask at the same time.
Steven and I both nod, smiling. He already knows where my mind’s going, though my idea’s even bigger.
“He was already talented back then,” Sam says, shaking his head. “My father would give away two of his cars to have a guitarist like that under contract—” He stops, eyes widening.
Something sparks between the four of us. Iknowwe’re all thinking the same thing. “I can set him up with an interview. With my father.”
Steven and Will nod but I shake my head. “He’d never agree. He knows you don’t want anything to do with him.”
Sam shrugs. “I don’t care if I have to crawl on my knees to make it happen, Nova. If it’s for him, I’ll do it. Who knows, maybe I’ll even make ten grand in tips.”
“He’d never agree,” I insist.
I hop off the counter, pacing. Sam mirrors me, walking in the opposite direction, both of us lost in thoughts under Steven and Will’s confused stares.
“What if he doesn’t know?” Steven suggests suddenly.
We both stop to look at him. “Huh?”
Steven comes around the counter, slipping his arms around my waist from behind. “What if he doesn’t know your father’s watching him play?”
An idea sparks. “We could organize a concert. Your father could sneaks in and Vincent doesn’t have to know about it. If he’s impressed, we’ll figure out a way to make his stubborn ass accept the offer later. But at least Mr. Wilson have seen him.”
Vincent needs an opportunity—and if he can’t find one himself, then we’ll make sure he gets it. He’s earned it.
He never lets Steven out of his sight during his check-ups, he shows up early for every shift just to help Will study, and I’ve caught him more than once talking to Maggie—whether at the bakery or when everyone’s hanging out at our place. Somehow, he always manages to calm her down. That’s just who he is. A safe place for everyone.
He thinks of himself as nothing more than a gray cloud, but the truth is he’s the one holding us together, even while fighting a monster that’s been chasing him his whole life.
He has been trying to protect me from self-destruction for as long as I can remember, and even though he’s only just met the others, he’s already giving them every piece of himself. He deserves this chance.
Sam sits at a table, crossing his legs, takes off his sunglasses and polishes them with a napkin. “If Finn Wilson wants a musician, every label in the state will line up. That’s guaranteed. And Vincent has the talent. People will fight over him.”
