Nolan nods. “Then you have to let him go. No questions.”
“No questions,” I whisper.
Nolan crosses his arms on the spiraled top to the newel post at the bottom of the stairs.
“Was he in a band?” I ask because it’s been burning a hole in my curiosity for too long.
Nolan squints at me for a second. “Yes. Why do you ask?”
“He mentioned it, but it was when we were living a lie. At the time it was easier for me to tell him my dreams instead of my reality. I guess… I don’t know… I think he did the same.”
“He told you he was in a band?”
“Yes. He said the reason he was leaving Tybee was to go on tour. I know it’s not true, but part of his story felt real.”
“He studied music theory and composition in college. His parents, particularly his mother, imagined him doing something more sophisticated than forming a band.”
Theo as a music theory graduate brings a smile to my face. It’s not fair to stereotype, but really… he looks nothing like a music theory graduate.
“He hasn’t always looked so… unkempt.”
My eyes dart to Nolan’s. How did he read my mind? “I don’t mind his unkemptness”
He raises an eyebrow. “Clearly.”
My ears heat again as I clear my throat. “So this band… did they tour?”
“They headlined for a few bigger acts over the course of nine months, then…” He closes his eyes and shakes his head.
“Then his parents died?”
Nolan’s eyes open wide as his head snaps up. “He told you?”
“No. I accidentally came across some stuff of his. It included newspaper articles about his parents.” And a few other very disturbing articles along with knives and guns. I’m not sure Nolan needs to know that. Then again, maybesomeoneneeds to know. “Was Theo in the military or some type of law enforcement before or after university?”
Nolan shakes his head. “No. Why?”
“Just curious. He’s very built and then there are those tattoos. I don’t know. It seemed like a possibility… or me just being really stereotypical.”
“Well, since I’ve known him he’s never been a small guy, but after his parents died, he bulked up—a lot. Grew his hair out, the beard, and seemed to have a new tattoo every month or so for quite some time. The only tattoo he had before his parents died was the name of his band on his back.”
“Really? I’ve never noticed it.”
Nolan shrugs. “It’s there, but I think it’s camouflaged by all his other tattoos now. Probably symbolic of how his life sort of got lost after they died.”
“So the band broke up?”
“Yup.”
“What was the name of it?”
He chuckles. “He didn’t tell you?”
I shrug. “I never asked. It was all supposed to be a lie.”
“The Derby.”
“The Derby?”
