“Miles?”
“Yeah,” I say, the word coming out raspy.I swallow hard before trying again.“Yeah, hey, Dean.”
I hear his laugh through the line as he says, “Man, it’s been a long time, huh?”
“It has,” I agree, my heart pounding a nervous rhythm inside my chest.“How are you?”
He blows out a breath, letting out another laugh as he says, “Fuck, I’m...yeah, I’m good.How are you?”
His answer surprises me a little, considering how things were when I left.It’s not like I was a fucking picture or anything.We were all trainwrecks, and in some ways, I was probably the worst.I was so broken and bitter about the whole Isaac and Daisy thing that I just couldn’t focus, couldn’t stay still for even five seconds.
I was also drinking way too much and probably fucking too many girls too, although to be fair, I mostly just passed out before anything happened—thank god.
“I’m really good,” I tell him.“Back on Maui, back with Daze.”
“Yeah?”he asks, surprised.“Man, that’s fucking great.You two always belonged together.”
“We did,” I say, grateful he doesn’t bring up Isaac.
Isaac didn’t just fuck me over.He fucked us all over.He might have gotten my girl, but that didn’t stop him from trashing the band either, especially after he was kicked out of something that was becoming huge.And even though it should have brought us together, it didn’t.Instead, it blew us apart in the most epic of ways.
“You still on the mainland?”I now ask.
“L.A.,” he says.“Working in a recording studio of all places.”
“Nice.You know where Lace or Sutton are?”
“Hmm, so Sutton is here with me, and last I heard, Lace was back on Maui.”
“You and Sutton are speaking to each other?”I ask, surprised.Last I remember, these two were both in love with the same girl.And she was taking full advantage of having two rock stars chasing after her too.It got super ugly just when I left, so fuck knows how it ended up with them on speaking terms again.
“We are,” he says with a laugh.“Took a while, and he’s only been living with me for the past couple of months, but we’re in a good place.We have rules now… about girls.”
“Wow, that’s great, man,” I tell him, meaning it.“And Lace, how is she?”
When I’d texted earlier, I’d messaged the group chat we had going.The group chat that hadn’t had any action for nearly a year.The last few messages were painful to read, too, and when I sent mine, I wasn’t sure who, if any of them, would read it, let alone respond.
“I haven’t spoken to her in a really long time, and even then, it was only via text, but Jonah tells me she’s doing good.Apparently, she’s been holed up with him at his place since she got home.Guess she’s been laying low, but he says she’s good, has been looking after herself.You don’t see her around?”
“I didn’t even know she was back,” I say, running a hand over my hair.I wonder if Isaac knows she’s back.
The line goes silent for a few moments, as though neither of us is quite sure what to say next.Or how to address the big elephant that’s on the line with us.Eventually, it’s Dean who does it.
“So, you wanna sing again, huh?”
I huff out a laugh, knowing I never wanted to stop singing.I just couldn’t keep my shit together enough to do it anymore.Now, though, things feel better, calmer, and even though I know it’s still something that has the possibility to trigger shit with me and Daze, I feel like we’re in a much better place right now.
And she’s the one who wants me to do this.If she can believe in me after everything that happened, I kinda feel like I want to try.
“I do, yeah.”
Dean hums, as though he’s thinking about what this means.“So, like, are you just going solo now, or did you wanna get the band back together?”
“You’d wanna get back together?”I blurt out, never in a million years expecting him to suggest that.
He laughs, and I hear muffled chatter as though he’s talking to someone in the background before he’s back on the line speaking to me.“Well, Sutton and I can be on a flight tomorrow if ya want?”
“Dude, seriously...don’t you have a life in L.A.now?”I ask, weirdly nervous about what he’s saying.
