TWENTY
SILENCE
SEBASTIAN
The front door slammed shut.Then, silence. All three of us stood in the kitchen, frozen in place, staring at where Alex had just been. I could still see him in my mind: his disheveled hair, the way he hit himself and yelled for us to shut up, before his eyes widened in shock. “I’m sorry,” he had said.Of all people, he was the last one who needed to say that.
My stomach twisted. My chin quivered. I glared at Dad, tempted to blame him for everything—but that would have been too easy. We had both screamed. Neither of us had thought for even a second about how this would affect anyone else.
A tear rolled down my mom’s face.
Dad’s lips twitched as if he wanted to say something but knew he shouldn’t. His hands balled into fists for a moment before unclenching. “Well… we really messed that up.” He sighed. “I’m sorry, son. This got more heated than it should’ve.”
Somehow, his apology upset me more than if he had blamed me entirely. “You don’t—”have to apologize,I stopped myself from saying. He did. And he wasn’t the only one.
“I’m…” I shook my head. I knew I had to say it, too, before I could go after Alex. Why was that so hard? “I’m sorry, too.”
Dad looked at the floor, his voice now quiet. “You need to live your life the way you want. I just wanna see you get off to a good start. Time is precious and short, even if it doesn’t feel that way to you yet. But I can’t protect you from everything. You have to make your own mistakes. And you have to make decisions I might see as mistakes, but that aren’t, in the end.”
“Alex and I making music together isn’t a mistake. And it’s not hubris, if that’s what you’re thinking. I know I’m not as talented as I always wished I was. But Alex is. You can’t imagine how his music affected me. I want to do this for him. He’s such a kind soul. He deserves for people to hear his music. That’s why I promise not to take this lightly. Just like I won’t take my last semester lightly.”
Dad breathed heavily, his eyes blinking like a camera taking a million photos at once. “I honestly hope you prove me wrong.” He opened his arms.
I took a step toward him. The hug felt a little too soon, but… I had to finish this before I could go after Alex. So I gave in. He closed his arms around me for just a second, then let go.
Mom sobbed, her mascara running down her face. I stepped over and pulled her into a hug, too. “I’m sorry, Mom.”
“It’s okay. You’re your father’s son. You can both be stubborn sometimes. But I will always love you both.”
“Same here, but…” I let go of her. “I have to go after Alex and bring him back. I hope that’s?—”
“Of course it is,” she replied.
By the time I caught Dad nodding out of the corner of my eye, my feet had already started moving.
I rushed into the foyer and stepped outside, scanning my surroundings.
The sun sat behind the house, casting the porch in shadow and the gravel driveway in harsh light.
No sign of Alex.
I pulled my phone out of my sweatpants and dialed his number, only to be greeted by a prerecorded message.
“The person you’ve called is not?—”
My feet carried me down the stairs to the driveway. There were a million places he could have gone, but only one he had specifically told me he went to when he needed to calm down. This was my best shot.
I was catchingmy breath after running to the old bar, which probably took longer than if I had just asked Dad for his car keys. But Alex had left on foot too, so maybe it wasn’t stupid to follow my instinct.
When I turned the corner into the rundown outdoor seating area, I found the back door slightly ajar, which gave me some hope.
The door squeaked as I pulled it fully open, as if warning me not to go any further.
“Alex?” I called into the bar.
Three seconds of silence. My stomach dropped—but then I heard rustling inside. Footsteps shuffled toward me until the person I’d hoped would be there appeared at the end of the hallway. His eyes were hidden behind his hair, his shoulders slumped.
I lunged toward him, wrapping my arms around his back. “I’m so sorry, Alex,” I whispered, pressing him against me. His arms hung limp, not returning the embrace, but I couldn’t let go of him yet. “I’m sorry I dragged you into all of this. I’m sorry, I didn’t think about how fighting with my dad would affect you.”
