Chapter 10
Ten
Maverick
Holy shit.
I’ve forgotten how good this feeling is.
Standing up on a stage, people who’re no longer glaring at me, but enjoying my singing.
The feeling of discomfort very quickly dissolves, and the thrill off being back on a stage returns.
Jake and I would sing together all the time when we were younger. Around a campfire, he’d join me for high school events and the big Fourth of July celebration at the Riggins property.
Any opportunity to play, we would.
However, I notice Jake’s not playing along with me like I presumed he would have, if anything he looks uncomfortable at my song choice from where he sits on the stool set already on the stage for his comfort.
Sam Hunt’s - Outskirts being my current feeling and hence why I chose it to sing. I don’t blame him with my song choice, or any choice I’ve made along the way.
Looking back out into the crowd, I manage to catch Mabel’s eyes again, the once tear-stained eyes now turning into balls of fire; her face struck with anger.
Fuck.
I’ve seen that look from the fireball herself plenty of times, although it was never usually aimed at me, I was always too smart to get on her bad side. That is until now.
I start going back into the sheepish feeling I had on her porch this evening. Deciding to look away from her and into the crowd, the audience move their heads along and bodies begin to sway along to my song.
Choosing to ignore my old group in the corner, none of which look overly pleased with me at the moment. A new habit of a lifetime I’m starting to realise.
Fuck it…
If I’m on everyone’s shit list; I’ll finish off big.
What do I have to lose by this point?
Holding onto the microphone stand, I hold my eyes shut tight as I muster up as much courage and go out big for the last verse.
Even though I know the storm is coming, I feel alive in this moment. I haven’t felt this alive since I left for Cali. This is exactly what I came back for. The fire.
Finishing the song, the bar erupts, and I finally take the breath that I’d been holding since I arrived in this town.
Looking at my brother, he’s smiling, clapping his hands hard and slow. “Well done, brother.” He lifts his hands higher. “You ain’t lost it.”
I hand him back the microphone, doing my best to catch my breath.
“Hey. Don’t go. Sing with me?” He stands, shifting his guitar back into position.
He strums on his guitar and fire’s up Florida Georgia Line’s – This is how we roll and the crowd goes fucking wild.
As he leans into the microphone, I hear plenty of girls screaming in the front row. Wow, this fucker does this every Friday night.
Lucky son of a gun.
My ego is getting a well-needed inflation as the seconds roll by. I throw my head back and laugh at him. How could I refuse now?
Leaning into the stand, I take it with my right hand and pull my face into the microphone, so my lips are touching the cold metal.
We belt the song out together, like we’ve been doing this forever and we never stopped.
Taking my eyes off my brother, I scan the crowd, looking out for the angered eyes I had to stop staring at to inflate my ego.
I spot our friends still standing next to the bar.
The girls with the same sour faces they had the last time I looked.
Luke looking increasingly uncomfortable. He shoots me a sly shrug.
However, Mabel isn’t in sight.
I scan the crowd in hopes that I’ll spot her. Maybe she went to the restroom?
As Jake wraps up our song, he holds his guitar towards the crowd on its last strum, and the girls scream even louder. I bring my fingers up to plug my ears from the noise.
His shit-eating grin loudly on display, like this is the best day of his life. Placing my microphone back on its stand I pat my brother on his strap free shoulder.
“Good to have you home, bro.” He winks at me. That’s enough now, I think I’ve done enough damage.
“Y’all give a big hand to my brother, Maverick,” Jake shouts as the bar erupts yet again.
Stepping off the stage, I shake Cole’s hand to the side. “Good to see ya’, pal,” Cole says. I smile at him with a nod.
I walk back towards my old group; Mabel still nowhere to be seen. Jake starts the instrumental to Luke Combs – Beer Never Broke My Heart, as I start to walk away.
Squeezing my way through the crowd once again, garnering plenty of slaps to my back and welcome home’s, I reach Iris, whose arms are tightly crossed, hip slightly out of place. Before I get a chance to speak, Hope opens her mouth.
“She’s gone by the way. Well done, Asshat,” She spits with venom.
“Yeah, what the hell were you thinking?!” Iris pipes in, throwing her arms to her sides with force.
“I… uh-” Shit, I clearly wasn’t thinking.
“If you wanted some grand romantic gesture, this is the wrong place!” Hope adds.
“I… I-” Suddenly I’ve lost the ability to speak.
“Ladies, give the man a chance to speak,” Luke chimes in, handing me a glass of whiskey that I gladly take. I smile at him, tail in between my legs as he offers me salvation from the womens line of questioning.
At least Luke isn’t as pissed at me, well not as much as the girls are. Both Hope and Iris let out a sigh before giving each other a knowing glance.
What I don’t expect to happen before I can try and even defend myself are both girls walking over to either side of me and they pull me into a three-way hug. I flinch at the contact but move each arm around both of them.
My heart swells at their touch. Luke is now giving me the same shit eating grin my brother wouldn’t stop doing.
I let out a huge sigh full of relief.
“It’s good to see you Mav',” one of my oldest friends say, before placing his hand on my shoulder, Girls still firmly attached to my sides. Pretty sure I hear one of them choke out a sob.
“Well, this is unexpected,” I let out a nervous laugh.
“Hey, you were our friend, too.” Iris looks up at me, same sparkle in her eyes that she always had. I plant a kiss at the top off her head.
“You still could have chosen a better greeting though,” Hope says, shoving me with her weight. At least they’re happy to see me and relief sweeps over me.
However, they’re still trying to protect my girl.
Our girl.
“Yeah, clearly wasn’t thinking,” I reply, taking a large swig of the whiskey Luke handed to me.
“Some things never change.” Luke winks at me.
Starting to relax into my setting, the front door to the bar swings open with such force I’m surprised it doesn’t blow off its hinges. Upon seeing the dark figure in the doorway, I automatically know who it is.
My best friend.
However, right in this moment?
My worst fucking nightmare.
Colter Riggins.
Throughout our childhood, I’d seen Colter in different states of anger in the past. Hell, I helped him beat the shit out of so many people as teenagers. I dove in without hesitation. Punch now and ask questions later. As he did for me on more occasions than I care to admit. It was our motto.
Was...
I’d seen him so high and drunk, many times both together, we’d have to carry each other back to the Riggins house, arm in arm, shoulder over shoulder.
Mabel would always be sneaking us in through a window or a back ledge so we wouldn’t get caught by our parents.
Neither of our parents would question the other falling through each other’s doors at night.
As long as we let them know what house we were sleeping at that night, we would be good to go. Contrary to our parent’s beliefs, these were the nights I snuck into Mabel’s room, having her legs wrapped around my torso until sun broke.
I’d seen Colter at his weakest as kids.
And at his strongest.
I watched his little heart crave over girls who were always taken. Namely the little brown-haired girl who is standing next to me currently.
Did they did ever take the leap?
He glares at me now, refusing to take an actual step into the bar, a mixture of anger and pure heartache etched over his dark form in the doorway.
A few people turn to see who smashed the front door in with the force it came, however due to my brother still giving the performance of his life, those people didn’t even bat an eye when they see who it is.
I take in a sturdy gulp.
This is gonna be painful.
And I’m in some serious trouble.
Colter has always thought with his fists first, never his head. I doubt that’s changed in the years I’ve been gone.
Sure, I tried reaching out to him over the years.
He never answers though.
I don’t think he could get past the fact I was trying to talk to him and not his sister.
Because even though he knew he was my best friend, Mabel was so much more.
She should have been so much more.
Well, that’s always been my guess for all the unanswered communication throughout the years.
I wince at the thought.
Looking back at Colter, who’s still standing in the doorway, he gestures with his fingers for me to come outside.
I know it’s for me because he’s looking directly at me.
And let’s face it, I’m sure no one else has broken his heart like I did. Well, not that I could be aware of. I know nothing of their lives now.
Placing my glass on the bar, I stick my chest out in the hopes it looks like I’m going down like a man.
At least with some dignity.
Heading towards the door, Iris, Hope and Luke follow suit, grabbing their belongings along the way and placing their drinks on the bar next to mine. All I keep thinking are two things.
One: this is gonna hurt.
Two: I fucking deserve this plus more.
Reaching the door in a steady stride, I look up from the floor.
“Colter…” I start, before I’m being grabbed around my collarbone.
Next thing I know, I’m halfway across the busy parking lot, landing on my left shoulder.
Shit, that hurt.
The man always had some strength behind his throw. I should know, we grew up tossing hay bales.
Brushing off the stones that stick to the side of my shirt, I swing my right leg forward, preparing to get up from the ground. Making it halfway up, I feel a thud before I’m looking back up at the star filled sky.