Chapter 12
Chapter Twelve
Damien
At times, I didn’t know which was more challenging: being on tour with a bunch of guys who have the same hygiene standards as middle school boys, or being home with my niece and nephew who didn’t understand that sometimes a guy just needed a little peace and quiet.
And after weeks of being on the road, that was exactly what I required.
“Uncle Damien, come on.” Grant grabbed my arm and tried to pull me up from where I’d planted myself on the couch.
We’d gotten in late last night, and I’d barely slept a wink before coming over to Violet’s bright and early this morning. My limbs were like cement and my knees had that annoying ache down in my bones.
“And what exactly do you want me to do?”
“Come shoot some hoops with me.”
Grant was fourteen and loved basketball more than I loved dollar wing night at Freddy’s. He made the junior varsity team at his high school, and I couldn’t be more proud of him.
Which made it impossible to tell him no.
“Fine. Give me a second, okay?”
I’d start praying to any deity at this point if they could wake up my ass and give me some much needed energy to keep up with these two.
“Okay. I’ll meet you outside.” The excitement in his voice made up for the sore muscles I would have tomorrow morning, and probably the morning after that, too.
“You know, Uncle Damien. You don’t have to do everything he says.” Maylee, who was nine, sat on the floor at my feet, brushing her Barbie doll’s hair.
“But if I don’t go outside with him, he’ll stay in here and probably pull the head off that new Barbie I just bought you.”
Her eyes widened in horror. “Omigosh. You’re so right. Go outside. Now!”
I laughed as I looked down at my phone for the umpteenth time this afternoon.
I couldn’t understand why, but a flutter of unease swam through my abdomen. Cadence had grown suddenly quiet. We’d talked nonstop for the past three months or so, and this was the first time she’d felt out of reach.
I hoped she was okay.
I ran a hand through my hair and stood. I considered what we had together a good friendship, but perhaps that was one-sided. I didn’t want to push her away, but if she wanted space, I’d give it to her.
Or at least I’d try, anyway.
Everyone had that point where they would cave and reach out, right?
Meanwhile, I had two little munchkins that weren’t so little anymore to keep me distracted.
Violet had begun her radiation and chemotherapy.
Today, I was watching the kids while she met with a palliative care team to provide her comfort throughout the entire process.
The next six months or so were going to be grueling for her, and I wanted her to have the support she needed while I toured.
I didn’t want her or the kids to worry about a single thing. The doctors planned to remove one of the tumors in her lungs in the next month as soon as it shrank enough during the treatments. They didn’t have an exact timeline.
I’d already told the other band members, and they were extremely supportive if we needed to cancel a show at the last minute so I could be here.
Even Colton kept his comments to himself, which was a small mercy. He and I still had this weird unspoken strain between us, snapping at each other for no reason.
Since this wasn’t Vi’s first time with cancer, the doctors were a bit concerned, afraid her body wouldn’t be able to handle the second round of treatments.
But as long as I was around, she would have the best chance money could buy.
After all, why have wealth if you can’t spend it on the people who mean the most to you?
I walked out the front door and greeted the typical overcast fall Michigan day.
I didn’t grab anything to put over my t-shirt before coming outside. My jeans and Timberland boots kept me warm in the 60-something-degree weather.
Besides, someone had my favorite hoodie, and I hadn’t gotten it back yet.
I placed my phone down on the little table next to the rocking chairs on the porch before walking to the driveway where my sister had set up a basketball hoop.
“Grant, are you ready for some good ol’ smackdown?” I reached out to grab the ball from him as he dribbled, but he was too quick.
There was a really good chance his skills had surpassed mine while I’d been off on tour, and I was the one about to get my ass handed to me on a Thanksgiving Day platter with all the fixin’s.
“I’m not going to go easy on you just because you’re old.” Grant pushed the ball into the ground, catching it with his other hand.
“And I’m not going to try too hard because I’m old. So, we’re on the same page here.”
Grant laughed. “One on one then?”
“Can’t we play something easy? Like horse or that other game you spell stuff.”
“Those games are for little kids.”
“And old people.”
“Come on, don’t be such a sissy. You’ll be fine. I’m only fourteen, remember? I’m sure you’ll beat me.”
He was buttering me up, and I appreciated it.
I was still taller than him, though not by much these days.
Grant had yet to hit that growth spurt where you finally filled out.
He still looked like a long string bean with messy blonde hair and blue eyes.
Maylee had the same coloring. It was a shame they’d gotten those features from their father.
My sister was blessed with light brown hair and hazel eyes.
As Grant matured, he looked more and more like his father.
“Fine. I get the ball first, though.”
“Age before beauty.”
I pulled my face up in mockery as I grabbed the ball from his hands and ran toward the hoop.
…And was completely overtaken by this fourteen-year-old.
Grant blocked almost every shot I threw and made twice the amount I tried to make.
I only lasted about thirty minutes before my legs gave out and I collapsed in the rocking chair on the front porch. I was covered in sweat, my clothes sticking to me uncomfortably.
Grant openly laughed at my debilitation, but I didn’t have the energy right now to care.
“Let me grab you a bottle of water.”
I nodded, huffing out breath. I could still hear his ridicule as he walked into the house.
My phone vibrated against the glass table, startling me, and I instinctively reached out to stop the sound, unprepared for the name I saw pop up on the caller ID.
“Hello?” I said into the phone, immediately worried.
“Hey, sorry to bother you unannounced.”
I cleared my throat. “It’s fine. Are you okay?” We’d never spoken on the phone before.
“Yeah, I just needed to talk… but are you sure you’re okay? You sound really out of breath.”
“I’m good.” It was weird hearing her voice through the receiver. In truth, I’d only heard it a handful of times. But it was smooth and melodic, making me wonder why we didn’t do this more often.
“Oh, God. Did I interrupt you? Were you…” She lowered her voice and whispered, “masturbating?”
“Geez, what do you take me for, some kind of pervert? It’s the middle of the day, and I’m watching my niece and nephew.”
In my head, I could see her shrugging. “Hey. If the shoe fits.”
“Gee. Thanks. And no, I was playing basketball.”
“With Grant?”
“Yeah, how’d you guess?”
“You’ve mentioned Grant and Maylee a few times here and there. I was paying enough attention to remember their names.”
“Hm. Or you’re just a creep secretly obsessed with me.”
“Ha. In your dreams.”
“Are you watching me right now? Can you see what color boxers I’m wearing?”
“Umm. Probably black. That’s a typical color for guy boxers.”
“Eeeeeeh. Wrong. I’m not wearing boxers.”
“I didn’t peg you as a whitey tightey kind of guy. But, hey. You learn something new every day.”
“Oh yeah. That’s it. Not! I prefer to go commando, sweetheart.”
“Nuh-uh. You’re lying. I’ve seen you on stage. There’s no way…”
She didn’t finish her sentence, but I sensed the blush traveling across her skin. A delicious shade of pink that would accentuate her eyes, making them look even more bright and full of life.
“Tell me, Cadence. Were you checking out my dick when I performed?”
“What? No! Absolutely not!”
“Me thinks you protest too much, my dear.”
“That’s because you’re ridiculous. I’m protesting because it’s not true.”
“How many times? Like every show? Multiple times a show? At least every song? I need numbers.”
“Oh my god, you’re impossible. I didn’t call to talk about your dick.”
But she no longer denied she checked me out on stage, and my cheeks ached from smiling so much. “Why did you call? What did you need to talk about?”
She let out a long sigh, and the laughter we shared only a few seconds before was gone.
So, something bad then.
Grant came out of the front door and set an ice-cold water bottle down for me. I pointed to my phone, and he nodded before heading back inside.
“Spit it out, Cadence. I’m growing old over here.”
“You’re already old.”
“Why does everyone keep saying that? I’m not that old, I’m twenty-eight.”
“Oh. You’re only two years older than I am.”
“See. Not actually old.”
“Fine. Whatever. You’re not old.”
“Thank you.”
She paused again, and I cradled the phone under my ear and opened the bottle to take a drink. The cool water was the perfect remedy for my overheated body, and it instantly soothed me.
“I just don’t know where to start.”
“How about at the beginning?”
“Such an obvious choice.” She took one more deep breath before starting.
“One of my childhood friends died last week, and I didn’t go home.
All of this I already told you, of course.
But because I couldn’t focus on the day of the funeral, I messed up some documents for the compliance inspector and got reprimanded. ”
So, she didn’t end up going then. What a damn shame. “I’m sorry, Cadence.”
“That’s not all of it, either.”
“Okay…”
“Last Friday, a tornado went through my hometown, and my best friend ended up in the hospital.”
“Jesus Christ.”
“She’s okay. She has a few stitches and some scrapes, but she is fine. Everyone is fine.”
“Well, that’s good news then, right?”
“Except, I got a call from another friend—”