Page 160 of Graves

“Great show!” he says solemnly. “You really gave it everything tonight.”

“Thanks.”

I down the water in one go.

“This is going to cause a shitstorm!” Leslie says, visibly stressed. “The label already sent out a press release right before the show saying Grave Sinner is going back on tour.”

My jaw drops. I glance at Sam. Had they been trying to lull me into a false sense of security?

“Why would you do that?” Sam asks, laying his towel over the back of the couch. “We agreed to hold off on any announcements.”

“You said you wanted to continue!” Leslie fires back, throwing her hands up. “How was I supposed to know you’d pull the plug?”

“Everyone saw this coming,” Liam says, setting Alex down and stepping closer. “I’m surprised you didn’t.”

“Leslie didn’t want to see it,” Sam adds, dropping exhausted into an armchair. “To her, we’re just cash cows.”

“That’s not true!” Leslie snaps, her attention shifting to her vibrating phone. It’s probably the label, because in an instant, her face pales and she swallows hard. Hesitantly, she turns away from us and steps out into the hallway to take the call.

“Relax, Aran,” Liam says. “We only owe them one more show. That’s it.”

I sink onto the couch, still stunned. Is that really it? That easy—and I’ve lost my job?

“I have no idea what I’m supposed to do now.”

Liam laughs and drops down beside me. “Yeah, right.” He grins and hands me a vodka-orange. “You’ll find your sound. And when you do, you call me, got it?”

“Sound?” Mike perks up and joins our circle.

“If you can even call it that,” Liam says, sighing.

I stare at the watered-down orange juice in my cup and wonder if I should even drink it. I’m trying to cut back, after all. Quitting the band is supposed to be the first real step.

“Tonight we celebrate the second-to-last Grave Sinner show,” Liam says casually, raising his cup. “And afterward, you go take care of whoever you were texting before the gig. Your house sitter, I assume.”

“A new love?” Sam asks. He’s always been the romantic of the group—the one who gave our lyrics that final emotional touch.

Love?

I frown at my own reluctance to admit it. But yeah… I’m in love with Koh. No matter how hard I try to rebuild the walls around myself, it’s too late.

“Sounds like a plan,” Mike says, raising his cup too. “To our second-to-last gig!”

The guys are right. We have every reason to celebrate. Only one show left between me and my new life. After that, I’ll have all the time in the world to slow down. So I clink cups with the band, take a big sip, and grimace. “Jesus, Liam! That’s more vodka than orange.”

“It’s called vodka-orange, not orange-vodka.”

I cough and set the cup on the table. “So what are your plans after the final show?”

“My brother will be happy if I go back to advertising,” Mike says. “And Maria too. She’s pregnant.”

“Congrats, dude!” Liam cheers. “That’s awesome.”

“Yeah, the wedding invitation is coming soon.”

I’m genuinely happy for Mike. Even though he used to be one of the biggest punks I knew, the quiet life clearly suits him. He’s going to be a great dad.

“I’ve got some sponsors to chase,” Sam says with a shrug.