In Waves

The last day of tracking was a breeze. Scott continued with his momentum from Thursday and had exceptional tracks done by noon.

He spent the last time we had for the session adding vocal harmonies to each song—adding more depth to the mix. He really wanted a product we could shop to record labels while we were still relevant from Kenny’s debauchery.

I had been texting with Stan during the entire recording process. There was legitimate buzz around us in industry circles. Most of it was that we were a gimmick that could easily be exploited, but it was a foot in the door.

When we wrapped, Scott invited us all back to his place. His parents wanted to host us to celebrate finishing tracking. We were told to bring our partners to make it feel like a special occasion.

Skye would be fine, but this would be the first time Jim saw Kenny and Maggie together, which could go in a lot of different ways.

***

I caught a ride with Kenny back to the Parris’ house. He agreed to pick Skye up on the way since Maggie was already with Courtney. We talked a bit about our relationships and how different they were on the way.

They were mature and open in their relationship. They spent most of their time talking about music, books, art, and personal experience. He talked about her parents being apprehensive about him at first because of the jump and being older, but they were warming up to him. Kenny’s parents were more absent than mine—his dad was a long distance trucker and his mom left a couple of years ago, leaving him alone for most of his existence, so just being around people was doing wonders for his mental health.

As I spoke about what I had with Skye, I felt embarrassed—it just sounded like I was using her to feel better about myself.

“Look, Wes, we’re a lot alike. The fact you opened up to her and she gave you affirmations is a sign that she sees a future with you.”

“You think?”

“Yeah, just trust that you both see a future together and work toward it. Even if it feels toxic and lusty right now, it could turn into something else.”

I didn’t know if he was right, but I trusted his insight.

As we pulled up to Skye’s house, she was already outside, waiting.

“I could’ve walked you guys,” she said, getting in his car.

“It’s fine—riding with us is more fun anyway,” Kenny said.

The ride took less than three minutes, so Kenny was a little off base with what he said, but we all appreciated the sentiment.

Walking into the Parris’ house, we noticed we were the last ones to arrive. Maggie immediately dropped her conversation with Jim and Courtney to greet Kenny with a kiss—the tension already brewing.

I dapped up Scott and his dad. Thanking them for putting this together.

The vibes in the room were weird. There was an unspoken tension I couldn’t place beyond just Jim’s spite toward Kenny.

“I can’t wait for you to hear the final version of ‘Darker Days,’ it’s unbelievable,” Kenny said in conversation with Courtney and Maggie.

“Is it that much better than what we heard?” Courtney asked.

“Wes’s solo might be the high point on the entire album.”

Courtney raised an eyebrow, “Forgive me for being skeptical, but I find it hard to believe Wes has a solo that memorable.”

Skye looked like she was ready to argue, but I put my arm around her and whispered, “It’s okay, she’s not wrong.”

“Court, trust me, I know about Wes’s limitations better than anyone—that solo fucks,” Kenny pushed back.

Courtney instinctively looked at her brother for his opinion.

“Courtney, it’s fantastic… right up there with the best stuff Caleb was writing before he left,” Scott said.

This was the equivalent of setting off a bomb in the room. I internalized the comparisons to my brother, but it was considered taboo to compare me to Caleb openly. It was an unspoken agreement between the three other members of EoT. I knew he meant it as a compliment, but it put everyone in the room on edge.

“I can’t wait to hear it,” Mr. Parris said, cutting the tension as the adult in the room. “Caleb is an awesome player, but I’m ecstatic to hear Wes coming into his own.”

The tension quickly dissipated. I needed to hear that from someone who didn’t know me as intimately.

As the night went along, we separated into smaller groups. Somehow, I ended up alone with Jim.

“This doesn’t happen too often,” I said.

“Yeah, you and I don’t really end up alone in a room together.”

“How are you feeling about, well, everything?”

He paused to reflect, “I think I feel alright. I’ve been going through a lot at home and with the band…just a lot to do with my future—decisions I keep deferring.”

“That’s heavy man…I don’t even think about my future anymore—I think I made that choice already.”

“I know. You three are all-in on this rock-and-roll dream. I just don’t know if it’s the proper future for me.”

“Think you’re going off to college next year?”

“It’s what everyone is expecting of me…I don’t know, maybe I’ll do a tour with EoT if we get an offer and see how that goes. If it feels like a life worth living, maybe I’ll change my mind.”

“That makes sense.”

“If this takes off, are you even going to be able to finish high school?”

As much as I dreamed about the future…I didn’t want to talk about what-ifs until I had to.

***

After a while, I found Skye and Courtney in the garage, bathed in the low amber flicker of a bug light. They were seated across from each other on an old couch, knees touching. I lingered in the doorway.

“You did what—” Courtney was saying, her voice pitched in disbelief.

Skye turned and saw me. Her expression softened, but not with relief—more like recognition. “Good,” she said. “You’re just in time.”

I stepped inside. “In time for what?”

“We were talking about the night after the show,” she said, her tone velvet-soft, almost reverent.

I looked at Courtney. Her posture was tense. Guarded. “Oh,” I muttered. Judging by her face, the topic had veered into territory I hadn’t intended to revisit out loud.

“This got awkward,” Courtney admitted, clutching her elbows.

Skye leaned in toward her again. “Do you want to understand? Or just pretend it didn’t happen?”

Courtney looked at me, her eyes pleading—make this stop.

“Skye, let her process it,” I said gently. “You can’t just drag people into things they didn’t choose.”

Skye let out a sigh and flopped back against the cushions. “Fine. But you owe me.”

I gave her a slight nod, unsure what I was agreeing to.

Courtney was quiet for a long moment. Then: “I just want to know why.”

Skye’s voice dropped an octave. “It’s hard to explain. It’s like… losing control without ever feeling unsafe. Like cutting the brake lines just to know you’re really driving.”

Courtney blinked. “That’s not an answer.”

Skye smiled—not cruelly, but like someone who knows the answer can’t be explained, only experienced. “We could show you.”

My skin prickled. “What the fuck is happening?” I said under my breath.

“I think it comes from… I don’t know. Some primitive energy,” I tried to rationalize. “A way to feel alive.”

They both turned to me, and for once, Skye wasn’t the most unreadable person in the room.

“Skye,” I said, trying to anchor us. “You said I owed you?”

She stood and crossed the garage in slow, deliberate steps, then shut the door behind me with a soft click. “Yes. And I’m cashing in now.”

Courtney sat frozen. I wanted her to leave, to interrupt, to do something, but she didn’t move.

Skye stepped into me, close enough to taste the metallic scent of her breath. Her hands found my chest. I didn’t stop her.

I should’ve.

She kissed me—deeply, hungrily—then pulled away just long enough to unsheathe a small blade from beneath her shirt.

“Skye, what—”

Without a word, she dragged the blade across her palm. Not fast. Not reckless. As if it was something sacred. She looked me dead in the eye, then pressed the bleeding hand to my face, smearing it.

Courtney gasped.

I didn’t move. I couldn’t.

The taste of iron, the slick heat on my skin, the weight of her body—everything blurred.

My mind shut off. I don’t remember what happened after that.