Page 57 of Unbound
Tony, who’s remained quiet throughout all this, looks around his restaurant. “In the end, only three things matter: how much you love, how gently you lived, and how gracefully you let go of the things not meant for you.”
Red and I both stare at him, and Red shakes his head taking the bottle of bourbon from him as he stands. “Why, every time you drink bourbon, do you quote Buddha?”
Tony shrugs. “Not sure.” He gestures to me with a nod and then to the destruction on the floor. “But you’re not leaving until this place is cleaned up.”
“I will. I’ll pay for what I broke too.” I point to the kitchen. “Is there a broom in there?”
Tony shows me where the broom is and a mop, and I spend the next hour thinking of what I’m going to do to convince Sophie I didn’t do this, and how to deal with Sam and Nick as I clean up my mess. It’s not lost on Red that this is the first time I’ve struck around to clean up a mess I’ve made and he catches me at the door as I’m leaving, his hand on my shoulder. “I know you’re trying. Hopefully we can make her see the truth.”
“I hope so too.”
“You can’t change your past, but if you want a future with Sophie and your son, you’ve got to change your reactions to what you say and do.”
I was dumb to think any of this would be easy. I was, but as I’m leaving, Sophie’s not the only one on my mind. It’s Lyric and the gutted feeling of him ever thinking I didn’t want him.
WHEN I GET back to the house, it’s late, really late. Mostly because I rode around town for hours. I didn’t want to show back up at the house and have Sophie awake. Mostly because I didn’t want her to feel awkward.
It’s nearing one in the morning and I check my cell phone as I’m walking inside the house. I sent a message to Dylan telling him I needed to talk to him. He said he’d called around one when the bar closed.
I’m careful as I make my way upstairs, both Sophie and Lyric’s door are closed and it’s a hit to my heart, a reminder I’m not part of their lives and may never be again. I want so badly to open his door and tell him I’ll never leave him.
And I want to open Sophie’s and hold her, and promise to never be the monster I once was. I can let go, and I will for her. I will.
My phone vibrates in my hand and Dylan’s number flashes over the screen. Swiping my finger across the screen, I wait until I’m in my room with the door closed before I answer it. “Hey.”
“Hey, man, what’s up?” he says, his voice just as quiet, but it seems like it’s from being tired, if I had to guess. Not only does he have a bar he’s running, he has a wife and a kid himself.
“I’ve got a problem with Sam.”
Dylan’s quiet for a moment and then says, “Well, I would say I told you so but I don’t think you need to hear that right now.”
I don’t. He’s right. I go through everything that happened with my boys after the show last week, which he already knew about because he’s the one that called Sam and cancelled the two shows this week. I tell him about Lyric and what I said to Nick about it and how he sent those papers to Sophie.
I tell him everything from what happened with Sophie before I left, to now, and he listens. For an hour.
After a long pause, Dylan draws in a deep breath. “I’m not sure what you want to hear here, man, but I’ll do what I can with Sam. You gotta honor the contract you have with him. I’m speaking from personal experience here. He’ll fuck your career up forever if you don’t.”
“Okay,” I finally say, lying back against my pillow, my left arm tucked behind my head. “I think we have five shows. I gotta talk to Beck though.”
“All right,” he says. “I’ll be in touch in a few days, does that work?”
“Yeah, thank you.”
I wasn’t expecting any help when I called Dylan because honestly, what have I done for him besides act like a dumb kid with a chip on his shoulder in his bar?
