Gabriel

Walking down the shore, I let Dave's call go to voice mail. I can't believe how easily Jo got under my skin or how much I wanted to prove her wrong. Everything in me wanted to let her know I'm the opposite of her father and her ex. But am I?

The ebb and flow of the waves serve as a reminder that I am here to take a break, to forget about all my worries for a moment. But it's hard to put things behind me for a second when the string of texts from Dave keeps bringing me back to all the issues I'm trying to ignore.

The urge to throw my phone away when it rings again is almost unbearable, but some shitty sense of responsibility always kicks in when these guys are involved.

As I look at the screen of my phone for a few seconds, I know I won't be able to ignore him forever. So, pressing the phone to my ear, I let out a frustrated sigh. "Yeah?"

"Where the fuck are you?" Dave barks on the other side of the line, and I have to take a deep breath before answering.

"I'm home." I rub my face. "My parents' beach house."

"Did you talk to Josh?" he asks, and something in the way he lowers his voice gets to me. "He said he's serious about leaving, man."

"Fuck. I haven't talked to him since our last day in London." My heart sinks and I have to rub the spot in my chest that is suddenly burning. I thought a break would calm things down, but I should know better.

"Yeah..." Dave sighs, his tone worried too. "He seemed really sure about it."

"Damn it!" I kick the pile of sand in front of me, a mix of anger and hurt kicking in.

"You need to talk to him, man," Dave says after a moment.

"Where is he?"

"Not sure."

"God, I'm so tired of this shit..." I shake my head, a ball of resentment settling in the middle of my chest. These guys are my brothers, but I'm tired of always having to be the one to fix things. Especially when it's about things I have no part in. I have my own problems to deal with. The last thing I needed right now is to deal with everyone else's shit.

"You and me both, man." Dave lets out a humorless chuckle. "But I'm afraid if we don't sit down and talk, he might fuck up with the contracts we still have going on. He can't just disappear."

"You're right. I'll try to call him and get back to you guys."

"Sounds good."

Fuck! I look around, thinking about what to do. These guys are my best friends. We've been in each other's life for so long, I can't even imagine a situation where Josh is not with us anymore.

We were just a bunch of kids when we got together, but over the years, the bond we created made us family. And like every good family out there, we also have our problems.

Problems I'm tired of dealing with.

The most logical thing to do would be to gather them for a meeting. We've been at odds before and getting together and away from the public eye always seemed to do the trick. We would argue, fight, piss each other off, and naturally throw a punch or two. But after a while, we'd settle down and go on with our lives.

So, it's clear that's what Dave and the others are expecting me to do with this call.

Only, I don't want to leave. As fucked up as it seems, I was looking for this time away from them. Especially knowing I'd have Jo's company. But now...

Fuck!

Dialing Josh's number, I feel my heartbeat increase. He knows we enjoy our breaks as much as we enjoy being on stage. So, him pulling this shit now pisses me off more than I can explain.

"Yeah?" He picks up.

"Where the fuck are you?" I shout.

"I'm still in London," he answers, making me pause. I thought he had already flown home.

"I need you to get your ass on a plane and meet us at my parents' beach house."

"Why?"

"Because I'm tired of you being a baby. You want out? You fly your ass over here and discuss it like a man with the rest of us." I hang up, not giving him time to reply. Trying to reason with him over the phone won't cut it, so my only option is to have them all here together.

Wondering how Jo will take the news I invited the band to stay with us, I start making my way back home.

I know she was looking for some time alone after all the shit with her ex, so I'm sure having a bunch of guys cramping her style was definitely not in her plans.

The thing is, I don't want her to leave, so I need to find a solution not to scare her away with their presence.

Shooting the guys a text, I let them all know I expect them to be here in the next couple of days. They all reply almost immediately, and I let out a relieved breath when all of them agree to come.

Our manager Martin chooses this moment to call, but I can't deal with him right now. He's ready to bring me another level of problems I'm not ready to deal with. So, I just shoot him a text saying I'll call him soon.

When did life become so complicated?

We used to live for the euphoria of hearing the crowd cheer when we took the stage. We worked our asses off and the entire world has heard of our band, The Machine. We got everything we've always dreamed about and some more.

But now...

On top of all the problems of my own, Josh wants an out and we all can't seem to get along well for over thirty minutes when we are in the same room.

My sister's ringtone pulls me away from my thoughts, and I feel a smile forming as a seed of an idea starts in the back of my mind. "Hey sis," I answer.

"Hey, you! Just wanted to check up on you guys. Jo seemed a little unsure about you two spending time at the house."

"Yeah... About that. I really need a favor from you." I let out a quick breath, knowing it will be hard to get her on board with my plan.

"A favor?" she asks, and it's as if I can see her rolling her eyes.

"The guys are coming down here in a couple of days and I need you to come too, so Jo doesn't feel out of place."

"What?"

"She's still hung up on that guy and feels like she's imposing on me by staying here. When the guys arrive, she'll be ready to get out of here in two minutes."

"Why did you invite the guys, then? I thought you said you were all taking a three-week break?"

"Josh is thinking about leaving the band..." I close my eyes for a second. Saying it out loud is all shades of fucked-up.

"Whoa! What the heck?"

"I know. So we need a private place to talk this shit out."

"I'm sorry, Gabe. But as I told you earlier, I don't think I can take some time off." She lets out a sigh, and my heart sinks. She's been working non-stop and deserves a break, but I know she's trying to impress the partners of the law firm she works for. Asking her to come here is basically asking for a miracle.

"I know I'm asking a lot from you, but..." I say, trying to come up with an excuse that doesn't scream that I'm not ready to let Jo go just yet.

"But?"

"I could use having you here."

"Maybe I could go there on Thursday morning and stay the weekend?" She breathes, and my chest expands.

"Really?"

"Yeah. Really."

"You're the best, Mimi."

"Argh. I hate when you call me that." She groans, but I can feel a smile in her voice. "But look, I'll tell my boss it's a family emergency, but I'll still need a quiet place to work."

"Absolutely," I say, knowing I'll have to talk to the guys about that.

"And you owe me one." She sighs, making me chuckle.

"You got it! Love you," I say before we hang up.

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Celeste