Epic Sins (Epic Fail #1)(33)

“Because he’s our songwriter. Without his words, we have nothing. He needs to be all in or we don’t sign shit.” Dax tosses his drumsticks onto the couch next to him and rubs his hands together. He’s nervous.

“Where’s Alex?” Dax asks.

“He said something about a girl and he jumped off the stage to find her in the audience.” Tristan smirks.

“Dude, we don’t need him getting all serious with a chick,” I state. “As Dax said, he needs to be all in. We can’t have his dick leading the charge.”

Dax nods his head in agreement and Tristan snickers. “Man, how long have you known Alex? He’s never been led by his dick.” He falls over onto his side and laughs hysterically.

“I’m going to see what’s up with the label exec. I’ll be back in a few.” Dax gets up and leaves the room.

“He’s so uptight.” I shrug. “That dude needs to get laid.”

“Says the ladies’ man.” Tristan laughs again. “That reminds me, what happened with that blonde the other night. Did you bang her in the bathroom?”

“So what if I did.” I don’t know her name, but I most certainly did bang her in the bathroom. Twice.

“She was hot. She had her eye on you all night.”

I remember spotting her in the crowd from the stage. She stared at me like I was the only one there, and she made me feel really good afterwards.

I wonder if she’s here tonight.

I’m about to get up when Dax comes back into the room, excited. “She just gave me her card and told me to call her in the morning. They’re working up an offer as we speak!” He can barely contain himself as he high-fives Tristan.

“That’s amazing, bro!” I shout, thinking about the blonde again. “I’m going to try to find someone,” I say as Alex comes rushing through the door.

He’s muttering to himself, and he’s not happy.

“Alex, you’re never going to believe this,” Dax says, and then his expression changes. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” he mumbles and throws himself down on the couch. “What are you so happy about?” he scowls.

“The record label is working on an offer, and we should have it first thing tomorrow morning,” Dax says.

“Great. Exciting.” Alex isn’t the least bit excited.

“Care to share why you’re being a royal douchebag right now?” I ask.

“It’s none of your business,” he spits.

“Whatever,” I say and get up. “Congrats, everyone. I’m looking forward to tomorrow, Dax. Don’t worry, it’s going to be a great offer.”

I walk out of the room, and I hear Dax ask Alex about some girl he saw him with. The door shuts behind me before I can hear anything else.

I spot the blonde as soon as I enter the bar, and I’m ready to find another room in this place. She sees me too and makes her way across the crowded room. Just before she reaches me, my cell phone vibrates in my pocket. The only people who have this number are the guys and my mother. Since I know it’s not Alex, Dax or Tristan, I realize it can only be Mom.

What could she be calling about? She called me as soon as I woke up this morning so she and Bill could sing “Happy Birthday” to me.

I swipe to answer and I hear her soft voice. “Garrett?”

It’s loud in the bar area, so I hold up my finger when the blonde reaches me and I mouth, I’ll be right back. She smiles and her full lips are so inviting. I back up into the quiet hallway behind the bar.

“Mom, can you hear me?” I ask, covering my exposed ear while I hold the phone to the other one.

“Yes, I can hear you,” she says, and I can immediately tell by the tone of her voice that something is wrong.

“Is everything okay?” I ask, worried.

“No, it’s not,” she immediately replies. “Garrett, I’m so sorry to be calling you with this news. Especially on your birthday.”

“Is Bill, I mean, Dad okay?” I ask, terrified she’s about to tell me something bad happened to him.

“Yes, Bill’s okay. But…” She pauses and I swallow hard.

What’s going on?

“Mom?” I ask again, urging her to tell me what happened.

“But your father, he’s—he’s dead.”

I close my eyes and breathe deeply. Dead?

“Are you okay, Mom?” I ask. I know that she’s feeling this, hard. She did everything she could to save her marriage when I was a kid. She was the glue that held us together. After he left, she remained the glue and filled our house with more love than I could imagine. We didn’t need that f*cker in our lives.

“I don’t know,” she says, and I hear her sobbing through the phone.

“Tell me what to do. What can I do?” I beg her, and her sobbing just gets louder. I hear a muffled voice coming from her side, and Bill is consoling her.

“Garrett?” His voice is solid and strong.

“Bill, tell me she isn’t this upset. She can’t be, that * made her miserable. Tell her I’m okay. I’m fine.” I don’t want her to worry about me. I don’t feel anything for him.

“There’s more to it than that. John’s dead, but…” He stops and I swallow hard.