“Did Knightly help you?”
“What makes you think he would have known to?”
“’Cause there’s a begging tone to your voice when you call out to him in your dreams, so I’ll ask again. Did he help?”
“No, and that’s the last I wanna say about it.”
Ending conversations that got too serious was something Dez was notorious for. Zakk, on the other hand, was known for getting the people he cared about to talk through their issues, rather than hide from them. This was something he sensed Dez needed to get off his chest, though maybe now wasn’t the best time. He needed to make sure their bond was back to the way it had been first before he pushed Dez too hard.
“Alright.”For now.While he left the second part unsaid, it would not be forgotten. “But you do know that there’s one very big difference between Riley and Knightly, right?”
“I can think of several, but okay.”
“Yeah well the biggest one you should be thinking about is that Riley loves you. That is fact. It’s not in your head. It’s not a confused delusion. It’s not wistful thinking either in case you were wondering. He loves you. I know you love him. Maybe dating a bandmate does lead to trouble. But know what else causes problems?”
“What?”
“Ignoring feelings strong enough they prompted you to go out and buy a ring.”
Dez’s eyes shot open, but when their gazes locked, he immediately looked away. “Was stupid to think that…”
“No, it wasn’t. So talk to him, and not about music, damnit.”
“Like he’s gonna listen. At this point he has no reason to.”
“Oh, I can guarantee he will.”
“Really?”
“Yup.”
“And just how are you going to do that?”
“Well first off, I’m going to sing him what we have of our newroll me up and smoke song. Then I’m gonna suggest he help you come up with some new lines.”
“Uh-huh. And how do you expect that’s gonna turn out?”
“With a new song and a reconciliation,” Zakk offered. “At the very least, he could always demonstrate what else he can do with his lips that resembles smoking but doesn’t involve any sort of fire…unless you want it to.”
“Oh hell no. There is adventurous and then there is a level of fear that I’m not ready to have introduced into my playtime, thank you very much.”
“You shouldn’t knock it until you try it.”
“Just promise me you and Tripp won’t try it while we’re sharing adjourning rooms. I’d hate to wake up with the wall on fire.”
Despite the fact that he was laughing, Zakk wasn’t about to forget what Dez had revealed, about backsliding with his med regimen and how his head hadn’t been in a good place lately. If it took tracking Dez down at ten o’clock every night until they were on the road again, that’s what he’d do to ensure he got back into the habit of taking them. It would be nice if he fixed things with Riley though. He’d meant it when he said Dez was good for him, even if his friend seemed to not think he was good for much these days. They’d just have to fix that again too, like the last time, and make sure there was never any reason for them to doubt one another again.
Chapter 25
Sunrise and the sharing of notes and chords
“Son of a bitch!”
Tripp’s words stretched into a long, rolling echo across the canyon.
Behind him there was the steady cadence of dirt crunching and pebbles rolling like someone had kicked them out of the way.
“Who’s there?”