59. Chapter Fifty-Nine

Chapter Fifty-Nine

Toby

" I swear to fucking God, if you don't fucking tell me, I'm gonna tie guitar strings around your fingers until they fall off."

Leo stares at me from across the seat of the rental I'm driving with an arch to his brow.

"You're the one that let it slip she's here. Now spill your guts, or I'm pulling over."

"And do what?" His eyes roll. "Make me cry uncle ?"

I nod, dead ass serious.

The man stays silent.

"For fuck's sake, Le. I did all the bullshit you asked," I growl. "I gave it time, kept my shit under control, and participated in all your marketing bullshit." I switch my grip on the wheel when it creaks in protest. "If I don't get my girl, and my axe in my hands, I'm gonna fucking choke you."

Leo snorts and brushes his hands down his pressed shirt. "I can give you the latter, but the rest is not up to me. And it wasn't marketing bullshit . It was your transition."

"Well, I'm transitionized, okay? All good. Got a sponsor, go to meetings, and I haven't touched a drop. Now call my woman."

"Pretty sure you need to stop claiming her without even talking to her about it first."

"If she'd answer my call, I would have already."

"You understand what just came out of your mouth, right?"

It's my turn to snort. "Yeah, yeah." I release the wheel with one hand and smack at his elbow. "Pick up the phone."

"You gotta turn here!" Leo jolts up in his seat, his arm stretched out to point at a street I drive by.

"Seriously?" I growl and readjust my grip on the wheel. "No warning?"

"If you'd get out of the Stone Age and use a fucking GPS like the rest of us, I wouldn't need to give you damn directions."

"Give me a break, dick. I spent most of my life not driving ."

"Clearly," Leo enunciates, leaning back in his seat and perching his elbow on the window. His fingers tease the oh shit handle before grabbing the thing like his life depends on it when I bank a U-turn that's probably illegal. " Dude ."

I chuckle and straighten the car out into the traffic. Only a few horns blare in my direction, and I signal to switch into the lane closest to the street Leo told me to turn down.

With the roar of the engine beneath me and a grin, I reach over and blindly smack at his arm again. "Send her tickets for tomorrow, at least."

The sigh that comes out of the man is borderline hysterical with how deep and intense it is. "Fine. But it's not my fault if she doesn't come."

I chuckle, a warmth I haven't felt in months blooming in my chest. "It's gonna be all your fault."

"Goddammit, you're never gonna let this go, are you?"

I shake my head and hit the gas. "That would require letting Anna go." A somber wave rushing down my spine has my soul feeling like it might be swallowed up in an endless void. "Can't do that."

Leo makes some kind of sound that's a mix of irritation and distress, and I shake the thoughts out of my head.

"You're starting to sound like the other two," Leo murmurs. "All that time talking shit, now look at you."

I huff, but shrug. "I guess I understand now."

I can't see the band manager roll his eyes, but I feel it. "Understand what exactly?"

"That I would rather see her, know her, be with her. That over everything else in my life, she's the one that matters most. Anna makes the most sense to me when the rest of the world doesn't."

"You're giving me diabetes."

The laugh that bursts out of me is cathartic.

"I take it back," Leo mumbles with a shake of his head and a raise of his phone wielding hand. "You are worse than Rex and Fin." He makes a fake gagging noise in the back of his throat that has more laughter bubbling out of me.

"One day, you might get it."

"Jesus, now you sound like Ma." His phone makes a pinging noise when he taps at the screen. "There, man. I sent her two VIP tickets. Now, will you shut the hell up?"

My eyes bulge. "Why the fuck would you send two?"

"Maybe she's got a friend— Turn here !"

"Oh, motherfucker."