“It’s about Chase.”Vic didn’t dance around it.“Kid’s been killing it in the garage sessions.He’s got the talent, the heart, and the chemistry.But he thinks he hasn’t been asked.Not officially.He’s just been showing up, hoping we need him.”
Benny set his mug down slowly, expression shifting from surprise to something softer.“Shit.I’ve been waiting for him to say he wanted it.Didn’t want to pressure the kid if he wasn’t ready.”
“He’s ready,” Vic said firmly.“And we need him.”
Benny was already pushing back from the table, a grin spreading across his face.“Then I’m going to go fix that right now.”He cupped one hand around his mouth and shouted, “Lucia, I’ll be back in a few, yeah?”
Her response came faintly.“Okay.”
Benny clapped Vic on the shoulder as he passed.“Good looking out, brother.”
Vic stayed in the kitchen, listening to Benny’s boots head out the door toward the garage.A slow, satisfied grin stretched his own face.
He felt like he’d helped push something good forward.Not just for Chase, but for all of them.
The band was growing.
And it felt exactly right.
***
Chase
Chase sat on the old couch in the garage with his guitar across his lap, fingers moving slowly through a new version of the new riff Benny had shown him last week.It was starting to feel like it belonged to him now.Not borrowed, not copied, buthis.
This had become his favorite place.
Whenever the house felt too full of something he didn’t know how to name, he grabbed his guitar and came here.Benny never asked questions; he just handed him a fresh set of strings or nodded toward the amp, and they played until the ache in Chase’s chest eased.
He wasn’t ready to go home yet.
Home was Mason’s house now.It had been for a while.But lately it felt different.Brighter.Warmer.Full of laughter that wasn’t forced and the smell of whatever Willa was cooking that night.
Willa.
Chase liked her.He really did.
She was brilliant—could tear through code almost as fast as Myron when she got focused.She shredded on a skateboard like it was nothing, flipping tricks in the driveway that made Chase stop and watch in quiet awe.She cooked like she actually enjoyed feeding people, and the way she looked at Mason?God, it was so obvious she loved him.Not in the careful, polite way he’d seen women try before.Real love.The kind that made his dad smile bigger and laugh easier than Chase had ever seen.
So why did it feel like a punch to the gut every time he walked in and saw them together?
Chase closed his eyes and dug into the riff again, letting the notes bleed out louder than necessary.The music didn’t ask questions.It didn’t expect him to be happy about his dad finally finding someone.It just let him feel whatever he needed to feel.
She’s good for him,he thought, fingers moving faster.She makes him laugh.She makes the house feel like a home instead of just a safe place to land.I should be glad.
Hewasglad.
Mostly.
But part of him—the part that had spent years wondering why his mom had left him on Mason’s doorstep like unwanted luggage—still twisted up tight whenever he saw them.It made him feel twelve years old again.Like he was watching something he wasn’t supposed to see.Like he was still the outsider looking in.
The side door creaked open.Benny stepped in, acoustic slung over his shoulder, and gave Chase a knowing look.
“Again?”Benny asked, a small smile tugging at his mouth.
Chase shrugged, trying to play it cool.“If you’ve got time.”
“I’ve got time.”
