Best Friend's Ex Box Set

We were actually finished with the first leg of the tour. But, for some reason, as well as all of our shows had gone, I didn’t feel like I had accomplished anything. Instead, I felt empty, the sting of Nalia’s abrupt departure still a bruise on my heart.

I hadn’t realized how much she had become part of my life until she was no longer there, and I hadn’t slept much at all since her absence. As much as I tried to ignore them, thoughts of her ran through my head so much that it was rare now to find myself thinking about anything else. Still, what could I do? What happened had happened. She made her choice, she left, and that's about all there was to it. I would simply have to accept it and get over it.

“I’m starving,” Talon remarked as he looked at the menu. “I think I could eat everything on this damn thing.”

“Well, I guess that means I’ll be fronting the bill then,” I said dryly. He gave me the middle finger, and I sighed, glad my brother was talking to me again after our “heated misunderstanding,” as Talon was calling it.

Fighting with Talon wasn’t really anything new—that’s what brothers did—but it didn’t make me feel any better about it. I had, af

ter all, been the instigator, and it wouldn't have happened if I hadn't let my personal feelings get in the way and then taken them out on him. I was a mess—confused and unable to concentrate on anything. I wanted to snap out of it, but it just didn’t seem to be happening.

The waitress came by, and we both ordered a Bloody Mary and omelets before handing our menus back to her.

“So,” Talon said, leaning back in his chair. “Half of the tour is down. Can you believe that? We've finished half of the tour. Man, it really feels like it's been just a couple of days on the road. Crazy how fast time flies by when you're having a good time.”

“No, I actually can't believe it,” I replied with a grim smile. “Not so much the tour, but in general. Back when we started out, I would have never thought we’d get this far. We’ve really had quite the run.”

“That we have, bro,” he answered as the waitress deposited our drinks onto the table. Talon picked his up and saluted it my way. “To good times.”

I picked mine up and clinked glasses with him. “Agreed.”

“This tour has been better than I imagined,” he said, “and it's been so good for all of us. Me especially, you know? This band means so much to me. I just wanted to say thank you again for keeping your promise and getting this whole thing going again.”

“No problem, little brother. It's been good for me, too.”

We each took a sip and then settled back in our chairs, the sound of the ocean filling the silence between us. Five days of rest lay ahead, and I had no idea what to do with the time. Our lives had been so hectic over the last month or so, and now that I had down time, all I wanted to do was to go back out there and just start it over again. I wanted something to keep me occupied.

My only solace since Nalia had cut off any contact with me had been found in playing shows. I needed to rehearse, to sing, to write new music...anything that would keep my mind off of her and the future I kept thinking about with her. The future that wasn’t going to happen.

“Ya know, I’ve been thinking,” Talon said. “I think I’d like to have a few kids.”

“What?” I asked, turning my attention back to my brother. “Did I just hear you right?” I asked, shocked.

“I didn’t stutter.”

“Don’t you have to get married and all that shit first to be thinking about kids? Besides, you're the absolute last person I had ever expected to hear utter those words.”

Talon laughed. “I’m not gonna run out and drop little Talon bombs everywhere. But I have been thinking about it a little lately. Ya know, wondering what it would be like to have someone to come home to. As much as I love the attention we get from all the women on the road, it does get a bit old after a while. I can't help thinking about what it might be like to have something more...you know...lasting. Permanent.”

I thought about what my brother said, and once again Nalia overtook my mind. I had to force myself not to think about what it would be like to come home to her, to have kids with her. But that just wasn’t meant to be. The facts were clear: she was gone and I was sitting beside the ocean with Talon, not her.

“I want the same thing,” I admitted. “Actually, it would be pretty amazing to have that, the more I think about it. Just not so sure it’s in the cards for me.”

Touring was a blast, and so were all the perks that went along with it, but once the fans went home and the bright lights were shut off, there was nothing left but a lonely hotel room. I had filled mine with a woman I thought would stick around for those times, but apparently, I had been wrong.

I guess I couldn't blame her; we had agreed on certain things beforehand, just so that neither of us would wind up getting hurt. But I guess that hadn't been enough, because here we were. Or rather, here I was. Hurting like hell.

“Dude, what’s with the weird look?” Talon asked.

“Nothing, man, nothing. Don't worry about it.”

He laughed. “Yeah, let me guess. I bet it has to do with Nalia, doesn’t it?”

I exhaled sharply. “I just don’t understand. I thought she was, hell, I guess... I guess I thought she was the one.”

“Whoa, wait a minute. Are you serious? I knew you cared about her, but I didn’t know you were in that deep.”

I sighed, shook my head and looked out over the ocean. “She just left. Left me high and dry without an explanation.”