“I’m so nervous,” Maria said, waving her hands in front of her face. I didn’t know what for; as soon as the sun set, it wasn’t very warm. I did feel some nerves, though. “Hey, guys! Can we gather for a moment? I’d like to do a prayer.”

I supposed this was where Nicky and I—and Chris—didn’t quite fit in with the rest. My brother and I weren’t exactly religious, despite our close connection to our local church. It was mainly for the music. I couldn’t call myself agnostic or an atheist either, for that matter. Religion was… It wasn’t just one thing. It was complicated. And personal. But it wasn’t the first time Nicky and I bowed our heads in prayer, and it wouldn’t be the last.

Everyone joined hands, and Maria led the way.

“Hear us pray, O glorious Saint Cecilia,” she began.

“This is so fucking rock ’n’ roll,” Nicky whispered next to me.

I grinned but kept my eyes and mouth shut.

“…We lift our hearts in joyous song, sent heavenward on winged notes,” she continued. “We pray, guide us, our saint for those who sing, keep us under your protective wing. O glorious Saint Cecilia. Amen.”

“Amen.” I cleared my throat and looked over my shoulder as the audience some fifty feet away erupted in cheers and applause. “All right, everyone. We’re up. As long as you do better than me at rehearsal today, you’re good.”

I got a few laughs outta that, and it relieved some of the tension.

“Kidding aside, I’m glad you’re all here,” I said. “Music once brought us together, and music is what we’re gonna give these Southerners.”

“Fuck yeah!” Luiz’s agreement rose above the others’, and he held his drumsticks in the air. A nice instrument to play when you had roadies doing the heavy lifting. You just grabbed your sticks.

Another poor bastard had to get his three guitars ready, ’cause no roadie in the universe was allowed to touch them.

Standing right next to the stage, I felt a nervous flutter in my stomach as the crew unveiled our backdrop. With our lack of goals for this band’s future, we hadn’t gotten very creative with our name, but it still packed a punch to see The Second Initiative in rusty lettering against the black background.

I took out my phone to snap a picture of it, and I noticed I had a text waiting from August.

Can’t wait to see you, sweetheart. You’ve been on my mind all day.

My chest constricted. It was insane how fast that man reeled me in. Just a few words, and I was ready to go find him.