Page 105 of The Prodigal Son

“And what about your other brother? He won’t be mad?” I ask, trying to keep them all straight even though I haven’t met this other brother yet.

Luke makes an uncertain expression. “He’ll be mad, but he’s my twin. He won’t let Adam kill me, but he might let him kick my ass.”

I wish I knew what it’s like having brothers. From the sound of it, they all give each other hell as much as they look out for each other.

“On the bright side,” Luke says. “Isaac dating you might be distracting enough to keep me alive.”

I laugh again as I finish the coffee in my mug. “I’m glad Isaac had you to run to. I’m glad he wasn’t alone all this time.”

“Me too,” Luke replies with a nod.

“Sadly, sometimes the ones who stay suffer a worse fate.”

Luke gives me a grim look. “True.”

To my relief, he doesn’t press the topic, and I don’t expand on it. How I was one of those kids who stayed, and how I’m so grateful Isaac never had to go through what I did.

Just after Luke leaves, I get a text from Isaac.

He wasn’t too mean, was he?

I told him to go easy on you.

I smile down at it before responding.

He wasn’t mean at all.

You have a good brother.

A moment later, his reply comes in.

I know.

The beauty of modern technology is that even when I’m home in Texas, I can log onto nearly any social media site and search up Theo Virgil, and at least one or two people have live stream footage or story clips of his concert.

Lying in bed, I watch him play on the stage, and it’s moments like these I can’t believe that he’s mine. He’s so talented I canhardly believe how easy he makes it all look. He memorizes the chords to every song, every lyric, every set change and every key of every song.

I’ve also noticed in the past few months, even before I met him in person, that Isaac, or should I say, Theo, has been throwing in more sex appeal into each of his performances. He clearly knows what the fans enjoy, so now he comes out with his shirt entirely unbuttoned, his sexy-as-hell washboard abs on display as he sings. Now I think he’s doing it just to drive me crazy.

I can see how much he loves this. Music and performing are his passions. His real, true love. This is what has kept him going over the last eleven years and maybe even longer. Lucas mentioned how Isaac turned all of his anger into fire, and I can see that now. He has taken every bad thing he’s endured and turned it into something wonderful. Something that feeds the souls of others.

In the middle of the show, he takes a little break to address the audience. Girls scream his name and call out “I love yous” to him. He blushes onstage as he wipes the sweat from his brow before replacing his cowboy hat and grinning down at his adoring fans.

I know he was nervous about tonight. It’s his first show since the whole fiasco and the first show since his secret song to me. The crowd still loves him, and I want to believe in my heart that they would continue to love him even if they found out the rumors were true.

“Play the new song!” someone screams, and he laughs behind the mic.

“You guys want to hear the new song again?” he asks.

They all cheer in response, mostly women shouting out, “Woo!” Then, every person in the stadium pulls out their phones to record.

“All right, all right,” Isaac says with a chuckle. “I gotta change my guitar. Hang on.”

They all laugh, like anything he says is hilarious. I see the slight difference between Isaac and Theo in moments like these. When he’s performing, he’s not a different person entirely, but there are just cute things he says and the way he talks that he does only for an audience.

The real Isaac, the man I know…I like to believe that’s just for me.

He switches his guitar and the crowd quiets down. As he starts to strum, I watch the video with tears in my eyes, remembering the night he played it for me in his living room.

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