Page 145 of The Prodigal Son

“You ready?” he asks.

I shake my head. “I don’t know if I’ll ever be ready. I wrote this sermon the entire time I was gone. But no matter what I try, I can’t seem to find the right words.”

“Speak from the heart,” he says. “They’ll listen.”

We sit in silence, my back straight against the diner booth. For the first time in a long time, I’m starting to feel like myself again.

“You’ll be there, won’t you?” I ask.

Adam looks up at me with a subtle nod. “Yeah, of course I will.”

I smile softly at him, lifting my coffee to my lips when he adds, “We’ll consider a trade.”

Pausing, I ask, “A trade for what?”

“I’ll come to your service if you…come to his show.”

The corner of my mouth tics with a hint of a smile. “His show?”

“The whole family is going on Friday night. We have room in our VIP section, and you belong there. You know it.”

Hearing his brother say that feels amazing. To be truly accepted by his family is more than I ever expected. And to be honest, I was planning on going to that concert, regardless. After my dad brought it up, I knew I wouldn’t miss it for the world. But now, to be invited by his family is the icing on the cake. Truly, nothing could stop us now.

Lifting my coffee cup to my lips with a smirk, I reply, “I wouldn’t miss it for the world.”

Forty-Three

Isaac

If I thought my life was chaotic before, I had no idea. My little coming out onstage went viral,reallyviral. Since then, I’ve been swamped with podcasts, interviews, photo shoots. Lola keeps showing me these fan edits of me that make me blush. She says my courage and vulnerability made me sexier to the general public, which I did not expect.

But I like it.

There was some backlash—because of course there was—but I found it pretty easy to drown it all out. Everyone who had something negative to say about me and my sexuality just yelled at each other in their own void.

The next day, the phone calls came in. Country star legends reached out to offer their support. Politicians, movie stars, other musicians. It was the wildest two weeks of my life. For a whole seven days,my namewas trending on social media.

Since then, things have started to die down a bit, which is a blessing. Song lyrics are coming back to me again. Even with Jensen gone, I hear the music because I know he’s alive. He’sgetting better. He’s coming back to me. Admittedly, the songs I’m writing these days are heavier than normal, but if I’ve learned anything in my career, it’s that the fans love to hear what’s real. Everyone is just craving connection, and that’s the beauty of art. Even country singers have the words to explain things so profound and personal.

Ever since Jensen texted, I haven’t been able to relax. I know he said he still needs time, but I have a feeling that’s just him givingmetime. He thinks I need to focus on my tour and all the media attention, but what I really need is to remember that I’m a real person with a real life.

I’m notreallyTheo Virgil.

Amazingly, things with my family have been great as well. My new lock screen is a photo of me and Abigail, and her drawings now cover the small fridge on the tour bus. I talk to my brothers nearly every day.

Dean and I playGrand Theft Autotogether while I’m on the road, which is a great way to reconnect with him without having to address the fact that he’s now banging my brother and sister-in-law.

They’re all coming to my last show in Austin tonight, and I can’t wait to see them. Afterward, we’re hosting a huge party at my house with the band and crew and our families and people from the label.

While I’m walking back from the stadium after a dress rehearsal, I get a text from my mother. It’s a link to a video, which takes me by surprise. Especially when I see Jensen’s face on the screen. My heart hammers in my chest as I click the link.

It takes me to a clip of him in his church, and I assume for a moment that it’s an old clip of him preaching from before…which would be strange for my mother to send it. But then I watch for a few moments…and realize this was from today.

He paces confidently across the stage, looking handsome in a pair of black slacks and a tight blue button-down shirt. His hair is longer than I remember, and the muscles through his shirt seem more defined.

“In Leviticus, it tells us that man shall not lie with another man, for that is an abomination.”

My skin grows hot and my eyes widen. Glued to my phone, I watch him as he stops pacing and faces his congregation with the Bible in his hand.

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