Page 2 of Fight For Me

“You don’t have to apologize, Wyatt,” he says softly. That thrum of emotion that had threatened when Rose wordlessly brought me food is back, stronger this time. My brother doesn’t usually do soft and gentle and something about that tone of his voice has my eyes stinging.

“You should consider it. Coming home for a while,” he clarifies. “You shouldn’t be out here alone.”

“I do have friends, you know,” I say, managing a dry smile.

“Friends aren’t your family,” he argues.

I let my eyes drift around the room. Family. My dad has a big one—uncles, aunts, cousins, my grandparents on his side. The Ransome clan could fill the room all on their own. And every one of them made the trip from LA to Seattle to be here for me and my mom.

“And most of your friends are from work,” Will continues. “Which means they’ll be out on tour, right?”

The reminder of the European tour that I’m missing sends a curl of dread through me, the same way it has pretty much every day since I found out I needed surgery. You’d think I’d get used to the reality of sitting this one out eventually, but so far, it still stings like a motherfucker.

And there’s no guarantee that it’s only this tour. There’s no guarantee that the surgery will work. My hand might never be the same and—

I shouldn’t be fucking thinking about this right now. Who the fuck cares about playing piano? My grandmother, the woman who raised me until I was nine, is dead. What kind of selfish prick is more concerned with his career than that kind of loss?

“He’s going to be relentless now,” Will is saying, still talking about Dad. “He doesn’t want you to be alone. I heard him talking to the uncles about it, so be prepared to be nagged by all four of the Ransome brothers.”

“God knows they can’t do anything half way,” I mutter.

Will gives me a small smile. “To be honest, I’m happy to be recruited to Dad’s cause. I’ll bug the shit out of you, even worse than the adults.” His eyes turn intense as he holds my gaze. “You should be home, man.”

I look away. He’s right. I should absolutely go home to LA to finish my recuperation. Dad already found a world-class surgeon and a team of physical therapists to help me through the recovery when my hand has healed enough. It wouldn’t kill me to spend some time at the ocean. To spend some time with family.

But here’s the thing about our family—it doesn’t just mean my parents and my siblings. My dad’s brothers all live within a few blocks of him. Between the four Ransomes, there are fifteen kids. I have three siblings and eleven cousins—well, technically they’re half siblings and cousins, but every one of them would kick my ass if they ever heard me say that. I was welcomed fully into the Ransome family from the moment my Mom married my step-dad Cash. That’s why all of them are here right now, my cousins and aunts and uncles scattered around the room, at this wake for a woman with whom they shared no blood. Just because they know what she meant tome.

Movement around my mom catches my eye and I look over to see Karen Fraser hugging her. A lump fills my throat. “I didn’t think she could come,” I mutter. “Wasn’t she in Singapore or something?”

Will shifts his gaze to see who I’m looking at. “Aunt Karen? She was in Tokyo, I think. A photo shoot for some magazine. Levi told me she was going to fly straight here if she could manage it.”

“That was nice of her.”

Will nods. “I know she was upset to miss the funeral.”

Karen and her husband Levi aren’t technically related to everyone but, like me, they’re honorary members of the Ransome family. Levi has been best friends with my dad and his brothers since they were kids, while Karen and Aunt Paige are practically sisters. Levi worked for the band for years and then helped start the record label with my dad and uncles. Karen is a big shot photographer who’s constantly jetting around the world to take pictures of celebrities and is probably one of the coolest people I know. Levi has been here with their kids, Phoenix and Alexandria, since a few days ago, but I hadn’t expected to see Karen at all.

Without much conscious thought, my gaze seeks out the Fraser kids. Predictably, Nix is sitting with several of the mid-teen cousins, who stick together like glue. Alexandria—Alex—is just as easy to find, tucked next to my cousins Rose and Everly on a couch in the corner. She’d be easy to find in any crowd.

I sure as hell always seem to have a hard time keeping my eyes off of her.

A pit forms in my stomach as I force my gaze back to my brother, trying to banish the thought of honey colored hair and flashing brown eyes. Yeah, maybe going home to LA isn’t the best idea.

“It would mean a lot to Mom,” Will says, and I don’t like the cautious note I hear in his voice. Like he thinks I’m not going to want to hear this. “To have you around. She’s struggling with this, man,” he continues. “Losing them hit her hard.”

“What’s with the cagey look?” I say, voice sharp and defensive. “You think I don’t care that Mom’s having a hard time?”

He holds out his hands. “Of course not. I didn’t say that.” But his expression doesn’t change and a surge of guilt rises up in me. I’ve been feeling like a shitty son for a long time now, but I hadn’t realized it was obvious to anyone else.

Will leans forward, elbows resting on his knees while he studies my face. “Look, maybe this isn’t the time to bring it up, but everyone misses you, man. You barely ever come home anymore.”

“I have a job,” I snap.

He’s undeterred by my warning glare. “The symphony doesn’t perform 365 days of the year, Wyatt. You didn’t even come home for Christmas last year.”

He’s right. I planned to, even bought the ticket to Tennessee where the entire family was planning to gather at the farm for the holiday. But I’d chickened out at the last minute, right around the time I found out that my dad’s best friend was coming, along with his family.

Will is watching my face closely. “I know there’s something going on,” he says, voice low and fierce. “You can talk to me, Wyatt.”