Fuck Vance. Fuck him.” Aaron slumped face down on his pillow. Through some miracle, his liver had put up a good enough fight against the copious amounts of vodka he’d consumed for Aaron to brush his teeth. It hadn’t help out long enough for him to strip. Minty mouthed but fully clothed, he’d collapsed in bed feeling sorry for himself.

Sorry and pissed.

“Vance can go… go die in some… fuck. He can just go away.” Aaron dragged a pillow over his head and pushed it down, blotting out the small amount of moonlight that made it through the curtains. He didn’t know who he was talking to, but it felt good to talk. His jaw tingled, and his tongue was having fun struggling to get his words out right. “Don’t want him here. He can go back to the hole he crawled outta and… and disappear for another ten years. Like one of those chirpy bugs.”

He wasn’t making sense. He groaned and cast the pillow away, then rolled onto his back and closed his eyes. His eyelids refused to remain open.

It’s not a good idea for me to sleep on my back. Gotta roll over…

The task felt daunting. Maybe, after everything that had happened, it’d be a blessing to pass out while drunk out of his mind and choke to death on his vomit. That’s what people who were drunk did, wasn’t it? He’d heard stories somewhere, he was sure. It didn’t sound like such a bad idea with all the bullshit starting to build up. The impossible expectations about Prescott’s summer event, his career being on uncertain ground if he didn’t ace the event and land the city job, Vance coming back to town…

“I’m being so fucking emo,” Aaron moaned. He rolled onto his side and heaved a sigh. Dying wasn’t the solution. It was the worst possible idea he ever could have entertained. His life wasn’t bad. It was daunting, sure, but that wasn’t reason enough to give up. He had more fight in him than that… somewhere. Besides, the last thing he wanted to do was leave Reagan Ann without an uncle to spoil her. His brother, Freddie, might have hit it big with his Youtube career and his cupcake business, but that was no excuse not to spoil Reagan Ann whenever he babysat. He was the cool uncle, after all. It’d break her little heart if he wasn’t around to be with her anymore.

“What’m I even saying?” Aaron bemoaned aloud. He winced and curled up into a ball. He’d started to slur his words. Maybe it wouldn’t be much longer before sleep claimed him and he could move on. Landing the job with the city hadn’t gone the way he’d expected it to, and Vance coming back to town had been the cherry on top of a shitty day. “I should sleep’t off…”

He closed his eyes again, hovering on the precipice of sleep, but in his mind’s eye, he kept seeing Vance — the hot as hell bad boy Vance he’d met tonight. Mr. Bad, as he’d called him.

“Why’d assholes always hafta be so hot?” Aaron yawned. He reached for the blankets and tugged them until he was covered by them — a feat that took some time, largely because he was lying on top of them and didn’t feel like moving. “Stupid Vance. Stupid. Stupid… ‘n I’m stupid, too. Everything is stupid.”

He let a breath out slowly through his nose, feeling the nausea start to set in. If he didn’t calm down and fall asleep soon, he was going to be sick. He didn’t want that. The room was spinning behind his closed eyelids, and the only way it was going to get better was if he drowned out all outside stimuli. No thoughts, no sounds, no light, no nothing. He could sleep it off, and he’d wake up fine in the morning.

Aaron tugged the blankets over his head and let himself hide in his blanket cocoon for a while. When the air grew hot, humid, and stale, he made a tiny breathing hole and did his best to stick his nose out through it while keeping the rest of his head covered. It was a success. As he focused on the rattling sound of his breathing — it sounded like he was a little congested — he wiped his mind of the hardships of the day and gave himself over to sleep. The alcohol had definitely helped. He figured that it wouldn’t be the last time he’d go to bed drunk out of his mind, especially not with Vance strutting around town. He hoped his liver could handle it.

* * *

Aaron woke the next morning in a panic. His phone was going off loudly in bed next to him. Freddie was calling. Without thinking twice, he answered the phone.

“Hey, Aaron,” Freddie said. “Are you okay?”

“What?”

“You’re in bed, and it looks like you just woke up. Your hair is everywhere.”

“What? How do you know?” Aaron blinked his eyes open. Freddie had called him on video chat, and he was there with his new husband, Luke, and Reagan Ann. Reagan Ann, six years old, was beaming at him, and he suddenly felt self-conscious about how hung over he must have looked. “Oh.”

“If it’s not a good time, we can call back later.”

“Hi, Uncle Aaron!” Reagan Ann said enthusiastically. “I miss you!”

“I miss you, too, sweetheart,” Aaron said. “Are you having a good time at Disney with your dad and Luke?”

“Yes!”

“That’s good.” Aaron looked between Freddie and Luke, both of whom looked incredibly relaxed and more in love than ever. They’d left on their honeymoon not all that long ago. “And it’s okay to call. What time is it, anyway?”

“Almost eleven,” Freddie said.

“Shoot.” Aaron held back on cussing, not wanting to influence Reagan Ann. “I’m… I didn’t expect that. I guess my alarm didn’t go off.”

“Looks like you had a late night. You’re allowed to sleep in every now and then,” Luke said.

“I really shouldn’t have.”

“You’re responsible enough. You’ll get done whatever you’ve got planned today, even if you have to move around your schedule to accomplish it.” Freddie paused. “But what happened last night that got you to sleep in, anyway? That’s not like you.”

“It’s…” Aaron let out a breath between his teeth. He wasn’t sure he could make it through the story without cussing, and that was the last thing he wanted with Reagan Ann around to hear it. “Well, a lot of stuff happened yesterday. I landed a big new contract which I’ll tell you more about when you get back home, but basically, it’s something that could make or break my career, and I’m nervous like you wouldn’t believe.”

“Sounds intimidating.”

“You don’t know the half of it. It’s a lot of pressure, and it could change my life.”

“You’ll do fine,” Luke said. “I know you. You’ve always done a spectacular job, even though you freak out about it. You’re going to blow them away.”

Aaron smiled. “Thanks. That’s kind of you to say.”

“It’s the truth,” Freddie added. “You take what you do seriously, and it shows. You’re going to do fine, Aaron. You’re a natural at event planning. You’ve got the drive to see it through, and you have the vision that will take whatever this event is and see it evolve into something unforgettable.”

“I’d better.”

“You’re so good Uncle Aaron!” Reagan Ann declared. She grinned at him. “You’re the bestest!”

“Thank you. I think you’re the bestest, too.”

Reagan Ann laughed. Freddie drew her a little closer to his side, a small, affectionate smile spreading across his lips.

“But, uh, well, there’s some other… news.” Aaron sighed. Freddie and Luke would be coming back to Prescott next week, and they’d hear the news eventually. It was better he got it out now so they wouldn’t bring it up when they found out. “Vance Chastain is back in town.”

Freddie paled. He narrowed his eyes. “Are you serious?”

“Yeah.”

“Do I need to go break some knee caps?”

“Not yet, but maybe soon.”

Luke looked confused. “Wait, what are you guys talking about? Do you mean Vance Chastain the singer? The guy who sang Whoa like… ten years ago?”

“Wait, what?” Aaron blinked the sleep out of his eyes, not sure if he was hearing Luke right. “I know the song you’re talking about. That’s the one hit wonder by some group called Midnight, isn’t it? They haven’t done anything since.”

“The lead singer is Vance Chastain,” Luke said. “I think he kind of slipped under the radar for a while. It was big news in certain circles in Prescott, because he’s a local boy, but I think the news died out almost as soon as it picked up.”

Aaron resisted the urge to claw at his face. If he hadn’t been on video phone, he would have done it. He’d spent three years living outside of Prescott, trying to let things blow over with the sex tape scandal. He’d missed the news that his ex had gone on to release a famous song. “What the actual…”

“I’d Google it, but yeah, I’m pretty sure that’s him. He had a bit of a cult following after Whoa reached the top of the charts. And now he’s back in Prescott? I wonder if people are going to start coming to town looking for him. He hasn’t done anything with his career, but I wouldn’t put it past the population at large, you know? There’s that celebrity divide thing. It’s… weird.” Luke gave Freddie a little look, and Freddie grinned at him. Freddie wasn’t a huge celebrity, but his name was starting to get big enough that people stopped him when he was out, even outside of Prescott. “Anyway, it’s kind of interesting that he’s back. Why is it such a problem for you?”

“We’ll tell you about it later,” Freddie said wisely.

“What happened Daddy?” Reagan Ann asked, eyes full of wonder.

Freddie mussed her hair. “Your Uncle Aaron and the new guy in town aren’t friends, that’s all, sweetheart. They had a fight and now Uncle Aaron doesn’t want to see him because his feelings were hurt.”

“Oh. Why doesn’t the other boy say sorry?”

“Because the other boy isn’t capable of saying sorry,” Aaron said flatly. He changed his tone, speaking much more tenderly. “Sometimes, when you’re an adult, there are some fights you have where sorry isn’t good enough. It’s a good first step, but sometimes adults get hurt a lot more than little kids do. But it’ll be okay. He’s not going to hurt me anymore. I’m not going to let him.”

“Okay. I don’t want you to hurt, Uncle Aaron.”

“I don’t want that, either.” Aaron smiled. “I think I’m going to wake up, shower, and then start my day. You guys have fun today, okay?”

“We will!” Reagan Ann promised. She was an instantly full of energy again. It looked like Freddie and Luke were going to have their hands full. “Bye Uncle Aaron! Feel better!”

“I will. I promise.”

“If anything happens, call. We might be on our honeymoon, but if you need us, we’re there for you,” Luke said.

“We’ve got your back if you need it,” Freddie promised. “Don’t let him get you down.”

“Thanks, guys.” Aaron managed a smile. He had the start of a splitting headache, and the nausea from last night was coming back full force. It looked like goal number one of his day was going to be conquering his hangover. The rest? Well, it would happen when it happened. He needed to take care of himself first and foremost.

They said their goodbyes, then ended the call. Aaron dropped his phone onto the bed and groaned. He clawed at his face, unable to help himself, and let out a withering sigh.

So Vance had gone on to front a band, and he’d put out a one hit wonder. Now he was back in town, doing who knew what… and Aaron was looking for some way to make Prescott’s summer event one no one would forget. He winced.

Why the fuck does life always seem to turn out this way? I can’t believe I’m even considering this…

His phone rang again. He picked it up with a sigh and answered without looking at the screen. If he knew his brother, Freddie had entrusted Luke with Reagan Ann and run off so they could have a chat about Vance being back in town. Freddie knew what had happened, and how it had devastated Aaron and his prospects for the future. It was big news, and he probably wanted to get things sorted out right away.

“Hey. Thanks for calling. I knew you would.”

“Am I that predictable, baby?”

Aaron’s blood ran cold. “Vance?”

“The one and only.”

“How the hell do you have my phone number?”

“I asked around town until I found it. I wanted to apologize again for last night, and for… well, for what happened all those years ago.”

If Aaron hadn’t been nauseated before, he was nauseated now. He wanted to pace restlessly, but he was sure that if he stood up, he’d crumple into a ball on the floor. It was a hopeless feeling, and it was being made more helpless yet by what he knew he had to do.

“Aaron, I’m serious about trying to make it up to you. I really didn’t mean it to be such a big deal. Is there some way I can show you that I am sorry? I’m not saying that I want back into your life, or that I want you to take me back, or anything like that, but…”

“But you want to make amends, is what you’re saying.” Aaron swallowed the saliva pooling thickly in his mouth. He didn’t want to say the words he had to say next, but he saw no way around them. Vance was an afterthought — an unfortunate thing that had happened to him many years ago. He had every right to be upset, and he was entitled to feel the way he did, but he was an adult now, and he had other aspects of his life to take into consideration. When it came to the stability of his career and his goals for the future, Vance would be a tool — maybe even the key to his success. “You know, I’ve been thinking, and there might be a way you can prove that you’re sorry.”

“What is it? Tell me what it is, and I’ll get it done. It was a shitty thing for me to do, and I realize that. I want to make amends for being such a bastard. You didn’t deserve it.”

Aaron drowned out the voice in his head that screamed at him that this was a bad idea and went for it. “I’m an event planner, and I’m putting together a big show. How would you feel about headlining?”

“Shit, are you serious?” Vance laughed, and Aaron knew he had him. “Tell me when and where, baby. I’m yours.”

Except he wasn’t — not anymore. And Aaron would never be his, either, no matter how well the show went.