A Sound Like Hope (Fallen Tuesday #3) (23 page)

“
Where
you belong?
”

“
With
you. Right here. This moment. Time isn't endless, Trent, but it has a way to
bring the right people together.
”

Trent smiled. He looked down at
Chloe.
“
You
’
re right. It does.
”

“
I
want to kiss you so bad right now. Do you have a place we can go to? I want to
…”

Trent opened his hand and gently
touched Chloe
’
s shoulders
to move her away from him. She stuttered stepped and giggled. Maybe in her mind
this was Trent
’
s way of
making a move.

“
The
best thing about time is that it keeps moving,
”
Trent said.
“
All the shit
that happens in the past can stay there. Time gives us a chance to rise above
it. That
’
s what I
’
ve learned.
”

“
Me
too, Trent,
”
Chloe said.
“
Oh, Trent
…
me too
…”

Chloe tried to walk but Trent kept
her at bay.
“
You don
’
t understand what I
’
m trying to say.
”

“
Tell
me. I want to hear it from your sexy lips.
”

“
I
’
m in love with someone,
”
Trent said.

“
Me
too,
”
Chloe said.

“
It
’
s not you, Chloe. I
’
m sorry, but it
’
s definitely not you.
”

Chloe
’
s
face dropped.
“
What
…
?
”

“
I
’
m in love with someone else and
I
’
m going to see her. I
’
m going to watch her nephew
compete in a skateboard competition and if I don
’
t
leave right now I
’
ll be
late. And if I
’
m late, then
I
’
m letting that kid down.
I
’
ll be no better than the
father that abandons him again and again. But I won
’
t abandon him, you know why? Because I know the
pain of being abandoned by someone you love.
”

Chloe
’
s
eyes were wide.
“
What the
hell are you talking about?
”

She wiggled away from Trent.

“
Whatever
you
’
re trying to prove
right now, Chloe, just stop. You
’
re
going to hurt Jake. That
’
s
not fair to him or you. You need to go find someone you can truly love. Let the
past go, Chloe. For the good of everyone.
”

“
You
’
re an asshole, Trent,
”
Chloe said.
“
You
’
ve always been an asshole.
”

Trent picked up his bag and smiled.
“
That
’
s right. I
’
m an asshole. An asshole that
’
s going to give his heart and
life to a woman who deserves it. Because I
’
m
not afraid of true love.
”

As Trent turned, he smiled. He
pulled a pair of sunglasses from his bag and put them on. He hadn
’
t felt this cool in a long time.
When he got behind the wheel of his car he spotted Chloe still standing at the
side of the building. She looked like she was crying. It tugged at Trent
’
s heart, just a little. This
time, Chloe would have to figure it all out for herself. Time moved forward and
that meant Trent had to move forward. The only time Trent cared about right now
was the forever kind, with Emily.

*

Emily waited for Nick to get into
the car. He looked so damn nervous. There was nothing she could say to him to
calm him down. This was a big moment for him. His first skateboarding
competition. Emily honestly had no idea what it would be like or what it meant,
but it meant something to Nick and that
’
s
all that mattered.

Sitting in the car alone, Emily looked
in the mirror at the field where Nick had set the barn on fire. That seemed
like a lifetime ago already. She hadn
’
t
heard from Neil in days and something told her that he was paid to go away.
Whether it was right or wrong was debatable, but for the sake of Nick it was definitely
a good thing. Neil never wanted to be a father and Nick would only be a pawn in
his sick game of keeping himself alive.

Nick emerged from the garage
carrying his skateboard. He had his helmet on his head, the buckle unclasped, a
bag thrown over his shoulder. His face looked pale and when he looked at Emily,
he quickly looked away. Emily still couldn
’
t
believe that after all that fighting with him, he eagerly wore his helmet, even
when he wasn
’
t on the damn
skateboard. It just proved that Nick knew how to pick at her nerves. She used
to think it was because he hated her, but now she was starting to believe that
it was his way of showing that he loved her.

The car door opened and Nick got
in.

“
You
okay?
”
she asked.

“
Fine,
”
Nick said.
“
Is
…
uh
…
Trent coming?
”

Emily swallowed.
“
He said he was coming, yes.
”

“
Oh.
”

This was the part of her
relationship with Trent she feared. Nick was so fragile already, so any letdown
could set him back.

“
Hey,
you know he has that big show coming up,
”
Emily said.
“
He
’
s with his band right now. They
’
re getting everything ready for
the concert. I hope you realize how busy and important he is.
”

“
I
get it,
”
Nick said.
“
Okay?
”

“
Okay.
I don
’
t want you to get
upset if he can
’
t be here, that
’
s all. He
’
s not purposely avoiding you.
”

“
I
guess I
’
ll just wait,
”
Nick said.

Emily felt her heart tear. She
drove the rest of the way in silence, hoping Trent would be able to make it.
She loved Trent, but she couldn
’
t
live a life of him coming and going. For Nick's sake. Nick needed and deserved
stability in his life.

They arrived at a large park at the
edge of town. It was separated into a few different sections, which included a
skateboard park in the back. There was a large gathering already.

Emily parked and Nick opened the
door. She grabbed his arm and stopped him.

“
Nick,
listen to me, okay? I love you. I know things have been hard for us. I wasn
’
t expecting to be thrown into
this position and neither were you. If we understand each other, Nick, we can
survive all this. I
’
m proud
of you. I really am. Everything you
’
ve
done and everything you will do. I just want you to know that.
”

Nick nodded.
“
Thanks.
”

They got out of the car and Emily
watched Nick as he started to walk, alone, toward the crowd. She felt a lump in
her throat until she heard a voice scream Nick
’
s
name.

There was Trent, leaning against
his black car, arms folded, sunglasses on. He looked so sexy and so perfect.
Being here was the biggest gesture anyone had ever made for Nick.

Nick dropped his bag, skateboard,
and helmet, and ran to Trent. Emily gasped when she saw Nick hug Trent. It was
a quick hug, probably done out of nervous emotions, because Nick backed away
and looked around to make sure nobody saw.

Emily slowly walked toward Trent
and soon she saw all the eyes on them. There was no way Trent was going to
escape today without signing autographs and getting bothered.

“
You
came,
”
Emily said.

Trent pushed from his car and
wrapped his arms around Emily.
“
Of
course I did. I always keep my promises, baby. To you. And to Nick.
”

They kissed until Nick called them
out on it.

Trent made it no more than three
steps from his car before a guy came running up to him and asked him to sign
his skateboard.

Emily took a step back and smiled.

Trent signed autographs, took
pictures, and made sure it was well known that Nick was with him. And just like
that, Nick became the coolest kid in the park.

If Emily hadn
’
t been in love with Trent by
then, she would have fallen for him in that moment.

(19)

Trent loved seeing all the kids
with their skateboards and the crowd cheering them on. There were kids younger
than Nick and others were in their late teens. The skateboard park itself wasn
’
t that big, two half pipes and a
spot that looked almost like an empty in-ground pool. It was a cool little
setup and everyone took the competition very serious. Standing off to the side,
Trent couldn
’
t make it more
than a minute without someone coming up to him to ask if he really was the guy
from Fallen Tuesday. They all seemed shock, as though Trent didn
’
t belong there. Trent made sure
that all attention and focus went to Nick. It was his competition and his day,
not Trent
’
s.

Nick stayed right by Trent,
relishing in the attention. A few girls Nick
’
s
age were giving him
the eyes
and Nick was in his glory. His face was red,
but he smiled and nodded with a cool attitude that would definitely give Emily
a headache in the future. Maybe it would give Trent a headache too, if life
went the right way.

Trent was definitely not shy about
showing affection in front of everyone. He kept pulling her close and even
kissed her cheek at one point, just because it made her flustered.

“
Should
you be doing that?
”
she
asked.

“
I
’
m a rockstar, baby, I do what I
want,
”
Trent said.

“
That
would sound cooler if you weren
’
t
at a skateboard competition,
”
Emily whispered.

“
Sounds
cool to me. Better than getting into trouble or wasting my life away.
”

“
Seriously,
is this okay?
”
Emily asked.
“
Aren
’
t people going to take pictures
and ask questions?
”

“
I
don
’
t care about that,
”
Trent said.
“
You have to learn to ignore all
that. Anything that happens or has happened will be erased the second Fallen
Tuesday takes that big stage and shows forty thousand people that we are still
a band, that we are
the
band, and that we aren
’
t slowing down for a second.
”

Emily smiled and moved to her toes
to whisper in Trent
’
s ear.
“
That really turned me on. Just
so you know.
”

“
Yeah?
Well, tonight, I have an audience of just one,
”
Trent whispered back to Emily.
“
I
hope I can perform
…”

Emily laughed.

It then came to be Nick
’
s turn compete. Emily cheered
and Trent knocked his hand on Nick
’
s
helmet. Nick looked at Trent.

“
Good
luck and have some fun out there,
”
Trent said.
“
Nothing
matters unless you have fun.
”

“
I
’
m scared, Trent.
”

“
I
would be too,
”
Trent said.
“
But suck it up and know you
’
re awesome.
”

Nick went out and Trent walked to
the fence closest to the skateboarding area. He leaned against it, smiling,
really feeling pride for Nick to get out there. He thought about the first time
he met Nick and the wall he had to break through to get the kid to talk to him.
Once he did it though, it all seemed easy. For the first time in a really long
time, Trent felt he was able to make sense of everything that had happened in his
life. His fatherless childhood and heartbreak with Chloe seemed to have merit
now.

Emily grabbed Trent
’
s hand and squeezed it tight.
“
I
’
m
nervous.
”

“
Relax,
”
Trent said.
“
Watch.
”

Nick began.

He skateboarded with ease, up and
down one of the half pipes. It was the smaller one, but that didn
’
t matter. Soon he had enough
speed that he was able to do some twists and turns, causing Emily to squeeze
Trent
’
s hand tighter. He
couldn't perform some of the wild tricks the older guys did but for being ten
years old, Nick definitely had raw talent.

He stopped for a second and went to
the other part of the park. There were rails and a couple other obstacles to
grind on. Trent had heard Nick use the word
grind
a ton of times and he
now understood what it meant. As Nick kicked his leg, Trent followed his eyes.
He lined up a black rail. Nick jumped and took the skateboard with him. The
skateboard hit the rail, but Nick didn
’
t
have enough air to ride along the obstacle. Nick fell back and crashed to the
ground. The crowd let out a
ooohhh
sound and it seemed like time
stopped.

“
Is
he okay?
”
Emily asked.

Nick looked right for Trent. Trent
smiled and nodded.

“
He
’
s fine,
”
Trent said. Trent took his hand from Emily and
began to clap.
“
Come on,
Nick! You got it, man!
”

Trent whistled and waved his arms.
The crowd quickly realized who it was cheering Nick on and they all began to
cheer for him. It brought Nick to his feet and he looked around at the crowd. A
smile flickered on his face and he jumped back on the board. To Trent
’
s surprise, Nick made a quick
turn and aimed again for the same rail. This time when he jumped, he hand
enough under him to get on the rail,
grind
along it, and stick the
landing.

That was the end of Nick
’
s time and the crowd kept
cheering for him. Nick ran to Trent with a big smile on his face. Trent dropped
to one knee and slapped fives with Nick.

Nick unclipped his helmet and
dropped it to the ground.

“
You
did awesome, dude,
”
Trent
said.

“
I
fell though,
”
Nick said.

“
Who
cares? You got up and nailed the same trick. That was awesome.
”

Nick looked to Emily.

“
It
really was amazing,
”
Emily
said.
“
I
’
m so proud of you, Nicholas.
”

Nick curled his lip and shook his
head.
“
Aunt Emily
…”

“
Sorry,
”
she said.
“
Nick.
”

They stood together and waited for
the rest of the competition to finish. It seemed to take forever even though
each kid only had a couple minutes. Trent remembered the days of being the
opening act and only playing for fifteen minutes while the opening band got an
hour to play. It was all part of the process. Not once did Nick ask to leave or
say anything negative. His eyes were glued to other guys skateboarding. It was
that look in his eyes that told Trent Nick would definitely see this through.

When it came time to announce the
awards, Nick learned another hard lesson. He learned that mistakes happen,
mistakes suck, and mistakes cost. Nick walked away with nothing other than the
chance to say he was there. Emily wanted to argue with the judges that since
Nick got up and hit the same trick, he should have won. Trent thought the same
but fair was fair. The three of them walked to Emily
’
s car and Trent pulled at Nick
’
s shirt.

“
You
okay?
”

“
Fine,
”
Nick said.

“
Just
because you didn
’
t get a
trophy doesn
’
t mean you
didn
’
t win,
”
Trent said.
“
You have something to base
yourself on now. Next time you practice, you
’
ll
think about what happened here. Trust me, man, you
’
ll win one soon.
”

“
Thanks.
Are you coming to Aunt Emily
’
s?
”

Trent looked to Emily.
“
If I
’
m invited.
”

“
Correct
me if I
’
m wrong,
”
Emily said,
“
but wasn
’
t someone promised a new skateboard?
”

“
That
’
s right,
”
Nick said.

Trent laughed.
“
That is right. I guess we better
get home and start ordering.
”
Trent looked at Emily.
“
I
think I might go broke tonight.
”

“
Better
write another song then,
”
Emily said.

“
I
’
ll follow you,
”
Trent said, heading to his car.

The skateboard ordering process
took hours. Trent found it fascinating that it could be customized right down
to the wheels, the axels, literally everything possible. It cost a lot of money
but for Trent, this was simply an investment. It didn
’
t matter if Nick became a famous skateboarder or
not, it was the idea that Trent could believe in Nick and prove it.

Nick went to bed and Trent waited
for Emily at the dining room table. She came downstairs and skipped the three
open seats at the table and sat right on Trent
’
s
lap. She kissed him and smiled.

“
Long
day,
”
she said.

“
Really
long day,
”
Trent said.

“
Want
a coffee or something?
”

“
How
about a cold beer and another kiss. Not in that order.
”

Emily kissed Trent again and then
went to the fridge. She took out two bottles and motioned for the deck. Once
they got out there, she sat right back on his lap.

“
Am
I too heavy?
”
she asked.

“
Do
you think I
’
m crazy enough
to answer that kind of question?
”
Trent asked.
“
You stay right
where you are, Emily. On my lap, in my arms.
”

Emily put her head to Trent
’
s.
“
You did amazing with Nick today.
”

“
I
didn
’
t do a thing. That was
all him.
”

“
I
wish he would have won something.
”

“
He
will. I didn
’
t just show up
and become a rockstar, you know? It takes time, practice, failure, doubt, and
then finally
…
it happens.
”

“
Almost
romantic,
”
Emily said.

“
Speaking
of romantic
…
not that it is
…
I had to see Chloe today.
”

“
Oh?
”

“
She
was hanging around outside the practice stage. Jake let her come there. Dumbass.
”

“
Which
one?
”

“
Both,
”
Trent said with a smile.
“
But it
’
s okay. It didn
’
t
bother me at all.
”

“
Is
that true?
”

“
Yeah.
She started her games, as she always does, and I just walked away.
”

“
What
kind of games?
”

“
Told
me I was the good looking one in the band. That she came back for me. That she
was using Jake to get to me. The worst was when she told me that while she was
pregnant, she made a wish that if I wasn't the father of the baby she didn't
want it."

“
Then
she miscarried,
”
Emily
said.

“
Yeah.
So in her messed up head, that meant I wasn
’
t
the father and that we are meant to be together now.
”

Trent sensed Emily
’
s sudden hesitation. He put a
hand to her back and gently massaged her tense muscles.

“
Baby,
don
’
t worry about it.
”

“
I
do,
”
Emily said.
“
Maybe not just her, but so many
people want you, Trent. And she has a history with you that I don
’
t know and I can
’
t compete with.
”

“
I
would never want you to compete with her. She's not a good person,
”
Trent said.
“
Nobody compares to you, Emily.
”

“
What
about Jake? What happens to him now?
”

“
He
’
ll get hurt. He
’
ll be pissed at himself. Then he
’
ll pick himself up and walk
away. Just like we all do.
”