Excerpt: Eternal August

Tears of frustration pooled in his eyes, spilling over as he ripped up the sheets of music.

That job had been his last chance. He couldn’t take anymore disappointment, any more heartbreak, any more denial. This chapter in his life was drawing to a close. The only problem with that was that his whole life revolved around his music – he didn’t know what to do without it. It felt like this was the end and he wasn’t ready for it. Lester knew his story didn’t have a happy ending. This couldn’t be it – it didn’t feel right.

It was just one bad event after another in Lester’s life. First, his dad left his mom and went off to start another family. When that happened, his mom lost herself. She didn’t know what to do. It was like she completely forgot her duties as a mother. They struggled for money and James had to drop out of school to get a job. Lester did the same because he couldn't handle the pressure and stress that school put on him. Music was the only thing Lester had. When he went to the first interview, James stole it from him – his own brother. When James began making money, their mother took a cut and moved to Paris to ‘start over’. She left her two minor sons alone, unbeknown to the government. Half the time, Lester was alone while his older brother was off living his dream. He just tried to be supportive because that’s what he was supposed to do. He just sat and watched with longing eyes as James rose to fame. He stood back while his brother took the songs that they wrote together and put them at the top of the charts. And Lester watched as, on national TV, James denied his existence when he told some morning show that he was an only child. When James came home that night, he acted like he’d done nothing wrong. Lester never mentioned it again, but from that day on, he never saw his brother in the same light.

James comes home rarely now. Fame has changed him. He has a vacant look in his eyes, like he’s not all there. He looks at Lester in pity, stays for a night or two before leaving for the next few months. He gives Lester money, but money doesn’t make up for anything. It pays for the nice things, but in the end, it can’t give you what you really need.

Lester wished he never went to that interview in the first place. His life would be so much simpler if he hadn’t. Maybe it wouldn’t have been perfect, but it would have been better than what he was living now. His mom may have gone, but he would still have James. The old James – the one who had taken care of him whenever he was sick, the one who taught him how to play the guitar and to ride a bike. Not the new James. Lester didn’t like him.

In that moment, Lester wanted to talk to Averly. She was his friend. She was the one person who believed in him and appreciated his music. She understood how much he wanted a recording contract.

Lester sighed, wiping the tears off of his face. He felt foolish and young, throwing a fit like that. He left the room to go to his own bedroom, leaving the torn remnants of his hard work behind on the floor. Normally, when he was in a bad mood, he’d play his music until he’d fall asleep. But tonight, he understandably wasn’t up to listening to music. It just wasn’t there anymore.

That night, for the first time in his life, all the music that had always been in his head, his heart, his soul, was suddenly silenced.