The first call, however, was not to the dragon lady, it was to Fear. He was and always would be my go-to when I was gearing up for battle, and something in the pit of my stomach told me that this was exactly what it was going to turn out to be.
“’Lo.” Fear’s gruff voice boomed over the line.
“I am not sure if this is going to turn into anything, but I am calling to give you a heads up, just in case,” I said, diving straight into the reason for the call.
“What the fuck?” Fear said, his voice shifting from friendly to alert.
“Talon got a message this morning from some woman that works for a local television station. They want to interview him and the band about the YouTube video that went viral or something like that. Talon is freaking the fuck out that they are going to start digging into his life and broadcast things that should not be announced on live television. And it is clear that they are digging because how else did they get his fucking number?”
“You want me to come over?” Fear immediately asked.
“Maybe later. I am going to call this chick back and tell her that we are not interested. But could you please call around and make all the others aware? Maybe find out if anyone else from the band has agreed or been approached? I just want to stop this from exploding all over Talon.” I was positive he could hear the beginnings of panic creeping into my voice.
“Tate, we will make sure he is protected. There are a lot of us to get through before anyone can reach him. Unfortunately, we can’t control everything, but we can be there for the fallout.”
“He was happy,” I croaked out.
“And we will all do everything we can to make him stay that way. If we fail, we will be there to put him back together. He trusts in you. I trust in you. Now you trust in what you two share. Call me anytime; I am going to start ringing the family phone tree.”
“Thank you.”
“Never have to say it. Tell T I love him and call if you need me to come over,” he finished and hung up.
Not giving myself any time to think about what I should say, I dialed the number I pulled from Talon’s phone.
“Hello, this is Stacey.”
“Stacey, I am phoning on behalf of Mr. Talon Parker. He received your message and is going to decline your request. He would also like me to kindly ask that you make no further attempts to contact him. And that you make no reference to him on your show this evening.”
“I’m sorry, I didn’t catch your name,” a somewhat perturbed voice responded, the sugary sweet completely forgotten.
“I didn’t give it. I am just asking for you not to contact Mr. Parker again. He is not interested in doing any type of interview.” I thought I left no room for response, but apparently I was wrong.
“I have no idea who you are. You could be anyone; I am not likely to take your direction. But for argument’s sake, let’s say that you are phoning on behalf of Mr. Parker. I would ask that you advise him that it really would be in his best interest to consent to an interview with us,” Dragon lady snarked.
“Are you threatening him?” Who did this bitch think she was?
“Of course not. Think of it merely as advice that would benefit us all. Mr. Parker has become a very much wanted commodity. I am sure that I’m not going be the only person calling in the hopes of interviewing him. I am just the first. I am very good at my job and have left no stone unturned in order to have this hometown story first. Some I am saddened to say are not interested in doing the work. They will make up whatever they want to share with the public in order to make a story sound good. I pride myself on only reporting the truth. I have already found out a number of things regarding Mr. Parker that make this an extraordinary tale to tell. I really only called to give him the chance to give his side of the story.”
“Story? Lady, this is his life. Does it matter to you at all that he does not want this?”
“Look, we all have a job to do. Mine is to report and research the stories I am given. I am giving Mr. Parker the opportunity to involve himself in the interview, but in all honesty, I really don’t need him. I don’t require his input for me to report on him.”
“What things? I think since you are all set to go against the wishes of the person you are reporting on, it’s only fair that you at least share what you’ve got and are going to use against him.” I was so angry I was vibrating. If I could’ve reached through the phone to throttle this uncaring woman, I would’ve enjoyed it.
“I am not at liberty to share any information or sources I have with you. I’m sure you can appreciate that. I am honor bound to protect the people who have chosen to speak to me. If you wanted to share anything, I would keep your input a secret,” she had the fucking nerve to say.
“Yeah, I think that I am going to pass on that.”
“Your choice, but please explain to Mr. Parker when you speak to him that these things often go a lot easier if you just participate in them. The more he tries to shy away from it, the more it appears he is hiding something and that is a red flag to people like me. I know that I come across as heartless, and to you I will admit, in this instance I am. I’m not out to hurt anyone. But I am going to do my job. I can guarantee I will not be the last one phoning and doing some digging on Mr. Parker.” FUCK…
What the fuck was I going to do now? I couldn’t make it better…I needed to make it better. I didn’t know how to shield him from this. What to say that would make him realize that no matter what anyone said, it didn’t make a difference to me or any of our family.
Not wanting to share my worries aloud, I texted Fear and told him about the conversation. His response was short but was exactly what I needed to hear.
FEAR: On my way.
That night, my apartment was overrun with everyone coming over to come up with a plan of action.
I told Talon about what Stacey the dragon lady had said. I could see he was shaken, but I could also see that he was trying really hard not to slip. It was not an easy fight, and it was clear he was waging a war within himself. Fear, though, was right; he was stronger with me and he was using all that strength to stay afloat. I was so proud of him.
“Mum just rang and said she finally got through to Tanya. Apparently, all the band have done interviews and are planning to appear on the show tonight. She said they have been trying to reach you, T; she wants you to call her. The band has a ton of opportunities,” Alfie announced as he entered the room.
“Did any of them talk about T?” Fear asked.
“She wouldn’t say. But she did ask if Talon would sing with them on the show. I swear some people are loony tunes. I get that this is a big deal for them, and they are going to wring it dry. But they have to realize that this is a big deal only for them. Don’t throw the person who helped give you the opportunity under the bus,” Alfie finished with a huff and slumped down onto the couch next to Fear, who immediately pulled him in close.
“You doing okay, T?” I heard Tristan ask his brother quietly.
Talon nodded at his brother and managed a small smile. The fear and strain, though, was clear on his face. He wanted to be okay with everything. He wanted to just brush all this off, but it truly wasn’t something that he was able to do. His demons were too deeply buried.
My phone beeping distracted me from listening to Ben and Dane work out what they could and couldn’t prevent legally.
TALON: Whatever they’re going to say, they’re going to say. Us worrying about it isn’t going to change the outcome. What will be will be. Let’s just watch it and deal with the fallout.
His was right, of course. All this flapping we were doing wasn’t going to help anyone. Least of all Talon. I pulled him into my arms and held on tight. He was trying to be strong for us; we needed to see his new strength and allow him to use it. He knew we were all there for him. He could see it with his own eyes.
“Guys!” I shouted. “T wants us all to drop it for now. Nothing can be done at the moment. We have no idea what’s going to be said
. He wants to see what happens and then deal with the fallout. Worrying before the event is only making the wait worse.”
“Well, the show starts at 10pm so we have time to make a yummy scrummy dinner for all the kiddies. Yes! I mean all of you, not just the nuggets. What do you guys say about some fish sticks and fries?” Sheridan cheered.
Oh yum, fish sticks. But nobody said anything negative because the nuggets both looked so happy.
“I have a better idea. How about we order a pizza instead? Hmm, yummy pizza.” Alfie was quick to come up with a counter offer. We all knew Mama Sheri’s weird obsession with fish sticks. Unfortunately, we usually couldn’t escape them. Thank fuck for Alfie.
The pizza was quickly ordered and eaten all while Sheri gave her son dirty looks, much to the amusement of everyone in the room. It didn’t take long for time to pass, and we were soon all gathered around my television. It was a tight squeeze with this number of people wedged in, but we made do. Nobody was going anywhere. We stuck together, always.
“Hello and welcome to Live@10 with me, Alexa Murphy. Tonight’s show is jammed packed full of goodness for you, so let’s not waste any time and dive straight in,” the show’s presenter started. “This story has so many twists and turns that we are going to need a map to keep everything straight.”
“What the fuck is she going on about? I thought that this was about the band?” Carter piped up. No one responded or even turned their heads from the screen. I had no doubt that we were all thinking it, though.
“It starts with an up and coming band that managed to gain mediocre success in the local area. The band is Combined Dysfunctions, made up of Jersey natives Tanya, Wink, Boppy, Perry, and Dakota. They continued as a five-piece, playing low-key events relatively smoothly for a couple of years with no change. You could even say they fell into a rut that they remained stuck in for some time.” Fuck, this woman was wringing this out as much as she could.
“Everything changed though when they were asked to play a sixteen-year-old’s birthday party. At the event, the troubled lead singer Dakota Creaken’s drug and alcohol problems came to a head, leaving the rest of the guys with only one option. He had to go. This left the band with no singer and with no choice but to cancel the gig, or so they thought. Enter Talon Parker, the brother of the birthday boy. He volunteered to stand in as a replacement. And the rest, shall we say, is history. The show was jaw-droppingly unexpected and many of those that attended have reported what a phenomenal event it was. Talon’s vocals seemed to give the band a new lease and elevated them into the stratosphere. One lucky party goer caught some of the action on his phone and uploaded it onto YouTube. The video went viral in a matter of hours.” She was certainly long-winded.
“I think now is the perfect time to invite our first guests to the show. Please welcome, Combined Dysfunctions.”
“First, who else could they have gotten?” Alfie asked.
On the screen, the band walked on the stage and took a seat on the couch opposite the host.
“Hi, guys, thanks for coming on.” They smiled and nodded at Alexa. “How are things going since your video went viral?”
“They have changed so much. We had the phone ringing non-stop requesting bookings. I even got a call from a couple of record labels,” Perry spoke up.
“I can’t help but notice that you seem to be a member down,” Alexa queried.
“None of us have heard from Talon since he sang with us that night.” Boppy was the one to answer this time. “We passed on several messages for him to get in touch with us, but he hasn’t bothered,” he finished snidely.
“What does that mean for the band?” Alexa asked.
“Nothing good at the moment. Nobody wants us without him. I mean we understand with his disability it would be tough for him. But he did a great job that night, so there’s no reason why he can’t do it again,” Boppy griped. Every single one of us heard it and held our breath, praying the host didn’t. Of course, it was a wasted hope, though; she pounced on it.
“Disability?” she questioned immediately, almost as if she was just waiting for her opening.
“Shut up, Bop. He doesn’t have a disability,” Tanya tried to defend T.
“He does, Tan; it’s not a big deal or anything. All I am saying is that he shouldn’t use that as an excuse to let all of us down. This could be our big start into the big leagues, I don’t get why he is trying to mess this up for us,” Boppy continued to moan. I was beginning to see red.
“Is this guy for fucking real? What a fucking moron,” Drake exploded. I did notice that he did a quick glance around, panicking that the nuggets had just over heard him drop the double F bomb. Lucky for him, though, they were having a sleepover so he could get away with it since Alfie had just come back from dropping them off.
“That is not how it is. He never said he would join the band permanently. He only sang so that his brother could enjoy his party. He didn’t want his little brother to be let down,” Tanya tried to explain. She was clearly the only one who had any thought as to what Talon might want. The others only cared about what they were missing out on without him.
“Is it true that he has a mental deficiency?” Alexa cut in on the band’s bickering.
“NO,” Tanya said, while “Yes” was heard from Boppy and Perry. Wink was keeping extremely quiet.
“A source close to Talon has revealed to us that he has been mentally challenged since childhood. That he has even been institutionalized,” Alexa announced with a smug expression. Everyone in my living room froze at hearing the comment.
“He is not crazy. He is a great guy. Yes, he is shy, but that doesn’t make you mentally challenged. Whoever told you that is full of shit. I am not going to sit here and listen to you bad mouth my friend,” Tanya angrily confronted Alexa and stormed off stage.
“I can see it. Him being in the nut house. I mean the guy doesn’t speak. He had to have some guy talk for him. He threw up in between sets. His whole family belongs in the nut house with him if you ask me,” Boppy said, not caring that what his words were doing to the people in this room.
16
Talon
I didn’t want to slip, sink, or slide. I didn’t want to hear the voices getting louder, telling me all my faults and how I let down my family by humiliating them again. I could feel it happening, and for the first time, I refused to go easy.
I knew; I knew the moment the word ‘source’ had left the show’s host’s mouth who it was. I wrote big angry letters on the notebook I kept in my pocket and threw it on the table in front of me.
Tristan was the one who picked it and read it first. I obviously had shitty aim, because I really didn’t want him to feel the pain I felt. I saw him read it, and then his head shot up.
“Really?” he asked me.
“What?” Dad asked.
“He thinks the source is Mom.” Tristan held up the pad where INCUBATOR was written.
“Of course it is. That fucking bitch. If there is some way for her to stick her unwanted trap into something, there she is. That woman is the one that’s mentally fucking challenged,” Molly started and we could all see that she was nowhere near finished. Clearly, she was working herself into what I was sure would be an epic rant.
“Coming up next, we take a deeper look into the elusive and secretive Talon Parker by talking to the person that knows him the best. So come back after this short break.” Oh, this just kept getting better and better.
“I cannot believe that fucking woman,” Dad raged.
“Look, Mum, take down that number; I am going to call in. There is no way I am going to let that evil bi-atch have free reign to talk her drivel with no one from our camp having their say.” I knew right then I had changed, when hearing that Alfie and Sheridan were going to go up against my mother didn’t make me panic. In fact, I liked the idea and hoped that they could maybe show her that just because she threw me away and was embarrassed to claim me, others weren’t.
“Welcome
back. As I said before the break, we are going to take a deeper look into the mystery man of the hour, Talon Parker. What we discovered was eye-opening to say the least. Talon, the middle child of Dane and Emily Parker, was raised in a loving and happy household. That was until he started developing anger issues, which were later diagnosed as a form of mental instability. Sadly, the family soon suffered under the stress and was torn apart. Talon continued to suffer with a number of mental issues, one of which was depression that resulted in him making an attempt on his own life.” No one moved or made a sound; I think we were all too shocked at what we were hearing. “Before I continue, I would like to introduce our special guest. Please welcome Emily Parker, Talon’s mother.”
“You were right, T; why would Mom lie like that? I was little, but even I know that is wrong,” Tristan asked. I was not sure who he expected to answer; no one did, though. All our eyes were still stuck to the screen as my mother walked her way across the screen.
“Emily, thank you for joining us tonight. How do you feel about the notoriety your son has gained?”
“Honestly, I find the whole thing rather shocking. I have to ask if all this attention is even really good for him? He is a damaged man. He is not someone that should be in the limelight.”
“How is your son coping with everything that is whirling around him?”
“Not well. I think this will do nothing but force his father and me into making another very difficult decision. Maybe permanent institutionalization is what’s best.”
“Why do you say that? He has an amazing talent, and not one person we have spoken to has indicated he is in any danger. To himself or otherwise.”
Sharpening His Broken Talon (Living Art Book 2) Page 13
