Blessed Tragedy by Hb Heinzer Page B

in a place where they might be judged by our closed-minded family.
    “I think Mark's right,” Matt chimed in, taking a long draw off his beer. “With a little fairy dust, there's hope for you four yet.” I wasn't sure who should be more offended; my brother who'd essentially just been outed or myself and my band mates for the thought that we didn't have 'hope' without help from my brother.
    “You're an ass, you know that Matt?” While I was genuinely upset, every male in the basement laughed at the lack of conviction in my voice.
    “Whatever you say, Moo.”
    Oh hell no! I'm going to be forced to kill my brother the night before my mom's wake.
    “Moo?” Jon and Travis asked in unison. Colton sat down next to me, holding me in place on the couch.
    “I told you your brothers have loose lips when they drink,” Colton said. He pulled my upper body down so I was lying across his lap. I wanted to get up and kick Matt's ass but Colton's lap was just too comfortable for me to leave.
    “I told you not to call me that in front of anyone, Matthew Edmund.” I glared at the men standing around the pool table giggling like little girls by this point. “And you two, forget you ever fucking heard that. I swear I'll throw you under the bus, literally, if this follows me to Wichita.”
    While they said I could count on them to never bring it up again, the glint in their eyes told me my life was going to be a living hell.
    “Okay,” Travis agreed, “but if it's not going with, that means it's fair game while we're here. Where in the hell did 'Moo' come from?”
    “I might have had a fascination with cows when I was four . Yes, I've dealt with their shit for almost twenty years. It's a little old at this point but I can't shake it.”
    “Fascination my ass.” I glared at Mike for getting in the middle of this. He was usually the one who acted like a wallflower in any social situation. Why was he suddenly Mr. Talkative? “She was obsessed. If she saw a cow while we were driving, she'd yell to it hoping it would look her way. One time, she begged Dad to pull over so she could go and say hello to a cow that was near the fence. And if she saw anything with cows on it in the store, she had to have it. I'm pretty sure the boxes are still upstairs. Want me to grab them so you can decorate the bus?”
    “Fuck you, Michael. Don't you have something you could be doing?” The words were there but there was still no emotion in them. The only reason I was fighting sleep was fear for what they would talk about once I passed out.
    It didn't take long before the need to sleep won the fight with my paranoia. I'd deal with the ramifications later. And if there was one thing I knew, it was I'd be sure to hear about what I missed. Possibly for the rest of my life.
     
    “Come on, sleeping beauty. Let's get you into your bed,” Colton whispered. I cracked my eyes open just far enough to see where I was; still in the basement. Two concerned big brothers were watching the exchange between me and Colton a little more closely than I was comfortable with.
    “Where's Trav and Jon?” The game of pool had disbanded and we were alone with Matt and Mike. Of course, the one brother I wouldn't have to worry about reading too much into the closeness had made himself scarce.
    “They're outside with Mark.” I cocked an eyebrow at the thought of my gay brother in the hot tub with my two very attractive band mates. “They'll be fine. Let's go.”
    Before my foot hit the first step, my brothers scooped me up and pulled me back into the rec room. I turned around to see them standing shoulder to shoulder in front of me.
    “So, uh...” Mike having trouble finding the words when he wanted to speak was worth noting. Mom always said he was as quiet as he was because he only said what needed to be said when it needed to be said.
    “What he's trying to say,” Matt said, taking control of the conversation and slapping Mike in the chest, “is you were pretty