I'm sick of being called Junior. Sure, I'm William Nicholas Martens, Jr., but I just want to go by Nick. I'm sick of my boyfriend mismatching his socks on purpose. And I'm sick of being in the closet.<br><br>All this changes when my band Taking Back Nick lands a record deal. My friends Casey, Kennedy, Levi, and I are about to make it big. In one night I come out to my parents and break up with my boyfriend. And then the hard part starts. Casey is my oldest friend, and I move in with him after my breakup. But things ... start to happen.<br><br>We skyrocket to fame, but Casey finds himself in the middle of some serious addiction issues. Combined with him showing me so much affection, I start to worry there's more going on than just the stress of success. Will Casey be able to overcome his addictions and find happiness? More importantly, will that happiness be with me?

Porch Light

“I…have…an addiction problem.” His face screwed up as more tears fell.


I rubbed his arm. “I’m right here with you, Casey. And you know where you can go to get help with this problem, right? You know where?”


He met my eyes and gave a sad smile with his lips. “The word.”


“You have to say it. I’m right here.”


He grabbed for my hand, and I held it in mine as he said it.


Kennedy, Levi, and I all spent the next two weeks hanging out in Nashville. Omar had agreed for us to put the album on hold for a month while Casey was in rehab. And for the first two weeks, no one was allowed to see him.


We spent our time seeing some sights around Nashville. I even convinced Scott to let me fly him out for another weekend. He wasn’t surprised when I told him Casey didn’t really have the flu.


“I’ve seen multiple overdoses as an EMT, Nick. I knew what I was seeing on TV. But don’t worry. I haven’t been going around telling everyone.”


Chapter 61