Chapter 28: The Brother-in-Law

[Chapter 28: The Brother-in-Law]

Ryan had no reason to refuse. The nightclub was a dump, small with terrible sound quality. The atmosphere was filled with the same old faces who were barely out of their teens.

"Let's just go to the best spot in Nashville!" Ryan said.

"Well..." Joel countered. "In Nashville, music bars are the heart of nightlife."

It didn't sound as if it would be much better.

Ryan sighed and conceded, "Anything is better than this place."

...

In the early hours of the morning, Ryan and Joel exited the nightclub and parted ways in the parking lot. Turning around, Ryan caught sight of Abigail standing next to his car.

"What are you doing here?" Ryan chuckled.

"I wanted to surprise you," Abigail said, walking briskly toward him and throwing herself into his arms.

"If I remember correctly, I just dropped you off before I came to work, right?"

"Then just take me back once more."

"Next time, don't ambush me like that. It isn't safe for a girl to be out late alone."

"Okay, okay. I get it."

...

In the car, Abigail talked about the ongoing case in Panama City.

"Aren't those three already expelled from school?" Ryan asked.

The three had made headlines, their identities revealed as students from Troy University in Alabama. The one Ryan had encountered had been part of the track team.

"They were expelled, but the local sheriff was forced to resign too. Footage of him beating the suspects surfaced online, and the local Black community protested outside the police station," Abigail explained.

Both Hendersonville High School and Vanderbilt University were in Nashville's suburbs, and there wasn't much of a Black presence there. Ryan hadn't been very attuned to racial issues before.

"If I remember right, that guy was trying to flee," Ryan said.

"Exactly."

"If it had been a white guy, it probably wouldn't have caused such an uproar."

"True."

"So, the safest course of action would be to avoid any physical contact, even if it means the other person could escape. If one's life is threatened, like if they're armed with a knife, you just empty the magazine and take administrative leave," Ryan continued.

"Let's not discuss this anymore. I have a 6A-level competition next week, and if I win, I have a good shot at a scholarship. Will you come watch me compete?" Abigail asked. It turned out she had come over for this reason.

"I'll be working the night shift again, not in the afternoon," Ryan shrugged.

"That's great!" Abigail exclaimed, quickly pecking him on the cheek.

When the car stopped in front of Abigail's house, they lingered in the car for a moment before she finally got out.

At the last minute, Ryan mentioned his MySpace page, and Abigail immediately patted her chest, promising to have Taylor help him out, giving him a thumbs-up.

...

As Ryan closed the door, he realized the living room light was still on. Usually, at this hour, Trey would be fast asleep.

Walking into the living room, he found Trey on the couch watching TV, a large Maine Coon cat sprawled across her lap. She was still wearing her black lace nightgown.

"Wait a second."

As Ryan passed by, Trey suddenly spoke up.

Ryan turned to see Trey sitting across from him, just watching him, making him uneasy.

Just as she was about to say something, she noticed Ryan's eyes wandering, and awkwardly stood up to throw on a cardigan before sitting back down, instantly tightening the atmosphere.

"Tell me the truth -- are you hiding something from me?" Trey's intense gaze seemed to bore into Ryan's soul.

"Who? Abigail?!"

"Did you mess with Abigail?" Trey's eyes widened as if she had stumbled onto a scandal.

She then laughed, "I shouldn't have cast you in Taylor's music video; then you wouldn't even know each other."

"What's going on?" Ryan frowned.

Trey's production company had started pre-production for Taylor's new album's music video the week before, but today, Big Machine requested a change in directors. Given Taylor's decisive influence, this was entirely her decision.

This was unusual; Trey's collaborations with Taylor had proven mutually beneficial. Over two years, Taylor's videos had won numerous awards, giving both Taylor recognition and enhancing Trey's reputation in the industry -- a win-win situation.

Trey was puzzled, then recalled their spring break trip to Florida together, as well as Ryan's phone call with Taylor. It finally clicked.

Now everything made sense.

While it would be a blow to lose a major client from her usual ten music videos a year, it wasn't the end of the world.

"It's fine if we don't shoot it. I was actually looking forward to a few more days off," Trey said, heading upstairs.

...

The next day on campus, Abigail also had bad news, saying that Taylor was unwilling to help.

Ryan nodded, having moved past Taylor. However, good news came from Beatport; due to excellent sales, his work had jumped from "Currently Hot" to the more prominent "Trending," a position reserved for just forty songs.

The back end showed that he was now selling over a thousand copies a day, significantly improving his previous performance, and he'd even made it onto the site's daily bestseller chart -- even if only at the bottom.

"Are you coming to the pool to watch me later?" Abigail asked again.

"I have football practice," Ryan replied.

It had been almost half a month since his last training, and he didn't want to skip out again.

...

"Hey, DJ! Coming to practice?"

"DJ, when are you going to introduce us to some girls from the nightclubs?"

Ryan had recently earned a new nickname in school, thanks to Paul's big mouth. Everyone knew he was a DJ who had made a cameo at Ultra.

But given that electronic music was still relatively niche among the youth, and considering the cool reputation of someone like Taylor, Ryan didn't cause a stir; his teammates were just teasing him.

His teammates greeted him cheerfully, happy as they'd just managed to defeat their longtime rivals from Gallatin High the previous week, preserving their chance for a state championship. Ryan had missed that game because he was in Florida.

Just then, Paul approached, whispering, "You'd better step up your game today; your position is on the line. A freshman took your spot in the last game, and he didn't do too shabby."

Really?

Ryan quickly met his replacement, a tall, stocky kid with curly hair, looking very friendly.

"Ryan, I've been waiting for you!" He rushed over as if Ryan was his hero.

The kid introduced himself as Austin, a sophomore.

Ryan soon figured out that while other positions could cooperate with the coaches, tight ends were rare at the high school level; most made the transition during college.

Austin was one such case; he was originally a running back but had filled in as a tight end, and surprisingly, he excelled.

Now, Austin wanted to switch positions but couldn't find appropriate training.

Ryan wasn't a football coach, but his high school coach had been a tight end, and Ryan had learned plenty about the position from him.

Considering he might not be around school much longer, having a backup could be beneficial. Ryan was more than willing to share his knowledge, though he kept back a few secrets to avoid teaching his replacement how to eclipse him.

After a training session, Ryan and Austin had developed a rhythm.

During a break, a teammate joked as he passed, "How many men are you guys planning to put in your sister's new album this time?"

Sister? New album?

Ryan whipped around, noticing Austin's curly hair reminded him of someone else's except Austin's was shorter and a different color.

"What's your last name?" Ryan immediately asked.

*****

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