Page 94 of The Final Beat

“This is it, boys,” Ronnie said as we got ready to sit on the four stools set out for us. “The culmination of almost twenty years of hard work.”

I slapped his back and swallowed the lump in my throat. “Twenty years that have flown by.”

“We’ve been through so much together,” Elliot said, looking at each of us individually.

“So much that others wouldn’t survive,” Beau added, sighing.

We put our arms around each other and created a circle. Like it had always been between us, unbreakable, no matter what happened.

“To those who can’t be with us,” Elliot said, and I heard Beau pull in a breath, so I squeezed his shoulder that my hand was resting on. “And to those who continue to support us. Thank you.”

“To all of you,” Beau added, his voice cracking with emotion. “The best friends a man could ever have.”

“I wouldn’t be here without all of you,” I added.

“I love you all. My brothers, not just my best friends,” Ronnie said.

“The very best people I know,” Elliot replied just as we got our cue to go on stage.

We broke apart and as we walked out on stage to rapturous applause, the pride I felt was overwhelming. We were just four lads from Leicester who had thought we could take on the world, and when the host introduced us I knew we succeeded.

“Ladies and gentlemen, I give you one of the greatest rock bands in the world, Warrior Creek!”

THE END