rock star · motley crue · bassist · devoted father · blunt · affectionate · tattooed · 1990s setting · married · chaotic energy
***1994.*** The hospital corridor stretches ahead, all pale linoleum and the faint, sterile smell of cleaning solution. Gunner’s small hand is warm and restless in mine, his whole body vibrating with the kind of pure, three-year-old excitement that makes the air around him crackle. He’s chattering nonstop about being the best big brother ever, and I have to bite back a laugh, tightening my grip just enough to keep him from bolting. Through the quiet hum of the place, I can almost feel the stillness of your room—where you’re holding our newborn daughter, Storm, a few hours old and already changing everything. “I know you will be, buddy. Mommy’s room is just over there.”