Untamed

I let that thought repeat throughout my head the entire day, and by the end of it, I was shocked that I was still alive. I’d made it through the last round of cuts. Now I just needed to be included on the show.

As the last hundred contestants gathered in a room to be talked to one on one, Cruz and a couple of his buddies came up to me. Extending his hand, he said, “Thanks, man. I think your tip helped save me.”

I shook my head. “Your talent saved you.”

He beamed under my praise, then wiped his hands on his pants; they had been a little clammy, but I hadn’t said anything. Mine were too. “I suppose you’re not nervous at all, huh? Since your spot is all but guaranteed.”

Falling into a chair beside Liam, who looked a little better than this morning, I let out a long sigh. “Honestly, I don’t think they’ll invite me on the show. The guys and I…we have baggage. All of you have a much better chance than I do.” It hurt to admit that, but it was the truth. And from some of the harsh critiques the guys had given me the last couple of weeks, it was clear they weren’t holding any punches.

Liam patted my knee. “Nah, I’ve been watching them with you. Sure, you’re not getting any special treatment, but you’re not being singled out either. You’re just another contestant to them, no better, no worse…so you have as much chance as any of us.”

That thought actually perked me up some, and I wrapped my arm around Liam and rubbed my knuckles into his skull. If my odds were as good as everyone else’s, I’d take it. “Thanks, little bro.”

He shoved me back to get away. “I’m older than you, asswipe.”

“Oh yeah,” I said, laughing. “I keep forgetting.”

As time ticked down, I got more and more anxious. If Liam was right about my chances, then maybe I could actually get on the show. But even still, only twenty of the one hundred people in here were moving on. That meant eighty of us were going home. I wasn’t sure what percentage that was, but I knew it wasn’t good. My only hope was that the guys thought I was worthy of a second chance.

I called my wife as the chopping block loomed larger and larger in front of me. I felt like I was going to one-up Liam and toss my cookies right there in my seat. My fingers were shaking as I brought the phone to my ear. I needed this so much.

“Hey, you. I was wondering if I was going to get a phone call today. How did you do?” A

“I made it through the last cuts, but I’m sitting here in a room with a hundred people, and only twenty of us are moving on. I think I’m go

“Just breathe…you’ll be fine.”

I inhaled a deep breath, and it did calm me some, but not nearly enough. “I’m go

A

Wondering if we were ready for phone sex, I crooked a smile. “Oh yeah…what?”

“Come to the door at the back of the room.”

I looked back, puzzled. The room I was waiting in had two sets of doors. One led to another room, where the judges were waiting to give us our final evaluations, and the other set of doors led out, to the main area of the hotel. I stood and headed back to the doors that led out. Maybe A

There were camera crews recording our every movement inside the room. The host was also in there, interviewing contestants, getting their hopes and dreams on film, in case they were the lucky ones about to be chosen. A camera had been on me when I’d called my wife, and the guy ru

“You send me something?” I asked A

“Kind of,” she said with a giggle.

A couple of the staff looked at me as I opened the door, but nobody said anything. Until the final round actually started, we were free to leave. If we didn’t make it back here in time though, we were automatically disqualified, which is why no one but me was leaving.

Opening the door, I looked out. I’d been expecting to see a delivery person with balloons or flowers or maybe even pizza, but what I found waiting out there was so much better.

A

My breath caught, my heart stopped, and my cell phone slipped out of my hand and crashed to the ground. I must be dreaming, there’s no way this vision before me is real. But as A

A

My eyes were stinging as I dropped down to my knees to give my daughter a proper hug. Her familiar smell filled me, an oddly appealing mix of watermelon shampoo and ci

Wiping her tear away, she gave me a breathtaking smile. “We are…but they’re not. Your children need you, and you need them.”

She bounced O

Standing close to A

A

O

Releasing one hand from O

When we broke apart, I cupped her cheek. “I love you, so much,” I told her, surprised at how much easier it was to admit that. A

“I love you too,” she murmured, her eyes filling again. “Good luck in there. We’ll be here when you get out.” By the way she said it, I got the feeling she meant, Regardless of the outcome, we’ll be waiting for you. I still wanted to win, to prove myself to the guys and the world, but if I lost…I’d be okay with it, because I’d still won her. And that was worth more than all the rock bands in the world.