Bikeriders Serenade

Seeking Solace

The sun had barely started its climb into the morning sky when Austin sat at the kitchen table, nursing a cup of coffee that had long since cooled. His thoughts still churned from the dream, the echo of his mother’s voice lingering in his mind. The weight of it sat heavy in his chest, as if the night had stretched into something longer, a restless kind of limbo. He felt like he was carrying a burden that he didn’t know how to set down.

Breakfast was quiet—Lucy and the kids were still asleep. The house was calm, a stark contrast to the storm raging inside him.

Austin couldn’t do this alone. The dream had shown him that much. He hadn’t been able to say what he needed to say, hadn’t found a way to let go of the regret that clung to him. The thought was humbling, almost foreign. For years, Austin had been the one people leaned on, the one who had tried to stay strong through it all. But today, he needed someone else.

He stood from the table and slipped outside, the crisp air filling his lungs as he walked toward his office in the backyard. The old wooden door creaked open, and he stepped inside, greeted by the familiar scent of leather and aged paper. His desk was exactly how he left it the night before, papers scattered, the laptop sitting idle, waiting for him.

Austin turned on the light, the soft glow casting a warm hue over the room. The office had always been a place of refuge for him, a space where he could think and sort through his thoughts. But today, it felt like a prison, closing in around him.

He opened his laptop, his hands hovering over the keyboard. His mother’s journal still lay on his desk, half-open, a reminder of everything he’d been trying to process. He closed it gently, setting it aside, and instead, opened the FaceTime app.

The name that appeared at the top of his contact list wasn’t just a name. It was a lifeline. Caleb Walker.

Caleb was more than a friend. He was a mentor, someone Austin had known since he was a teenager. When Austin’s mother had been diagnosed with cancer, Caleb had been there, supporting the family in ways that no one else could. He had been through his own share of loss, having lost his father when he was just a boy. His wisdom, his way of seeing the world, had always made Austin feel like there was a way forward, even in the darkest of times.

After a deep breath, Austin tapped Caleb’s name and waited as the call rang. His heart beat louder in his ears, his mind spinning with uncertainty. He hadn’t reached out to Caleb in months, but now, it felt like the only thing he could do.

On the third ring, the screen flashed to life, and Caleb’s face appeared.

“Austin,” Caleb greeted, his voice warm and calm, a soft smile on his lips. “It’s good to see you, my friend. It’s been too long.”

Austin’s lips quirked in a faint smile, though it didn’t reach his eyes. He cleared his throat, trying to shake off the tightness in his chest. “Yeah, it’s been a while, hasn’t it?” His voice was a little rougher than he’d intended, the emotion creeping in despite his best efforts to keep it at bay.

Caleb’s eyes narrowed with concern. He had always had a knack for seeing through Austin’s carefully built walls. “What’s going on, Austin? You don’t call unless something’s weighing on you.”

Austin hesitated, his gaze drifting toward the journal on the desk. The pages of it seemed to mock him, reminding him of all the things he couldn’t say. His fingers tightened around the edge of the desk.

“I… I had a dream last night,” Austin finally said, his voice low. “It was about my mom. I—” He paused, swallowing hard. “I’ve been feeling like I’ve been carrying something heavy, and I don’t know how to let it go.”