Unconditional Validation

Chapter 15

Tyler.

Today was Skyler's music release party, and everyone in my family was nervous and ecstatic. It's been a couple of months since Skyler has done one. The music release party is about an album she's been working on since last Christmas. I was more excited than stressed because not only was my sister going to perform, but America as well! She's featured on two of the tracks on Skyler's new album. Both of them are going to perform the songs at the end of the concert, to end it on a high note.

"I can't wait to see you perform, sis!" I gave my sister a big grin as the both of us were finishing our lunch at home.

"I've been waiting so long to perform again. I'm so ready for this!" Skyler exclaimed after eating the last bite of her sandwich.

"What are you two going to wear tonight?" Ryder walked into the kitchen and opened the fridge.

"I'm going as a cat!" Skyler replied while rinsing off her dishes in the sink, before putting them into the dishwasher.

"What about you, Ty?" My brother turned towards me while munching on some grapes.

"First, chew with your mouth closed", I replied, "I'm going to be dressed as an angel."

"What about you?" Skyler leaned against the sink and crossed her arms while facing Ryder.

"Eh, I'm just going to wear my football jersey", Ryder answered nonchalantly and shrugged.

Skyler facepalmed in irritation, while I just rolled my eyes with annoyance.

"What?" Our brother was a bit clueless.

"You wear that every year for Halloween!" Skyler shook her head in dismay.

"Yeah, so? It's easier than buying one every year," Ryder said, picking up a handful more grapes from the fridge.

Shit, he did have a point. I rolled my eyes at myself.

"You're not wrong, Ry", Skyler smirked.

Ryder closed the fridge. Thank god, he was wasting energy.

"I'm going to go finish my game and then get ready", Ryder smiled and winked before dashing back up the stairs.

"I have to finish some pre-calc homework before I get ready, sis", I smiled and put my dishes in the sink to rinse off later.

"Okay, don't get too caught up in it, though. We only have five hours until we need to be there before everyone else", Skyler chuckled and ruffled my hair.

I headed upstairs to my room, flopping into my chair with my pre-calc homework spread out on my desk. The equations looked blurry at first, and I was too distracted thinking about tonight. Skyler's parties were always incredible, but this one felt different. Bigger. More important.

As I worked through the problems, I could faintly hear Skyler rehearsing in her room. Her voice carried through the house, soft and melodic, even though I knew she was holding back to save her energy. Now and then, she'd pause to replay a track on her phone, probably practicing transitions or tweaking a note.

An hour later, my phone buzzed.

America: "What's up, Ty? You hyped for tonight?"

Me: "Definitely! You ready to bring the house down?"

America: "Always. Tell Skyler she's going to kill it. Can't wait to see y'all."

I grinned and tossed my phone onto the bed. America was one of the coolest people I'd ever met, and seeing her and Skyler perform together tonight was going to be unforgettable.