Deepest Blues

Three years sober. One secret he'll take to his grave.

Mike has done the work. He shows up, he stays clean, he's the most reliable person in a band full of men trying to be better. He has one rule left: five years sober before he lets himself want anything else.

Then he meets Clarke.

She's warm and funny and easy to be around, and the friendship they build feels like something he didn't know he was missing. He also knows exactly who she is — and she has no idea who he is. What he did. What he didn't do.

He should stay away. He can't.

When his ex reappears claiming she's sober and needing support, Mike does what he always does — he shows up. He doesn't recognize it as a relapse until he's already in too deep. And Clarke is still out there, getting closer to the truth, with no idea the man she trusts most is the one who was there the night her brother died.

Slow burn. Found family. Closed door. Recovery, guilt, and the question of whether some secrets are too heavy to survive.