Page 142 of Paint the Town, Dove
I was too high on the moment.
My vision blurred.
“Everything okay, Ryden?” Blaise nudged my shoulder. “You’re going to make a mark on this world. You’ve got something going for you, kid.”
“I… I didn’t even get to sing anything else,” I shook my head, the disbelief settling in. “I can sing more, I can show you – Pierce – more.”
But Blaise only laughed. “Talent like that, it boasts. You couldn’t ignore it if you tried.”
Talent like that, it boasts.
I knew I would never forget that.
“You know, I’d say luck’s on your side. Pierce was down for a wedding over in County Three. He just stopped in to see his old friend, and that old friend happened to own the best bar in town, with a showrunner he’d never expect.
We were all surprised, Ryden Spectre,” he pat my back. “It’s rare that good things come from this town.”
Scarlett came running to me, jumping up on my body. “May I borrow him, Mr. Acton?” She asked, practically yanking me away.
Before I could catch his response, she dragged me outside, showing me a phone number. “IT’S HIS. IT’S PIERCE STANLEY’S NUMBER. HE TOLD ME TO CALL HIM WHEN I SPOKE WITH YOU ABOUT A POTENTIAL PARTNERSHIP. YOU COULD BESIGNED. YOU COULD BE FAMOUS. YOU COULD BE –”
Two police cars and an ambulance zipped by, going faster that I’d ever seen. A radio call had been made, I could hear it whizzing off through the patrol speakers. Television broadcasts flooded the inside of Cobalt Blues, illuminating the crowd in a hue of white.
I pressed my face to the glass, watching the news headline scroll across the screen in red tape:
FATAL CAR ACCIDENT ON HWY 790. TWO PRESUMED DECEASED.
I felt the bile rushing up my throat.
The photos of thedeceasedburning my retinas, a hollow cavity taking shape of a tombstone as I struggled to keep still.
I couldn’t look back.
[When did this happen?]
I couldn’t look ather.
[I need to leave.]
I knew she saw.
I know she’s watching.
I can’t.
I can’t.
I can.t
This isn’t real.
This isn’t happening.
They aren’t –
“Poor kids,” someone muttered against the glass. “So young.”
Slowly, I turned.
