Page 230 of Fame & Rhythm

When his eyes meet mine, his smile breaks wide, bright enough that it feels like light itself spills from him, sending a shiver of warmth racing up my spine.

The music swells, growing louder, stronger, wrapping around me. There are no lyrics, no words to hold onto, but I don’t need them. The melody alone is enough, it is alive and electric beneath my skin.

I breathe it in, letting it carry me.

Letting it lift me.

And when I open my eyes again, Aston is walking toward me.

He reaches me without hesitation, pulling me into his arms as though I’ve always belonged there. His lips meet mine, soft and certain, and everything else fades away.

Suddenly, everything goes black.

Disorientation hits me hard, like I’ve been ripped out of something warm and thrown into nothing. There’s noise, struggling, movement, but it takes a second for it to register.

Am I still dreaming… or is this real?

My eyes snap open.

A hand clamps around my arm, yanking me from the bed.

I gasp, trying to focus, and then I see her.

Loretta.

She’s leaning over me, her grip tight, her face twisted with urgency and something far more unhinged. My heart slams violently against my ribs as I glance toward the floor—Aston.

He’s sprawled beside the bed, completely still.

Blood pools beneath his head, dark and spreading, and the sight knocks the breath from my lungs.

No.

I try to scream, but the sound barely forms before Loretta shoves something over my mouth, a cloth, damp and sharp with a chemical stench.

I inhale on instinct.

Big fucking mistake.

The fumes hit instantly, burning through my senses, making everything spin. I thrash against her, fighting with everything I have, but my body doesn’t respond the way it should. My limbs feel heavy, slow… useless.

“No…” I try to say, but it comes out slurred, broken.

My arms weaken, slipping from any real control. My vision blurs, and darkness creeps in at the edges.

She drags me from the bed, my heels scraping uselessly against the floor as I try and fail to hold onto anything.

Everything is slipping.

Fading.

The last thing I see…

Aston.

Still on the floor.

Not moving.