thing."
Leslie sighs and shakes her head at Miles behind him. He glares at me, biting his lip. I can tell he wants to yell. The man who's usually a calm and soothing sky blue is turning into a deep, navy blue. I see the tints of black filling in, tainting the gentleness in him.
"I didn't mean in like that, London. I'm glad you came."
Maybe it's not black I see seeping in. It's green. Like envy. Miles is jealous. He doesn't like Kane and I can't decide if it's because of me or Brooklyn. Which one of us does it bother him more to see with another guy?
"Make sure she doesn't drive," he tells Kane, who is still standing tense behind me. Miles leans forward and places a quick kiss to my cheek before leaving. Braxton follows and soon the guys are back on the stage.
"Sorry," I mumble, taking the fresh drinks from the server.
"No need," Kane says, paying for our drinks. "Should we go?"
I shake my head as the sound of Miles grabbing the mic silences the bar.
"I got something new for you guys tonight," Miles says, earning several cheers. "I hope you guys like it. It's very personal to me."
Kane comes to stand next to me, his hand touching my lower back lightly. The slow and hypnotic notes of Miles's guitar fill the space. It's a haunting tune that pulls at something sad inside me. I feel sad just from the melody, but I don't understand why.
Miles's voice joins the strums of his guitar. The drums slowly follow, along with the keyboard. Each instrument sneaking in, adding but never overshadowing Miles's words. I hear each one loud and clear.
The first words are about love so fierce that it burns. He sings of fire and flames. Each verse is pulled from his chest, pouring out over the stage and the people watching in respectable silence. Images from my nightmares play in my head along with his words.
He sings of loving someone so untouchable that he has burns and scars to prove it. A love that is indestructible but invisible. He loves so deeply that he breaks. Everything around them turns to ash.
Kane's touch gets firmer as my knees get weak. Every word feels like it's personal and aimed at me.
Words about smoke and burning accompany the dramatic notes. He's searching the flames, fighting the smoke for her. The emotions he shows match those in my nightmares. The fear. The love. The hopeless searching.
He says he will never give up searching for her. Her body may burn but his love never will.
The vision of Miles on that stage, staring out at me starts to blur. Fire and smoke taint my vision as the alcohol and emotion mess with my head. The stage starts to fade, along with the rest of the room. I feel like I'm floating and spinning as everything goes black.
F OURTEEN
Brooklyn
I come from a family of extremes. My dad couldn't have just one drink. My mom couldn't just have one kid. She had to have two. At the same time.
London and I are no different. Our life is a balancing act from my extremes to hers. Wild to calm. Sweet to sour.
I was never the emotional one and London feels too much. She would cry when our father came home and spewed hateful things at us for being an inconvenience in his life. I stayed strong for her, showing her it didn't have to hurt. That strong and hard act is tough to keep in place at all times.
The one thing I actually like about living in Florida is the roof of our apartment. It's just as run down as the rest of the place, but it's empty. No one comes up here because the sun is almost unbearable without any shade. At the right time of the day, though, the apartment building next door casts a shadow.
That's where I set up the cheap lounge chair. It's faded from the sun and constant exposure. Up here, I do the one thing I hate the most and that's feel. I can worry about my sister's constant nightmares. I can feel guilty for bailing on Miles and London last night.
As much as I wanted the two most important people in my life to be together,
Leslie sighs and shakes her head at Miles behind him. He glares at me, biting his lip. I can tell he wants to yell. The man who's usually a calm and soothing sky blue is turning into a deep, navy blue. I see the tints of black filling in, tainting the gentleness in him.
"I didn't mean in like that, London. I'm glad you came."
Maybe it's not black I see seeping in. It's green. Like envy. Miles is jealous. He doesn't like Kane and I can't decide if it's because of me or Brooklyn. Which one of us does it bother him more to see with another guy?
"Make sure she doesn't drive," he tells Kane, who is still standing tense behind me. Miles leans forward and places a quick kiss to my cheek before leaving. Braxton follows and soon the guys are back on the stage.
"Sorry," I mumble, taking the fresh drinks from the server.
"No need," Kane says, paying for our drinks. "Should we go?"
I shake my head as the sound of Miles grabbing the mic silences the bar.
"I got something new for you guys tonight," Miles says, earning several cheers. "I hope you guys like it. It's very personal to me."
Kane comes to stand next to me, his hand touching my lower back lightly. The slow and hypnotic notes of Miles's guitar fill the space. It's a haunting tune that pulls at something sad inside me. I feel sad just from the melody, but I don't understand why.
Miles's voice joins the strums of his guitar. The drums slowly follow, along with the keyboard. Each instrument sneaking in, adding but never overshadowing Miles's words. I hear each one loud and clear.
The first words are about love so fierce that it burns. He sings of fire and flames. Each verse is pulled from his chest, pouring out over the stage and the people watching in respectable silence. Images from my nightmares play in my head along with his words.
He sings of loving someone so untouchable that he has burns and scars to prove it. A love that is indestructible but invisible. He loves so deeply that he breaks. Everything around them turns to ash.
Kane's touch gets firmer as my knees get weak. Every word feels like it's personal and aimed at me.
Words about smoke and burning accompany the dramatic notes. He's searching the flames, fighting the smoke for her. The emotions he shows match those in my nightmares. The fear. The love. The hopeless searching.
He says he will never give up searching for her. Her body may burn but his love never will.
The vision of Miles on that stage, staring out at me starts to blur. Fire and smoke taint my vision as the alcohol and emotion mess with my head. The stage starts to fade, along with the rest of the room. I feel like I'm floating and spinning as everything goes black.
F OURTEEN
Brooklyn
I come from a family of extremes. My dad couldn't have just one drink. My mom couldn't just have one kid. She had to have two. At the same time.
London and I are no different. Our life is a balancing act from my extremes to hers. Wild to calm. Sweet to sour.
I was never the emotional one and London feels too much. She would cry when our father came home and spewed hateful things at us for being an inconvenience in his life. I stayed strong for her, showing her it didn't have to hurt. That strong and hard act is tough to keep in place at all times.
The one thing I actually like about living in Florida is the roof of our apartment. It's just as run down as the rest of the place, but it's empty. No one comes up here because the sun is almost unbearable without any shade. At the right time of the day, though, the apartment building next door casts a shadow.
That's where I set up the cheap lounge chair. It's faded from the sun and constant exposure. Up here, I do the one thing I hate the most and that's feel. I can worry about my sister's constant nightmares. I can feel guilty for bailing on Miles and London last night.
As much as I wanted the two most important people in my life to be together,
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