Total pages in book: 90
Estimated words: 84670 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 423(@200wpm)___ 339(@250wpm)___ 282(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 84670 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 423(@200wpm)___ 339(@250wpm)___ 282(@300wpm)
Clenching my teeth to hold in the urge to cry, I scrambled to my feet and grabbed my bike from where it lay next to Liam’s. After a couple of false starts, I pedaled off as fast as I could, tears blurring my vision.
Fuck Mrs. Rose.
And fuck Liam.
I hoped I’d never see either of them ever again.
1
ROME ASHBRIDGE
October, 2025
The cry of the violin soared to the high rotunda ceiling, the notes stretching out into a desolate wail before falling to a whimper. The soloist sat apart from the other members of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, making him somehow seem smaller and lonely. At least it had until Simon started to play. There was such bold power in the movements of his bow. Everything about him exuded strength and confidence. It was hard to reconcile that this was the same guy I’d known as a kid. The baby brother of one of my college friends.
When had he gotten so old? So confident?
Okay, obviously, it had been in the past fifteen years. The last time I’d seen Simon, he’d been this gangly kid who’d looked up to his older brother like he’d hung the moon and could do anything. To be fair, though, I’d never given much thought to what Simon would do with his life. My brain had decided that he would remain this tween shadow that would follow Sawyer forever.
Except Sawyer died young, unable to begin his final year of college, and Simon became a fucking talented violinist.
Leaning to my left, I bumped my shoulder against Pierce’s arm and whispered, “Isn’t he great? Bet you never expected to see Simon playing in the Hall of Justice.”
Pierce glared at me from the corner of his eye. Without saying a word, I could tell he was threatening to rip my tongue out through my nose if I kept up with my nonsense. But how could I resist? Tonight’s concert was being held at Union Terminal, which was the home of the Cincinnati Museum Center and the inspiration for DC Comics’ Hall of Justice with all the Super Friends. It was as if Simon were putting on a concert for superheroes. You couldn’t get any cooler than that.
For the life of me, I couldn’t guess what Pierce’s problem was with Simon. I knew something had gone down between Sawyer and Pierce years ago, just prior to Sawyer’s death in that stupid diving accident. But no matter how I pried and poked at him, the man was a fucking steel trap. He refused to give up a single word about what had happened and why it had spread to encompass Simon.
Years of being friends with Pierce had taught me to have an innate sense of when to stop pushing and keep my mouth shut. He and I had been close for half of my life, and I’d lost enough friends over the years. I had no desire to add him to that inglorious list.
A brief tug on the sleeve of my suit jacket had me turning toward my right, where Allie Crumb was leaning in close. She batted huge mahogany-brown eyes at me and rested her cheek on my shoulder as she murmured, “This is the last piece, correct?”
I bit my tongue. She had a program clutched in her slender hand, just as I did. Was she not following along with the performance? It wasn’t her question, though, that I found annoying, but her tone that was a soft mix of hopeful and petulant.
This was our first date, and I was beginning to think it was going to be our only one. We’d met a few days ago while standing in line at a coffee shop near work. We’d been making small talk, and I’d mentioned that a friend of mine was going to be performing at a special concert held at the Union Terminal. She’d exclaimed how much she enjoyed classical music and had always wanted to see one of the special concerts at the museum center. Naturally, I’d asked her out. She was cute, nice, and, most importantly, one of the few women I’d encountered who was shorter than me.
But now, it looked like maybe I’d been treated to my own special performance, because she’d either fibbed about the depth of her love of classical music, or this selection wasn’t to her liking.
“Yes,” I replied in a low voice, trying not to disturb the other people listening to Simon’s spectacular playing.
Allie wiggled a little closer. “After this is over, I was thinking we could go somewhere fun. Somewhere with more excitement.”
I graced her with a tight smile. “We’ll see,” I mumbled and turned my attention forward. It was more likely that our date was going to end early because of an “unexpected” business call.
It wasn’t a big deal if someone didn’t care for classical music. The genre wasn’t my favorite, but I’d been clear about what my plans were and my excitement at seeing my friend play in public at an interesting location. If Allie wasn’t interested in classical music but wanted to go on a date with me, all she’d had to do was freaking ask. I would have been happy to take her out for something more exciting if that was what she’d desired. It was the possible lying and deception that soured my mood.