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“If that’s the case, the only thing poor about that judgment is hers.”
“That’s rich. You give me too much credit. My score isn’t that high.”
“High enough for a loan. I’ll lend you a hand with impressing her, I’m a fantastic wing woman.”
“I’ve got plenty of wings, thanks. I’m a magpie, remember?”
“Nuh-uh, you’re a peacock; a pretty boy chicken with no fly.”
I cackled. “Fuck you.”
“Pay me,” she finished with a grin.
Spoken appeared in the doorway, “Babe, save it for the stage, I’mstarvin’!Cheeseburgers please?!”
Mea turned to Spoken. “Alright, I’m coming, I’m coming. See you tomorrow, Dictionary.”
“Sam.”
She smiled sweetly. “You can sit behind the glass here, turn the tables, but you’ll never shake the label. You’ll always be Dictionary.”
“Yeah, yeah.”
She left with Spoken, hand-in-hand, chattering all the way down the hallway as if they didn’t just spend the entire day together.
Mea was cursed with the nonstop mental chatter like me, but at least she had Spoken to talk to; to share her words with.
I had no one. I mean, sure, I had Noah, Mea, Spoken, and the other musicians I worked with. I had enough emotional intelligence to sense when my verbal barrage got to be too much, yet not enough self-control to stop once I started.
And worse yet, no one understood who I was beneath the words.
But at least I had this studio. At least I was doing what I loved every day. And if I had to do it alone, so be it.
I shut things down, turned off the lights, and grabbed my messenger bag.
Oh, that’s right. I needed to check my phone…
I plucked it from the pocket and saw two missed calls from an unknown number.
14
Grace
My phone lit up and displayed Sam’s name.
Thank God. “Hello?”
My heart pounded in my chest.
“Grace?”
“I need you to come get me,” I said breathlessly, my eyes darting to my classroom window.
All I could see were the lilac bushes sitting innocently on the bright green lawn.
He was gone.
Sam’s voice shifted lower, more hurried. “What’s going on?”
