Page 188 of Love Felt Like This

“Where?” I ask.

“They want to talk with you.”

But why? Why steal me away from Griffin like this? Why now?

I feel like I’m floating as Finch escorts me back through the double doors, back to the long conference table, and back to the suits with grins on their faces. I’m in a dream—no, a nightmare—absolutely lost.

“Miss Lark,” they say, causing me to refocus on the room. The Connection logo beams too bright over their heads, illuminating their hair in streaks of red, yellow, and blue. It’s blinding. I squint.

“We’d like to discuss some extra details, if you have some time right now.”

“Time?” I ask. “Details?”

I blink through the fog. All the nerves that dissipated in my chest now bubble up with Griffin gone, spreading like wildfire through my fingertips, shaking and clenching and numb.

“Beverly.” They smile. Who could smile right now when—“We’d officially like to offer you a spot on our platform.”

Like whiplash, I’m jerked yet again. I think I hear buzzing in my ears. The room is both quiet and far too loud.

A spot…

Spot on…

My legs shake. My stomach drops. Am I going to pass out?

“Beverly?” Finch asks.

“We got the show?” I ask breathlessly.

One of the suits laughs, but I don’t see what’s so freaking funny.

We got the show.

We got the show?!

We got Birds on the Block back on the air.

Finch’s arms are suddenly slung around me, and the wildfire in my veins rages up my throat and to my head.

I’m on fire.

My world is ablaze with light and energy and…

I choke out a laugh, bursting through my sore vocal cords.

I did it.

And I’m laughing, unable to stop it.

I brought the show back.

Everything I’ve worked for…it’s here.

I need to tell Nana.

No, I need to get home. I need to pack. I need to get to work. I need to call my old Flock Workshop cohort. I need more writers. I need actual professional childhood-development researchers. I wonder if we can get the workshop space back.

I need…