Page 68 of Dark

I whirled, heart kicking in my chest. “What are you doing here?”

12

Ethan

SMARMY-DUDE COVERED ONE NOSTRIL, tipped his head back and inhaled so hard I was pretty sure tornado sirens went off in the next county. Because way to keep things friendly for the kids.

“Hannah.” He sniffed, looking Hayden up and down like I wasn’t standing right there.

But dick-punching some coked-up loser in front of an apple cider stand while a bunch of four-year-olds looked on was low, even for me.

Hayden folded her arms. “What are you doing here?”

“Would you believe I came for the funnel cake?”

She shot him a withering look. “You?”

Mr. Personality pulled out his phone, probably to check in with his dealer. “Saw the post on social media. My father and I thought someone from the agency needed to show up for this… event.” He glanced down at his $300 Italian loafers, which, awesome choice for a muddy field full of sheep, dude, and waved a hand. “You’re my group, so…”

“Touching,” Hayden said sarcastically, and then to me, “Jake’s our booking agent.”

“Nice,” I muttered under my breath, which earned me a glare.

“Guess it’s not looking good,” Cokehead announced to his screen, like he had a killer game of Candy Crush going on down there. “So when do you go on?”

“They, uh,” Hayden swiped a strand of hair off her cheek, “had to shuffle a few groups around.”

“Right.” His gaze flicked to me. “This your roadie?”

Because this day just kept getting better and better. My lip curled. Hayden refused to look at me. Which was pretty much my cue.

“Gotta go.”

And this time, when I ducked back into the crowd, no one bothered to follow.

Clouds rolled in throughout the afternoon. By the time Hayden went onstage a little before six, the wind was starting to swirl up dust and bits of hay, making my nose tickle from the scent of manure.

“Hey, y’all,” she said into the mic.

A cheer erupted, plastic cups of beer and half-melted cherry snow cones competing with hundreds of cell phones in a small-town Texas salute. I’d bet no one else heard the slight rasp in her voice. She looked so impossibly small up there, miles away, a sea of bodies between us. But she’d pulled off one hell of a performance earlier. And now I had to trust her to see it through to the end.

“I wanted to open with a new song. As you know, two of my best friends were abducted Wednesday night and efforts to find them are ongoing. All proceeds from today’s performance will be donated to the search effort. To be honest, it feels scarier than any of you know being up here on stage without them. All I want is for them to be brought home, safe.”

Pausing, she ducked her head, swiping a finger beneath her eyes. The crowd fell silent, faces soft, sympathetic. Most people out here had watched Hayden grow up, had followed the Daisies as they started to gain traction, Blood Moon’s home-grown sensation. Now Hayden stood before them in ripped skinny jeans, a Killers tee and her cropped canvas jacket, long hair spilling over one shoulder in a dark wave, in a way as much Blood Moon’s as she was mine.

Bodies pressed in all around me, smelling of sweat, carnival food and sunshine. My fingernails dug into my palms. I should have been up there with her. Plan or not, we were taking too much of a risk. But no way could I get up to that stage now.

Hayden bit her lip, blinking up at the stormy Texas sky as she started to strum her acoustic. “This is for anyone who’s ever fought for that second chance. For all the dreamers out there who don’t give up, no matter what life throws your way.”

Her opening chords filled the field, dark, minor progressions marked with sharp, edgy strumming. The wind gusted, sending her hair swirling over one shoulder in advance of the storm, the backdrop of the approaching thunderheads making a killer video for all the people recording on their phones. And then Hays leaned into the mic, the mood unexpectedly softening.

I never hoped for second chances. Thought love always needed proof.

Movie nights and chocolate fights as rain whispered on the roof.

You could hide forever.

Our hearts have both been burned.