“Why are you barefoot?”
“Because I couldn’t sleep, and I was annoyed about that. So… I guess I wasn’t even thinking about leaving my room without slippers or a robe.”
“Good. Now who are you talking to?”
She wanted to be literal. To say:myself because this isn’t a duet and acting alone is like having a hand tied behind my back.
Despite her best efforts, she conjured the image of Vivian in her booth. Her dark eyes fixed on her screen, posture poised, elegant mouth moving.
“I’m talking to Kiersten’s—myex.” She tried to feel the cold floor on her feet and the flutter in her chest at seeing a former secret lover walking into the kitchen. To be standing together in the low light and not enough clothes.
“Where is she?”
Bryn could almost see her there. Tall, blonde, in nothing but a T-shirt. Dark eyes unsure and her body struggling to stay neutral. Struggling not to telegraph how nervous she was to say hello. How unsure that she should’ve said goodbye. The same doubt and longing burned in Bryn’s belly.
“She just walked in.” Bryn swallowed to move the lump forming in her throat. She couldn’t stop seeing Vivian.
“Now, say your line again.”
Bryn moistened her lips before she leaned closer to the microphone. Arms wrapped around herself like she was in a wintery lodge rather than a suffocating closet, she let her voice break when she breathed, “Did I wake you?”
“There it is,” Zora said, prompting Bryn to open her eyes. If Bryn didn’t know her already, she would’ve missed the understated praise. “You look nice and disoriented.” She glanced at the corner of her screen. “We’ve got five minutes. Let’s do one more with a different aim. This time you’re angry but can’t show it. Go.”
Bryn chuckled. “That seems… healthy.”
“It’s acting,” Zora replied without the slightest hint of a smile. “Not therapy. Okay. From the top.”
* * *
An hour later, Bryn was basking in the AC, wrapped in a damp towel and splayed across her bed. She’d only meant to check her recent Siren post and like any new comments, but she’d ended up scrolling on socials.
Her weekly sessions with Zora were incredible, but they always left Bryn totally empty. The emotional equivalent ofleaving it all on the court. She wasn’t sure she was getting any better as an actor, but it wasn’t for lack of trying.
With plant deliveries starting at noon, Bryn gave herself another minute to check emails before getting dressed to head to the nursery. She skimmed her inbox until her heart stopped when she saw the one from the American Voice Actors Association. Other than the automated reminder to pay her dues, AVAA had never emailed her. She stared at the subject line.
Congratulations!Magpiesis a Finalist for Audiobook of the Year.
Her eyeball and brain connection faltered. She reread the line. She understood each word, but they were so improbably arranged.
When she checked that the sender was legit, she gripped her phone harder and opened the message.We are delighted to inform you… and your title has been selected… and please see attached details regarding the ceremony in New York…
Mouth dry and racing pulse deafening, Bryn forced herself to read every single word. She read down to the nominee line. The author’s name. The publisher. And then, in black and white and squeezing Bryn’s heart: Narrated by Vivian del Castillo and Bryn Garbo.
Bryn read the nominee line again, slower this time, like her brain would suddenly discover a hidden “just kidding,” or a request for money, or some other indicator that the email was a scam.
Narrated by Vivian del Castillo and Bryn Garbo.
Her name sat beside Vivian’s like it belonged there. Like she hadn’t spent her adult life one overdraft notification away from selling feet pics. Rolling over, Bryn reached for a pillow and screamed into it. She kicked her feet, letting the rush of adrenaline make her stomach soar and her pulse race and her heart believe this was really happening.
Just being able to add Platinum Voice finalist to her resume was more than she could have ever imagined. Normal people just didn’t get nominated for those, and they definitely didn’t make a short list.
Vivian had been nominated before, of course, but she hadn’t won. Bryn closed her eyes and thought of Vivian like she had a hundred times since she saw her last. She couldn’t remember exactly what her kiss felt like, but she couldn’t forget the aftermath it left in her body.
I should message her. That’s totally a normal thing to do. We were both nominated. It would be rude not to.
Without letting her stupid ego talk her out of it, Bryn scrolled down further than she liked and found her last message. Well,messagewas generous. The last time Bryn had tried to make contact, it had been whenMagpiesreleased. She’d typed out a cheerful little congrats like a normal person who hadn’t been waiting for any plausible excuse to reach out. A normal person who wasn’t absolutely haunted by a devastating kiss.
Vivian had responded with a single thumbs-up.
