Twirling the drumsticks in the air, he catches them with ease, then points them in my direction. “Let’s fuckin’ go.”
When he shuts the door, I head back to my house. Toaster greets me at the threshold with a dental stick, tail wagging.
My eyes pan over to the wall of guitars, most of them nearly finished, except for one: my big work in progress. There’s still a lot more to do. Right now I’mfiguring out how to ditch the traditional pickups and build something revolutionary by integrating MIDI sensors into the fretboard. When you strum, the guitar sends a signal, not just to an amp, but to external gear that can manipulate sound and trigger lights.
Like a plasma ball.
The lights flicker, sound bends, the neck reacts, and it’s all tied together by the MIDI system, controlling both sound and visuals.
It’d be the closest you could get to holding lightning in your hands.
The problem I’m running into is the weight. Plasma effects inside a guitar neck would require specialized materials like quartz glass, making it too heavy to take off. Any musician worth their salt would scoff at the notion of carrying this beast through multiple grueling sets.
But it’s something. A start.
I pull my phone out of my pocket, reminded of the other fresh start taking shape.
Swallowing, I shoot Annie a quick text.
Me:Think we have a drummer.
An hour slips by. Then two more.
By midnight, I’m hauling my new amp, two guitars, and some solid news over to Tag’s place, ready to light up the basement with ideas and hours of brainstorming.
But when I hit the bottom step and glance around, it hits me—
Annie never replied.
And she’s not here.
Chapter 25Annalise
“You’ve officially lost your mind.” Kenna sends me a suspicious side-eye.
My face sours as I lick my cherry-chip ice cream cone, the sugar curdling into spoiled milk. “It wasn’t official before?”
“You were like ninety-nine percent there. This puts you over the edge.”
“Yay.” An icy droplet dribbles down my hand as we browse the outdoor shops in downtown Rutland. “You can’t pretend to know what you’d do in my situation.”
“Yes, I absolutely can,” she counters. “I’d go all in, Annalise. Fifty million percent. Balls to the wall.”
“Your balls are bigger than mine.”
“Fact.” Humming under her breath, she peers over to one of the quaint stores. “Oh! You need to start manifesting. It’s a new moon. I’ll get you a candle and some stones.”
“I don’t know anything about moon magic,” I grouse.
“So? You can learn.” She licks her half-eaten cone, grabs mine, then tosses them both in a trash can. Her fingers curl around my wrist as she drags metoward the entrance. “One time, I manifested front-row tickets to see Sleep Token. Then they just showed up.”
I blink at her. “That’s not manifesting. That was Rick Doherty trying to get you naked.”
“All I’m saying is it worked.” The doorbell jingles as we enter, and a dark-haired young woman welcomes us with a smile. “Let’s get you properly aligned.”
My shoulders slump as I glance around the shop that smells like lavender and patchouli. Every surface is filled with velvet-draped tables stacked with jars of loose herbs, shelves lined with multicolored crystals, and hanging displays of pendulums that glint under the amber light.
Kenna beelines for a shelf cluttered with gems, waving her fingers like she’s scanning for the right vibe. “Okay, first you need clear quartz for clarity and amplification. Then rose quartz, because your heart chakra is a disaster. No offense.”
