Gage shrugged. “I’ll leave that problem for you to handle.”
Scar muttered a few curse words as he guided him toward the pandemonium of rattling rails, a ground that vibrated with an electrical hum, crash after crash of chaos, and speakers blaring bass-heavy music.
He made sure to collapse his cane until it resembled a compact umbrella, so he wasn’t denied entrance. Scar discreetly led him to his car, and he climbed inside by memory—since it appeared the cars hadn’t changed since he was a boy.
The steering wheel was worn smooth, tacky from thousands of hands, but he didn’t care. He fastened his seat belt and waited for the buzzer.
Gage listened. He didn’t just hear screams. He heard where everyone was and where they were headed. And of course, Scar bellowing directions at him.
“Left, left, Gage!”
Gage laughed hard as he cranked the wheel. His car jolted forward, and the first collision made a satisfying thud ricochet up his spine. He hollered out, the sound mingling with everyone else’s.
“Right, Gage!”
He was hit on his side and again in the rear, spinning him a hundred and eighty degrees.
So much for Scar backing him up. Yelling left-right like an idiot wasn’t stopping him from getting hit.
Gage locked onto the kid’s obnoxious giggle, found him, and rammed the hell out of him.
When the ride ended and the power cut, he unhooked his seat belt and climbed out. His legs were shaky in the best way.
He found Scar by the scent of his expensive cologne, grabbed and hugged him, peppering kisses on his cheeks.
“Thank you,” he whispered against his ear.
He didn’t only mean for the ride, he was referring to all of it.
He squeezed Scar’s wrist and pulled, “Roller coaster next, the biggest one they have.”
Scar made a dreadful sound. “Gage, handsome, I hate roller coasters. I thought we were just gonna’ walk around, play some games, maybe win a goldfish, or a hermit crab or some shit, and eat a bunch of junk. Not actually get on these death contraptions.”
“Aww,” he teased, nudging under Scar’s chin. “You’re scared?”
“No I’m not,” Scar grumbled. “But I have watched all six Final Destination movies. And this is a pop-up carnival, which means that roller coaster was on the back of an eighteen-wheeler a month ago. It can’t be very well-constructed. I bet it’s missing screws and half the tracks are duct taped.”
Gage laughed and pulled on Scar with more force. “I’ll say a little prayer, and we’ll be fine. Now let’s go.”
Scar cursed again, but he went.
The roller coaster was different from bumper cars. The bumper cars could be controlled. This was total surrender.
At the crest, the air changed, the wind built, and space opened.
Then the drop.
His stomach lifted into his throat as his world was reduced to speed, gravity, and the rush of air in his face.
He couldn’t see the curve coming, but he felt it in the clanking track, and the way everyone’s screams heightened at the exact same time.
Scar was screaming too.
He hollered through the drop, wild and breathless, holding on for dear life and to this joy he hoped would never end.
When they stumbled off, his whole body buzzed like a live wire. He turned toward Scar, pointing in his face. “I didn’t know you could scream that high.”
“I wasn’t screaming,” Scar said hoarsely.
