“That’syou?” Sebastian wrapped his hands around mine, bringing the phone closer to his face without taking it from me. Leaning forward, he brought our heads within a few inches of each other as we both stared at the image. “Thisiscrazy.”
“I tried to warn you! I had lived here for less than six months when they asked for my help. But the whole experience is also part of why I started liking Seastone. There’s a video of everything on MyTube.”
“Oh my God, show me!” He pulled both his legs up, tucking them close to his chest.
I searched for the video online and was lucky to have a strong enough signal to load it. I held the phone between us so we could watch it together as he scooted closer to me. His thighs brushed against mine, offering some warmth against the cold stone.
The video showed me pretending to threaten my friends with a knife, all filmed by hidden cameras in the trees. Nicholas, the guy we’d done all this for, narrated the video. A brief interview scene was followed by a supercut of me chasing him and his husband, Jason, through the woods. An upbeat techno track played in the background—one I had composed for the video and later turned into a full song.
“I can’t believe something like this happened in boring old Seastone!” Sebastian’s eyes were fixed on the screen, eager not to miss a second. The longer we watched, the more his head bobbed to the beat. “Not to change the subject, but you have to send me the video. I need to look up that song.”
“Oh, uh…” I blushed. “You won’t find it online.”
“You’d be surprised. I’m a pro at finding tracks.”
“Well, definitely not this one.”
He looked up, his brows curling. “Why not?”
“Because… I kind of wrote it? And since it’s still missing some vocals, I haven’t uploaded it anywhere yet.”
He leaned back, his eyes widening. The video played for a few more seconds, but as he wasn’t watching anymore, I paused it.
“Youwrote it?” His head flopped back against the rock as he closed his eyes and shook his head. A chuckle bubbled up from his chest. “Does Mila know that?”
“Everyone knows.”
“Damn,” he said, smiling at me. There was a tiredness to it, almost as if he had been proven wrong. “Okay, we have to talk about that once we’ve finished the video.” He nodded toward my phone and leaned forward again.
I restarted the clip, feeling his eyes on my face before they drifted back to the screen.
The scene where Dany played a police officer came up, sending chills down my spine. I had completely forgotten about that part.
“Is thatmy dad?” Sebastian asked, leaning closer to the screen.
“Yeah, and I might,uh, pretend to kill him in a few seconds.”
“You’re shitting me.” His face shot up, only an inch away from bumping against my forehead, but the screams from the video forced him to watch as I fake-stabbed Dany. Sebastian’s mouth fell open. I wouldn’t have believed it either if I were him. “My Dad?”
The video played on, showing the two guys we did all this for kissing and falling into each other’s arms at the end.
“For two gay guys?Wait. I know the one with the eye patch. He’s…” He snapped his fingers as he racked his brain for an answer. “Yes, right. He’s the gas station dude, isn’t he?”
“That’s Jason, yes. But he and Nicholas run it together now.”
His mouth still hung open as the video ended. “I still can’t believe Dad agreed to be part of something like this. And that you got to kill him!”
“Pretend-kill him. Very important distinction.”
Sebastian’s bright laugh echoed through the mountain until he bit his lower lip to rein himself in. “You were right. Thiswascrazy. Especially considering my dad…” He shook his head as if the revelation had unsettled something inside him. “Was that really him?”
A flock of birds rose from the trees in the valley, their wings beating loud enough to draw our eyes. They circled above town, weaving around each other in a mesmerizing pattern. We both watched, letting the moment settle.
“Can I ask you, why you and your dad…?” I trailed off.
“…why we don’t get along?”
“Yeah. But we’re not drunk. So technically I can’t ask that.”
