Holden:She could be standing in a corner in a crowded room, and I couldn’t not notice her. She is honest and kind. A little unorthodox, but…
He drifts off in thought.
Wilder:But?
Holden:But anyone would be lucky to be with her.
Wilder:Aren’t you?
My eyes dart back and forth between the both of them on the screen. Holden rubs his left arm up and down and Wilder is leaning into the microphone with anticipation.
Holden:I am saying that she has qualities anyone would want in a partner. I’m lucky to have her in my life.
Harvey Wilder turns to the camera, talking directly to the viewers.
Harvey:You heard it here first, folks. A love confession on air. Charlotte Tate, I hope you’re listening at home.
Holden lays a thick smile in the direction of the camera. A surge of rage floods my chest. That wasn’t a love confession, but—
I don’t know what he was doing. A few days ago, I might’ve believed his words were genuine.
Now? I am expendable. A scene partner for him, and this was our final dialogue to end us cleanly in the public eye. I can’t watch this podcast a second longer, where all he does is smile like nothing happened.
The energy inside me is enough to trip over air a million times and keep going. Ignoring the sharp, stabbing pain in my shins, I slip out the door and sprint toward the entrance of my apartment building.
Chapter thirty-five
You Were Burning Alive
The ocean stretches out in front of me as I let my legs give out, slipping my toes underneath the sand. This didn’t feel like running anymore, but sprinting full speed ahead of a tornado. Pushing myself to burn all my energy until my anger is just ash. All I feel is my exhaustion.
I’m left talking to myself on the beach, dry heaving in between words.
“The worst part is—” I exhale. “I tricked myself. I played the game so well that I actually believed for a second he might have feelings for me.” A quick huff of laughter escapes me as the waves crash louder against the shore.
A few feet from me, I spot a couple, making out, wrapped in a burgundy blanket. So deeply in love that it’s as if a light is forming around them.
“Is that—” I cock my head to the side as the light only grows more intense, swallowing the couple whole as it grows. The light is a brilliant blue and blinding. Halos are forming in my vision the longer I stare at it.
A girl in a white slip dress approaches me as if she is walking right through it.
“Skye?”
“Charlotte,” she says back to me softly.
“Why did you disappear after the memorial?”
My voice shakes as she steps fully into view. Skye looks different. Not older in the obvious ways. There are no wrinkles nor gray hairs, but her face looks refined somehow. The air around her feels heavier, like it’s carrying something unspoken. She stands straighter, shoulders back. No sign of the reckless teenager I remember.
I can’t put my finger on what it is exactly, but it unsettles me.
“I was giving you time.”
“For what!” My voice jumps an octave as Skye starts to pace back and forth in front of me.
“To do the thing that I’ve been begging you to do since I showed up—” she says in one long breath.
I scratch my head, digging my feet further into the sand.
