Gale
My ears buzzed, even as the room fell silent. All eyes turned to Ozrik and me as the TV screen went black.
Charles must not have registered the complete gravitational shift in the room. He must not have heard my heart doing all it could to expel itself from my chest.
How had that kiss been captured on film? I didn’t have a camera in the Jeep. Not on that trip. That was long before Charles intervened with his camera crew and requirements.
My lips went numb. I wanted to speak but couldn’t form words for the life of me, not that I knew what to say. I feared that if I found my voice, I would scream myself into hysterics.
I could run, but my legs had turned to jelly.
If only the floor would open up and eat me alive.
How?
How, how, how?
Three weeks. The show would be broadcast to tens of thousands of people in three weeks. Everyone who subscribed to CineVision or had a remote interest in storm chasing would see it and know. Any chance I had of keeping my personal life personal would be flushed down the drain.
The entire population of Elk City knew about the upcoming show. News of its release had worked its way around the rumor mill weeks ago, especially since the cast were all Elk City locals.
Everyone would know.
And then what?
For all I’d clung to that closet door, barely brave enough to stick a foot beyond the threshold, it had been yanked from my hand.
I closed my eyes, hoping that when I opened them again, it would have all been a dream.
At its simplest, for a thunderstorm to exist, it required moisture, instability, and a lifting mechanism to start the process. The combination, although often resulting in something manageable, could at times produce devastation in nature. Recorded instances of natural disasters went back centuries.
I believed that thunderstorms were also part of the human condition. They had been recorded throughout history in many forms. War was a fine example. The recipe was similar. It required two conflicting views and a catalyst to start the process.
Then,boom.
The result could be equally catastrophic.
In the conference room at CineVision, Charles had mixed a deadly concoction, but in my paralyzed state, it wasn’t me who exploded. It was my team.
In an instant, a voice, dripping with venom, sounded. “What the fuck is that?” Ozrik said, and anyone looking on would think he’d raised an army.
Several people shoved their chairs back and stood, forming a united front.
I sensed the tremors of an earthquake radiating off Ozrik’s body. The tension in the room rose to new heights.
“You can’t do that,” Olivia shouted.
“What the hell is wrong with you?” Lex.
“Dude, not cool. The fuck are you thinking?” Vern.
“Called it.” Jazz was the only one still sitting.
“You’re not airing that.” Maggie.
“Since when is it okay to broadcast a person’s sexuality without their permission?” Noah. “That is a violation of Gale’s human rights.”
Charles piped up. “I have contracts that give me permission.”
