Page 40 of The Song We Lost

I swallow hard.

My hands shake.

I set it on the table like it might explode.

I don’t open it.

I can’t.

Because my brain is still stuck on the date.

Our Anniversary.

Her Birthday.

Bailey.

A burst of panic makes my skin go cold.

My phone finally flickers to life.

And then it startsscreaming.

Notifications. Alerts. Messages.

What is going on?

Dave bursts into the room and I flinch at the noise.

“Turn on the TV,” he says, breathless. “Now.”

Noah glares. “Get out.”

My manager ignores him, grabs the remote, flips channels fast. A broadcast loads.

A stage.

A crowd.

Jackson Reed.

My stomach twists.

Jackson grins into a microphone like the world belongs to him.

“Y’all ready for something special?” he says.

My heart hammers.

Dave leans toward the screen, excited. “This is huge. This is exactly the kind of event we need you at next year.”

Next year.

Dave and Noah argue, but my brain is trying to catch up. I feel like I am missing something...

Jackson lifts a hand.

“I’ve got a special guest tonight,” he says. “And we’ve got an announcement.”