Page 491 of Call Me Baby 2: Side B

When the bridge comes,

the words drop brittle and barbed,

like tender little pointy things.

Then the last chorus hits⁠—

the kick drums,

the choir,

the orchestral swell,

it all SLAMS in⁠—

a sonic boom to my heart.

And I’m smiling,

and singing,

and spinning.

Until the spinning stops,

and the dizziness fades,

and I finally look at Andrew.

He’s staring at me in breathless shock.

A faint smile hangs off his lips.

It all ruins me.

Just undoes me.

He’s a man split open,

chest rising and falling heavy,

head shaking,

and I burn this image into my mind, dying to live with it all the way to my grave.

But in the next second, a brutal realization crashes in as I look around the room.

Ashley gives me the nod of approval.

Callista’s wiping a tear with her thumb,

losing herself as it loops again,

already knowing the lyrics.

Second by second,

the song is slipping from my fingers,