Things That Shine

by Bria Quinlan

  Sage pressed his lips together and looked directly at Zelda. “Go on tour with Emily for a couple of weeks?”

  Zelda tried to look innocent, but her sneakiness was obvious. “What? Why are you looking at me like that?”

  Sage arched his eyebrows, and Harrison knocked his shoulder into Zelda, urging her to come clean.

  “Okay, geez! So what if I think the solution is obvious. We all fell in love on tour. It’s the perfect place to put this whole situation back to rights. So sue me for being a romantic.”

  Sage shook his head. “She won’t go for it. She’s too smart for your schemes.”

  Zelda crossed her arms over her chest in defiance. “Well, I’m not going without Emily.”

  “Shit,” Luke muttered, rubbing the back of his neck.

  “As Zelda goes, so goes my nation,” Harrison said.

  Luke looked to the ceiling. “Lord, save us from a fangirl’s good intentions.” He dropped his gaze to Sage. “If she comes along, will you be smart and not make it worse?”

  “I don’t even know how to make it worse,” Sage muttered. Luke narrowed his eyes. “Of course. I’ll be on my best behavior, but she won’t go for it.”

  “I’ll talk to her,” Zelda spoke up.

  The conversation drifted into logistics and possible venues. But Sage wasn’t listening again.

  He was stuck on the glimmer of hope he could have another chance. He didn’t deserve it, not by a long shot. But he might actually get it. It had been hard to get in there the first time, but he was pretty positive he could do it again. He would throw himself at her feet over and over again. On tour he’d be able to show her he was sorry, he had her back, he would do anything for her. On tour, he had a chance.

  A small, tiny, nearly nonexistent chance.

  For the first time in a week, Sage wasn’t hopeless.

  35

  Emily

  “So, that’s not extreme or anything.”

  I glanced up to see Zelda standing on the far side of the café, grinning at me like we’d been apart for years.

  “Yeah.” I rubbed my hand over the back of my neck, still not used to the short fuzziness there. “It was a moment.”

  “Had ’em.” She crossed the room, coming up to the counter and reaching across to pull me into a counter-encompassing hug. “Got a minute?”

  I did a quick glance around the café. Everything was stocked, clean, and ready to go in the morning. The guy who was probably my last customer had left about fifteen minutes ago, leaving me with plenty of time to get the world in order.

  “Sure.” I rounded the counter to join her, motioning to the comfy chairs. “What’s up?”

  “Stop.” Zelda shook her head, giving me a significant side-eye. “Stop thinking horrible things.”

  I took a deep breath and let my shoulders drop back. I’d been afraid Zelda was not only dropping me as a friend, but had changed her mind since the camera hadn’t shown up. Everything shifted back around to not-horrible, and I slouched back in the chair.

  “Well, I was going to call you this week anyway.” I took a deep breath and sat forward, and spilled the beans. “I’m giving up photography. It just doesn’t make sense.”

  “What?” Zelda’s voice jumped so many octaves I thought wolves might howl in the distance.

  “Yeah. I’ve actually given notice on all my jobs. And,” I took a breath before rushing on, “I got my tuition for my next class reimbursed. I’m starting at this office gig over in Cambridge in a week.”

  “Doing artsy marketing stuff, right?” Zelda’s brows were drawn down in what I swear were little cartoon Vs.

  “Actually, I’m going to be the admin to the admin to the sales manager.” I still didn’t know what that meant, but I knew it paid more than minimum wage and was on an easy bus line, and I could keep my job with Dr. Michael’s kids.

  “No. Absolutely not. I forbid it.” Zelda stood up and marched across the room only to turn and march back. “No.”

  “You said that.”

  “And I meant it!” She pounded her fist into her other hand.

  “So, yeah.” I gave her a smile, feeling the love under all the anger. “I can’t do this much more. I’ve been at it for five years, and I’m tired, Zelda. I need some stability, and I need to know I won’t be homeless or a step away from homeless for the rest of my life.”

  “But, I have a better offer!” She sat back down. “You’re going to work for me.”

  Oh, well, that was adorable. Between the two of us, we’d make a full person in height and probably break half of the planet in klutziness.

  “That’s a very kind offer—”

  “No, it isn’t. It’s why I drove in today.” Zelda settled back down, looking her version of professional. “I’d like to hire you on full time. You’d work for me. You’d be my second on all major shoots, not to mention building your own clientele as you see fit. Of course, Double Blind is our major—and most important—client. They pay the bills. Which means it’s a good thing you gave notice, because we’re going on tour!”

  Leave it to Zelda to see fate in my decision to move on and become an adult.

  “Right, so—” I cleared my throat. “Yeah. No.”

  “What? No, what?”

  “Zelda,” I softened my voice. “I can’t.”

  “Yes, you can.” She sounded so sure.

  But, I’d already given up the dream. And, to have it again, only to know it would probably be snatched away would kill me.

  Not to mention, Sage. There was no way I was traveling and working in close quarters with him for however long and however often.

  “I need to let go of the dream. It’s not going to happen long term, and I need to be planning for my future.”

  “This is your future.” Zelda wasn’t going to let this go without a fight. “You’re incredibly talented. You have a gift to see things and capture moments. I feel so much joy in your photos. And, light. Geez. You play with light like Arthur Griffin. I’m not offering you a hobby. I’m offering you a job—no! A career. Which starts with car, so it obviously means you’re going places.”

  I opened my mouth to try to interrupt.

  “Plus!” She jumped up, looking more excited than even a moment ago. “There’s a two-thousand dollar signing bonus.”

  Wow. That was a lot of money. I could pay off the last of one of my credit cards with that.

  “Equipment is included.” She kept going, counting off perks on her fingers. “Health benefits.”

  I was beginning to consider it. Heck, I was more than beginning to consider it. I was practically sold.

  “And super-fun world travel with rock stars!”

  Oh. Yeah. The band…and the band people.

  “Zelda—”

  “Don’t say it!” She shook her head. “We’ll make it work.”

  “I can’t. I’m sorry. I know you’re offering me the chance of a lifetime, and, to be honest, I could use a break. But the truth is, I honestly don’t think I could work like that. I don’t think I could give you anything you’d use. I’m just…”

  I tried to figure out the right word to make her understand. I just couldn’t be near him. He not only broke my heart, but he represented everything I knew was a dreamland I’d let myself slip into. It was good to know. It was smart to realize it now.

  A girl could only count on herself and the world wasn’t going to cut her any breaks.

  “Listen, I get it. I even love the adorable Audrey Hepburn circa Sabrina thing going on.” She smiled while I ran a hand over my dyed pixie cut, thinking it was supposed to be rebellion, not retro class. “But you can’t do this. I did this. I thought I would make sandwiches for a living and give up Harrison. But you’re going to make copies. That’s worse! That’s like heart-killing! You need to create!”

  I gave her the best smile I had, knowing that with Zelda I’d at least have one more friend when all this was over. “Well then, I guess I’ll create copies.”

&nbs
p; SAGE

  “You!”

  Sage glanced up as Zelda barged into the studio, wrath and fury coming off her in waves.

  “You have broken my fangirl. You have ravaged the soul of my soul sister. You have demolished the cheer of my little hobbit. You are dead to me.”

  Behind him, he heard a gasp and turned to see Harrison going pale.

  “Zelda,” Harrison breathed out, a rush of shock.

  “No. No. Emily is beyond all of our reaches now. She’s done the unimaginable.”

  Sage jumped out of his chair, tipping it over as he did, heart racing. “Is she okay?”

  What could she have done? Was she hurt?

  “No. She is not okay.”

  Sage reached for his keys, ready to drive them to the nearest hospital.

  “Zeldy, what’s happened?” Harrison took her hands, trying to slow everything down and absorbing a bit of her anger. “What horrible thing has Emily done?”

  “She…she…” Zelda sucked in a breath. “She quit life and got an office job, and it’s all your fault.”

  The band all turned and looked at him, expecting him to fix it. To make everything better. Hell, he didn’t even know how things had landed here.

  Step one: Meet the girl of your dreams.

  Step two: Woo her.

  Step three: Destroy everything in a crash of destruction so horrendous no one can find the bodies.

  Sage sucked in a breath.

  “I can fix it.”

  “How?” Zelda glared, clearly not believing him. Sage didn’t blame her.

  “It’s what I do. I fix things. This...I can fix.” He turned to Luke, feeling the weight of what he was about to say grow heavy in his chest. “I’m not going on the tour.”

  Luke’s eyebrows dipped severely. “I think you misunderstand the importance of having a sound man.”

  “Get Greg or Trey. I heard Sandy O is back from Vegas, call her. I don’t care.”

  “But we picked you for a reason, Sage,” Luke said gruffly.

  “Doesn’t matter. I’ve already gotten a taste of living my dream. You’ve already given me more opportunity than I deserve. This is Emily’s shot. The one thing in the world that puts that light on her face, and I’m the a-hole standing in the way?” He shook his head. “I won’t be that guy. I’m not that guy.”

  “You’re in love with her,” Zelda said, wiping a tear off her cheek, her anger dissolved.

  “Yep,” Sage said, the small confirmation burning his chest. “Lot of good it does me now.”

  EMILY

  My phone beeped as I lay in bed looking at the ceiling, wondering if I should just give up and wear those clippy bows in my hair if I couldn’t even manage rebellion girl right.

  I doubted that would look professional enough for my new job. I was going to head down to the thrift store tomorrow to try to get some work outfits. Things that would blend with the classy office-chic girls I would have to work around.

  I rolled over and grabbed the phone, not sure I wanted to check the text.

  ZELDA: We’re good to go. Sage has to build stuff and is not going on the tour.

  Wow. That was…convenient.

  ZELDA: We’ll call this a test run. Bc it’s short term, signing bonus $3k.

  I looked at the amount, knowing it was more than I make in a month with all the jobs. I felt an urge to reply, to accept. But it felt like falling for a trick. Like going down the rabbit hole with Alice when you’d both already been there once.

  Adulting.

  I was supposed to be Adulting.

  ZELDA: All pics not including rock stars are yours to keep, sell, Whatevs

  Geez. She was just hitting below the belt.

  ZELDA: So, that’s a yes. Right.

  I sighed, texting back my answer, and slid into bed wondering if any choice could have been the right one.

  36

  Sage

  He ran his hands over the wood, feeling the flaws, the imperfections that were as close to perfect as he had ever found. The ridges he would sand down and polish. The ripples and swirls that would become the bloom of his creation.

  If only everything in life were this simple to read. If only he could take moments and hold them in his hand, feel their edges and perfection. If only he could show his love as easily as he could carve out sound holes.

  If only.

  His phone buzzed on the tabletop, and he chucked his pencil across the room, where it hit the wall and clattered into the pile of discard. Wow, he was stupid. It had taken twenty minutes to find it last time.

  He picked up his phone and swiped at the screen.

  Luke: Do you still have those pedals we picked up in St. Louis?

  Sage squeezed his eyes shut as he thought about it.

  He hadn’t slept in days. Not for lack of trying. Every time he lay down, he heard her voice as it broke and cried. Saw her face as it reacted to his thoughtlessness.

  In his mind, he did it differently. He reacted better, anticipated the question, rose to the challenge, proved he was worth the trust she’d placed in him.

  But none of that was possible now.

  He had to keep his distance. It’s what she wanted. And he was desperate to give her everything she wanted.

  So he’d spent hours going through the scrap pile, trying to find broken pieces he could give a second life to...a second chance. Just because something was broken didn’t mean it was useless.

  Like the pedals he’d repaired and stored for Luke. His eyes flicked to the back row of cabinets he kept locked.

  Sage: Yeah. They’re here. You need them?

  Luke: Affirmative. We leave tomorrow.

  Finally, a task.

  Probably the final farewell in the lingering good-bye to the band and the life he’d started for himself there.

  It was good, though. This was good.

  He needed to learn this lesson. He’d lived too charmed of a life and it was his turn to grow up now. It was fair.

  He went to the cabinet, found the pedals, and headed to Luke’s.

  The driveway and front yard were filled with extra trucks and trailers. Some of the regular crew humped amps into the back of a large van and Sage’s gut tightened with tour anticipation. The small shows were the best shows. More energy, more risk, more reward.

  And he was going to miss it.

  “McNabb.”

  “Greg,” he greeted the longtime sound man.

  “Are you coming with us? I sure could use your skills.”

  Sage let go of Greg’s hand and ran a hand through his hair, feeling the sting of his words and the practiced lie he was about to utter. “Nah, I couldn’t get the time off.” The last thing Sage wanted Emily to discover was that he’d bowed out. He was afraid she’d think it was some kind of a tactic and still not go. The real reason he wasn’t going was between him, Zelda, and the band.

  “But this is dream making,” Greg argued, confusion clouding his expression. He would know. Greg was one of the few who knew what Sage really wanted out of the Double Blind experience. The sound man had taught him more than he realized, had even allowed him to run the main board multiple times on the road.

  “Can’t you just quit your job?”

  Sage chuckled nervously. “Some things are more important, Greg.” He hefted the box under his arm. “Is Luke inside? I have something he needs.”

  “Yeah.” Greg jerked his head toward the garage.

  Sage nodded his thanks and headed inside. The pedals they’d picked up in St. Louis way back when were old school, found on an adventure at a flea market. They hadn’t worked at the time, but were perfectly designed for small shows and the blue beast Sage had built for Luke years ago. Sage had taken them home, rebuilt them, then stored them. Waiting for their next call for use.

  In the back of his mind, he’d always figured he’d be the one to hook them up. Not only was he not getting a chance to run sound on a tour, he was giving up his spot as guitar tech.

  A whole mess
of good-byes in one fell swoop.

  He paused in the studio. Most of the instruments were already packed and loaded. Mike used a different drum kit for the road than he used for recording, so all of his stuff was still there. Empty mic stands, tangled cords, and crumpled recording notes littered the floor. The image resonated deep inside Sage’s chest. It was like looking in on what was left of the dream.

  Pieces.

  Scraps.

  A moment that was close to almost.

  He’d almost done it.

  It was fitting, really. He had no business making music with legends like these. For some reason, it had just taken longer for everyone to realize it. Like finding a stowaway on one of the crew buses. He was getting off at this stop.

  The box of pedals tucked under his arm was an appropriate symbol to signify good-bye. The manipulation of sound, the connection to a unique world. Rebuilt, renewed. Given new life, and letting go of the old.

  He found Luke upstairs.

  “Here you go, boss.” He set the box on the table.

  “Sage.” Luke nodded, glancing at the pedals. “Can you listen to this for a second?” He stood from the chair at the board and handed the headphones over.

  Sage frowned, but took the headset. “What am I listening for?”

  “You tell me.”

  Luke flipped the switch and music filled the headphones.

  Sage closed his eyes and focused. His senses were flooded with everything that had gone into making the album. He smelled coffee, sunshine, and excitement. Blue eyes and dresses, smiles and hesitant kisses. It was like a sucker punch to his already exhausted faculties.