Page 62 of Embrace

A collectivenosounds from the group. Useless.

I text the group chat as I tiptoe down the wooden steps.

Bunny Patrol

Kian:If I don’t text again in 5, I’m dead.

Sebastian:Dead dead, or like the time you ate habanero peppers?

Cole:Or that time you thought we had ghosts, but it was a raccoon in the attic?

Kian:Neither. Creepy basement. I think I saw this in The Conjuring.

Eli:I told you to stop watching those before you sleep.

Aiden:dw Ishida, you’d be the last to die in a horror movie.

Dylan:Yeah, they need you for comedic effect.

Kian:Ha ha. You guys won’t be laughing when this is on the news.

Dylan:College Student Found Crying in Basement After Touching Spiderweb.

Dylan:Sounds pretty funny to me.

Kian:You think there are spiders down here???????

Dammit. Dust flies up from the railings, covering my clothes. When I spot the cobwebs, I half step back, ready to bolt upstairs. But then I see the speakers, sitting forlornly in the corner. I carry all three of them in one trip. I shout a quick “Thanks” before I’m shoving the speakers in the back of my Jeep. I’m wiping the stress sweat off my forehead with the hem of my T-shirt when my phone rings.

“Yo, you called?” DJ Numb asks.

I roll my eyes. “Yeah, man. I just picked up the speakers.”

“For what?”

I pinch the bridge of my nose. “For the party on Halloween.”

“The college one? Yeah, so I kinda double-booked and have a gig at the Pint that night. Sorry, dude.”

“You’re bailing? We gave you a deposit. You can’t—”

He hangs up.

Closing my trunk, I try my hardest not to bang my head against the window.

I feel as useless as our deflated balloons and the rerouted truck.

I drive with no music, and by the time I’ve parked in our driveway and hit the porch steps, my legs just…stop. The thought of walking through that door makes my stomach twist. I drop onto the porch swing instead.

I press my head into my palms. How the hell am I supposed to tell Summer I tanked everything she trusted me with?

I can’t take care of you too.

Squeezing my eyes shut doesn’t do the same for my mind. I spiral until I hear the quiet shadows of words that were buried years ago.

He thought you wouldn’t be able to handle it. We thought it was best too.

Go back to school. We’ll take care of everything. Musukoyo, you don’t need to worry.