The Gala by Amy Tackett

Author:Amy Tackett [Tackett, Amy]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fiction & Literature
Published: 2023-10-02T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twenty-Four

NOW

Friday, October 18, 2024

Cole lost count of how many times he threw up that night. After the man started extracting the baby, Cole ran for the exit, his lungs desperate for fresh air.

“Here,” Luna handed him a bottle of water some odd hours later.

It must be after midnight, Cole thought.

“Thanks.” He accepted the drink and gulped it down.

“Greyson said the video is already going viral. You did good, Cole. We got it.”

His body stiffened as he thought about the horrors he’d just witnessed. “I can’t stop…picturing it.”

“I know,” Luna said. “Me, neither.”

Cole rubbed his face and pulled his phone out of his pocket.

Fuck.

He forgot about dropping it.

“We can get it fixed in the morning. I know a guy,” Luna said, shoving her hands in her jacket pockets.

Cole looked at her and cocked an eyebrow. “You know a guy?”

“Mhm,” she said, shaking her head, “my uncle owns one of those computer/cell phone stores. He can fix it for you.”

“Oh. Okay, yeah, thanks.”

“No sweat,” she said, sitting down on the sidewalk beside him.

Cole glanced at her as she stretched out her legs and yawned. She had been so wonderful to him throughout all this, and he hadn’t even stopped to consider the emotional toll it’d taken on her. “Hey, Luna,” he started.

“Yeah?”

The words caught in his throat. He hated that his mental illness and grief affected the people in his life, especially her. They’d grown close lately, and he’d realized she carried such a lightness in her heart. Cole didn’t want his darkness to dampen that.

“Thank you. For everything.”

She smiled at him and tucked a strand of blonde hair behind her ear. “I lost my little sister when she was just a baby. I know it’s not the same as a child, but…I think about her all the time.”

Her words hit him like a ton of bricks.

“I—I’m so sorry, Luna. I had no idea.”

She waved her hand. “How could you have? I never talk about her.”

Cole let her words sink in. Did she want to talk about her now?

“What…happened to her?”

“She had a heart defect,” Luna said simply. “The doctors tried everything, but in the end, there was nothing they could do. She passed in my mother’s arms at three months old. It’s actually why I’ve decided to never have kids. It’s possible I’m a carrier for the disease, and I just…I can’t imagine going through that experience as a parent. It was hard enough as a sibling.”

Cole looked at her, and for the first time, he saw sadness etched in her face. He didn’t think about what he did next, just acted on impulse.

His arms wrapped around her in a warm embrace, and although he felt her stiffen at first, her body quickly relaxed as she sank into him.

Maybe they were friends after all.

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