This Is Not the End by Sidney Bell

Author:Sidney Bell
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Carina Press
Published: 2020-11-02T13:44:00+00:00

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He shows up at Zac and Anya’s big gray board-and-batten house with seven tubs of ice cream in three sacks. He knows Zac’s favorites—Moose Tracks and Mint Chocolate Chip—but not Anya’s, and he might have overcompensated a little.

He sits in the driveway for a minute to collect himself. With the engine off, summer is pushing against the windows within seconds, but he doesn’t mind. He never feels comfortable adding his opinion to the ongoing struggle that is the renovate vs. move debate Zac and Anya have engaged in since PJ came, but if Cal could choose, he’d want them to stay. He loves it here. They live on the east side of Venice, where the houses are a mishmash of styles and colors, and they have one of the few lots in the area that doesn’t have five neighbors living right on top of you. The property’s gorgeous—mature, leafy carrotwoods to deliver privacy, a solid stone wall to keep the more lascivious fans at bay, and even a pond in the back, although they don’t keep it stocked with anything more exotic than goldfish. The house itself is tall and dignified, an old Queen Anne with a large porch and an overwhelming number of narrow windows. It stands out from the usual blur of stucco, cement and adobe that overflows Southern California, which must have been a point in its favor when Anya and Zac were house hunting. Anya says it looks both vintage and elegant. Zac says it’s only a matter of time before they pick up a ghost or two.

Cal just thinks it feels like a home.

He uses his key and goes into the kitchen, setting the bulky bags on the counter with a wince, imagining their faces when they see how much he’s brought.

A kids’ television show blares from the living room, and it’s possible no one’s noticed him coming in. He’s tempted to hide in the kitchen. He has a balled-up, bloody napkin in his pocket that he grabbed from a dispenser at the ice cream place to clean up his cheek before he got in line. It’s not bleeding anymore, but it soaked through a few dozen napkins first. It’s deeper than he first thought. People at the ice cream store were staring at him.

He hopes nobody recognized him or took camera footage. He can picture the clickbait now: Hyde bassist caught with bloody face—the result of a jealous girlfriend? Is his already-dubious beauty destroyed forever? Is he buying ice cream for a secret, pregnant wife? If not, how much ice cream does this guy eat, Jesus? He’s almost forty. His metabolism has got to be something mythical by this point. Look at those ABBBBBSSSSS, boys and girls! Also, protein gets rid of belly fat! Our celebrity trainer breaks down Calvin Keller’s workout even though it’s little more than a guess because he’s never met the guy, let alone worked with him! Page 42!

He hears footsteps then, and the babble of a baby, and Cal’s chest tightens.

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