Total pages in book: 109
Estimated words: 109245 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 546(@200wpm)___ 437(@250wpm)___ 364(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 109245 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 546(@200wpm)___ 437(@250wpm)___ 364(@300wpm)
They flowed with the crowd, and Gage listened to it the same way he listened to any space he entered—picking apart the sounds he understood and cataloging the ones he didn’t.
It was stimulating and affecting him in ways he never could’ve imagined.
It wasn’t just the noise and smells, it was the entire life of it. The strings and rows of endless lights made the air warm, music vibrated through his ribs, and the happiness around him was so potent it felt contagious.
And Scar had thought of it.
He’d chosen a place where he could hear joy, smell it, and feel it in the ground.
The surprise wasn’t just a date, it was so much more than that.
It was Scar understanding how he lived his new life.
While he stood in line for his cotton candy, he leaned in and whispered near Scar’s ear.
“This feels amazing. Thank you.”
Scar squeezed his hand. “Yeah?”
“Yeah.” He lifted his head. “It feels…alive.”
When the cotton candy hit his hands, it also felt alive, as if he was holding a real cloud, and he smiled even more. He was doing so much of that his jaw was starting to ache.
He pulled away a piece, and it stuck to his fingertips before he shoved it into his mouth, the sugar instantly turning into air when it touched his tongue.
Scar made a satisfied noise beside him. “This funnel cake is good. Open up.”
Gage turned his face toward Scar’s voice, and a piece of warm, powdered sweetness was eased between his lips.
He bit down, and the crunch of fried edges and gooey middle made a low groan escape his mouth before he could stop it. It’d been so long since he’d had carnival food, he’d forgotten how delicious and nostalgic it could be.
“Mm.” Gage licked the sugar off Scar’s finger without thinking.
Scar went still for a half second, then groaned. “You’re fuckin’ killin’ me.”
Gage finished his cotton candy and stole the last half of Scar’s funnel cake before he blurted like a kid on a sugar high, “Take me to the biggest roller coaster they have—no. Bumper cars next!”
Scar stopped walking. “Are you serious?”
“Hell yeah.” Gage was damn near jumping up and down. “It’ll be the only time I get to drive. Theres barriers, and I can slam into anything I want.”
“Yeah, and other people can slam into you too.” Scar said.
Gage shrugged. “I’ll leave that problem for you to handle.”
Scar muttered a few curse words as he guided him toward the pandemonium of rattling rails, a ground that vibrated with an electrical hum, crash after crash of chaos, and speakers blaring bass-heavy music.
He made sure to collapse his cane until it resembled a compact umbrella, so he wasn’t denied entrance. Scar discreetly led him to his car, and he climbed inside by memory—since it appeared the cars hadn’t changed since he was a boy.
The steering wheel was worn smooth, tacky from thousands of hands, but he didn’t care. He fastened his seat belt and waited for the buzzer.
Gage listened. He didn’t just hear screams. He heard where everyone was and where they were headed. And of course, Scar bellowing directions at him.
“Left, left, Gage!”
Gage laughed hard as he cranked the wheel. His car jolted forward, and the first collision made a satisfying thud ricochet up his spine. He hollered out, the sound mingling with everyone else’s.
“Right, Gage!”
He was hit on his side and again in the rear, spinning him a hundred and eighty degrees.
So much for Scar backing him up. Yelling left-right like an idiot wasn’t stopping him from getting hit.
Gage locked onto the kid’s obnoxious giggle, found him, and rammed the hell out of him.
When the ride ended and the power cut, he unhooked his seat belt and climbed out. His legs were shaky in the best way.
He found Scar by the scent of his expensive cologne, grabbed and hugged him, peppering kisses on his cheeks.
“Thank you,” he whispered against his ear.
He didn’t only mean for the ride, he was referring to all of it.
He squeezed Scar’s wrist and pulled, “Roller coaster next, the biggest one they have.”
Scar made a dreadful sound. “Gage, handsome, I hate roller coasters. I thought we were just gonna’ walk around, play some games, maybe win a goldfish, or a hermit crab or some shit, and eat a bunch of junk. Not actually get on these death contraptions.”
“Aww,” he teased, nudging under Scar’s chin. “You’re scared?”
“No I’m not,” Scar grumbled. “But I have watched all six Final Destination movies. And this is a pop-up carnival, which means that roller coaster was on the back of an eighteen-wheeler a month ago. It can’t be very well-constructed. I bet it’s missing screws and half the tracks are duct taped.”
Gage laughed and pulled on Scar with more force. “I’ll say a little prayer, and we’ll be fine. Now let’s go.”