Page 62 of The Sound of Us

My breath caught and I bolted up in my seat. “Who? Ethan?”

“No, it wasn’t Ethan.” Her forehead creased in a frown. “You don’t know him.”

“Why does this dude need coffee to spill the tea?” I folded my arms across my chest. “Why not just tell you in the gym where there are lots of people around?”

Skye gave an irritated sniff and folded her arms, too. “Maybe since he’s spilling tea about the team, he doesn’t want to do it where the team is practicing.”

Noah’s gaze slid from me to Skye and back to me. “I have faith in Skye. I’m sure she’ll find us a big story.” He coughed and then coughed again. I picked up his Bob Ross coffee cup so he could take a drink and realized it was empty. Only then did I realize his coffee pot was empty, too.

“I’ll get you some water,” I said, standing. “And I’ll fill the pot.”

Noah cleared his throat and waved me away. “Water is for wimps. And the machine is busted. I was going to buy a new one but they have too many fancy gadgets. I like things simple. I don’t need milk steamers, silver pods, or adjustable trays. I’ll go upstairs after we’re done and pick up a cup of the swill they’re trying to pass off as java.”

Noah without coffee was like my house without my mom. “I’ll run up and get it now.”

“We’re in the middle of a meeting.” Siobhan glared at me. “I don’t have time to sit here waiting for you to run errands.”

“Seriously, Shiv?” My voice rose as all the emotion I’d managed to push back down threatened to explode. “Everything you have here—your show, your friends, your job—it’s because of Noah.You can’t wait five minutes? Noah needs coffee like you need fucking air to breathe.”

“Dante? Are you okay?” Skye reached for me, and I bolted out of my seat.

“Don’t.” I didn’t need her sympathy. I didn’t need her soft voice and her worried frown. I needed her to be angry. I needed her to hate me as much as I hated myself. I needed her to leave me alone so I could go back to my world of ice where I didn’t to think or feel or remember.

“It’s cool.” Noah shrugged. “I’m not going to die because I missed my afternoon coffee.”

My ears were ringing, and I could barely see his face. Even if he didn’t need the coffee, I couldn’t stay here. Not with Skye in the room. Not with Noah looking so tired with a broken coffee pot and an empty cup on his desk. Everything just felt wrong.

“Haley is just getting off her shift,” Skye said, gently. “Why don’t I ask her to stop by with some coffee?” She smiled at Noah, clearly trying to lighten the mood. “I assume one tray will be enough?”

He gave her an appreciative nod. “Colombian. Black. And tell her to make sure it’s fresh or I’ll cancel her show.”

“Noah. Emergency.” Derek popped his head in the door. “Khavy isn’t going to make it for his show today and neither is Ryan. There’s some bug going around, and they both have it.”

Noah didn’t drop a beat. “Make a quick Kidcore playlist for the first half hour until Siobhan and I can find someone to sub in—Black Eyed Peas, Nickelback, Coldplay—anything safe sounding and radio friendly. Nothing with an edge or sense of danger. Lots of Imagine Dragons.”

“I thought you were trying to save the station, not tank it,” I said, channeling my pain in the language I knew best. “Imagine Dragons are tied with Florence and the Machine when it comes to churning out overly dramatic wannabe-epic tunes.”

“What are you talking about?” Skye looked up at me aghast. “Florence is one of the greatest voices of all time. Have you heard‘South London’? Her songs make me cry because of the way she captures ordinary moments of life.”

“Fake arena-style pop tunes,” I muttered.

“What’s fake about it?”

“Everything. The structure, the sound, the drums. She can sing well, but I don’t feel the emotion. I thought you understood music.”

Skye winced at the blow but wouldn’t back down. “I thoughtyouunderstood music, but clearly you’re just a hack.”

“Stop.” Noah dropped his feet and pointed from me to Skye. “That. Right there. We need that on the air.”

Skye shot him a puzzled glance. “Two people arguing about music?”

“Yes.” He jumped up. “Two people who know music, who understand it, having a lively discussion. It’s interesting. It’s engaging. Dante is obviously wrong because have you heardCeremonials? Great album.”

“See?” Skye smirked at me for all of two seconds before her face fell. “Wait. What? You want me to do a live? Have you forgotten my interview?”

“I don’t forget anything,” Noah said. “And the point of interning at a teaching station is to learn new skills. Dante will handle the board and run the show. You’ll just be there as a special argumentative guest who is going to get some on-air experience with a safety net.”

“I’m not argumentative,” Skye snapped. “I’m right.”

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