Page 49 of Never Say Die
“Yo,” Georgia said. She slid a menu across the table. “How’s the room?”
“Small, ugly, smells like a retirement home,” Aiden said. He sighed, scooting into the booth next to Dylan. “What’s everyone getting?”
Dylan scratched his chin. “Pancakes.”
“Chicken and waffles,” Pru said.
Georgia hummed, tapping her chipped black fingernail on the tabletop. “Can’t go wrong with a diner burger.”
“Yeah, true.” Aiden scanned the menu. Tried to focus onitalicized, alien-themed items and faded Comic Sans. His thoughts raced. Shay, recording new music, Cassandra’s body in the parking garage, Thomas, tarot readings, fangs in his throat, power, teeth on his thigh, a tour, finally, a real tour.What is he? What are we? How do I become like him?He closed the menu and cleared his throat. “So, what’re we doin’ tomorrow?”
“You’ve got studio time from nine to two-thirty. After that, stay tuned for track edits.” Pru sipped from a steaming mug. “I, for one, will be going to the alien museum. I should find a groomer, too. Sherlock needs his nails trimmed.”
“Count me in for the alien museum.” Georgia grinned, shimmying her shoulders. “You guys down for some band bonding time?”
“Do they have real aliens?” Dylan asked, seriously.
“Yes,” Georgia said, at the same time Pru snorted and said, “No.”
Shay hesitated, but eventually nodded. “Sounds good. We’re here for two nights, yeah?”
Pru nodded. “We head to Austin the day after tomorrow.”
“Think Jacob’ll let us drop the new single at the next show?” Aiden asked.
Dylan shrugged. “I don’t see why not.”
A waitress wearing bouncy antennae and an alien-patterned apron stopped at their table. She glanced at Pru first, then Aiden, and tested a polite, “Hola,” exhaling, relieved, when Pru said, “Hola, cómo estás?” They took turns ordering, laughing their way through items likeFlying Saucer BurgerandI Want to Believe Waffles.
Aiden sipped his iced tea, watching night fall outside the window while the rest of the band and Pru argued about superior dipping sauces. He listened, laughing occasionally, and tucked his shoe behind Shay’s ankle. Shay sipped his clear soda, cheeks flushed, glancing at the space between them in thebooth, as if they hadn’t been naked together last night. Aiden swayed their feet back and forth, ignoring the lightness in his chest.
Yearning had become a learned thing, a lived thing, and this was entirely different.
“Did you guys ever hear about what went down with Cassandra?” Dylan tilted his head, cringing. “I read a few articles, and I guess they’re investigating someone named Catherine. . . Everette. . . ? Elvis? I don’t know, anyway, the story iswhack. Like, baby-stealing, animal-killing, cult-stuff. Apparently, that Cassie girl was into some wild shit.”
“Whoa, no, I haven’t followed any of that,” Georgia said. She lifted her eyebrows. “Not to be a dick about it, but Cassie’s friends were pretty weird. Like,extremelyweird.”
“Typical wannabe witches. Collecting bones, carrying tarot cards, wearing crystals. Creepy, but harmless,” Aiden said. “Cami has to deal with them all the time.”
Shay poked at his food. “They were nice, at least.”
“Yeah,nice,” Dylan said, sarcastically. He wrinkled his nose. “Nice enough to not give a single shit about their dead friend? Too weird for me, man. Hail the Haunted was cool—can’t wait to jam with them again. But I’m glad their groupies are gone.”
“That’s fair,” Pru said on a laugh.
“Yeah, seriously. . .” Aiden turned, pausing with his mouth against the sweaty glass.
The diner—Blastin’ Off!—was a cozy, L-shaped building with a counter facing the kitchen and tables lined beneath stickered windows. A couple sat opposite each other in an adjacent booth, but otherwise the restaurant was empty. Except for a dainty shape seated against the wall, sipping an orange soda. She wore familiar velvet gloves and met Aiden’s eyes over rose-tinted glasses. He knew her cropped, teal undercut, her hazel eyes, and the tilt to her lips. He tried, desperately, to blink heraway. But Laura remained, seated with one leg propped over the other, and mouthedhi,rockstar.
“Aiden,” Pru said, snapping her fingers. “We’re back to the alien museum. You in? Yes or no?”
“Yes,” he blurted, and tore his eyes away from the tarot-reading-witch-bitch in the corner. “Yeah, sure. ET exhibit. Fine, whatever.”
“You good, man?” Georgia asked. Her eyebrows pulled together, lips parting for a ketchup-covered fry.
The bell above the door jingled. When he glanced at the counter again, Laura had vanished. “I’m just…” Icy liquid sloshed against his lips, into his mouth, down his throat. “Tired, I think. Glad to be off the road for a minute.”
“Yeah, same. But next time Jacob wants to book us a pit stop, let me know,” Shay said to Pru. He offered a wilted smile and pointed to the flickering motel sign across the parking lot. “I’ve got travel points. This place isn’t awful, but wecouldbe staying at a Hilton Garden Inn.”
