Page 121 of Touch Me

“You got it. Thanks, Chloe. For everything.”

She smiles and tips her chin toward my friends. “Go on.”

I meet the group at the coat check and I’m received with hugs and congratulations.

Ally pulls me in for another hug. “I’m so proud of you. And how exciting is this?”

Ashley whistles as she looks around the gallery. “It’s so fancy in here. You’re fancy pants.”

“I’m so not fancy pants. But thank you all for coming.”

“I wouldn’t miss this for the world,” Jess says, her voice cracking slightly, eyes shiny.

Ella elbows her side and she stands up straighter and clears her throat. “That’s a little dramatic, don't ya think?”

I bounce my eyes between the two of them and they exchange nervous glances. “Why are you guys being weird?”

Ashley claps loudly and runs over to me. “We’re just so damn happy for you. I mean, look around.” She spins me in a circle, one arm outstretched like Vanna White. “You’ve made it. This is your dream. Can’t we just be happy for you?”

“Yeah, sure. But voice-cracking happy?” I look over my shoulder and see Ella and Jess in the midst of a whisper fight. “That seems a bit much.”

“Does it?” Her voice is too high. She leads me away from the group. “They are your best friends. I would think it’s perfectly acceptable for a tear or two to be shed when their best friend in the entire world lands her dream job, and dream gig.” She nudges my shoulder. “I mean, right?”

“I guess.” I look back and the five of them are all standing shoulder to shoulder smiling at me all weird-like.

“Now let’s get you to Chloe so we can get this show started.”

I nod and swallow, now more nervous than I was before they got here. Ashley stops at the entrance of the showroom and gives me a little push on the back, like a parent urging her child on their first bike ride without training wheels. I look back over my shoulder and she smiles, fingers covering her lips.

I make my way down the first hallway lined with Stella’s photos. Sunsets filled with pinks and oranges, lakes with a layer of misty fog rolling over the waves, snowy mountain peaks that rise high above the clouds.

Wait, why are these here? Shouldn’t they be in the back? I spin around and take in the entire hall. She is the main attraction, her photographs should be in the back.

I follow the maze-like setup glancing at the tags under each exhibit. Most are Stella’s, with a few of Daniel Mason’s thrown in sporadically. He’s the other local artist we found. What the hell? Who organized this?

I hear hushed whispers when I round the last corner and my stomach leaps to my throat. I stop and stare straight ahead at a beautiful collage under the spotlights.

No, no, no.

This can’t be happening. We had this taken care of. The room spins around me as my eyes do a double-take. This isn’t supposed to be here. Thiscan’tbe here.

Jace’s collage. His face appears in my head, eyes wide, hands shaking, nervousness rolling off him. It was the face he made when I asked him if he ever thought about publishing his work. The answer was a resounding no and now... now it’s here. If he ever finds out he’ll strangle me. Or he’ll hire someone to strangle me. I very much doubt he ever wants to see me again, much less put his hands on me.

Focus, Cassie.

I need to fix this. I spin around ready to run back down the hall to find the gallery manager and my breath gets caught in my lungs. I slowly back away to take it all in.

There is a whole wall ofme. A collage of black and white photos with splashes of teal and pink brushed across the canvasses. I take a step closer, my hand covering my mouth.

A picture of me on the terrace, staring up at the moon titledAll Through the Night.

Another of me cooking titledI Don’t Want to be Your Friend.

The next one I couldn’t have been more than fifteen. A close up of me holding a bracelet up that Jess got me for Christmas titledEarly Christmas Morning.

Time After Time

Unconditional Love.

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