2021 riverrun Final PDF
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drink at the moment of control. Now was his chance, he could leave, come back a
little later when she started to miss him. No idea where he went; no one to keep her
company. Another night, when he could be the one to kiss her first, he could be the
one she needed. He turned in the direction of the door. The sea of bodies in his way
continuously ebbing and flowing in front of him, behind him. It would be hard to
escape. He was almost to the exit; a hammered frat boy wearing a tank top clearly
not belonging to him due to its size stepped in Zach’s way.
“Where you goin’ man. The night is young.” He drew out the last word like a
yawn.
“Heading home,” Zach spat dryly. “Get out of the way.” He spared one more
glance back at the girl and then turned to get this stupid fuck out of his face. He
didn't have time for this.
“I said move!” He yelled at the frat boy who had sobered up a little.
“Don't talk to me like that,” he said simply. The music was still beating the
air like a drum, leaving everyone in the constant beat. Then, it happened. Zach’s
head started to tingle, his scalp shivered, then the headache, and he could see her.
The girl was getting a drink. She would finish it in one swig and lay her head on her
arms. Two men would step up behind her, help her up, take her out the back exit,
and then a van.
“No, no, no no,” Zach said, his mouth souring. He couldn't be responsible for
this and couldn’t let them take her away from him. She would need him. “Help me,”
Zach said turning to the mountainous creature blocking his way.
“With what?” asked the big guy.
“Someone is in danger,” Zach said. The big fella grew very serious and
helped Zach wade back through crowd. It took way longer to get back to the bar than
he wanted. Just as he reached it, he saw the door closing. Zach groaned, pushing and
shoving now to get to it. The big guy was right behind him. Why had he gotten himself
into this mess? He knew how this went. Invite people into your life and then
theirs becomes tangled with yours. Then, you know things, too much, about their
immediate future. It was the price of the gift to watch all the misfortune fall on people
you care about or don’t care about but gave them time. Time to need you. He
tried to block out the words from the future. Hell, he couldn’t even remember her
name. Was it Rachel? No, that wasn’t it.
He slammed the security bar into the door, flying it open just in time to see
the van pulling out and a lone figure turning back to head into the club probably to
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