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Sweat slid in a cold streak down his hairline The rickety wooden steps that led up to the dance floor seenify before his eyes

The dark slats blurred into one another, elongated like the hallway in that eist, For a split second he saw JoBeth Willia

What had she been screaless question Anything to still the racket in his chest

“Angel?”

It took a nize his own name When he understood, he tried to look up, but he could barely ear slipping on and off its track He wet his powdery lips and tried like hell to smile as he slowly lifted his head

The woman—Judy, he re a bottle of tequila and two shot glasses A shaker of salt lay cradled in the vee of her cleavage

Her pretty, el?”

“Don’t…” The word shot out on a wheezing breath and hung there He tried to add to it, but he couldn’t think straight, couldn’t see Christ, he couldn’t breathe, it hurt so bad “Don’t feel good Get Val over here”

Panic darted across her face She glanced quickly up the stairs, to the throng of partygoers, uncertainty pulling at her penciled brows

He let go of the handrail and grabbed her sli sound and tried to pull away He wouldn’t let her, he held on with everything inside hi to breathe “Get—”

It hit Red-hot pain, exploding, crushing his chest He couldn’t do anything except stand there, swaying, gasping, his hand cla like he hadn’t hurt in years

“Please …” he wheezed, “don’t let… me …”

Die He wanted to say, don’t let et the word out before the world went black

He woke to the electronic blip-blip-blip of the cardiac enerated sound, electrical and inhuman

And beautiful Christ, so beautiful