The Hysterics Read Online Free PDF

been coming here since we were kids. Actually, our first show was right up on that stage.”
    Maverick took a seat on the stool behind a kind-faced woman in her mid-twenties. They chatted for a second before the chick started to speak in a meek voice.
    “Hi, everyone! I’m Candice, and I am going to sing ‘Our Song’ by The Spill Canvas.”
    Maverick started fingerpicking one of my favorite songs of all time as Candice jumped in right on time with a raw but beautiful timbre that sent chills down my spine. I started singing along without even realizing it.
    Dane scooted his chair closer to mine so our seats were touching then whispered in my ear, “You look beautiful tonight, by the way.”
    I shot him a coy smile and kissed him on the cheek. “Thanks.”
    With a playful smirk, he leaned in a little closer. “For what?”
    “For this, for helping me feel welcome in a scary new city where I know no one and have no friends.”
    “Well that’s a lie. We’re your friends.”
    Right as his lips were about to connect to the nape of my neck, I felt his shoulder get pushed into mine as Rodney chimed in, “Yeah, we’re all great friends here.”
    Rodney took his seat with Colt not too far behind and gestured to the waitress to bring another round of drinks. Colt sat down next to me after dragging another seat over for Maverick once he was done with the next singer. We chatted about why they had taken so long to join us, and then the room started to spin around me. Everything went into a blur when I heard lyrics I had written whisk through the bar. My blood went cold as a soft male voice mused words that had bled from my soul just a few short years before.
     
    In the stillness, you’ll find me
    In the noise and confusion, you’ll haunt me
    A fine line gets walked
    Inside the divine mind of frenzy
    Tread lightly, only whisper
    There might be just a glimmer
    I want to break down, stop this hiding
    But revealing is maddening, the unknown faltering
    Charting new courses should be exciting
    There’s a depth most unwilling to enter
    But the path less traveled may lead to splendor

    “Fae?” a faint voice called to me. “Fae, wake up.”
                  I breathed in sharply, inhaling the terrible aroma of beer and piss as I opened my eyes to harsh bright lights. “What? What’s going on?”
                  Dane’s face slowly started to come into focus while he held my body in a sitting position on the bathroom counter of Mountain Breath. “You passed out. Are you feeling okay?”
                  I nodded, but what a load of shit that was. My heart was racing, and so was my mind. The last thing I could remember was hearing my words haunt me.
                  “Well, I think it’s time to get you out of here. It’s been a long day.”
                  I nodded again. I felt like a fool, but that was all my body could do at that point. Overwhelmed would be an understatement for how I’d felt right then. I had been completely unprepared for those situations to come up. I knew that my band had been pretty popular and I was bound to run into it at some point—on the radio at the gym, someone posting something on social media, something coming up at work about their hunt for a new drummer going south and the band breaking up. Yeah, that was true. I was the sole reason for a very promising band that was about to make it big time crashing and burning in an all too cliché way: drugs.
                  Dane hailed a cab, opened the door, and slid in, all while holding my hand and helping me into the car.
    “Where to?” the cabbie called from the driver’s seat.
    “Park and Fortieth. The 1600 building.”
    I looked over at Dane when he was done telling the cabbie where he lived. “Would you mind if I got dropped off first? I’m right around the corner.”
    “You’re coming to my place. I don’t want you to be alone after that little episode back