Prologue
“You
cannot find peace by avoiding life.”
~
Virginia Woolf
“Eddie Vedder is a god.” Ally announced from the back seat. “No doubt about it.”
Jack nodded at her in the rear-view
mirror. “No arguments from me.”
“I’d go along with that.” Callum agreed.
“And not only is he a god, but he has to
be one of the sexiest men on the
planet.” she continued.
“Good save.” Jack winked.
“He’s the guy that chicks want, and guys
want to be like.” Callum smirked. “But I
don’t blame you - if I was a chick, I’d do him.”
“Ugh.” Ally screwed up her face. “Now I need bleach to scrub that mental image
from my brain.”
“You’re welcome.”
Ally leaned forward between the seats. “Okay – favorite song from the concert
tonight.”
Jack pulled a face, thinking, his eyes on
the road ahead.
“’Jeremy’.” he decided finally.
“’Crown of Thorns’.” Callum said. “I never got to see Mother Love Bone live so
it’s the next best thing. Although ‘Why
Go’ was pretty freakin’ amazing.”
He broke into a frenzied air guitar
session in the front seat, his expression rapturous.
Jack chuckled as Callum turned back to
Ally. “Yours?”
“’Black’.” she said, without
hesitation. “With ‘Release’ a close
second.” She held up the camera,
grinning. “And I got it all on video. Can’t wait to get home and upload it.”
Jack smiled as she screwed up her face and
squealed happily, leaning back again.
“I cannot believe it’s taken so long to
see them live, but tonight was worth the wait.”
“Definitely.”
“He has the sexiest voice – ever.” she
sighed.
“Hello?” Callum turned around in the seat,
throwing his hands up. “Do we have to
spend the entire trip home hearing about how sexy he is? I’m sure that, given half a chance, he’d
prefer to be known for his talent than his looks or his…general sexiness.”
“Jealous?” Ally asked cheekily.
“When I have all this at my fingertips?”
he smirked, running his hand through his hair haughtily. “Not a chance. And come on - he may be sexy, and he may
be a rock god, but I’m sure it’s not fun and games all the time. I mean, he probably has those paparazzi
bottom-feeders chasing him all over the world, splashing his visit to the
pharmacy to buy haemorrhoid cream all over the front page – that’s gotta suck,
for sure.”
Ally leaned forward from the back seat to
swat him hard around the head.
“Don’t you dare drag him down to mortal
level like that!” she laughed. “I’m sure
he has people to do all that stuff for him.”
“True.
He probably has people to apply the cream for him, too.”
Ally leaned forward to slap him again but
he ducked out of the way at the last minute, catching a slight cuff to the ear
instead.
“Quit it, you two. Don’t make me the grown-up here.” Jack
warned, grinning as he anticipated the approaching corner, taking his foot off
the gas slightly.
The road was still wet, even if the rain
had stopped. The country road had been lined
with trees for the past half mile, trapping the light from the headlights,
bouncing it off the undergrowth and back out onto the road again. The effect was slightly eerie and he was grateful
when the trees gave way to the open countryside again.
“She’s vicious!” Callum insisted, rubbing
his head vigorously. “You oughtta put a
leash on her.”
“Turn the music up will you? Can’t hear it over the whiny bitching in here.”
Jack glanced at her in the rear-view
mirror and she smiled back, winking wickedly.
She was in a playful mood tonight, still on a high from the concert. He could relate - his ears were still buzzing
and adrenaline hummed through his veins.
It had been worth the long drive there and back but he suddenly wished
they were home already. The ring that
was tucked safely into the pocket of his jeans dug into him as a physical
reminder of what lay ahead. But first,
they had to drop Callum off at his place.
Distracting himself, he leaned over to
turn the music up and Eddie Vedder’s sultry voice filled the car. Ally swayed to the music in the back seat,
eyes closed, satisfied smile on her face.
He turned his attention back to the road as they rounded the corner. Headlights cut through the dark, directly
into their path, and his heart leapt into his throat. He knew instinctively what was about to
happen mere seconds before the car hit them.
Callum yelled something as he
automatically wrenched the steering wheel away from the blinding light. It all happened so fast, he didn’t even have
time to slam on the brakes. The impact
was mind-blowing, sending a shuddering jolt throughout his entire body that
seemed to shake his bones loose, turning his limbs to jelly. Time stopped as they skidded across the road,
the buzzing in his ears blocking everything else out momentarily. Then they were upside down and plunged into
darkness. He squinted out through the
windshield at a sea of dark green and black, his brain struggling to process
what was happening, trying to prepare himself even though a part of him knew
there was no preparing for any of this.
His fate was completely out of his hands. He felt like he was moving simultaneously in
slow-motion and fast-forward and it crossed his mind that this might be how he
died. A strange calmness washed over him
as he waited for his life to flash before his eyes.
The car suddenly bounced as it left the
road, ripping through a fence, the trees ahead rapidly filling the windscreen
as he mentally braced himself for the impact.
He was being tossed around like a rag doll and the crazy rollercoaster
ride ended as abruptly as it had begun, jolting him again, throwing a spear of
pain through his shoulder and neck that momentarily left him breathless.
And then there was silence. Buzzing, humming, vibrating silence.
Don't forget - "Absolution" comes out in ebook format via Amazon and Barnes & Noble in October 2013 - print run to follow.
