Back Before Now Save as PDF
Chapters (123)
  1. PLAYLIST
  2. CONTENT NOTE
  3. Dedication
  4. 1
  5. REMI
  6. 2
  7. FOSTER
  8. 3
  9. REMI
  10. 4
  11. REMI
  12. Before…
  13. 5
  14. REMI
  15. Now…
  16. 6
  17. FOSTER
  18. 7
  19. FOSTER
  20. Before…
  21. 8
  22. REMI
  23. Now…
  24. 9
  25. FOSTER
  26. 10
  27. REMI
  28. Before…
  29. 11
  30. FOSTER
  31. 12
  32. REMI
  33. Now…
  34. 13
  35. FOSTER
  36. 14
  37. FOSTER
  38. Before…
  39. 15
  40. REMI
  41. 16
  42. REMI
  43. 17
  44. REMI
  45. Now…
  46. 18
  47. FOSTER
  48. 19
  49. FOSTER
  50. Before…
  51. 20
  52. REMI
  53. 21
  54. FOSTER
  55. 22
  56. REMI
  57. Now…
  58. 23
  59. REMI
  60. Before…
  61. 24
  62. FOSTER
  63. Now…
  64. 25
  65. FOSTER
  66. Before…
  67. 26
  68. REMI
  69. Now…
  70. 27
  71. FOSTER
  72. Before…
  73. 28
  74. FOSTER
  75. Now…
  76. 29
  77. REMI
  78. Before…
  79. 30
  80. REMI
  81. Now…
  82. 31
  83. FOSTER
  84. 32
  85. REMI
  86. 33
  87. FOSTER
  88. 34
  89. REMI
  90. 35
  91. FOSTER
  92. 36
  93. REMI
  94. 37
  95. FOSTER
  96. 38
  97. FOSTER
  98. Before…
  99. 39
  100. FOSTER
  101. Now…
  102. 40
  103. REMI
  104. 41
  105. FOSTER
  106. 42
  107. REMI
  108. 43
  109. FOSTER
  110. 44
  111. REMI
  112. 45
  113. FOSTER
  114. 46
  115. REMI
  116. 47
  117. FOSTER
  118. EPILOGUE
  119. FOSTER
  120. Later…
  121. ALSO BY C.G. BLAINE
  122. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
  123. ABOUT THE AUTHOR

“Fuck.” Colton drains the last of his beer. “I’m not sure if it’s worse to stop them or go with them.”

Foster finishes his drink, too, and grabs all three of our cups—our fingers graze when he takes mine. Dev’s words repeat in my head, only about a guitarist rather than a bass player.

He sets them on a side table and slaps Colton on the back. “It’s Utah. Better to fuck around in the middle of nowhere. Otherwise, you’ll be buying photos off random people of an impromptu orgy in a Starbucks bathroom.”

He heads in the same direction as the others.

“Why do I think that’s happened before?” I ask.

With a look of resignation, Colton grasps my shoulders and points me toward the door. “Because you’ve spent more than a day with the band. They’re cavemen, remember?”

Dev proves it once we step outside, and he’s literally carrying one of the women over his shoulder.

It only takes three blocks before we reach our destination, walking while a mime follows with the van. Colton stops with his hands on his hips right in the middle of the street, and we stare up at the three-story Victorian together.

Felix immediately climbs the tire of the bulldozer parked on the dirt lawn and throws his arms out. “My fucking castle.”

“It’s not really haunted,” one of the angels says, walking toward us. “Daddy’s building condos. The owner of this dump finally died, so he’s rushing demo. I don’t even think they’ve cut the electricity yet.”

Colton sighs, his entire body relaxing. “I can work with this.”

By the time he finishes, Dev’s already dashing up the cracked concrete steps to the deteriorating porch. Felix dismounts the demo equipment, chasing him in while the bodyguards gather up the fan club.

I’m stuck on the exterior, though. The cracked and peeling white paint over wooden siding, each side a direct mirror of the other. Bay windows and dormers and an oculus window high up beneath a gable.

“A beautiful thing.” Foster steps beside me.

I nod, spellbound by the snapshot of time. “Art.”

We stand there even after a flood of giggles rushes up the stairs. But not the entire fan club, apparently. The angel comes back to join us after a minute. Only she has her eyes set on a different piece of artwork, stopping in front of Foster. “Gross, right?”

Foster half-smiles at the house and says, “Not even close,” before walking inside.

After he disappears through the door, Colton whistles and hooks his head from the porch. I step, and so does the angel.

“Are they really letting you bring that with you?” she asks with a point at my camera.

“What? Why⁠—”