‘Hey, man, thanks for the shout-out! This is gonna be great for business.’ He was holding up his own phone, now displaying Ward’s very first social media post; a shot of him in the same spot he was sitting in right now.

Hannah’s eyes twinkled. ‘Congratulations, Ward. Now you’re famous. But with great power comes great responsibility,’ she warned. ‘Remember what I told you, and for your sake and mine, I’m begging you, please do not mess this up.’

Chapter 28

WARD

Ward needed to unwind. He’d been spending way too much time in his head lately, and if there was one lesson he’d learned in therapy, it was that the worst thing in the world for him was having to deal with all the clutter in his head.

His muscles ached and he knew it was because he’d been weaning himself off the painkillers. The smart thing for him would have been to go to a professional to deal with his problem, but both he and Johnny had decided if word got out that he had an inkling of a drug problem too, his career would be over for sure.

Do not mess this up . . .

Shelley was doing a great job with him though. She pushed him when it was called for and backed off when she sensed he needed some room.

‘You’re lucky you were smart enough to know you couldn’t handle this on your own,’ she’d told him. ‘Some people think they have things under control, and before they know it, they’re on the edge of falling through the cracks and ruining their lives. You had enough sense to know you needed help – and then showed you were really smart by coming to me.’

One of the other things she’d taught Ward was when he was feeling caged in, he needed to get out and get some fresh air.

‘Take a walk. The worst thing you can do is stay home and spend time with your thoughts. That’s when people are at their weakest. That’s when things start to go wrong for them.’

So now, Ward found himself wandering along the city streets past midnight. It was a clear evening and there seemed to be even more stars out than usual. He moved at a solid pace, just wanting to burn off that restless energy, needing to be out in the open.

After about ten minutes though, he realized he had no idea where he was. Although he hadn’t taken any turns and had simply gone straight ahead, now he was in a part of the city he wasn’t so familiar with. The buildings around him were empty and trashed, and there were all kinds of shadows moving in the alleys and narrow spaces between structures.

He turned around to head back home but when he looked, the sidewalk was gone – replaced by a dirt path into some woods. His heart pounded.