Free Forsaken by Dean Murray Page B

self-deprecating as always. "I'm pretty sure
we're still not famous, but things started moving along pretty well a
little while ago. We put some of our stuff up where people could buy
it, and the next thing we knew, we started getting monthly royalty
checks. It's not enough for all of us to retire in comfort on yet,
but it was enough to support us on a six-month tour. My parents
freaked out when I told them I wanted to drop out of
school and really try to make a go of things with the band, but I
managed to get them to meet me halfway."
    "Meaning
you're touring but still doing homework so you can graduate?"
    His
smile was just as cute as I remembered it being.
    "Pretty
much. That and I've got a two-year window before I need to be
making obscene amounts of money or I'm supposed to go to college. The
fact that I was already eighteen and making enough money to support
myself was probably the only reason I managed to get even two years
out of them."
    I
was still reeling from the idea of Albert , of all people,
telling his parents that he wanted to drop out of school and become a
rock star.
    "So,
can Isaac and I buy a big-time rock star something to eat?"
    Albert
shrugged. "I don't know about a big-time rock star, but you can
buy Albert the high-school dropout something to eat. I haven't eaten
since last night."
    Isaac
suggested an all-you-can-eat buffet, which I thought was a really
good idea considering how skinny Albert was looking these days. We
jumped on the subway and half an hour later we were sitting inside a
modest-looking restaurant. The conversation on the way there had been
pretty light, but a few seconds after we all made it back to our
table with our food, Isaac looked down at his phone and sighed.
    "Sorry,
guys, I need to take this. I'll just be right outside."
    Albert
watched Isaac leave and then took a long pull of his Mountain Dew.
    "So...you
and Alec?"
    "Wow,
you don't waste any time, do you?"
    His
smile had hints of the shy math geek I'd known before, but he managed
a breezy wave.
    "I'm
a big-time rock star and we can get away with that kind of thing. At
least that's what the rest of the band keeps telling me."
    Something
about Albert's presence dulled the sting that Alec's name
usually inflicted on me.
    "Alec
is in Sanctuary, and I'm here. That kind of says everything that
needs to be said."
    Albert
shook his head. "Come on. I'm a geek at heart, but even I know
better than that. Girls only simplify relationships as a way of
confusing the issue. You guys aren't in the same city, but that
doesn't necessarily mean you aren't talking to each other."
    "In
our case it does. I haven't talked to anyone from Sanctuary since I
left. Other than Isaac, I mean, and him showing up here was a complete
surprise."
    "So
you guys not talking, was that your idea or his?"
    I
was starting to get less and less comfortable with the direction he
was guiding the conversation, but I managed to keep my voice pretty
normal when I finally sighed and responded.
    "It
was my idea."
    "Your
idea, but you're not sure it was the right thing to have done?"
    Maybe
I hadn't done as good of a job keeping my unhappiness out of my tone
after all. I picked up a piece of garlic bread and bit off a corner
as a way of buying myself time.
    "I'm
conflicted about a lot of things where Alec is concerned, but I made
the only decision I could at the time."
    Apparently
I'd finally given Albert the answer he wanted to hear. He dipped a
shrimp in some marinara sauce and popped it in his mouth.
    "Can
we not talk about Alec? I mean there have to be like at least twenty
other people in Sanctuary. I haven't heard anything about any of them
for a couple of months now."
    Albert
swallowed his shrimp and then stuck his tongue out at me.
    "You're
behind the times. It's eighteen now. Twenty was before you and I left
town. I guess technically, right this instant, it's seventeen because
Isaac is standing outside pretending to talk on his phone while he
keeps a careful eye on the