Chapter 15

He handed over Sarah’s beer, and he saw her mouth thank you, but he didn’t hear her. Nathan’s ears were full of cotton. His guts lurched, and desperation reached out and clamped his nuts. He was totally alone in a crowded room. He wanted to run, toward the parking lot, a new high, Fury, toward anything but where he was, but if he started running, he might never stop.

Sitting down, Nathan gulped his beer in long swallows. The announcer’s voice rattled around inside Nathan’s skull. Sarah tugged on his arm, and he let her pull him to his feet. She babbled, Paul made out with Kayleigh, and Nathan thought he might be having a panic attack. His skin felt tight, he was sweating, and his heart was in danger of ripping out of his chest at any second and flopping around like a dead fish on the concrete floor. It was all fun and games until somebody needed the emergency room. Nathan’s anxiety went into overdrive. He had to get the hell out.