Page 49 of Make Me Laugh

I’m high as fuck.

I glance up at the dark sky, no stars in sight from the city’s glow. It makes me miss home—the winding back roads of Northern Michigan, not a streetlight in sight, with a sky so full of stars it almost seems fake.

“You know that video is over ten-million views now?” I finally say, not even sure what he’d been saying to me before.

He nods, offering me the joint.

I shake my head, running a hand through my hair.

“I officially booked your tour out tonight. There’s nearly no room for anything else. Tickets for the added stops go on sale this week.” It doesn’t sound real.

I want to feel happy—I am happy, but there’s a part of me that’s worried. I've been on top of the world before. It doesn’t take much to nosedive to the pits of hell.

“Holy shit,” I breathe.

Enzo snubs the joint out and tosses the butt into the ashtray in the middle of the table. “Yeah, holy shit, mate.”

Staring at the RV, like I can see through to Joey, I say nothing, lost inside my high—inside the what-ifs.

My best friend surprises me by saying, “I think you should ask her to stay.”

I nearly break my neck to look at him. “What?”

“Joey. I think she should stay and take over the social media stuff for the rest of the tour.” His face is neutral, and I detect no sarcasm in his tone. “You should see everything people are saying online about you two after this weekend… Both your names are trending.”

I haven’t spent much time scrolling this weekend, but the little I’ve seen is enough to draw my own conclusion. We’re not going to be out of the spotlight for a while.

“You’re serious,” I state, waiting for him to laugh and reveal he’s telling the cruelest joke ever.

“We’ll have it in the budget.” He shrugs. “It would keep your schedule open for interviews, press, podcasts.”

I don’t hear anything else Enzo says after that. It doesn’t matter what else he says.

There’s a chance I get to keep Joey… All she has to do is decide to stay.

CHAPTER NINETEEN

THE ONE WHERE HE MAKES HER LAUGH

Comment reply to @HexHeroine’s latest video: As a Hex fan who had no idea who West was until the video, I hope she’s doing okay…

Comment reply: Hex not posting the last couple days makes me so sad. I look forward to her stuff every day!

Comment reply: At least she’s getting the attention she wants finally, right? Flaunting herself all over the internet might finally pay off!

Comment reply: I bet you’re so fun at parties, you crusty crabby-ass bitch.

Enzo eventually wanders in and goes to bed, walking quietly past the bunks where I’m curled up in a blanket that smells too much like West.

Anytime I start to doze off, phantom hands graze my skin, sinking lower and lower until they feel too real, and then I’m wide awake again—tossing and turning, wondering where West is and why he hasn’t come to bed in the bunk above me yet.

Too afraid to fall back asleep with the smell of West all around me, I give up and tiptoe through the camper, sneaking down the stairs and closing the door as quietly as I can. I’m met with a sight I wasn’t expecting to see, and it makes me pause.

West is sprawled out on a giant lawn blanket, staring up at the starless sky. I think he might be asleep until he raises his arm and points north. “You should be able to see The Big Dipper somewhere around there, but it’s too bright.”

I come to a stop at the edge of the blanket, not fighting the soft smile pulling at the corner of my lips. “Are you still high?” I ask, wrapping my arms around myself at the chill in the air.

West shakes his head, not moving from his spot on the ground. “No, I’m just enjoying the view.” The way he stares at me makes it clear he’s not talking about the night sky anymore. “Hey, about earlier⁠—”