The Last Hour (Thompson Sisters) by Sheehan-Miles, Charles (reading well .txt) 📕

cordoned off section just to the right of the stage, right up front. Dylan and Ray both looked shell-shocked from the volume, and I’ll admit, it was loud. Julia stayed with us most of the time, but periodically she’d get a text message or call and rush off for a little while to take care of whatever kinds of crises came up during shows like this.

Then Sarah disappeared.

Well ... not exactly. In fact, what she did was slip underneath the railing, then jump into the mosh pit.

Alex gasped as we saw her come up, a huge grin on her face. She was jumping up and down in the middle of the crowd, banging into the other teenagers, who were lucky not to have lacerations from all the spikes and chains everyone wore. But I’d never seen a bigger smile on her face, a bigger look of exhilaration.

Julia leaned close and had to shout for me to hear her, “Can you imagine being that young again?”

I laughed. I guess I couldn’t. Of course, I’d never really been a mosh pit sort of girl. Leave that to my sixteen-year-old sister.

Crank, of course, was his normal charismatic, bigger than life self. Strutting around on the stage, swinging his guitar in the air, and howling like a mad man. From where we stood, it looked like he was having the time of his life. Julia swayed with the music, her eyes mostly fixed on Crank, and you could tell that even after ten years, they were absolutely in love with each other. Especially when he broke into what was still the band’s most popular song ever, A Song for Julia. You would think, looking at those two, that it was all love and harmony and sweetness and light, but let me tell you, the summer I spent cooped up in a car crossing the country with them, I’ve never heard so much yelling and general bitchery in my entire life.

After the concert was over, we collected up a bruised and battered and ecstatic Sarah and headed over to Julia and Crank’s hotel. This was a family only gathering, which was a relief. I’d been to a couple after concert parties and they really weren’t my thing. I’m the type that likes to curl up with a good book, or go hiking on a mountainside. I can hold my own at a society cocktail party, but a drunken bash after a rock concert? No thanks.

This turned out to be nice, and a lot of fun. Not long after we got there, Julia broke out a deck of cards, and we girls settled in for a serious game of spades, while Crank, Dylan and Ray grabbed drinks and wandered out to the balcony. All three of them still smoked, so they were probably out there huddled up, shivering in the cold. Served them right.

The moment the guys were out of sight, Julia started dealing the cards. She was across the table and partnered with Sarah, and once the balcony doors slid shut she said to Alex, “So, have you guys set a date yet?”

Alex’s skin flushed a little, and she nodded, biting her lip. “June 22nd.”

“Whoa,” I said. “That’s quick.”

“I know.”

Julia smiled and said, “I’m really happy for you. But ... wouldn’t it make more sense to finish college first? Aren’t you two a little young?”

She’d finished dealing the cards, and we all picked up our hands.

Alex said, “Yeah, I know. Trust me, I’ve heard that enough from Dad and Mother. But ... when you know, you know. Dylan doesn’t want to wait, and neither do I.”

As she said it, I watched her. She had a smile on her face and looked self-assured and happy as she spoke. “And how is school going?” I asked.

She grinned. “It’s going well. I’m thinking I may shift my concentration a little. Still planning on law school, but I’m leaning toward non-profits instead of international.”

Julia grinned. “Any interest in particular?”

“Well ... I’ve got an internship this summer at ACLU.”

“Oh, that’s fantastic,” I said. “I bet it will be a lot of fun.”

“Mostly making copies and getting coffee, I suspect,” Alex replied.

“You never know,” Julia said. “I did an internship at a record studio in Boston, and yeah I was making copies and getting coffee, but I got a chance to learn a lot too. Stuff I ended up using later. What about you, Sarah? Decided on a college yet?”

Sarah grimaced and shook her head. Her eyes darted toward the sliding doors to the balcony, where the guys were still huddled up freezing, and said, “Don’t tell Crank. Or Mom and Dad. But I’m thinking about starting a band. I may put off college for a year or two.”

Julia’s eyebrows drew in just fractionally, and it looked like she bit the inside of her cheek. She looked Sarah in the eyes and said, “You know I’ll support you with whatever you choose. But ... don’t limit your options. You can always go to school and start a band at the same time.”

Sarah nodded. “I don’t know. I’ve still got a few months before I have to start putting in applications. I’m just not sure ... I know what I want to do with my life. It seems a waste to spend four years and hundreds of thousands of dollars learning to do something else.”

“What about a music school?” Alex said as the sliding door opened and the guys came in. “That way you’re studying what you want to do?”

“Do you really think that’s an option? Somehow I think Dad would refuse to pay for it. And it’s not like we qualify for financial aid if he refuses.”

“What’s this about music school?” Crank asked. He walked around the table and crouched next to Julia. “I used to ... um ... know a lot of girls at Berklee.” He waggled his eyebrows.

Julia rolled her eyes and slapped him on the shoulder. “You’re a bad, bad person, Crank Wilson,” she said.

He chuckled. “Yeah, I