Chapter 11

My sternum and all the organs within its safe enclave felt like they had turned to jelly and not the pure gelatinous types either. The heavy metal blasting from the ginormous and incredibly efficient speakers turned my body into a resonating column within the first five minutes of my arrival at the bar, and it felt like my bones would liquefy at any moment. It was even worse when one of the bouncers told us to pass through the club to get to Verity’s office; I suffered a massive sensory overload that would probably require years of therapy to get over.

For one, the music was a constant reminder of how impressive my delicate eardrums were holding up despite the assault, and the slippery beige marble floors made me grateful to be a primed athlete with a good sense of balance. My nostrils and windpipe were clogged with the stench of booze, sweat, and a host of unsavory smells while my skin turned splotchy and pink from the heat generated by the mass of gyrating bodies on the danc