Everywhere: Book 3 of the Nowhere Trilogy

1. Call Out My Name

We found each other; I helped you out of a broken place - The Weeknd

9:13 a.m. Friday, October 22, 2021

As Harry parks the rental in front of All Booked Up, the townspeople encircle him, applauding, whistling, calling his name. His heart swells. Being back in this little town is exactly what his ego needs right now. Alison is standing with the door to the inn/bookstore wide open, as if ready to usher him inside and upstairs to room 3. Sophie is sitting at her owner's feet, something like a smile plastered to her face -- as much as a cat can smile anyway.

Lee has one hand wrapped around Leigh's waist, and in the other he is holding out a cup of coffee to Harry.

"Harry!" Phoenix yells, racing to him and throwing her arms around his neck. "You're back!" Stepping away, she reaches out her hand to grasp that of a cute girl next to her. Willow, Harry recalls. That's her name. "Come meet my girlfriend, Harry!"

As he walks towards them, ready to embrace the new girlfriend, he hears a "HAWWY!" Turning, he spies his Peanut Paige on Patrick's shoulders. She's holding out candy floss to him. "It's carn-val week, Hawwy. Wanna play games with me?"

"You bet," he replies. Suddenly, a silence descends over the crowd. He can hear the wind bristling through the leaves of the trees in the park. The townsfolk tilt their heads, looking curiously at him. Looking down at himself, worried he's naked, he finds himself clothed in his best Gucci suit. Without a sound, the group parts like the Red Sea, and there she is. She's wearing an elegant white dress that brushes her ankles. The wind whips at her loose hair, the waves gently blowing in the breeze.

He shivers. It's too cold for her to be outfitted in a sleeveless dress. Her skin is turning blue. Harry knows he needs to warm her quickly before she freezes. When his first foot hits the pavement, the rest of the people fade away as if they had never been present at all. It's just he and Chele, facing each other, but still so far away. His pace quickens as he gets closer to her, but she doesn't seem any nearer. Almost as if she is stepping backwards even as he watches her feet move forward. She must be chilled. He removes his jacket, ready to wrap it around her shoulders. If only he could touch her....

"Harry!" The voice snaps him to the present, and he blinks twice, gazing up at his manager-slash-friend.

"What? Sorry. Guess I drifted off again," Harry states, shaking his head to clear the remnants of the daydream.

Jeffrey sighs, "You've done that quite a bit this week. Where do you go when your mind wanders?"

"Nowhere," Harry insists, and he's not lying.

"We've got a lot of details to prepare for tour, and you're barely paying attention. Are you going to be ready for rehearsals next week? The band is ready to start Monday morning."

Listlessly, Harry waves off his friend. "Yeah, yeah. I'm fine, Jeffrey. Just too much vacation. I'll get my head out of the clouds."

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12:13 p.m. Friday, October 22, 2021

Sitting on the floor of the library surrounded by books, Chele looks up from where she's repairing the spine of a Charles Bukowski to spy Harry standing at the top of the stairs, hands in his pockets.

"You didn't wait for me," he states.

"Huh?" she asks, clearly confused.

"This morning. You climbed out of bed and came to work before I could start your day with a kiss," Harry pouts.