Page 18 of Pride

Remember, it’s all just a money game.

We come into this world,

and we all leave it the same.”

I couldn’t hold in my scream as he jumped off the wall. His body slamming into the brickwork, making it look like he’d just hung himself in front of this crowd.

At least, I hope it was fake.

It was fake, right?

CHAPTER FIVE

EMMA

Icouldn’t stop shaking or get that image out of my head; even though the curtains had closed, and the wall was now hidden, the vision still lingered in my mind.

I glanced around, expecting to see everyone else in shock like me, but they all seemed to be in deep conversation.

What the hell was going on?

“He is fucking nuts,” I heard a woman beside me exclaim.

“I fucking love him,” the guy next to her said. “We should buy one of his pieces for Adam’s birthday next month.”

“Colton, do you have a spare fifty grand?”

“And then some,” another woman remarked. “I heard some of his art has gone for a lot more than that.”

It’ll be worth a lot more now he’s dead, I thought, then hated myself for thinking it.

No one was rushing to leave the courtyard, and there was a strange serenity about the place.

As I spun around, I noticed a flustered Lloyd pushing through the crowds, heading towards me.

By the time he came to stand in front of me he was huffing and puffing, his cheeks red, and his breaths heavy and laboured.

“I’m so sorry,” he gasped. “I meant to get back to you to watch the performance, but I just got tied up.”

“Is he okay?” I asked, my eyes darting from Lloyd to the curtain and back. “What’s happening?”

“Do you mean S.K.A.M?” Lloyd asked. “He’s fine.” And he frowned back at me like he thought I was losing my mind.

“He hung himself,” I stated in exasperation.

“He hung from the wall, he didn’t hang himself,” Lloyd replied. “He was wearing a harness. But you already knew that. We told everyone at the entrance about the trigger warnings tonight.”

“No one told me,” I shot back.

Typical, the snooty girl at the entrance obviously thought the information wasn’t necessary for someone as low as me. No wonder Alex didn’t want me to watch this alone. But it was done now. There was nothing I could do to change the situation. At least I knew the artist was okay.

I grabbed a glass of champagne from a passing waiter and downed it in one to help calm my nerves.

“What did you think?” Lloyd nodded animatedly at the curtains. “He’s good, isn’t he.”

“He certainly left an impression.”

“That’s what he does, makes you think, look at the world from a different perspective, and maybe, look at yourself, too.”