Artie

Dante and I were on our second pizza and I was laughing at a story he told me. He and Lou seemed to have the kind of friendship and the kind of childhood I had always wished for. For the first time, I was getting a glimpse of what that kind of life could be like.

And just as I considered that, something inside my head in my chest seemed to burst into flames.

I jerked away from the table and stood up. The people in the restaurant were looking at me but that wasn't anything new either. I don't know what kind of face I made, panic or pain or a little of both, but Dante put a hand out to my arm.

"You okay?" He asked.

I shook my head. "We have to go. Now."

I was gone and out the door before Dante could ask any other questions. I heard him apologize to our waitress and leave money on the table. Then he was beside me as we both ran for the center of town.