Glimpse

Chapter 4: Shayne

'Get to the office. Now.' Shayne read and reread Courtney's text, the words searing into his eyes. Exhaustion frayed his thoughts, the stress of a long day's work filming for 'The Goldbergs' taking its toll on both his mind and body. He collapsed backwards, thankfully landing on his couch. 'Get to the office. Now.' It was just five words, yet he could feel the panic radiating from his phone. He stared at where his thumb now hovered over the reply button. Did he even have time to respond? Should he just take the cue and hit the road? Before he could even decide, let alone muster up the courage to reply, another text came in - this time from Ian. 'Check your email. ASAP.' His heart flung into his throat as he quickly pulled up his email. There it was. A single email from Defy Media Corporate, time-stamped 10:35 AM. His finger shook as he opened the email.

Fired. Effective immediately. Static filled his ears as the world went dark.

Shayne stood outside Defy Media, a six-pack of beer in one hand and his phone on the other. He wasn't sure how he got there, completely blocking out the entire time between reading that email and arriving. Fired. Effective immediately. This would be the last time he stood there. The last time he walked through those doors. Maybe the last time he would see some of the crew. This was it. This was goodbye. How could just three simple words have so much power?

"Fired. Effective immediately." The words tumbled off his lips, his voice sounding foreign to his ears. Shayne closed his eyes and took a deep breath in. He could feel himself disconnecting from his body. A bizarre feeling. A blistering numbness that threatened to push him out and take over. The same feeling that overtook him back at his apartment. Shayne dug his fingernails into his palm, willing the pain to keep him awake and present. He felt nothing. Static filtered through his ears.

Shayne took a swig from a bottle of beer as watched the chaos around him from the comfort of one of the plushier armchairs in the office. Various crewmembers dashed in and out of the office as they looted the room. He could hear items breaking in the background followed by loud screaming and stomping. Shayne stood up, the sudden movement warping the room around him. Was he drunk? Shayne looked at the half-full beer in his hand before eyeing the table next to him, noting the two empty beer bottles. He didn't remember drinking them, but he felt them. Shayne's vision blurred as he searched the room for nothing in particular. He shrugged and stumbled into the hallway.

"Shayne?" A voice called out, echoing off the hallways. He turned to see a familiar silhouette standing in the hallway. A faint window of light danced across his eyes. He stepped forward, desperately needing to close the space between them. He didn't move. Instead, he watched the walls stretch around him as the silhouette disappeared into the distance. Shadows dragged the corners of his vision as a familiar white noise diffused through the air. Leaving nothing but a constant whisper ringing through his ears. The same three words on repeat. Fired. Effective immediately. The words hollowed him, echoing together in a distorted static.

A fluorescent light flickered off the black tile walls, its electric hum stirring Shayne awake. His head hurt. It was the first thing he noticed beyond the incessant buzz echoing off the wall. Next was the overbearing light burning his irises through his eyelids. Shayne rubbed his thumbs into his eyes, trying to release the pressure pressing against his skull. Opening his eyes would not be fun, but it had to be done. Through his blurred vision, he could make out the outline of something human, a mess of colors layered over one another that stood out against the black background.

"You're awake." Shayne identified the voice as the same one he had heard in the hallway. Despite its familiarity, putting a name to the voice still proved a challenge. He wanted to say it was Courtney, but there was a sultry tone to the voice that had him doubting. Sure, they play flirted for videos, and, admittedly, sometimes that leaked into real life, but this was beyond playful. Their relationship wasn't that intimate.