Take My Breath Away

Debbie had been missing Kasie a lot. She hadn't seen her in 3 years, and that was a long time for best friends. She wrote "Miss You in Winter" for her. When she announced it, she looked at Kasie who was standing next to her on the stage.

Kasie was moved. Just before the performance, she kissed Debbie's forehead and said, "Love you forever, sis."

Debbie's eyes twinkled with tears. Holding Kasie's hand, she put the microphone to her lips. The music started, and she sang, "That winter, the snow fell relentlessly. The night was blanketed in white.

You saw me crying like a baby coming back from a hike.

Wiping the tears from my face, you cheered me up and told me everything would be all right."

Kasie got off the stage in the middle of the song.

A member of the crew handed Debbie a guitar. She took it and fastened the mic to the stand, and continued, "When I saw your tears, I wanted to say, 'Lovely girl, we need to be strong. There are many more people who love us in the world. Put on a smile and live bravely...'"

When Emmett died and Kasie's heart was broken, Carlos had fallen into a coma. Debbie was beside herself with grief and was soon forced to leave the city. She had always hated that she couldn't be there for Kasie during that dark time when she must have needed a shoulder to cry on. So, separated from her friend, she poured her heart out through her songs.

Countless glow sticks swayed back and forth in unison in the dark. Many fans raised signs saying "We love you Debbie," or "My bias Debbie." The words shone in many different colors, made even more colorful by the glow sticks.

The concert went more smoothly than Debbie had anticipated. When she went to the dressing room to change her clothes during the intermission, Ruby asked excitedly, "Did you invite Mr. Huo and Colonel Li? The reporters are hovering around outside like vultures. Be careful."

The stadium was packed to the gills. There were simply too many people, with twenty thousand inside the venue and ten thousand outside. It was standing room only. In that sea of faces it would be difficult to pick out a special guest.

"I'm a singer, not a miracle worker. I didn't invite them, and they wouldn't co

nted to remind him, "She cheated on you."

But he knew he would be screwed if he told his boss that, so he remained silent. He just hoped that fact wouldn't come back to bite them both.

Yates heard their conversation. He said to Carlos, "Put your work up for now. Enjoy the show. That's why I asked you along." Yates had a loud and husky voice. Carlos heard him clearly.

"You know better than anyone else why I'm here." Carlos kept his head lowered. He signed his name at the bottom of a file and moved on to the next one.

Yates sneered. He knew Carlos thought he was bullied into coming here. "You used to be made of sterner stuff," Yates said.

Carlos kept silent as if he heard nothing.

The concert was over at 10:30 p.m. Carlos had ducked out, using the VIP passage during intermission. He was still ambushed by a hundred reporters. They spotted him as soon as he left, and swarmed around him like flies on dung. The night was lit up by dozens of flashbulbs.

Some of the reporters had run stories on Carlos and Debbie three years ago and grown fat from the proceeds. Now, they wrote stories about how Carlos and Debbie were seen together.

The fact that Carlos had shown up at Debbie's concert was enough to keep people interested and talking about it for at least a week.

As usual, the papers carried more fiction than fact, writing that Carlos and Debbie still loved each other, Debbie would become Mrs. Huo again, and they were getting hitched again.