They Left Me Behind on the Road Trip, So I Got on a Better Ride novel · Chapter 19 of 24

Chapter 19: Just Outside the Frame

Somebody in the chairs laughed, uncertain.

Brody laughed too, louder, so the room would follow him.

I didn't look at him.

"My dad taught me this when I was nine," I said into the microphone. "One frame of your own thumb before every new place. So you always know where a story starts."

I clicked.

The screen filled with thumbs.

Twelve of them, in a grid, against twelve skies. Capitol Reef at dawn. Bryce at night. The strip of sky over the Narrows. Every one with its date and time underneath.

"That's this month," I said. "The frame right after each thumb is on the wall behind you."

I clicked again.

One thumb, alone, against a black sky full of stars.

"This is last October. Canyonlands. The frame right after it is the one he just showed you."

The Mesa Arch sunrise came up, the raven a half-second late, and the light ticked on across the canyon.

The room had gone very quiet.

"Anyone can take a picture of their thumb," Brody said from the front row. "She's had my portfolio for two weeks."

"Mr. Hollins," said the head juror. "You've had your turn."

I turned to the jurors' table.

"The complaint says I copied his work," I said. "So could you ask him something? Anything about the pictures. Not the light. Something only the person standing there would know."

← Chapter 18 · All chapters · Chapter 20 →

Want to keep talking to characters like these? Chat with AI romance characters: AI Boyfriend · AI Girlfriend · Dark Romance · Fantasy Romance · BL (Boys’ Love) · Billionaire Boyfriend · Mafia Boyfriend · Possessive Boyfriend · Hockey Boyfriend · Older Boyfriend · K-Drama Boyfriend · Anime Boyfriend · Vampire Boyfriend · Werewolf Boyfriend · Demon Boyfriend · Fae Romance · GL (Girls’ Love) · Anime Girlfriend · Goth & Alt Girlfriend · Gamer Girlfriend · Tsundere Girlfriend · Fantasy Girlfriend