The County Fair Queen

Chapter Fifteen

YOU'RE NOT A MISTAKE

On what would be my last day in Tallulah, Texas, Brenda/Carole informed me I would need to break up with my mayor. We were set to film before the king and queen were announced, and aside from a few text messages to brainstorm what we were going to say, I hadn't seen or spoken to Rivers all day. After the evening we spent together in jail, his hand resting over my heart for hours, there was this unbearable craving inside of me. If it hurt this much to go a day without him, I had no clue how I would handle it once I was back home.

I'd kept my emotions in check for most of the day. Buy by the time the sun set over the horizon, I was a broken mess of a man. Tallulahns rushed around us, enjoying carnival games and carnival rides. As life bustled on, the small patch of grass we'd commandeered felt like a breeding ground for heartache. We'd been sitting there for ten minutes as the camera crew setup for the shot, neither of us saying a word.