The rain in London was relentless. It was the grey, endless drizzle that seeped into your bones and turned the world colorless.
Alex sat in his living room. The TV was off. The lights were off.
He was staring at his reflection in the dark window.
He saw Alex Finch. The Wonderkid. The boy with the perfect hair and the golden future.
But behind the reflection, in the shadows of his mind, he saw him.
Danein Blake.
He remembered the smell of Danein's apartment. Damp walls. Old toast. The silence of a phone that never rang with good news.
He remembered the feeling of sitting on a bench in a changing room, knowing the manager was about to release him. The shame. The heavy, crushing weight of being "not good enough."
Alex touched the glass.
He had everything now. Money. Fame. Friends.
But the sadness of Danein Blake was still there. It was a cold stone in his stomach. It was "Depression."
"Why am I sad?" Alex whispered. "I won."
