-ARIA-
My mind was still paused on the kiss, my hand on the doorknob, when the jolting, deafening sound slammed into me.
The floor vibrated beneath me. The noise grew louder, closer. I stumbled backward, tripping over crates of empty bottles until I went down. I hit the floor hard, right on my tailbone.
What’s going on? An earthquake? A car crashing through the gallery?
My thoughts scattered, scrambling to make sense of anything before impact.
And then something huge slammed into the outside of the room.
The first two rows of shelves toppled forward, meeting in the middle like a "V." Bottles, cans, and glasses slid off the shelves and crashed onto the floor.
I cowered in the corner, arms over my head, trying to shield myself from the relentless cascade. Thankfully, the remaining she
