The Shards

by Bret Easton Ellis

I suddenly ached for him—the sensation was so immediate and so tidal that I was shocked—and

I was ready to leave the Schaffers’ because I needed to drive around the city and listen to sad music and smoke cigarettes while thinking about Ryan.

I didn’t know this yet on that September afternoon in 1981, when I was seventeen and still navigated on hope.

The song saddened me and gave me hope—the best combination for a pop song—and