His Stray Heart

Chapter Twenty Seven

"Good morning sunshine." I opened my eyes to find Billie standing above me with a big goofy grin on his face. "Mornin" I mumbled sleepily. "Wake up." He began shaking me. But why?" I groaned. "You promised you would come with me to band practice today.. Remember?" On any other day I would of rolled over and fell back asleep but his spirits were high and I didn't have the heart to break them. "Oh yeah.. Okay.." I rubbed my eyes with my fists. "I'm coming" I said again. "Yes!" He yelled. "Meet ya in the kitchen in ten!" He ran out the bedroom door slamming it behind him. I moped over to the dresser. Empty.. Dammit, I thought to myself. Almost all of my clothes were still in suitcases, I began unzipping each one and slinging outfits around the room. I slid on my favorite pair of jeans but the button wouldn't budge. "Ugh!" I screamed aggravated. Billie popped his head in. "You ready?" He asked like an impatient child. "No! My jeans won't button." I replied. "Just leave em' like that." He smiled and disappeared once again. I took his advice and left them the way they were. I slid a gray hoodie and a pair of flip flops on. "Stupid west coast weather.." I mumbled to myself.

By the time we reached the studio Billie was already complaining to the guys about how I took forever to get ready. I waddled behind him allowing him this one time to blame me for our lateness. The recording room smelled like leather and sweat but I chose not to complain. "Sit here baby." Billie pointed to a giant black couch. I looked around the room. Mike was on the phone with who I assumed was Brittany, Billie was tuning his guitar and Tre.. Was picking his nose. Of course.. I rolled my eyes. I whispered to Billie. "I'm going to call Zoe.." He looked at me strange. "Why are we whispering?" He laughed quietly. "Didn't want to interrupt the peanut gallery." I said sarcastically. I pressed her name in my contact list, it went straight to voice mail. As I clicked the end call button I noticed the ring she had given me for Christmas. I wore it everyday. For the first time I noticed how truly beautiful it was, the infinity symbol sparkled. My phone rang. Oh thank god it must be Zoe.. Disappointment hit me like a brick when a strange number popped up on my screen. It wasn't Zoe. I answered. "Who is this?" I asked without even a hello. "Is this Aria Morgan?" A kind female voice answered from the other end. "Yes." I replied. "I have someone here that needs to speak with you." There was a pause. "Aria.. It's Tracy.. Tracy Amon." Zoe's mother stuttered out breathless. "Mrs. Amon? What is it? What's wrong?" My heart was racing. Before she could finish her sentence I dropped my phone causing a loud crash. Everyone was staring at me. "What's wrong baby?" Billie was running over to me now but his body was a blur. I began hyperventilating. I couldn't hear, only the faint noises of Billie holding me and picking up my phone. "What's going on!?" He yelled into the receiver. His face was white, he knew. "Oh my god." He began to cry. "What? What is it Billie?" Mike was screaming now. "God I'm so sorry Aria.. I'm so sorry.." He was rocking me back and forth. "Billie!" Tre shouted. "There's been an accident." Billie began. "She's dead.." He whispered. "Whose dead Billie? Who is dead!" Mike screamed again from behind him. "Zoe's dead." He cried. "Call an ambulance, she's barely breathing." The voices around me were faint. It was then that I heard her. A beautiful angel standing above me, with a panicked face. "Stay with us Aria." Zoe mouthed to me through a white light.