Rock Prodigy

Chapter 9

Dedicated to RomanticAtHeart for making me some beautiful covers!! Thanks!

Enjoy!

Chapter 9

I stood in front of the school, cringing at the front door and briefly wondering if I’d lost my mind when I’d registered. “Too late now,” I muttered, walking slowly up the front steps, glancing to either side of me looking for the guy I’d bumped into on Friday.

I breathed a sigh of relief as I made it through the hallways without seeing him again and when I was standing in front of the music room, I figured I was home free. I reached my hand out and gripped the knob when someone grabbed my wrist and started dragging me away just as the bell rang.

My heart skipped a beat as I recognized the back of his blond head. His hair was shiny again today and he was wearing a dress shirt tucked into dark wash jeans, showing off his lean figure. He had broad shoulders and the fingers gripping my wrist were long and strong and no matter how much I tugged, he wasn’t letting go.

“Where are we going?” I asked in frustration as he turned a corner and took me to a hallway I’d never been down before. Suddenly he stopped and I almost ran into him but managed to catch myself in time. I scowled up at him as he turned to face me, feeling the familiar sense of panic when recognition and awe lit his eyes. “Let me go,” I whispered, wanting to run away.

“I have to show you something,” he said, taking a key out of his pocket and unlocking a door before dragging me into a dark room with only a small window for light. I blinked, my vision adjusting to the darkness when light flooded the space. My eyes immediately landed on the grand piano sitting in front of me. Its dark body was shiny and there wasn’t a hint of dust on it anywhere. The keys were bright white and spotless and my fingers suddenly itched to rest my hands on them.

“Why did you bring me here,” I whispered, wanting to run but my feet seemed to be rooted to the spot.

“I’m not entirely sure, considering you practically threatened my life if I ever talked to you again,” he said wryly, going to sit down on the bench in front of the piano. He looked over his shoulder at me, his dark brown eyes lit with a hint of amusement and uncertainty. “I don’t know why you quit piano, Rosemary but I do know that you can’t.”

“I can,” I croaked. My hands were shaking and my eyes wouldn’t leave the shiny keys staring back at me. When he placed his hand on the keys and pressed a simple C chord, a shiver went down my spine and I closed my eyes, revelling in the sound.

“You can’t,” he said quietly and when I opened my eyes, his were filled with conviction, all hint of uncertainty gone.

“You don’t understand,” I whispered, my whole body shaking with the need to leave which was being countered by an equally strong need to stay, to put my hands on the piano and just play.

“You’re right, I don’t.” He shrugged, his gaze meeting mine steadily. “I don’t understand how you could give up something you so clearly love. Rosemary, I may not know you but I do know that when you play the piano, it’s like nothing I’ve ever heard before. I’ve been trying to play with that kind of emotion since I was six years old and I still can’t do it. Don’t get me wrong, I’m really good,” he said, an arrogant look crossing his face. “But there’s something missing in my music that yours seems to have so effortlessly.”

I felt a tear drip down my cheek as my gaze connected with his dark brown eyes. Unconsciously, I took a lurching step forward, stopping when my knees connected with the piano bench. I shook myself, hastily retreating until my back slammed against the wall. I looked at him accusingly as he stared at me with a mixture of sadness and hope in his eyes. “What do you want me to do?” I croaked.