Red Hair, Black Soul (Red & Black #1)

43 | Stay tuned

I've already made my decision.

Eleven years later, thinking about Jamie doesn't hurt so much. Maybe second times are easier than the first ones.

I tear my gaze away from the lone tree growing in the very back of our backyard and scan the room. My shoulders lift in a small sigh. I'm going to have to clean up a bit.

Getting hung op on the white commode standing by the opposite wall, my eyes zero in on something red. I cock my head to the side when I realize it's the present Ms. Brownstone gave me the day before Christmas. She told me to open it at home.

On the evening of the day I got it, Jed told me he was leaving. I had completely forgotten about the present afterwards.

Sliding off the windowsill, I grab the edges of the quilt to make sure it doesn't fall off and pad over to the commode. Clutching the material with one hand, I pick the bag up with the other and retreat back to my bed. Sitting down slowly, I put my hand inside.

My fingers wrap around something cold. It's definitely metal, I think, as I snatch the thing out of the bag and lay it in my palm.

The thing is thin, about the length of my palm. The top is U-shaped, with both arms of the same length. There is a short holder connecting with the underside of the wanna-be horseshoe, ending in a small ball. A note is attached to one of the arms.

Stay tuned, it says.

There's nothing else in the bag. Just the metal device and the note.

I smile as I close my fingers around the tuning fork and clutch it to my chest. I already have one, but it doesn't matter.

What's important is the message lying behind the present.

A tuning fork is a device used for tuning instruments, including the piano. Two months ago, I refused to talk about music with Ms. Brownstone again. Back then, she left the topic alone.

Now it's back. In a form that is quite different from before.

I was in that shop one day and saw this. It made me think of you.

Tuning forks are not sold in just any shop. You need to go to the music store to buy one. And unless Ms. Brownstone's secret passion is playing the drums, I doubt she went there for herself.

A few weeks back, Jed told me I shouldn't stop playing if music was what made me happy. Sometime later, I found the courage to touch my piano for the first time in over a year. Right now, I get a tuning fork as a Christmas present from Ms. Brownstone, and a note telling me to stay tuned.

I shake my head. Just two words, with so much power behind them. I heard about a certain three-word sentence that has the power to change lives. In my case, it only took two words and nine letters to rock my world.

I stand up, letting the plaid fall from my shoulders and go back to the dresser. Placing the tuning fork carefully in the place of the bag, I leave it there. My fingers run over its cold surface once more before I turn away.

This is not just the tuning fork that helped me make that decision. The little thing is just the key to open the box holding all the factors.

What really changed my life is the year of therapy with Ms. Brownstone, filled with telling her about my problems three times a week. It's the many smiles I exchanged with Makena and all the things we did together after she had accepted me for who I am almost at sight. It's my family who stood behind me during all that time, even when I was too stubborn to let myself see it. It's the lessons with Ms. Scottinson, where I could finally be listened to and exist, even if for only forty minutes.

And finally, it's all the time I got to spend with Jed, who showed me that the world isn't all about darkness. It was him who taught me that every cloud has a silver lining and that I can always see the light, all I have to do is look in the right direction. Moreover, he showed me the direction and made me feel things I've never felt before him, not even during my previous life in Scotland.

He pulled me out of the dark hole I've fallen into when I left Scotland and taught me to live again. And despite the way the things went between us, I am never going to regret it.

Just like I'm always going to be grateful to him.

Taking a deep breath, I turn from away from the dresser. A small smile plays on the corners of my lips when I lift my chin.

Tomorrow, I start living again.

As in for now, I have a few things I need to do.

***

L/M: Holy cow. I'm finished. Like, totally finished. Can you believe it? Because I can't.

I've grown so attached to Ada, Jed, Everett and all the other characters that I simply can't let them go. And maybe I won't...

Anyway, I'm sorry for the way it ended. Although in fact, I'm not. Though I'm sorry you had to suffer. Believe me, I'm sad, too.

Considering it's the end, I'd like to say a BIIIIIIGGGG thank you to those who were with me and Ada from the very beginning to the very end. I loved waking up every day, checking my Wattpad notifications and seeing all those lovely comments and votes. You guys make writing worth dying for. I've gone through some bad and heavy stuff in my life while writing this book, and your support was one of the things that helped me piece myself back together. I cannot put into words how grateful I am to all of you (which says a lot, since I'm a writer and can describe almost anything and everything).

Now, I'm sorry for all the breaks in updates and my constant irregularity. Like I said... heavy stuff. And I need to work on my responsibility, so you are the witnesses to my process of becoming a better Lucie. Feel free to kick me in the butt anytime I fail (which, knowing me, is going to happen A LOT).

Anyyyhoooooww...

THANK YOU. SO MUCH. Thank you once more, for everything, for being here with me, for reading, for loving, for hating, for EVERYTHING AT ALL. I loved every single comment, every single correct of my mistake (cause I love them, too), every single vote, EVERYTHING.

Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU, and remember:

All of you.