Broken Strings

Chapter Nine

Josh and Luke our standing in the middle of the room. They don't look too happy with each other. Josh is pissed and Luke is white as a ghost.

That's when I remember that I had just fainted. In front of Luke. From the way he is staring at Josh I can tell he got a fright.

"Em hey." I say.

The two boys jump about a foot in the air.

"Esther. You shouldn't be sitting up." Josh walks over to me and tries to get me to lie down.

"I'm fine." I wasn't lying.

I feel completely fine. I could get up and walk out onto stage. Luckily we don't play the second venue until tomorrow.

"You just bloody fainted." Luke shouts looking at me in disbelief.

"No, really Lucas?" I tease him.

"I'm going to get you something to eat." Josh stands up and looks at Luke. "Do not let her leave."

"Why the hell did you faint?" Luke shouts again.

"How should I know?"

"God you are the strangest person." Luke lies down on the bed beside me.

My feet meet three quarters of the way up the bed. Where as his dangle slightly over the edge.

"Why did you call Josh?" I ask giggling.

"You sound chirpy for someone who just bloody fainted." Luke mumbles into the pillow. I poke his back and he looks up at me.

"I asked you a question." I genuinely wanted to know why he didn't think to call an ambulance.

"Well you aren't exactly on good terms with Hayden. You don't seem very close to your Mother and if I called an ambulance the press would be all over this. So I called Josh." Luke explained slightly happy with himself for thinking all that out. But he missed something.

"What about my dad?" Luke's face drops. "You are something else."

I break out laughing when a pain strikes in my cheeks. My hand rises to my face.

"Oh yeah. You bit that pretty hard before you fainted. Don't you remember?"

That's when it all came back. Hayden and my Mother blowing me off. Charlotte pointing out what I already knew in the hallway. Luke not being able to tell me apart from my evil sister.

I turn to look who is lying face first into the pillow.

"Did you really think I'd say that to you?" I whisper.

Luke seems to stiffen at my sudden mood swing. He lifts his head from the pillow and meets my eyes.

"You seemed pretty pissed at me." Luke says. His face scrunches up as he tries to remember the conversation. I go to say something when he cuts me off. "Something was different though."

My heart picks up.

"I couldn't really see what it was when it happened. I don't know you just seemed different. Like it was a whole other person."

Luke can tell us apart. In the short space of time he spoke to Charlotte he knew something was different. It all hit me just as Hayden burst into the room. He narrows his eyes at Luke and I.

"Something ever happens to her, you call me. No matter how much we hate each other at the time. You. Call. Me." Hayden warns Luke.

When Luke nods like a frightened puppy Hayden turns to me. He walks over to me and smothers me in a hug.