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The two cousins make their way downstairs. Julie walks into the room first.
"Hey, Dad. What'cha working on ?" Julie says as Layla plops down on the couch opposite of Carlos.
"Well, now that the house is on the market, we need to add some photos to the website. Help me pick some good ones." He says waving her over.
As Julie passes, she moves Carlos's feet from on top of the couch. The boy frowns as Layla chuckles.
"Got this batch right here." Ray says
"These are really nice."
"Yeah ?"
"Yeah."
"Thanks. These didn't turn out, though. The ones from mom's studio."
Layla's eyes widen as she turns to Julie. The girl hadn't looked toward her, but she saw that Julie's eyes were in fact wide as well.
"It's like... little lights and dots all over the place. Kinda look like orbs, right ?"
Carlos jumps up, "Orbs ? I've seen some freaky stuff about those on YouTube. People say they're ghosts. Do you think that's Mom and she made some friends ?"
Ray chuckles, "That's a nice thought, but there are no such things as ghosts."
"Sounds like someone's spending too much time on the internet." Layla says
"You can just trash those." Julie says as she leans on the couch beside Carlos.
"All right. So trash, trash, trash." Ray mumbles
"Um, Dad ?"
"Yeah ?"
"I was thinking," Julie starts, "if we're just moving 'cause of me, and you, Carlos, and Layla wanna stay, I'm fine with that."
"I vote we stay !" Carlos interjects, "I don't wanna have to clean under my bed."
"Noted." Ray points, "What made you have second thoughts ?"
"I don't know. I guess a combination of things." Julie chuckles, "I know that tía says that moving is moving on, but I don't think that's the answer."
"I totally agree with you on that." Ray says standing up, "I mean, I think... I think moving on
has to come from the inside. And one of us took a huge step this morning."
Layla smiles as she watches them.
"All our memories of Mom are here, and we should be too. Can we stay ?"
Ray turns to Layla as he raises his brows toward her. The girl was taken aback that her vote actually mattered, but she nods happily.
"All votes are in." He smiles holding his hand up, "Yes ! Yes. Yes ! Thank you."
"I love you, Dad." Julie says as she hugs him.
"Get in here. Come on." He says waving Carlos and Layla over. "Mm ! Big tight group hug."
Julie and Layla chuckle as he squeezes them.
"Okay." He sighs pulling away, "Somebody help me find my phone. I need to call the real estate agent."
"Oh, um, I think I saw it in the kitchen." Carlos says
"Kitchen." Ray says as he holds his hand out to Julie. The girl sighs as she takes it leading him out.
"Food." Layla says as she follows them out.
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A couple hours passed and Layla sat on the counter waiting for her food to warm up in the microwave. Luke stood at the fridge looking wide eyed at everything inside.
Layla looks up as she hears footsteps. Julie jumps as she sees Luke.
"I'm never gonna get used to that." Julie sighs as Layla chuckles
Julie walks up behind Luke who still had his eyes on the food in the fridge. "Do you guys even eat ?"
Luke shakes his head as he shrugs, "I just wanna see what'cha got."
Julie rolls her eyes before she grabs the jelly and closes the fridge. The door goes straight through Luke.
"Hey !" He exclaims before he turns, "You know how long it took me to open that ?"
"Sorry, I don't believe in wasting power."
"Good. Because that's exactly what I wanted to talk to you about." Luke says leaning on the counter.
"Our power usage ?"
"No. The power that you have. Your voice. Your piano playing. Dude, you're like a human wrecking ball."
Layla chuckles, "This pep talk sucks."
Luke scoffs focusing on Julie, "What I'm saying is that you have the power to move people.To knock them off their feet. There is no way your teachers wouldn't let you back into school if they heard you play like that."
"I asked her. She said I have to wait until next semester." Julie says spreading her peanut butter.
"That was your first mistake." Luke says scrunching his face, "Asking."
He sits up on the counter by Layla, "Sunset Curve booked gigs by doing. We went into ambush mode. We played in front of clubs. We played in back of clubs. We even played book clubs."
"Book clubs ?" The cousins say
"Yeah." He says looking down, "We didn't get many gigs out of that one, but they did have some pretty gnarly snacks. I'm just saying, don't ask for permission."
Layla jumps as he swings his legs around, "Swing that wrecking ball of talent at your teacher's head, and smash those stupid rules right outta their brains."
Layla jumps down from the counter wide eyed as the microwave goes off.
"This isn't a club, it's a school, and your plan sounds violent." Julie says as she opens a cabinet.
"It's a closed door," Luke says as his head goes through the cabinet door, "and you gotta bust it open."
Julie scoffs as she makes her way to the fridge with Luke right behind her.
"Sorry. Once I start with the metaphors, I can't stop. I learned that in book club."
Julie turns as she grabs the orange juice. She walks through Luke before she stops, "They're not just gonna let me back in."
Luke chuckles as she stops and turns to him, "If getting back into music is what you want, then you gotta go for it."
Layla leans on the counter with her food in front of her. Julie picks up her sandwich as Layla brings her spoon to her mouth. "Learn from me. Your tainted hot dog could be right around the corner."
The two stop short just as they go to take a bite. Julie drops her sandwich as Layla sighs putting her spoon back in her bowl.
"I don't even have anything prepared." Julie says
Luke smiles, "Thought you'd say that." He pulls out a piece of paper, "It's called "Bright." It's a Sunset Curve song I wrote that we never got to record. But it's perfect for your range. Check out the chorus for a second."
He sets the paper on the counter, "If you add a bit of piano, I'm telling you..."
"And rise, through the night
You and I. We will fight to shine together
Bright forever." Luke sings
Layla watches as they start to sing together.
"And rise through the night
You and I. We will fight to shine together."
"Go up high." Luke says
"Bright forever." They sing as Julie harmonizes
"Yes !" Luke cheers
"That was amazing, Jules." Layla adds as Julie smiles at her.
"Thanks." She says turning to Luke. He nods to her as she turns back to her food.
Luke looks over at Layla who had a small smile on her face. Her eyes trail over to Luke who smiles at her. Her smile widens before she looks down.
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