Chapter Seven
"Okay, here is the sheet music, this is the piano that all of the seniors use for the showcase. I am sure if they could switch it out for their personal ones they would in a heartbeat," Colton says in a teasing tone and I smirk.
"I'm going to go get changed," he says before walking away.
The boys had won first place in playoffs, unsurprisingly. So now Colton can focus on preparing for the showcase and not worry about anything soccer related except for their end of the year banquet. He and Carter have been chatting my ear off about, how great the food is, mostly just the food.
I start reviewing the piece and mark in some things that I know I will most likely mess up. Tentatively pressing the keys, I am surprised but the beautiful sound that pours out of the piano. I start playing the intro and manage to get through it fairly unscathed. As I am breaking into the middle ballad section, I hear the door open, but I ignore it assuming it is just Colton.
I can't help but pour my soul into this piece. I have played bits of it in medleys before but never the full thing. My hands stroke the keys and I try to pull the sound of the keys and have the warmest, richest tone possible. Everything feels still as I continue to play until I start the next section. I pause looking at the slew of notes and laugh; that is going to be a pain in the ass.
"Wow I think this is the first time I have heard you play," a familiar voice says. Looking off of the stage I see Colton and Carter. I wave to them and Colton climbs up on stage.
"We can start with the balled section since that part seemed to go over fairly well," Colton says, and I nod.
I pull out my phone and put up my metronome app. I listen for the tempo I am supposed to be playing at and decide to just leave it running. I play along with the metronome and Colton stops me occasionally to point out places where I can take more creative liberty. We play through the entire balled section one and I am surprised by how well it goes. The bell for the end of the day rings and I jump slightly.
"I'm going to stay here and practice. I will see you guys tomorrow," Colton says grabbing his things as I dismount the stage.
I give him a thumb's up, and Carter and I walk out of school and we wave goodbye as we walk to our various cars. Climbing into the back seat a sinking feeling rips at my stomach and I just ignore tightening my grip on my bag. I climb out of the car and make my way up to the apartment. Once I get off the elevator, I hear a voice, it is male, much younger than Dax's, and more articulate.
Opening the door, I close it with a thud, making sure to announce my presence. I drop my bag and go into the kitchen to grab something to eat. I hear Cathleen and Aviva, along with Ruka, and just decide to ignore them. I am not really in the mood to meet this new guy or see Aviva or Cathleen.
"Faith?" Ruka calls out and I knock a cabinet closed.
"Come into the living room when you get a chance honey," she says, and I make a face before walking the ten feet to the living room.
Ruka and Aviva are facing me, and I see Cathleen's head but then there is the mystery guy's hair. It's bordering black with a warm brown undertone to it. When he turns to face me, I freeze, those green eyes. Memories flash before my eyes as I see her green eyes, horrifically cold, and detached from everything. Panic shoots through me as stumble backward. I can see the concern in his eyes, but I can't stop seeing her, the woman who did this to me.
"Faith, what's wrong?" Ruka asks me while getting up.
I glance over at Cathleen and a hazy image of her with shadows dancing in front of her face crosses my mind and I shake my head violently trying to make it go away. Glancing back at Aviva, the burning behind my ear starts again.
"Faith," Ruka says in a soft voice and she is right in front of me. I take a step back putting my head in my hands.
"Faith," she says again. I look up and look past her, his green eyes have the same golden flakes in them, his nose even hooks a little to the left like hers.
"Faith honey sits down, you're having a panic attack," Ruka says trying to get me to sit but I jerk away.
She's a threat; she's trying to play you. Ruka is harmless; she's just trying to help me. She and Dax are trying to get information out of you indirectly and now she's brought that man into your home. Does she even know what that woman put you through? No, of course, she doesn't, because I never told her! I don't want them to know, I don't want anyone to know how broken I am! I can't tell them what they did to me.
"Faith!" Ruka yells and I feel the warm blood rolling down my arm from accidentally scratching myself.
"Don't touch me," I whisper roughly, and her eyes widen in surprise.
My voice is thick with emotion and dark, Ruka listens, but not because I told her to. I grab my bag off of the floor and all but run out of the apartment. I take the stairs all the way down and run out of the building. A fine mist hits my skin as I weave through the crowd trying to ignore everything. Pulling my rolled-up sleeves back down, the wounds have already started to scab over. Walking into traffic I am barely phased by the honking, the screaming, the curse words. I just keep moving.
They work for Metac, this is all a setup Faith, I am just trying to protect you. I don't need anyone to protect me, who even are you! How can you be so blind, how can you not see who I am? Are you that stupid?! No wonder I need to protect you! What are you even talking about?!
Everything goes silent in my head and I breathe a sigh of relief. The eyes keep flashing in my head, but I keep pushing them away. Eventually, I realize that I am completely lost and sit down on a bench. I pull my bag in front of me and find it wet but everything on the inside is dry. Tugging at my clothes I realize I am soaked. Why do I make such a mess of everything?
Pulling out my phone I pull up the maps app and try to figure out where I am. It takes me a moment, but I realize I am over twenty blocks away from my apartment. I don't even know how I got that far away. My stomach grumbles at me and I frown. I never did get something to eat.
"Faith?" A familiar voice calls out to me and I see a familiar face whose once blue hair has faded green. Coming close I see Colton standing there with a large black umbrella.
"Faith, you're soaked. What happened?" He asks standing close to me so that I am shielded from the rain. If only he saw the scratches on my arms.
'I don't want to talk about it,' I send to him.
"Faith, don't you live over two miles from here?" He asks me, and I nod, further.
"Do you want a ride home?" He asks me, and I just stare down at my feet.
Did I want to go back after I just made such a fool of myself? Why couldn't I just keep a grip on my emotions? Why do I have to go and blow up like that? I am sure that guy isn't related to the surgeon and that I am just blowing everything completely out of proportion. But it's hard when you wake up every day fearful for your life.
"Faith, I am taking you home," Colton says more firmly, and I stand up.
He holds the umbrella over the two of us and we walk out of the park. I see his car parked across the street and we wait for the light before climbing in. I am soaked to the bone and am most likely ruining the seats.
'Why were you out in the rain?' I text him hoping to distract him from the fact that he just found me soaked the bone.
'I love the rain and I needed some space from my apartment,' he types back.
We sit in silence for the rest of the ride I start dozing in and out from the cold. When we pull up to my building, I let out a long sigh and Colton looks surprised that I made a noise. I sign thank you to him before walking inside. Pushing the elevator button, I stand off to the side as I wait for the lift. The doors open a few people spill out and I don't even pay attention to who it is.
"No, she still hasn't returned Dax, I need to go and look for her," my head whips up as Cathleen and Ruka walk past me.
I clear my throat and both women stop. They turn around confused and relief swarms Ruka's features as she sees my face, but her happiness soon fades as she takes in me looking quite like a drowned rat. She grabs me firmly by the arm and drags me back into the elevator. Cathleen barely slips in as the doors close. We stand in tense silence until we reach the top floor.
"Go take a warm shower," Ruka says in a curt voice while taking my bag from me.
Hoping in the shower I turn the water as hot as possible and shower until the water starts to run cold. Stepping out of the shower steam swirls around my face. I put some cream on the wounds and wrap bandages on my arms. Getting into my warm pajamas I sit on my bed for a few minutes before the sheer exhaustion hits me and I lay down. I am vaguely aware of Ruka talking to Dax before my eyes drift shut.