Page 52 of All the Discord
But after pouring my heart out all night, the words felt like a lie on my lips. Even as I fell asleep, I could hear the song playing in the distance.
I hope you know, I won’t let go
Hide my feelings so they’ll never show
All these years, all this time
I’m still holding on to you
Chapter Twenty-One
The morning ended up being spent working on my song for class, trying to polish it as best as I could. Parts of it were still cringy to me, and I couldn’t figure out how to smooth it out and make it flow together. The frustration building inside of me was only going to make it worse, so I took a break.
After shoving as many clothes as I could into the laundry basket, I began lugging it downstairs.
The cellphone in my pocket began ringing when I got to the laundry room. I glanced at the name and grimaced. I had forgotten to call Amy.
“And she lives,” she said the moment I answered.
“I’m sorry, Amy. Been busy getting settled.”
“Uh huh. Well, I’ll make this painless. I only wanted to congratulate you for your performance yesterday. I watched it on TV. I am sorry I couldn’t be there.”
Her sincerity made me smile. “You have a life that doesn’t involve me. I’m happy enough knowing you still watched it.”
She made a low humming noise. “Either way, I know I’m only your lawyer and all our lawyer stuff is done for now, but that doesn’t change the fact that I worry about you. A young girl living alone, it makes me paranoid.”
“I’m being careful.”
She paused for a moment before talking in a softer voice. “I know. You’re always careful and that makes it easier. Tell me when your schedule clears up. I want to eat a meal with you. Make sure you’re still breathing.”
I laughed. “Okay. I promise, we’ll eat together soon. Send me your availability.”
“Don’t make it seem like you’re trying to make a meeting out of this. It isn’t that kind of meal. I do need to get going, but I am available anytime. Night or day. Week or weekend. Alive or dead. I’m available.”
“I will. I promise.”
“Uh huh. Bye.”
We hung up. I stared at the phone before going back to getting my laundry going. Amy really was a good person and she did so much for me. I didn’t want to be more of a burden for her. She had her own life and family to take care of and it was never my intention to saddle her with my problems.
I was just passing the front door after getting a load of laundry started when a soft knock got my attention. For a second, I thought my mind was playing silly tricks on me, but then there was another knock before the doorbell went off.
“All right, I’m coming,” I grumbled.
The moment I swung open the front door, I blinked a couple of times at the little boy standing before me. He was wringing his fingers together, his nerves written all over his face. Big gray eyes looked at me, wide and innocent.
“Calvin.” I gave him a warm smile. “What are you doing here?”
“I-I was wondering i-if we could play together.” His nervousness made my heart warm. He was just too adorable standing there, asking me to play with him. I glanced out the door and toward Seth’s house. Paxon’s car was parked in the driveway, behind Seth’s truck. It was Sunday, so that was expected. No doubt, Seth was preparing their Sunday dinner while everyone else caused havoc.
“Does your brother know you’re here?” I asked.
Calvin nodded.
“Okay. I still have to give you the songs from yesterday anyway. Want to come check out my music room? I have it almost all set up now.”
Calvin’s eyes grew larger, if that were possible. I held in a chuckle as his mouth fell open and he slowly nodded.