The Right Song Page 17

“Daegan Stone’s brother caused the accident that killed my parents and that other driver,” I tell her.

  “Seriously?” She widens her eyes in disbelief and sets down beside me, leaning her back against the headboard. “He told you this?”

  I sit up. “Yes.”

  “God…” she murmurs. “I remember hearing that his brother, David, moved away a few weeks after the crash. So he actually killed himself, along with their mother?” She turns her head slowly from side to side. “What a family.”

  “I don’t know if he ended up killing himself,” I say. “I didn’t let Daegan finish. All I heard was what David did on that day. Like, how could he be so selfish to not only hurt the people who care about him, but to take other innocent people along with him? My parents? That other driver?”

  I rest my head on her shoulder, fighting back the tears.

  She continues, “Is that why he’s always staring at you like that? He feels bad about it? Is that why he suddenly became your friend?”

  “I spoke to him first,” I exhale. “Daegan didn’t feel like he deserved to be friends with me. And now I know why.”

  “I’m sorry, Law. No wonder you’re bummed out. You’ve been friends with someone whose brother caused you to lose the two people you loved more than anything in life.”

  I ease off her shoulder and slide down to the side of the bed.

  “Law?” She squeezes my hand. “You okay?”

  “That’s not the only reason,” I tell her.

  Emma comes up next to me. “Okay, spill.”

  “I really like being around Daegan,” I admit.

  She titters. “For real? He’s so weird; always sketching by himself.”

  “You don’t understand, Ems. The reason I got up on that stage at the Heat Room was because he made me believe I could. There’s something about him that inspires me. Like, just talking to him and being around him motivates me; he’s like my confidence booster.”

  Narrowing her eyes, Emma glances at me suspiciously then springs from the bed. “Oh my gosh! Wait, you don’t like like Daegan, do you? I mean, you’ve just started talking to Milo and—”

  “No,” I blurt out, “Of course not. What I’m saying is, we relate to each other on an artistic level that I’ve never been able to do before, even when I was playing with the guys. Since we started talking, it’s like I don’t feel afraid of letting my voice be heard. I guess you can say he gets me.”

  Her face relaxes as she sits down beside me again. “I see, and now you’re worried that by not being friends anymore then you won’t have the motivation to keep doing well. It’s like he was your muse.”

  I bob my head. “Something like that.”

  “Law, that’s insane. What I’ve heard this entire time is based on your talent. It has nothing to do with Daegan, and that’s the part I don’t get. How did he get to have such a big place in your life after only a few weeks?”

  “He was… intriguing,” I tell her. “Being with him made me relax and not think so much about what the next step in my life should be. I don’t know…” I trail and hang my head, picking at my nails.

  “Well, that’s over now,” she remarks. “I mean, you certainly can’t be friends with him knowing about his brother, can you?”

  I glance up to meet her gaze, but can’t bring myself to answer. The truth is, I don’t know. A part of me is angry and wants to stay away from him, and the other part wants our friendship to remain. I wonder how my parents would feel about it.

  27.

  For the next few days I avoid Daegan and busy myself with finishing up my demo. I hardly get to see Milo, either, with me focusing on recording.

  We end up with a total of four songs we’re happy with by the end of the two weeks. Luke adds his finishing touches before he sends off my demo to Alan Moore and Epic Rock Records. So all we can do now is wait and hope they enjoy the music.

  On my way out of the studio on Friday evening, Luke throws me off guard. “You think your aunt will go on a date with me, now that we’re no longer working together?” he asks.

  I twirl around to face him. I’d suspected they were attracted to each other; after all, Luke has his charms, with his wavy dark hair that he keeps tied in a ponytail, a sturdy jawline with masculine features, plus the barely there bags under his pale blue eyes, depicting the long hours he’s spent working.

  He’s the kind of guy Aunt Leah would go for. She’s dated musicians in college, but he seems different from those guys. Much nicer.

  “Yeah, you should give her a call sometime,” I tell him.

  Luke grins shyly, showing off his crooked white teeth. This is the first I’ve seen him out of his element, unsure of himself.

  “I will,” he says. “But, uh, yeah, it was great working with you, kiddo. They’ll love your music. I know they will.” He leans in and hugs me in a fatherly-like manner, patting me lightly on the back.

  “It was. Thanks for everything,” I tell him as I ease away.

  He waves me off, and I head out of the studio and drive back to Seville.

  Later on, I hang out at Chris’ house with Alex, Emma, and Drew. We’re kind of celebrating the end of my recording. His mom made us fish and chips. When we get done eating, we laze around in the den.

  Alex and Chris play a game of pool while Emma lies on the carpet, flipping through a magazine about recreation in Medina County.

  “I bet they’ll call right after they hear the songs,” Drew remarks. He’s sitting beside me on the beige futon. “No way will they pass you up.”

  “Humph, let’s cross our fingers,” I say coolly, tilting my head to stare up at the dark beams in the ceiling.

  Emma bumps my leg and glances over her shoulder at me. “Once they see the views on your YouTube videos and how many people are falling in love with your voice, they’ll be forced to. And you know what, if this Epic Rock Records doesn’t jump on the chance to sign you, I’m sure plenty other labels will be calling soon.”

  “There’s no if about it,” Alex pipes in. “Epic Rock will sign her.”

  “You guys all sound so sure.”

  “You should be, too,” Chris retorts, coming over to poke me with the pool stick.

  “Hey, knock it off,” I giggle. Then I remember something. “What about Cali? You guys still going?” Looking at Drew, I add, “Are you taking Emma?”

  Suddenly both the cousins grow tense. Chris walks back to the pool table and resumes playing with Alex.

  Drew avoids my gaze. He glances at Emma for a beat. Then he lowers his eyes to his hands.

  “What’s going on?” I ask, going back and forth from him to Emma.

  She pushes off the floor and sits on the armchair across from us. “Yeah, Drew, I’d like to know too,” she says, annoyance cutting through her tone.

  I look at him and jerk his arm. “Hey.”

  He finally looks me in the eye. “It’s just me and Chris,” he says dryly.

  “Okay…” I drawl. Turning back to Emma, I try to cheer her up. “It’ll be fine, just us girls this summer. I mean, I probably won’t go on that tour, anyway.”

  Irritation masks her face as she regards him. It’s as if reality has suddenly jolted her when she springs from the chair and runs up the stairs.

  I get up to go after her, but then I stop and glance back at Drew. He rakes his hand through his hair and releases a long breath, exasperated. I look over at Chris and Alex. They eye me knowingly. I guess Emma’s instincts were right on. It’s obvious what’s going on.

  “You’re breaking up with her?”

  He flails a hand while he explains. “It’s better this way. Things have fizzled between us. I’ve been trying with her, seriously, but it’s just gonna be too hard when I’m in Cali at school and she’s all the way in Boston. Our feelings aren’t strong enough anymore to deal with the long distance.”

  “So leaving for the summer was a getaway from her then? You’re simply dumping her? Just like that?” I sneer, disappointment scattered
all over my voice. “I thought you loved her.”

  Drew looks at me as if I’m crazy. Breathily, he says, “Love? Geez, Rora. We’ve been dating for a while but honestly, I can’t say that’s what we had.”

  Hearing that saddens me. For some reason, their relationship had given me hope of finding something just as sweet. I guess it never was as beautiful as I’d thought it to be.

  I turn and run after Emma, finding her by the oak tree a few feet away from the house. She sits with her knees pulled up to her chest, peering up at the night sky. The silver moon is scarcely noticeable behind the dark clouds. Looks like it’ll probably rain tonight.

  “Hey,” I whisper, sitting down beside her. I rest a hand on her arm. “I’m sorry, Em.”

  “He’s been distant for the past couple of weeks, and then at the festival he told me again that he needed space.” She angles her head and looks me in the eye.

  Her blue eyes are hidden in the dark, but it’s hard to miss the gloss in them from what are clearly tears.

  I brush her cheek and tuck her hair behind her ear, unsure of what to say at a time like this.

  “I’m sorry,” I say again. “I should have been there for you.”

  “You couldn’t have. The whole time you’ve been working on your music and I’ve been distracting myself by helping to promote you and trying not to think about how he doesn’t really want to kiss me as often as he used to or look at me like I’m the only girl in the world anymore.”

  I hear the sorrow in her voice.

  Sighing, she rests the back of her head against the tree and continues to look up at the sky. I see a slight smile at the corner of her mouth.

  “Are you going to be okay?” I ask, because that’s all I can think of.

  She nods. “I’ll be fine, which is weird. I always thought that if we ended things, then I’d be completely heartbroken. Truth is, I’m not. I’m… okay.”

  I lean my head against the tree, touching hers. “You think it’s because you were friends before you started dating?” I ask.

  “Probably,” she whispers. “I don’t know. Right now, I just want to sit here, look at this depressing sky, and pray there isn’t a tornado coming tonight.” She chuckles at the end.

  I can’t help but giggle along with her.

  After a while Drew comes out to the tree, indicating he wants to talk to Emma. I push to my feet and leave them alone, heading back inside. It’s too bad their relationship is ending, but at least they care enough for each other to not be bitter.

  Aunt Leah and I hang out in the living room, watching some TV before bed.

  “So I’ve been thinking about Luke,” she starts up. “Is it inappropriate if I call him?” She looks at me with a fearful expression on her face.

  I giggle, seeing as I’ve just had this conversation with him. “Not at all,” I tell her. “In fact, I bet if you wait a little, he’ll call first.”

  “You think so?”

  “I know so.”

  “Oh,” she twirls her hair around her fingers. “Has he mentioned something to you?”

  I gesture with my finger to let her know my lips are sealed.

  “Really? I’m your aunt, you should tell me what he says about me.” She laughs.

  I push off the couch. “All I’m going to say on the topic is that I think he likes you too and to give it a while. He’ll call.”

  Aunt Leah pouts then flicks the TV off as she starts for bed, walking behind me as I make my way to the stairs.

  I stop midstride and call to her before she turns to head down the passage to her room. “Aunt Leah… um… that night…” I trail as she peers up at me, curious. I want to ask her about the accident and if she knew all along who’d caused it. But when I see that the smile from earlier is still on her face, I change my mind, not wanting to ruin her happy mood.

  “Nothing,” I say instead. “Some other time.”

  “You sure?” she checks.

  I nod. “Yeah, goodnight.”

  “Goodnight, honey.”

  She continues on her way and I do the same shortly after I hear her door closes.

  Turning off my room light, I sit on the chair by the window. The stars are visible now, so is the bright, lonely moon. My mind drifts to Daegan and the terrible things I said to him.

  Regret pricks at my heart. I have this urge to at least apologize, even if we can’t be friends. I feel I owe it to him.

  Walking over to my dresser, I pick up my phone and drop down on my bed. His number is on the screen. I swipe my thumb across it a few times, hesitating, but then I swallow my pride and call him.

  The phone rings four times before his voicemail picks up. My stomach plummets. Worry floods me. God only knows what he’s there contemplating. This is someone who’s dealt with a lot. The thought of my words leading him to do something impulsive frightens me.

  I sit up cross-legged and call him again. It rings and rings, but still no answer. I try two more times before I find the courage to just leave a voicemail.

  “Daegan… I’m… I’m sorry about what I said. It’s not your fault. I shouldn’t have said those horrible things to you. I’m so angry at your brother, not at you… I’m—”

  A beep cuts me off. The woman’s voice comes in, saying my message has been saved.

  I reach over and place the phone on the side table then let out a long exhale, falling back on my pillow. I press my eyes shut and try to sleep, but all I do is toss and turn throughout the night.

  An hour or so later, I hear my phone buzz. Startled, I jump up and snatch it off the table. Daegan’s calling me.

  I take a moment to steady my pounding heart then hurry to answer before he hangs up.

  “Hey.”

  He pauses for a beat before he replies. “Hi… got your message.” His voice is hoarse and depressing. I want to hug him and try to make him laugh. I like his laugh so much. I haven’t heard it since that night when I thought he was going to lie on the tracks and end his life.

  “Yeah, I wanted to apologize. I was so mad when you told me about your brother—”

  “David,” he says.

  “What?”

  “His name,” he exhales. “It might be hard for you to say it, but his name’s David. He was fifteen years old when he did that.” I stay quiet, wanting him to finish.

  “My dad was abusive. He hit our mother and David a lot. Never me, though.”

  I grip the phone tighter at my ear. God! Martin Stone is a monster.

  “That night, we were having dinner. Dad came home pissed because David got kicked off the baseball team. Coach said he wasn’t performing well and wasn’t fit for the team. But it was because of the abuse. It had driven him to depression. Dad beat him so bad that night, and yet he didn’t even make a sound.”

  I don’t know how he stays calm while telling me this. Tears are streaming down my face, still I try to hide the fact that I’m crying so he doesn’t think I pity him.

  “Finally, Dad passed out on the couch. Then David took off. Mom and I went looking for him. I remembered he liked sitting near that overpass by the creek.”

  A gasp escapes me because I know what happens next. “Greenwich Road…” I whimper.

  Daegan breathes out. “It’s never busy, but that time he saw two cars coming on either side, an escape from all the abuse. David walked out into the street. One car swerved, losing control.”

  “Which smashed into my dad’s,” I whisper, helping him piece it together.

  “Then there was a scream, from my mother. She was standing behind me. When I turned back around, David was still alive and he took off running, seeing what he’d done.”

  My jaw drops. “He’s still alive? Where is he? Why had he never—”

  “He’s dead, Aurora,” Daegan stops me. “He shot himself a few months later in our grandparents’ basement in Dover.”

  I wipe my face with the palm of my hand. “I’m… sorry, or maybe I’m not… I don’t know. Does it mean I’m a horrible pers
on if I don’t feel remorse for him?”

  He answers after a long pause. “No. You’re being honest with yourself. That’s all you can be.”

  I dry heave, and then bring my knees up to my chest and slump over, listening to his heavy breathing. It’s like music, calming my heart.

  “Um…” he clears his throat. “Did you finish your demo?”

  “I did,” I reply. It’s great that he’s trying to change the subject, but honestly, I can’t get what David did out of my head.

  As if reading my mind, Daegan utters, “I know it’s hard for us to be friends, now that you know. But if you ever need someone to talk to when you’re feeling lonely, I’m here.”

  I manage to smile as I tell him, “The same to you. Maybe,” I stop and catch my breath. “Maybe I can look past it in time. I mean, I think you’re a cool guy. You’ve inspired me greatly. And I like being your friend.”

  He falls quiet. A few seconds past before he finally says, “You’re quite the inspiration yourself. I want to show you something, if you decide to be my friend again, okay?”

  Great! Now he’s giving me something to stay curious about. I’ll feel even guiltier if I sever ties.

  “Goodnight, Aurora,” he whispers.

  I swallow deeply and say, “Goodnight, Daegan.” Then he hangs up. But I stay up awake, unable to keep him off my mind.

  28.

  “Okay, don’t be mad,” Emma says as I sit down at our lunch table. She’s been acting funny since Monday, being all secretive, and with Carly of all people.

  “Okay, I won’t be,” I tell her before I bite into my chicken sandwich.

  “Well, Ryan, who also happens to be Carly’s boyfriend, is having this post-game party tonight at Foxes, and I kind of asked Carly to convince him to let you perform.” An innocent look guises her face as she says the last part. Then she leans on Chris as if she’s afraid I’ll freak out.

  I put down my sandwich because, in a way, I am freaked out. “Foxes? The sports bar? On a Friday night? After a soccer game?”

  She nods at every question mark.

  “Em, are you crazy? They get really wild there and like, spray beer on girls and crap like that.” I motion with my hand as I conclude, “No way.”