~~~~~Sloane
“Sloane, time to go!” Mom hollers and I zip up my plaid skirt and tug on my navy blue sweater. It’s been four weeks since I’ve woken up, four weeks since Esmond...kissed me. Yeah, crazy I know. I go downstairs, my body still recovering from that time in the woods.
“I’m coming,” I say and grab my sheet music. Someone hands me my violin that was taken somehow unscathed from the train station. I look to find Randin standing there, a grin on his lips. My lips sting as they stretch wide across my face. I throw my arms around him forgetting about the items in my hands.
“If it takes you almost dying more than three times for you to hug me like this, I wish you’d do it more often,” Randin says but can’t keep the smile from my lips.
“I’ll keep that in mind, Randy,” I say and he rolls his eyes, scanning the room. My mom, even dad flew all the way from Afghanistan to see me perform. Hazel is here, and well...Esmond too. My eyes lock with his blue ones and I’m immediately transported back to the train station. Locking eyes with him under the chairs for the first time. Only this time is different, this time I allow my heart to kick into overdrive. I allow myself to feel.
“Are you ready?” I nod and we all get into our cars, Esmond comes with mom, Hazel, and I. Randin goes with dad, the two are polar opposites. Dad is hard and grufff, where Randin is sweet, loud, and well, extroverted. My chest tightens as we slowly leave the driveway, the first time my mom wanted to bring me to see Esmond, I couldn’t leave the house without having a panic attack. Now, I seem to be doing better. Given that Esmond is right next to me holding my hand. He smiles at me and my heart flutters. We drive to the opera house and nerves form in my stomach. I wrote my own piece for this competition, this nationwide competition even airing on tv! We all go in and everybody finds their seats. Esmond comes with me to the back of the stage, his eyes bright.
“You’ll do great, I know you will.” He says, crushing me in a hug. I wrap my arms around him, feeling safe in his arms. I don’t feel safe much anymore, not even at home. Leaving the house is something that takes too much effort to be normal. I can’t even bear to go to school yet. I shake the thoughts away for another time.
“I’ll try.” the announcer calls my name and Esmond gives me a reassuring grin as I force my feet to walk out on stage. This is what I love, this is what I do. With a deep breath, I stare at the hundreds of people in front of me. But the only thing I see is a pair of encouraging blue eyes. A pair of eyes that has carried me through these last few weeks of pain and healing.
I let the song burst from my fingers, a song for every life lost in the train station, for that girl that sir killed to play off as my corpse. A song for my pain, what I had to go through. The crowd hushes as the crescendo builds and builds until it floods the opera house. I let the music fill me up and fix every broken piece of my soul.
The audience erupts in applause as the last few notes ring out throughout the packed building. I shuffle off the stage and into the waiting arms of Esmond. He swings me around and laughs.
“You are amazing! That was the most incredible thing I have ever witnessed!” Esmond gushes and my family pats me on the back offering congratulations. A small laugh leaves my lips as I stare at this boy in front of me. We aren’t perfect yet, hell, we aren’t even fine yet. We are living and trying to get by each day. For now, that’s enough.
“Live or die together,” I murmur our agreement from the time at the train station. Esmond sombers slightly but cups my face in his warm hands. A small smile playing on his lips.
“I plan on living a lonnng time with you, so don’t fuck it up.” He grins and presses his lips to mine in a kiss that makes fireworks explode in my stomach. Who’d have thought that I would end up with the golden boy of ridge view high? Esmond looks down at me as we break apart, a stupid smile spread across his face.
“Let’s go get pizza.” He says and I nod. Each day will get a little better, it won’t be perfect or easy, but I’ll get through it. No, we will. Esmond holds onto my hand as we leave the Opera house.
Maybe change isn’t a bad thing, after all, it brought Esmond into my life. And for that, I’m truly grateful.
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