Chapter 11
CHAPTER ELEVEN
“Hey, what do you think of this for the chorus?”
I play through the progression I’ve been working on, while singing the lyrics. The flow is perfect, until the last line.
“Always so…”
I palm the strings to quiet them. “We break here, and ‘ unkind’ moves to the first bar of the turn…. Hey, you listening?”
She’s just staring at me.
“No? Yes?” I say, trying to read the confusing expression on her face. “Uh, okay. So I was also thinking we need to tweak the lyrics for verse two. I like what you wrote, but it doesn’t fit the melody we just worked out.”
Still just eye-stalking me.
I lower the guitar and study her strange demeanor. “Okay. You’re freaking me out. What’s wrong?”
“Nothing.” A silly smile plays on her lips, and I raise a brow.
We’ve been working for a couple hours now, and this song is actually turning into something legit. I’m already thinking it might be good enough to get TJ his demo if we bust our asses for the next few days. I’ll have to track down a midi controller and interface but?—
“Seriously, Callie. Why are you looking at me like that?”
I grip the strings and give her a playful warning stare.
Her smile becomes a grin as she leans back and pulls her knees to her chest. She wraps her arms around them and rests her chin on top. Her weird behavior is starting to unravel me.
“If you don’t like the melodies, we can do something else.”
“I love the melodies.”
She scours my face, my hands, the guitar.
“So…?”
“Can’t a girl just enjoy a moment?”
“Not when that moment involves staring at me with an evil villain smirk.”
Her mouth drops open. “You think I look like an evil villain?!”
“No, I said your smirk is very ‘I’m secretly building a pint-sized clone army and you’re about to be my minion.’”
A pillow comes flying at my head, and I swat it away with a laugh.
“And the nefarious campaign begins,” I tease.
Her mock glare might be the cutest thing I’ve ever seen.
“Why can’t I just enjoy the fact that an incredibly talented, hot guy is sitting a few feet away?” She draws a circle through the air around me. “You have no idea the toll you take on a girl’s lady parts.”
I snort a laugh. Oh my god. “You did not just say that.”
Her smile widens, and she returns an exaggerated shrug.
I shake my head, still grinning. I have no clue what to do with that, but I can’t say I hate it.
“Come here,” I say, putting the guitar to the side. “Bring that throw pillow.” She squints in suspicion. “Just do it,” I encourage, motioning toward me .
She reluctantly grabs the pillow and takes a tentative step. When I reach for the pillow, she clamps it to her chest.
I give her an accusatory look. “You’re the one who uses these as projectiles, not me.”
Her stern face cracks with another laugh. This time when I pull, she comes with it.
Of course I have to steal another kiss.
She freezes when our lips meet, but quickly relaxes into the kiss and straddles me.
She breaks apart to speak, still just a breath away.
“I’m serious,” she whispers against my lips. “I have the biggest crush on you.”
My grin is cut off by another kiss, this one urgent and messy.
Her hands slide into my hair, gripping hard as our mouths wrestle and explore. She slides against me in a slow steady pulse I feel in my bloodstream.
This wasn’t even close to my plan for that pillow, but I’ll take it.
I’m on fire when she finally pulls back. Her eyes are shining, and a mischievous smirk that looks eerily similar to her evil villain face returns.
“That’s what I think of the chorus,” she says smugly.
She leans in for another quick peck before climbing off my lap.
“Now, where were we?” she says tapping her chin. “Oh, right. The turn bar or whatever.”
I’m still frozen in stunned silence as she retrieves the pillow and holds it out to me.
I exhale another laugh, taking the pillow.
“Sit.” I point at the coffee table in front of me.
Her look of suspicion might be more justified this time, but she slowly lowers herself to the edge.
“Balance that pillow on your lap. Yeah, just like that.”
I jump up from the couch and jog to the kitchen. With sloppy urgency, I comb through the drawers like the world’s worst cat burglar. I eventually find two wooden spoons and return to my now very confused co-writer.
I drop back to the couch in front of her and twirl the spoons in my hands like drumsticks. With a tap on the cushions to my left and right, I test my impromptu kit.
“Toms,” I explain. I tap the pillow on her lap. “Snare.”
Her eyes widen, and I’m pretty sure I’m about to get attacked by my snare drum.
“You did not just turn me into a drum set!” she cries.
“Of course not. You’re just the snare. That coffee table is too low to pull it off.”
She laughs, jaw hanging open in mock offense. “Fine, but I better get some kind of album credit for this.”
“Absolutely. First ever credited ‘pillow drum holder.’ Hey, that means you’d probably be a lock for the Grammy in that category.”
And there it is.
The pillow comes flying at my face.
After hours of work—and plenty of flirting—we’re both hungry, so I offer to get us dinner.
With Callie’s key in my wallet, I take off in search of sustenance.
We could have ordered in. But honestly? I needed a break.
As much as I love spending time with Callie, I’m feeling a little claustrophobic in that suite.
After experiencing the walls closing in for just a couple days, it makes me even more worried for Luke.
He’s spent weeks, maybe months, like this.
The brisk air feels good as I stroll down the street. It’s amazing what a little fresh air and sunlight can do for the spirit. While it’s great Luke let Callie into his life more literally, maybe we need to convince him to resume breakfast club so he gets at least a few minutes of daylight.
Speaking of breakfast club…
I go numb when I realize what I did. Somehow I ended up in front of that diner. It wasn’t on purpose, but now that I’m here, I have a driving need to see inside.
I peer through the clear glass windows, searching for anything that makes this place more than a casual urban restaurant. Something brought Luke here. Of all the locations in the world, this is the destination he chose to fracture apart and expose his pain to the world.
I think back to what that employee Ailee said.
“Luke had been coming in to stand around…”
If I squint hard enough, I can picture his ghost, hovering between two tables as it stares at… what? What was he searching for?
I shake off the disturbing image and keep walking before I become the next hovering weirdo.
Maybe Callie knows. I’ll have to ask her later.
Once I’m a safe distance from the diner, I pull out my phone to check the map for Adaline’s. I saw the pin on an earlier search so I know it’s close. They have the best burgers. Now that Callie’s been exposed to good champagne, she has to have a good burger.
According to the notifications, I have two missed calls. Weird. They must have come in while Callie and I were working.
When I see the name, I return it immediately.
My sister Molly answers on the second ring. “Casey, hey! I’ve been trying to reach you.”
“I know. That’s why I’m calling you back.”
Molly chuckles. “Right, yeah. ”
“What’s going on? Is everything okay? Wait, aren’t you supposed to be in Europe?”
“Yes. And I am, but…” She goes quiet, and my stomach drops. “Did you talk to Mom recently?”
“Mom? No. You know I don’t really talk to her.”
“Yeah, it’s just…” She takes a deep breath. “Nate called me to catch up tonight. Well, the afternoon for you. He mentioned Luke was back. Multiple people saw him around.”
“Really? That’s odd, because Luke is with me on the other side of the country.”
“Hang on. Are you serious? He’s back?”
“Sort of. Still trying to figure that out . ”
“Oh.”
I intentionally don’t tell her in which city. It’s bad enough I had to come back to this haunted place. I’m not putting that on Molly. Especially not until I figure out what’s going on.
“Is that really why you called me from Europe? To tell me someone thinks they saw Luke. I mean, you know I love hearing from you, Mol, but shouldn’t you be drooling over castles and shit?”
She laughs, and I can hear the eye-roll in it. God, she and Callie are so much alike. They’re going to love each other.
The strange thought plummets through my heart. Did I really just think about introducing Callie to my favorite sister? I’m not sure I even know Callie’s last name.
“The castles are amazing,” Molly says. “You should use your trillions to buy one.”
“I’ve told you a hundred times. It’s billions not trillions.”
She snorts again. That’s not true either, but my millions could probably scoop up a decent estate somewhere.
I resist the urge to convince Callie to move into a castle with me.
“Seriously, though. I’m telling you, Luke was home. Maybe he was just visiting and is now wherever you are, but Jill saw him. You’re going to tell me Jill wouldn’t recognize Luke?”
Yeah, okay. She has me.
“When was this?”
“Um… I don’t know. Nate didn’t say. He thought he texted you. How has no one told you?”
Because very few of them even talk to me anymore.
“Did Nate say what Luke was doing?”
“Jill wasn’t sure. He was super shady when she tried to talk to him, but apparently Mr. Tomlinson told her he was leaving the office of a law firm.”
My skin feels like ice.
“A law firm? Which law firm?”
“Does it matter?”
“Yeah, actually. A lot.”
Law firms tend to specialize in very different things. If this is true, it could be a huge clue into what’s happening here.
“Well, sorry. I’m not sure. You can see if Nate knows. Or get a hold of Jill.”
I almost drop my phone when a horrific thought seeps in.
No.
There’s no way it’s that.
“Casey?”
I rub at my scalp as I try to pull myself together.
“You okay?”
“What? Yeah.” I clear my throat when my voice comes out hoarse.
“Because you’re sounding kind of… off. You sure everything’s good with you? If you’re with Luke, that’s great news, right? I would have expected you to be more… you.”
More me. I don’t even know what that is anymore.
“Everything’s good. Just a lot of pressure from the Label.” I inject more brightness into my tone. “Hey, thanks for the information. I’ll ask him about it, but I have to run. ”
“Sure, yeah. It’s great to hear your voice. I miss you, big bro.”
“Miss you too. We’ll catch up when you’re back in the states.”
“Or you’re in Europe.”
“Fair. Talk soon.”
“Love ya.”
I hang up and stare at my phone, shaking. Right there on the side of a busy street, I’m frozen in time.
Eyes clenched shut, I drag air into my dry lungs. A heavy ache sinks through my chest and lands in my stomach.
Molly may not know why Luke would fly home to meet with lawyers, but I can think of a few reasons.
If it’s the one I fear most, Callie didn’t just butt into his life. She may have saved it.