Chapter 41
DANNY
It’s been a week since I left Anya behind and I still wake up expecting her to be there. It takes a second each morning for reality to sink in and for me to remember what happened, what I did. All my stuff has remained in my suitcase, as if my stay here is a temporary break from my real life back in Europe.
Today, I finally run out of boxers and rummage through my chaotic suitcase. My fingers brush against the little blue notebook. I sit on the bed and let the paper flick between fragments of songs and half finished thoughts.
It’s almost obvious when I started falling for Anya, the lyrics transforming from angry, harsh words to soliloquies formed with love. I never told her, but I felt it, showed it in the words I scrawled across the page whilst she slept against my chest or pottered around my trailer.
The front door opening downstairs disturbs me from my memories. I stand and finish getting dressed, shoving the notebook in my pocket.
Downstairs, Cassie leans against the kitchen counter with Pip.
“Hey,” I say, reaching for a hug. “What are you doing here?”
“Came to check on you guys. How you doing?”
I glance at Pip. We’ve spent all our time inside, barely even stepping outside for fear of a camera or drone getting any footage.
“Getting there,” I say.
Pip hands her a cup of coffee. “Well, I also came for a favor,” Cassie says with a small smile.
I step to the coffee machine and place a mug under the spout. It’s only when I turn around that I realize Cassie has her sights set on me. “From me?”
She takes a sip. “That song we worked on in Paris, I wondered if you would be interested in helping me finish it.”
“In what way?”
“Everything, lyrics, melody, vocals.”
“ My vocals?” I ask.
“Yeah, you have an amazing voice and you worked so hard on it, I can’t imagine anyone else doing it.”
I sip my coffee, taking a moment to gather myself. I think of Anya’s encouraging smile that night I played for her, I think of the blue book burning a hole in my pocket. “I’m in,” I tell Cassie. “As long as you can help me with something.”