Chapter 3
three
. . .
Norrie
It’s only been two days since our meeting at the diner, and we’ve already managed to get the money to hire a studio for a few hours. Well, more precisely, Otis has managed to get his dad to foot the bill.
Otis’ family is loaded, like mega money. It’s something he doesn’t like anyone to know. His father doesn’t often use his wealth to help his son, but I suspect he’s hoping that if he supports Otis’ musical aspirations, he won’t have to bail him out of trouble, for a change.
Otis counts in with a wild staccato, his sticks blurring through the opening. Cody hits hard with a riff on his guitar that reverberates around the room. I begin to rasp out the words I wrote, bringing it all together.
“I watched you walk into the dark .
No goodbye, no last remark.
It left me drowning in the flood
Of broken dreams and dried-up blood.”
It's loud and unruly, and after only a couple of run throughs, it’s almost perfect.
Ruby’s standing against the wall, arms folded across her chest and back rigid, as she watches us perform.
Her shocking bright red hair, like our music, is a reminder of the danger we face, the gamble we’re taking.
She shuts her eyes, and her head sways with the beat.
Slowly, she unfolds her arms, and her talented fingers begin to move back and forth as if picking out notes on the keyboard that she plays so well. It’s the reason Otis invited her.
Cody leans into the mic. His eyes are closed, face a mask of concentration, and every note from his guitar spills out like he’s trying to prove he belongs here, even though we all know he does.
Otis matches him beat for beat. I half expect the drummer to combust from the sheer effort, but he grins like he’s daring the world to catch up. This is Otis in his element, and I can almost see the air around him hum and crackle with the energy he's pouring into his kit.
This is where we all should be.
This moment. This time.
I dive in again, the rough edge of my voice lifted by the swell guitars and booming drums .
“But I’m still breathing, still standing tall.
Got my back against the first, won’t let myself fall.
You took the light, you took the fight
But I’m clawing through the endless night.
Yeah, I’m bleeding,
Yeah, I’m scarred.
But I’m still breathing with a shattered heart.”
My throat's already raw, but I push through, throwing everything I have into each line. I’m in my element, and I don’t want it to stop.
Ruby’s eyes are open again, and her fingers have stilled. There's something in her gaze that’s challenging us. She's waiting to see if we’ll crash and burn. She was the same in high school. The gothic girl, the loner, watching from the sidelines and waiting but never joining in.
Then she dyed her hair and flourished. She changed, reinvented herself, and became what we now need to succeed.
“The silence screams your name so loud
I wear regret just like a shroud
But this soul you left for dead
Is rising up instead.”
I’m sweat-soaked and hoarse, but the words keep coming, keep rising until the whole room is shaking like it’s about to explode. It’s hot and frenzied. This is what I live for, the moment when everything comes unhinged and brilliant, the moment that’s pure and true.
Ruby takes a step closer. The sheets of words and music I left beside her are now in her hand. She moves barely an inch, but I see it, and I can see how the music pulls at her, how she fights and fights, but it’s a losing battle.
I catch Cody’s eye and nod toward her as she inches closer. He pushes the riff even harder, the sound distorting and screeching against the brick walls of the studio. Then Otis flings a stick into the air and catches it without missing a beat. The grin on his face says more than words ever could.
My chest tightens, and I pour my heart and soul into the next verse, a bridge.
“So, here’s to every tear I cried
To every time I almost died
You broke me down, but not for good.
Now I’m stronger than I ever could.”
The wall of sound hits Ruby like a shock wave. It’s like watching a slowed down action scene as her body goes from tense to fluid, and she moves as if she’s part of the music. Her mouth opens, and she starts to accompany me in the chorus as back-up.
“But I’m still breathing, still standing tall.
Got my back against the first, won’t let myself fall.
You took the light, you took the figh t
But I’m clawing through the endless night.
Yeah, I’m bleeding, year I’m scarred.
But I’m still breathing with a shattered heart.”
Her voice soars, a raw power that changes everything. It’s ethereal and real, and juxtaposed with my deeper, rougher tones, our sound is everything our voices can never be alone. It’s something original. Something fierce. Something unique.
"Fuck yeah!" Otis shouts
"About time," Cody yells.
I point at the keyboard we’ve set up to entice Ruby in. She hesitates for a split second, but then she’s there, playing a breakdown. Her red hair flies as she loses herself, loses the fight, and lets it all go. She sings and plays, and everything around us blurs into a furious pulse.
“Guitar screams, thunder rolls
I found life inside these holes
You thought I’d fade, thought I’d be gone
But I’m still here, I’m moving on.
Still breathing…
Stil breathing…
With a warriors heart…”
The notes crash down like thunder until the last bar is complete.
Then silence.
Deafening, brilliant silence.
I look around and see the fire in their eyes. I know they feel it too. This is it. This is the real deal. And for a moment, the rest of it, the fights, the fears, and the doubts, all fades away.
If only we can keep it together like this…
Then my head gives way to my heart. Hell yes, we can. Bring it.