Chapter 1
Chapter One
Cadence
Summer
Excitement for tonight coursed through me. It had been too long since I’d gone out and spent time with my sister, just the two of us, and there was nothing better than seeing a live band play.
Jade had been pumping me up for this concert for weeks, claiming this band was her newest obsession. I didn’t listen to rock music often. Not because I didn’t like it, it just wasn’t my usual go-to.
But music resonated with me in all forms, so my anticipation for the night grew as the hour got closer.
Touching up my make-up, I grabbed my outfit off my bed and got dressed. Summer was in full swing, so I decided on jean shorts and a floral tank.
Since I didn’t need to impress anyone, I left my dark brown hair in a messy bun.
The front door opened and I heard Elijah call, “Hey, babe.”
“In here,” I yelled.
Elijah walked into our bedroom, loosening his tie as I zipped my clutch. That beginning honeymoon phase of our relationship ended a long time ago, and it’d been a long time since we greeted each other with a welcome home kiss.
He threw his suit jacket on our bed before studying me. “Are we going somewhere? Do we have plans?”
“I’m meeting with Jade, remember?”
“No. I don’t.”
“She’s taking me to The Music Factory to see a band.”
He stilled. “Where?”
“The Music Factory.”
“That place is a shit hole. You can’t go there.”
I crossed my arms and shifted my weight onto one leg. “Elijah, stop. You’re being ridiculous.”
He ran a hand through his hair. “Cadence, imagine if someone saw you there. People would begin to think I go to places like that.” He pretended to shiver. “Call Jade and tell her you’re not going. I won’t allow you to tarnish my reputation by being seen somewhere so beneath us.”
Speechless, my mouth fell open. All my eagerness for the night drained from my body. Tension filled my limbs as a fire burned inside me. I took a deep breath, trying to calm myself. He rarely talked to me that way.
“Listen,” I said, crossing my arms over my chest. “I don’t know what kind of day you had, but you don’t control what I do. You don’t get to tell me I can’t go somewhere with my sister. If you have a problem, we can sit here and discuss it like adults.”
He let out a sigh and stepped closer to me. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean for it to come out like that. You know that my parents take the Powell name extremely serious.”
And I did.
Elijah was the son of a prestigious family. Charleston had its own royal hierarchy, and the Powells were high on that list as one of the founding families and well-known throughout the area.
When he’d first brought me to visit his family in South Carolina, I was shocked to see the upbringing he’d come from.
In the halls of Villanova, Elijah had simply been a normal college kid who stayed up too late having fun, studying only when absolutely necessary, and playing music on his guitar.
But in his family home, he’d become a completely different person.
He’d been stiff, unfeeling, and missing that love for life he normally exhibited.
When we returned to school, he reverted to the man I knew once more.
I thought it had been a fluke, just a bad weekend, but after we moved to Charleston together, I realized that the Elijah I met at college was the fluke.
He no longer played the guitar—said he didn’t have time for ‘silly’ things anymore. But that had been one of the things about him I’d fallen in love with. Back then, we had shared our passion for music—the melodies, the lyrics, the rhymes—but now there wasn’t much we shared anymore.
“It’s fine,” I said responding to his apology. I grabbed my clutch. There was no truth to my words, but what else could I say? Escalating this fight was the last thing I wanted to do right now. “Listen, Jade is going to be here in a few minutes. Let’s talk when I get home, okay?”
His eyes narrowed, a clear sign of his unhappiness about my decision to go, despite him wanting me to stay, but he kept any further comments unspoken. Smart man.
“You could always come with us. We used to go see live bands all the time.” Maybe we’d reconnect again and reignite that spark we seemed to have lost. Back to when we couldn’t keep our hands off each other and the world spun around the two of us. It’d been so long since I felt connected with him.
Elijah scoffed, unbuttoning his dress shirt. “Hell no. I’m good.”
He’d answered quickly, proving his priorities. Sadly, I was never one of them. Deflated and defeated, I gave him a quick kiss on the cheek as Jade honked her horn from the driveway.
“I’ll be back soon. Love you.”
I turned away from him without waiting for a response.
It wasn’t until I walked downstairs that he finally replied, “Love you, too.”
“Hey, girl! Are you excited?” Jade squeaked as I climbed into her car.
Jade was never anything other than who she was. There were items scattered around the inside of her car and it was a little messy, but it smelled just like her. The mingled scents of raspberry and vanilla. The familiarity alone helped me relax.
I couldn’t help but smile. Her vibrant energy was infectious, and I tried to soak up some of her positivity to counter the unsettling way I’d left things with Elijah.
Jade Hardy and I were stepsisters. My dad and her mom married after my parents split.
Unfortunately, their marriage only lasted a few years.
Despite the break-up, our sisterly bond continued to grow over the years.
It didn’t matter that we weren’t related by blood.
We were sisters in all the ways that mattered.
Funny enough, my dad had met Jade’s mom in Charleston on one of his business trips. Who’d have guessed I’d eventually move here years later?
“I got you a pick-me-up,” Jade said.
Staring at the unnaturally red beverage in her cupholder, I almost got a contact caffeine high from its nearness alone.
“As good as Code Red is, I gave it up after last time.” Mountain Dew might be delicious, and Code Red was my favorite flavor, but it was about three days’ worth of my sugar intake and it gave me the shakes.
Jade shook her head. “That’s mine. Yours is right here.”
She thrust a styrofoam cup into my hand, and I took it with narrowed eyes. “My mom always told me not to accept an open container from a stranger.”
“Good thing I’m not a stranger. Just drink it, you dork.”
I pulled the plastic straw into my mouth and drank, sipping desperately, like an alcoholic taking their first swig of liquor. Dr. Pepper from the soda fountain. “Oh my god, you’re a saint.”
Jade giggled. “I know.”
As she pulled out of the driveway, I cast a longing glance at my house as we drove away. There was a part of me that secretly wished Elijah would appear at the window, waving or at least watching us leave. Any hint that our brief fight had bothered him as much as it did me.
But he didn’t.
With both cars tucked away in the closed garage and all the curtains drawn, our house felt vacant. An empty shell instead of a welcoming home.
I let out a heavy breath and took another sip of my drink.
Jade glanced my way. “Okay. What’s wrong?”
I didn’t want to tell her. I couldn’t handle her judgment of my relationship or have her blame Elijah. Even when he was wrong, I always felt a deep-seated need to defend him. “Just a little mix-up with Elijah. He didn’t realize I was going out tonight.”
“Aw, he misses you.”
I snorted. “Yeah, that’s it.”
Jade peeked at me from the corner of her eye, but kept her focus on the road. “Is it something else then?”
“No, it’s really nothing. A simple misunderstanding.” An exchange I honestly didn’t want to talk about and would love to forget. Talking about it kept the emotions he’d triggered at the forefront of my mind. I just wanted to let them go and enjoy tonight.
It was easy to be myself with her, and I needed that. “Now. Keep your eyes on the road and tell me about this band.”
She perked up immediately, and her chest puffed up in delight.
I had executed a perfect change of topic.
“Oh my gosh, Cay.” She gushed, and changed lanes without using her turn signal, causing the driver of the car behind us to blare their horn.
“They are so amazing. The band’s name is Rebel Rebellion.
All of the band members are so nice and down to earth.
I can’t wait to introduce you to them. Their music just gets to me, you know? ”
And I did. It was how I felt when I listened to songs that resonated with me. Like the artist wrote the melody for me and only me.
“It doesn’t hurt that the guys are easy on the eyes, either.” She grinned wickedly.
“So, do you follow them because you like their songs or because you think they’re hot?”
Jade laughed. “I mean… both. Can I say both?”
We erupted into a contagious fit of giggles, each burst of laughter peeling away layers of stiffness and I felt more and more like myself.
“Well, there’s no better way to get ready for a concert than to jam out to the songs ahead of time. Put them on!”
Jade grinned. “I thought you’d never ask.”
Despite the venue being located just across town, the trip from my house on John’s Island took us a full hour.
The connectors between islands were busy on a good day, but they were a complete mess during rush hour.
We didn’t mind the traffic, since it gave us plenty of time to relax and listen to music.
When we finally reached The Music Factory, we were giddy from the caffeine and in the middle of a sugar rush—a sugar rush we planned to continue with a few sugary cocktails.
We bounced on the balls of our feet as we paid our cover then went inside. The bar, lined with red cushioned bar stools, was the first thing we saw when we walked through the door. One of the male bartenders lifted his head to greet us, before shaking a drink.