Living for the Music

Two minutes later, I was finally out of sight of the school. I paused for a moment to pull out my cell phone. “Hey Sophia.”

I stared at the phone in confusion. Then, “Sophie!” It definitely wasn’t coming from my phone. I looked around and finally saw Nathan driving next to me, window rolled down. And, sitting next to him, was a beautiful girl with long reddish-brown hair.

I immediately recognized Gabby from all the pictures I’d seen. “What are you doing here?” I asked.

He grinned at me. “I got a call that you needed a ride.”

I rolled my eyes. “Seth?”

“Seth,” he nodded. “He sounded quite panicked, actually. I figured I should probably see what was going on. So Gabby and I took a drive.” He reached over and threw open the door. “Hop in.”

I didn’t bother to protest as I climbed in the backseat. Nathan could be just as stubborn as his brother – if not more so. “Hey,” the girl said, turning around to face me. “I’m Gabby.”

“Nice to meet you,” I said awkwardly, holding out my hand. “I’m-”’

“Sophia,” she laughed. “I’ve heard a lot about you.”

“I’ve heard about you, too,” I nodded. “But I was beginning to think I’d never actually meet you.”

“I told you that you would,” Nathan replied as he pulled back into traffic. “But let’s get onto a more interesting subject. What did my brother do to piss you off so royally?”

I looked at Nathan out of the corner of my eye, but he seemed genuinely curious. “He read my poem. Journal. Whatever,” I muttered. “Before it was done. Without asking me.”

Gabby laughed. “If you’re anywhere near as protective of that as Nathan is of his drawings, I can imagine that didn’t go over very well.”

“It didn’t go over at all,” I corrected. “I blew up at him.”

Nathan winced sympathetically. “I get that. If someone sees my paintings before I want them to-”

"It ruins it," I sighed. "And it just.... I can't believe him."

"It makes you not want to finish it. Like some of the magic's lost," Nathan continued.

“Right,” I sighed. “But I have to finish this. It’s for a school project, and I don’t have time to start over.”

“What’s it on?” Gabby asked curiously.

I stared out the window for a moment. “Me and Seth, when we were younger,” I finally replied. “You know, S2.”

“Oh,” Nathan murmured. “Well, that explains it.”

“Yeah,” I muttered. “And if he had ever gotten to see it, you can guess it’s be a lot more polished than it is now. It’s so raw, he basically read… well, it was as much of my heart as I could put into words.”

Nathan gave me a sympathetic smile as he pulled into the driveway. “I’m sorry, Sophie. And if it makes you feel any better, Seth is, too.”

“Oh, I bet he is,” Gabby agreed. “All I hear about from him is Sophie this and Sophie that. If you’re mad at him, I can guarantee he’s sorry.”

“I’m sure he is,” I sighed. “But I don’t know if that’s enough.”

“He just got you back, Sophie,” Nathan said gently. “And he doesn’t want to lose you again.”

I nodded but didn’t say anything else. This was all coming down to the old issue of trust. “Thanks for the ride,” I murmured, jumping out of the car.

Nathan gave me a nod. “Anytime, Sophie. I mean it.”

“Nice to meet you, Gabby,” I added.

“You too,” she smiled. “I’m sure I’ll see you around.”

I nodded and smiled at them both before turning to cross the lawn to my own house.
“Sophie!”

I froze at the sound of Seth’s voice. I turned around to see him running out of his house. “What?” I called.

“Do you still want to do that study session?”

I bit my lip, glancing between him and my house. “I’ll be fine,” I finally said, walking away from him. “But thanks.”

I knew I was hurting him by not letting him help me. He’d gotten used to being the person I depended on. “Let me know if you change your mind,” he called after me.

I gave a quick nod to let him know that I had heard him, but didn’t slow my steps. I knew if I looked at him, the expression on his face would make me turn around and take him up on the offer. God knows my grade could use the help. Any other day, and I would be there in a heart beat. But I knew that I wouldn’t be able to take it today.

I locked myself in my room for the rest of the night and stared at my math book, trying to decipher it. The notes were no good, either. I vaguely grasped one of the concepts, but most of it was out of my reach. Finally, I slammed the textbook shut and crawled into bed. I blinked back the tears that threatened to overwhelm me. What was one more failed test? I would survive. Probably. Hopefully. Maybe.