Living for the Music

Time seemed to warp again. I was vaguely aware of sounds next door, of a door opening and closing. Was my dad home? I couldn’t bring myself to get up and check. It wasn’t like he’d be looking for me, anyways… no one would really miss me.

“Sophie?”

I knew that voice. It was… important, for some reason. But I didn’t know why.

There was a loud pounding noise that made my head hurt. “Sophie, come on. I know you’re in there.”

I made a small noise of protest as the pounding began again. Miraculously, it stopped. Maybe someone was thinking about me after all. “Sophie?” There were more loud noises, almost as if someone was stomping on something hard. “Is that you?”

I told myself not to reply, but I was aware of a soft moaning noise coming from somewhere near me. They were giving away my position! If they did that, I’d lose the game…. Did they want me to lose?

I saw feet stop in front of my hiding spot. “Sophie?” The voice was soft, almost kind. But Aaron had seemed nice, too. And look where that ended up. “Is that you?”

I didn’t reply. A large hand reached down and lifted up some branches and I saw a familiar face fill the hole. What was his name? With the pretty black hair… Seth. That was it. “Are you okay?” he asked. “Why are you under here?”

He reached towards me and I backed away, letting out a small cry. Seth immediately stopped, and I could see him giving me another once over. “What happened?”

I shook my head fiercely, not looking at him. “It’s okay, Sophie. I won’t hurt you.”

Something in the way he said my name… it sounded soft, tender almost. Maybe he did care? I risked a glance at him, and he was still watching me. His face was calm, but I caught a glimpse of something deeper in his eyes. Was he worried about me?

“It’s okay,” Seth repeated. “You can come out now. Aaron’s gone. I won’t let anything happen to you.”

Aaron? He knew Aaron was the bad guy? That was a good thing. That meant he was a good person. Right?

“I promise,” he added. “You’ll feel a lot better if you come out of there.”

I believed him. I managed to move slightly in the small area under the tree and began to crawl towards him. I froze as he reached to help me again, and he got the hint and backed away, leaving the small entrance clear for me. I felt the pain in every step I took, but I didn’t let it stop me. This was supposed to be a good thing.

Seth sucked in a sharp breath as I emerged into the soft moonlight. I glanced down at myself. I guess I did look a little dirty, but then again I had been under a tree. What did he expect?

“What did he do to you?” he whispered. I shook my head fiercely, but he didn’t seem to be expecting an answer. “Where’s your jacket?”

“Aaron's,” I whispered, and his expression darkened for a second before it returned to its quiet calm. He shrugged out of his and handed it to me.

I shook my head. “I’m fine.”

“You’re not fine, Soph. You’re shivering like crazy.” He thrust the jacket closer to me. “Take it. Please.”

I reluctantly accepted the jacket and pulled it around my body. It was too big for me, but it was still warm from his body. I reached out and traced one of the patches on the sleeve as another memory washed over me. “When did you get this?” I asked. “You didn’t play soccer this year… Did you?”

I frowned as foggy memories of him running around the field came into my mind. But he looked different… younger… was he?

“Well, technically I could’ve gotten it in eighth grade,” he shrugged. “But I didn’t, and then we left, and… well, it was a Christmas gift this year. A reminder that I still have connections here.”

There was a slightly bitter note in the last sentence, but I was too tired to figure out what it meant. I shivered again, drawing the jacket around me tightly. Seth noticed, and smacked himself in the head. “What am I thinking? You didn't need to know that. You need to get inside. Come on.”

I moved to take a step towards my house, but the world went black and I felt myself start to fall. Strong arms caught me, and I looked up to see Seth’s eyes between the whirling dots. As my vision returned, I was able to make out the rest of his features, all creased with worry. “You okay?”

“Yeah,” I whispered. “I’ll be fine.”

I waited another minute, relaxing in his arms, before I steadied myself on my own feet. I continued my path towards my house before Seth caught my arm. “Let’s go to mine,” he suggested.

I glanced between the two. Mine was still dark, with no light to take away the gloom. In comparison, Seth’s looked warm and welcoming, with a light on every floor. “Okay,” I murmured, pulling the jacket tighter as if it could help me. It smelt like Seth, I noticed. A mixture of soap and aftershave and… well, boy. It was a familiar scent, comforting, and I reminded myself that Seth wasn’t the bad guy here. He was the one I could trust.