Trembling With the Strings

I jumped out of my seat then, daring to steal a glance to the stage just in time to see Darius drop to the floor and shove his way through the crowd. I heard his band members calling after him, but he completely ignored them. I didn’t know if I wanted to run to him or run away from him, but I didn’t get the chance to decide. All eyes were on us as Darius stopped right in front of me.

“Why are you doing this to me?” he whispered, all anger gone in an instant.

“I’m not doing anything,” I murmured, looking up at him through miserably eyes. He returned my hurt gaze.

“How do you know him, Grace?” Toni asked, stepping up beside me.

I glanced over to him, but I couldn’t keep my eyes off of Darius. “He’s Kai’s father.”

“Oh, so this is the guy that things didn’t work out with? I think he needs to move on,” he spat, stepping up to Dray.

“Don’t start something you can’t finish, buddy,” Darius barked back, straightening his posture like he always did when he was trying to belittle someone.

Toni did the exact same thing, and I thought Darius had another twin. They looked exactly the same, except one of them had my heart entirely.

“I can finish plenty.” He shoved him backwards suddenly, and Darius looked absolutely shocked.

He glanced at his feet for a moment, taking in a deep breath. I was proud of him for a split second—he was thinking things through. But then he looked up with death in his eyes. I couldn’t have moved fast enough as Darius punched Toni square in the jaw.

“Darius!” I screamed, watching Toni pull himself to his feet, blood dripping out of his mouth. “Stop it!”

“You broke my heart once. Isn’t that enough?” he asked me. He looked so vulnerable then, like he was about to cry.

“You’ve broken my heart a lot more than just once,” I told him, shaking my head slowly. “And you just broke it again.”

I couldn’t take it anymore, so I turned my back to him and walked out the door. Neither of them followed me, but I did hear footsteps. I turned around to beg the mystery soul to leave me alone, but suddenly a small hand caught mine.

“Gracie, we’re all we’ve got,” he told me, tears brimming his eyelids.

“Oh, Demetrius,” I whispered, crouching down and pulling him into my arms. “I’m so sorry. You know I love you, right? I didn’t mean what I said to you, honey. I swear.”

“I know, Gracie,” he murmured, wrapping his trembling arms around me. “I miss you. Come home.”

“After all I’ve done, Marty, I just can’t do that,” I told him, kissing his forehead. “I’ve done enough to that poor man; I’ve done enough to you; I’ve done enough to Kai. It’d probably be better for everyone if I just fell off the face of the earth.”

“Stop it!” he barked, pushing me away. I stumbled for words, but he shook his head. “You’re stupid! I can’t believe you! You’d rather make everyone, and yourself, suffer than be happy with Dad? And what about Kai? He’s been really sick, and he’s only getting worse. I’m not a doctor, but I bet you know what it’s like to not have a mom.” I gaped at him, and he shook his head. “I know about Mom leaving Dad, yeah.”

“Demetrius, it isn’t that simple.”

“Yes, it is!” he told me, nearly screaming. “Stop lying!”

“What exactly do you want me to do?” I asked him, sighing softly and looking up at the dark clouds in the sky.

“Stop making Dad sad, and stop making yourself sad. And stop making Kai sick. I miss Johnny and Marc. I miss being a family.”

I tried to come up with a response, but arguing with him was very difficult. We never fought!

I grimaced when I heard a scream come from inside the club. It sounded like Rosalina, but I couldn’t bring myself to go back into that building. I couldn’t face a single person in there, but I didn’t really have a choice. I saw Darius get pushed outside, and he was followed by Toni. Dray looked over to Demetrius, but he wouldn’t look at me. It started pouring then, but I think I was the only one that noticed the rain.

“You ready to go home?” Darius asked Demetrius, looking at his feet and pushing his wet bangs out of his face.

I gasped when he looked up. His face was covered with bruises, and he was bleeding so much. His eyes were red, but I couldn’t tell if the water on his face was rain or tears. It probably didn’t hurt him at all, but it hurt me to see him look like that. Toni looked just as bad, but that didn’t matter to me, really.

“Darius, are you okay?” I whispered, forcing my feet to move as I walked up to him.

“Yes,” he choked, watching his feet carefully.

“You don’t look like it,” I murmured, biting my lip as I reached out and touched his cheek, aware of Toni’s eyes on us.

“It doesn’t hurt,” he told me quietly, catching my gaze and holding it cautiously.

I smiled gently. “You know, even tough men can get hurt. You’re no exception.”

“I’m sorry I broke your heart again,” he whispered softly, reaching out and catching my free hand. “I would never do that on purpose.”

“I know.”