Sequel: Close Yet Far ›
Anything but Ordinary
You'll Never Know What Hit You
(Kay's POV)
I had been writing songs since the day that Apple and Ames told me I should do it as a career. Now I had a notebook full of random lyrics that I had no idea what I was going to do with. Gathering all of the scrap paper I'd scribbled on and the yellow notebook, I walked into the living room looking for a place to put it all. I was probably never going to use any of the stuff I wrote so I should just toss it all, but for some reason, I couldn't.
Beth had come over only about a half hour before and was sitting on the couch with her phone in her hand. She was busy texting on it, no doubt with Chris Raab, while she waited for me to finish up what I had to before we had our talk.
“What's all that?” My sister asked as she came from the kitchen with a cup of coffee in her hand. She had clearly just woken up not long ago. She was still dressed in the shorts and tank top she usually wore to bed and her hair was a knotty mess.
Holding up the pile of papers, I frowned. “Songs I've been working on. I don't know what to do with them.”
Putting her coffee on the end table closest to her so her hands were free, she took the stack from me. “Songs for what?”
I shrugged. “I was playing with some ideas I had and I wrote them in my spare time. I was hoping to get someone to sing them, but I have no clue who would.”
Carina sat down on the couch and looked through the papers with Beth. I left them to grab my own cup of coffee. When I returned, my sister was reading so intently that she hadn't even touched her rich coffee goodness. Her eyes met mine a few moments later with a bewildered expression on her face.
“What?” I asked, unsure of what had shocked her so much.
Lifting the notebook up into the air, she shook it violently. “This is amazing! Where did you learn to write so well?”
I stared at her as if she were inhuman. “I was an English major.”
Beth held back a laugh, but I could see by the expression on her face she wanted to let it out.
“In Albany.” Carina reminded me. “These are all about Chad, aren't they?”
“What?” I asked in embarrassment. “No, they aren't.”
I made to grab them from her hands, but she pulled them out of my reach. Her eyes were staring at my face too keenly. The little brat was too perceptive for her own good. She leaped from the couch so fast that there was no way I was catching her.
Looking at the page in front of her, she quoted my own words back to me, “''Just tonight I will stay and we'll throw it all away. When the light hits your eyes, it's telling me I'm right.”, “I was only 19, you were 29. It's just ten years, but it's such a long time. In a heartbeat, I would do it all again.” And this one: ''You don't want me, no. You don't need me like I want you, oh. Like I need you.” God woman- you've got it bad.”
I needed to destroy those pages before anyone else saw them. “Can I have them back?” I held my hand out to my sister and waited for her to comply.
Instead of giving them to me, Carina clutched them to her chest as if to protect them. “What are you going to do with them?”
Burn them.
“I want to put them away. I don't need Chad to accidentally stumble upon them.”
“I don't believe you.” Carina stated stubbornly. “I'll hold onto them if you don't mind.”
“I do.”
“Too bad.” She snapped at me angrily. “They are great and you shouldn't get rid of them. Besides- if Chad is the reason you wrote all of these then he's a bigger idiot than I thought.”
Hearing my sister defend me didn't feel as wonderful as it should have. I knew Chad had never done anything wrong to begin with. Sinking into the soft cushions of my sofa, I put my head in my hands.
“Is this a trick?” Carina asked from where she still stood on the other side of the room.
When I didn't speak, Beth put a hand on my shoulder in an attempt to comfort me. “Are you alright, Kay?”
“Chad didn't sleep with Jaimie. I thought he did. Hell- even he thought he did. But he didn't.” My voice broke halfway through my revelation. “What am I going to do?”
My sister joined us on the couch. “How do you know?”
“Christina. She told me it was all an act on Jaimie's part to get to me.” I lifted my head and met my sister's sad gaze. I was positive Beth's mirrored hers.“I screwed things up really good with him. We said some terrible things to each other.”
“Both of you have probably done some really dumb things, but Kay- you care for him a lot. I know he cares for you too, though I hate to admit it.” Beth said from next to me. I turned to look at her and saw the small smile on her face. She was trying to be supportive, but like Carina, she liked to poke fun at Chad no matter the circumstance.
“How do I fix this?” I asked desperately. My sister might have been only nineteen years old, but she was one of the smartest women I knew. Beth, on the other hand, knew Chad way better than I did.
A smile spread across Carina's lips. “I never thought you'd ask. We're going to play a little game with your Chad when we go on this trip to the Gathering.”
“Game? Why does this sound like a terrible idea?”
“It's not. We're going to make Chad come to you. He won't be able to resist.” Carina said with a twinkle of playfulness in her eyes. “He won't know what hit him.”
I had been writing songs since the day that Apple and Ames told me I should do it as a career. Now I had a notebook full of random lyrics that I had no idea what I was going to do with. Gathering all of the scrap paper I'd scribbled on and the yellow notebook, I walked into the living room looking for a place to put it all. I was probably never going to use any of the stuff I wrote so I should just toss it all, but for some reason, I couldn't.
Beth had come over only about a half hour before and was sitting on the couch with her phone in her hand. She was busy texting on it, no doubt with Chris Raab, while she waited for me to finish up what I had to before we had our talk.
“What's all that?” My sister asked as she came from the kitchen with a cup of coffee in her hand. She had clearly just woken up not long ago. She was still dressed in the shorts and tank top she usually wore to bed and her hair was a knotty mess.
Holding up the pile of papers, I frowned. “Songs I've been working on. I don't know what to do with them.”
Putting her coffee on the end table closest to her so her hands were free, she took the stack from me. “Songs for what?”
I shrugged. “I was playing with some ideas I had and I wrote them in my spare time. I was hoping to get someone to sing them, but I have no clue who would.”
Carina sat down on the couch and looked through the papers with Beth. I left them to grab my own cup of coffee. When I returned, my sister was reading so intently that she hadn't even touched her rich coffee goodness. Her eyes met mine a few moments later with a bewildered expression on her face.
“What?” I asked, unsure of what had shocked her so much.
Lifting the notebook up into the air, she shook it violently. “This is amazing! Where did you learn to write so well?”
I stared at her as if she were inhuman. “I was an English major.”
Beth held back a laugh, but I could see by the expression on her face she wanted to let it out.
“In Albany.” Carina reminded me. “These are all about Chad, aren't they?”
“What?” I asked in embarrassment. “No, they aren't.”
I made to grab them from her hands, but she pulled them out of my reach. Her eyes were staring at my face too keenly. The little brat was too perceptive for her own good. She leaped from the couch so fast that there was no way I was catching her.
Looking at the page in front of her, she quoted my own words back to me, “''Just tonight I will stay and we'll throw it all away. When the light hits your eyes, it's telling me I'm right.”, “I was only 19, you were 29. It's just ten years, but it's such a long time. In a heartbeat, I would do it all again.” And this one: ''You don't want me, no. You don't need me like I want you, oh. Like I need you.” God woman- you've got it bad.”
I needed to destroy those pages before anyone else saw them. “Can I have them back?” I held my hand out to my sister and waited for her to comply.
Instead of giving them to me, Carina clutched them to her chest as if to protect them. “What are you going to do with them?”
Burn them.
“I want to put them away. I don't need Chad to accidentally stumble upon them.”
“I don't believe you.” Carina stated stubbornly. “I'll hold onto them if you don't mind.”
“I do.”
“Too bad.” She snapped at me angrily. “They are great and you shouldn't get rid of them. Besides- if Chad is the reason you wrote all of these then he's a bigger idiot than I thought.”
Hearing my sister defend me didn't feel as wonderful as it should have. I knew Chad had never done anything wrong to begin with. Sinking into the soft cushions of my sofa, I put my head in my hands.
“Is this a trick?” Carina asked from where she still stood on the other side of the room.
When I didn't speak, Beth put a hand on my shoulder in an attempt to comfort me. “Are you alright, Kay?”
“Chad didn't sleep with Jaimie. I thought he did. Hell- even he thought he did. But he didn't.” My voice broke halfway through my revelation. “What am I going to do?”
My sister joined us on the couch. “How do you know?”
“Christina. She told me it was all an act on Jaimie's part to get to me.” I lifted my head and met my sister's sad gaze. I was positive Beth's mirrored hers.“I screwed things up really good with him. We said some terrible things to each other.”
“Both of you have probably done some really dumb things, but Kay- you care for him a lot. I know he cares for you too, though I hate to admit it.” Beth said from next to me. I turned to look at her and saw the small smile on her face. She was trying to be supportive, but like Carina, she liked to poke fun at Chad no matter the circumstance.
“How do I fix this?” I asked desperately. My sister might have been only nineteen years old, but she was one of the smartest women I knew. Beth, on the other hand, knew Chad way better than I did.
A smile spread across Carina's lips. “I never thought you'd ask. We're going to play a little game with your Chad when we go on this trip to the Gathering.”
“Game? Why does this sound like a terrible idea?”
“It's not. We're going to make Chad come to you. He won't be able to resist.” Carina said with a twinkle of playfulness in her eyes. “He won't know what hit him.”