The Music of Souls, page 21
“Good evening, Rose,” I replied, placing my burger back on the plate.
“So they let murderers just walk about like that these days? Isn’t that a bit unsafe?” she asked with arched brows, and I sighed.
“You’re a bit behind with your game, Rose. I am innocent,” I said, trying to not feel bothered by it. But she was someone I had once considered a friend after all, the closest I’d had to a family even.
“We all know the courts are corrupted, not to mention that your daddy was probably the one who bailed you out,” she said. I clenched my hands into fists, trying to fight the urge to punch her lights out. I breathed in and out a few times.
“Was there anything else you wanted, Rose? I kinda want to eat my burger before it gets all cold,” I replied with a smile. She looked a bit taken aback before smiling back at me.
“Oh no, don’t mind me. Have fun with your friends,” she said, sounding rather condescending and eyeing the others at the table.
“We will, thank you,” I replied. She stood there for an exactly five seconds before turning around and leaving.
“So that was Rose?” Andrew asked and I nodded.
“Wonderful person,” he added, and I laughed. I wished I could go back to the light-hearted mood I’d been in before Rose’s arrival. But she got me thinking again, wondering what others might think of me. Maybe my name wasn’t really cleared yet and would never be completely cleared. Maybe, in the eyes of everyone out there, I was still a murderer, and there really was nothing I could do to change that. Rose’s melody was swirling around my head, reminding me of the time before all this had happened, and of the time when she’d lost all faith in me. And with that, even the burger lost its taste.
The next morning, I decided to talk to them about the living situation. I very much loved to be around them, especially because I felt so safe. But staying wasn’t an option, this was their place, not mine.
The three of them were already gathered in the kitchen when I came in.
“Where is Laura?” I asked.
“She has an appointment,” Andrew answered sleepy. He wasn’t that much of a morning person. I nodded and sat down.
“I wanted to talk to you about something,” I started, feeling quite nervous now.
“What’s wrong?” Sebastian asked.
“It’s just that I think I should move out now,” I said.
“But why? We told you that you could stay here,” Andrew said, looking wide awake now.
“And I really appreciate it. But I feel that I kind of barged in here and I think it would be better to have a place of my own,” I answered. They remained silent for a while.
“Are you sure that’s what you want?” Ryan asked, and I nodded.
“I like to be around you guys, but you have your own life here. It isn’t mine though,” I answered. Especially because I would always be the odd one out, one way or another. I was the single one, in a group of couples. And I also couldn’t imagine bringing a man here.
“Okay, we won’t force you to stay here,” Ryan answered.
“Are you really okay with that?” Sebastian asked him, shocked.
“What am I supposed to say? If she feels like a guest here, rather than at home, then she should better find a home for herself,” Ryan said. I didn’t want to correct him by saying that wherever I was, I always felt at home with them around. This wasn’t about being at home, this was about doing the right thing.
“I just have to find a cheap apartment and a job, somehow,” I said.
“Well, how about this, then. We used to invest in real estate. We own quite a few houses and apartments and rent them to people. We are slowly selling them all now. There is one apartment we’re planning to sell in a few weeks. It is empty right now. You could move in there,” Ryan proposed.
“What?” I asked, stunned. Was there anything in the world that they didn’t have a solution for?
“It’s a small apartment, usually students rent it while they go to college or university,” Ryan explained.
“But you wanted to sell it,” I said.
“We don’t have to sell it though. We just wanted to have less responsibilities on our hands. I am sure we wouldn’t mind renting it to you instead of selling it,” Ryan said.
“Of course not,” Sebastian said. “But I also wouldn’t mind you staying here.”
I could barely contain my tears. How come I deserved to have such lovely people in my life all of a sudden?
“I mean if you don’t mind, I would gladly accept it. I just need to get a job now,” I said.
“You don’t have to pay us rent,” Andrew said.
“But I want to,” I said. They had already given me so much; I couldn’t accept a free apartment as well.
“Okay, instead of paying us with money how about paying us with a service?” Sebastian offered, sounding rather fishy. If he wasn’t gay, I’d really be getting the wrong impression here.
“What service?” I asked.
“How about you join our team as an intern. We could need someone like you,” he said. Andrew and Ryan looked at him in surprise, but they didn’t seem against it.
“That’s a good idea, actually,” Ryan said.
“Besides, she would try to solve that case one way or another, anyway,” Andrew said. He wasn’t wrong about that, but I couldn’t believe it was so obvious.
“Yeah, we could keep an eye on her, and she could help us solve the case,” Sebastian said.
“Hello, I am right here!” I said, annoyed at them for talking like I wasn’t even in the room.
“What do you think?” Andrew asked, his eyes sparkling now. I didn’t have to think about it for long.
“That’s a good plan,” I answered and smiled. It was even better than I could ever have imagined.
“Great! There are a few things that need fixing up in there though,” Ryan said.
“That’s okay, I can take care of it,” I replied.
“Are you sure? We can hire people to do that,” Sebastian said, and I shook my head.
“It would be a nice change of pace to do something like that,” I said. Not that I was close to being as good at decorating a home as Laura.
“Okay, how about we check the place out later?” Andrew offered.
“That would be amazing,” I said.
“Now that’s settled, let’s call the big boss to enlighten him about our new recruit,” Sebastian said with a wink and left the kitchen.
“Want to eat something?” Ryan asked, and I nodded.
“I could make some pancakes,” I said.
“Nice,” Ryan said. They might not be perfect golden pancakes, but they would be good regardless. I was sure of that.
Later that afternoon we were in the car, heading to the apartment. I was excited when we stopped in front of a rather big apartment building. Compared to the run-down one I used to live in, this one was in great shape. It even had flowers in the front and the walls shone in an actual white colour, not a dirty grey with black spots everywhere.
“This is really nice,” I said.
“You aren’t inside the apartment yet,” Ryan said, and I laughed.
“I know it will be even better inside,” I replied. We stepped inside and the hall was clean and well decorated. I was impressed.
“This is the one,” Ryan said. “How about you open the door. It is your place now after all.” And handed me the key.
I smiled and unlocked the door excitedly.
“This is beautiful!” I said after stepping inside. The apartment had wonderful natural light and an amazing atmosphere. I walked into every room and I was impressed. Compared to my old apartment, this was a villa.
“What needs fixing then?” I asked after I had seen everything.
“The walls could use a fresh coat of paint and the bathroom sink is broken,” Ryan said, and I couldn’t help but laugh.
“Is that all? I can live with that just fine. The walls look great and the bathroom sink can be sorted after I’ve moved in. I expected much worse,” I said. It seemed to me that Ryan’s wealth had rubbed off on him, even if it was just a little bit.
“If you are happy with it, then I won’t keep you from moving in,” Ryan said with a smile.
“We will miss you though,” Sebastian added.
“Aren’t we working together now? We will see each other more than enough,” I said, even though I would miss them probably as much as they’d miss me. If not more.
“Okay, what is your plan now?” Andrew asked.
“Pack my things and move in,” I said.
“Without furniture?” he asked. He did have a point. The only furniture in this apartment was the fitted kitchen.
“Buy furniture?” I said and shrugged.
“Sounds like a better plan. But maybe you shouldn’t be in such a hurry. Pick out some furniture, let them deliver it here and then move in. There is no need to rush,” Andrew said. But I felt like I was in a rush, I wanted to give them their life back.
“Let’s relax, you had a lot on your plate these past weeks. Take one step at a time and don’t rush it,” Sebastian said, and I nodded. They were probably right.
“Let’s drive back then,” I replied and locked my apartment behind me. I had a place to return to now and that felt just great.
“There is one thing we’ll do today though,” Sebastian said, smiling back at me over his shoulder.
“And that is?” I asked, curious.
“You, Ryan and I will have a nice outing today.”
“Going out again?” I asked. Weren’t we out just yesterday?
“Andrew here wants to surprise Laura with a romantic dinner,” Sebastian said.
“Oh, okay. What’s your plan?” I said. Of course I didn’t want to be in the way when Andrew was planning something like that.
“I thought a movie and a nice pizza maybe. That should be enough for little Andrew to celebrate,” Sebastian said teasingly, causing Andrew to punch his shoulder playfully.
“Is there some reason to celebrate?” I asked.
“It’s been one year today since I proposed to Laura,” he said, blushing slightly.
“I hope you’ll have a wonderful evening,” I said and smiled at him. He deserved a nice evening with her, without any disturbances.
“I’ll even cook her favourite meal,” he said, and I chuckled.
“She will love it,” I said.
“I hope so,” Andrew said.
On the way back to their house, I thought about all of the various ways I would decorate the apartment and what kind of furniture I would buy. At least I had a bit of money saved up and could buy the essentials. The rest would happen in time.
In the evening I got ready for our ‘outing’, as Sebastian called it. Laura was still not back, and Andrew was getting ready for the big dinner. He’d really gone out of his way decorating the kitchen. Flower petals and candles everywhere. He was even wearing a suit.
“I wonder if I will ever find a man who’d put that much effort into preparing a meal for me,” I mused while I watched him running around. He stopped and looked at me.
“I am sure you will because you deserve it,” he said and smiled. I didn’t take the opportunity to tell him that I’d only met bad men so far and never even got really close to anyone. So my hopes weren’t high.
“Ready?” Sebastian asked.
I turned around. “Yes, let’s go.”
“Have fun, mate,” Sebastian said to Andrew who was adjusting a single flower petal on the table.
“You too,” he called back and with that we left the house.
“He really puts a lot of effort into it,” I said on our way to the cinema.
“Oh please, he always did that whenever they had an anniversary. Sometimes I wonder if he’s just overflowing with love and that’s the only way for him not to explode,” Ryan said, and I snorted.
“It’s cute, though,” I said.
“That’s true,” Sebastian said, and Ryan rolled his eyes.
“Don’t ever expect that from me,” he said.
“Oh please, your speciality lies elsewhere,” Sebastian said and winked.
“No, don’t go there while I am around,” I said, and they both laughed.
I wondered when I would find a man who treated me like Andrew treated Laura, but at least for today I had two men treating me like a princess. Opening the car door for me, buying me popcorn and a drink. They even let me sit between the two of them during the movie. I’d been worried about feeling excluded, but they did their best to make me feel I belonged. And I appreciated that a lot. Even though the movie wasn’t my thing, I was still having a good time, especially with Ryan’s ongoing commentary about the movie. I still wonder how come the other people in the cinema didn’t complain about it.
And to finish an already great evening, I also ate the best pizza ever.
“How do you know so many good places to eat?” I asked, having devoured an entire pizza.
“Call it a hobby,” Sebastian said.
“And you’re still staying fit? Isn’t that a bit unfair?” I asked.
“We work out a lot,” Ryan said. I’d never seen them working out, but then again, I was hiding in my room most of the time.
“It will be part of your daily routine, too, starting next week,” Sebastian said while casually taking a sip of his red wine.
“What?” I asked, astonished.
“When you’re working with us, you have to be fit. We could be in critical situations and we don’t want you to get hurt because you are a couch potato,” Ryan said.
“But I’ve never done any sports,” I said.
“Then this is where you’ll start. Next week,” Ryan said, and I could see he had trouble hiding a smile.
“So your supervisor was okay with having me around?” I asked to change the subject. There was no way I could get out of it anyway.
“He was. He is always happy when the ‘Special Team’ gets new recruits,” Sebastian said.
“Special Team?” I asked.
“That’s what we are called. They have no idea what we do to get to know certain things, but they know there’s something different about us. And since we won’t have any ‘normal’ person in our team, it must mean you are someone to add great value,” Ryan explained. Me, adding great value? With my talent? Well, who would have thought those terms would ever be used in one sentence! I didn’t, for sure.
“So I am special now?” I asked and smiled.
“You were special before, too,” Sebastian said, and I felt myself blush a little.
“And don’t forget that we are always there for you,” he added.
“Thank you,” I said.
“I suppose it would be safe to go home now. I think there are some people waiting for our table,” Ryan said and nodded towards a group of people staring at us from the entrance. The restaurant was full to overflowing.
“Alright,” I said, and Sebastian paid for our food before we left.
“Are you okay to pay for me too?” I asked.
“Don’t even mention it, Ava,” Sebastian said.
On or way back we loudly sang ‘We are the champions’ and I never thought that a day could get any better than this.
Up until we opened the front door and I stopped in my tracks.
“What’s wrong?” Ryan asked, alarmed.
“Something is off,” I said.
“Is someone in the house?” Sebastian asked. I listened more intensely but could only hear one melody in the house. But it didn’t really sound like Andrew at all.
“It’s Andrew. I think something is wrong with him,” I stated and ran inside.
Chapter 18
I didn’t care whether the other two followed me or not, I just had to get to Andrew as fast as possible. I knew something had happened and I had to make sure he was safe.
Someone grabbed my arm after a few steps though, stopping me in my tracks. I looked behind me and glared at Ryan.
“Don’t be so reckless. You could get hurt, who knows what has happened,” Ryan said. I didn’t even consider that I might get hurt and truthfully, I didn’t care. Apparently, I really liked to put myself in danger, so I tried to free my arm.
“Stop it,” Ryan said. I considered to not listening to him, but the way he looked at me made me stop. He was truly worried, and I didn’t want to worry him even more.
“Can you make out where he is?” Ryan asked now. He let go my arm once he was sure I wouldn’t run again. I closed my eyes to listen to Andrew’s melody, which hurt me deeply. Whatever had happened to him, it must have crushed his soul.
“I think he is actually still in the kitchen,” I answered.
“And there is no one else around?” Ryan asked again.
“No, he is alone,” I said, which was weird. Ryan started walking towards the kitchen with Sebastian following him. I slowly followed them and just wanted them to hurry up. There was no one to be afraid of. Maybe they just didn’t trust my hearing that much yet, still thinking there might be someone with him after all.
“Andrew?” Sebastian asked when we entered the kitchen. I pushed my way between the two of them and saw him sitting at the dining table. The candles were still lit, even though they were really low now and would probably burn themselves out soon. The food was still on the table, untouched. It almost looked like Laura hadn’t come home.
“Are you alone?” Sebastian asked, approaching him. He looked unharmed and that alone was a relief.
Andrew nodded, but didn’t look up. He was staring at a ring that was lying on the table.
“Isn’t that Laura’s engagement ring?” Ryan asked, and Andrew nodded again.
“What happened?” I asked and sat down next to him. He pressed his lips into a thin line and shook his head.
Sebastian and Ryan sat down at the table too. We all sat there in silence.
“Is she coming back?” I asked then and he shook his head. I could see a tear running down his cheek and it broke my heart. I was ready to drive wherever that Laura person was and knock her down. But I knew that wouldn’t help Andrew and I really didn’t want to go to prison after all.
