The Music of Souls, page 25
“I know, sorry. Let’s just do that and then push some furniture in front of it. I mean, at least it won’t be that easy to get in,” Ryan said. It sounded ridiculous to me, but I supposed it was better than doing nothing about it.
They both left the kitchen and got on with their plan, while Andrew and I were left behind. Thinking about sleeping with the window being broken like that made me feel very uncomfortable. My room was close to where they had come in. I felt that bad I actually considered going to my parents’ house to sleep there.
“You can sleep at my place,” Andrew said, almost as if he’d read my thoughts. “We can lock the apartment door, so if someone comes in again, they can’t just walk in there. Unless you’d rather stay at Sebastian and Ryan’s place.”
His offer surprised me. I thought he hadn’t slept in his own apartment since Laura left. But I would actually feel better with that arrangement. Especially since I wasn’t fond of the idea of staying at my parents’ house.
“Sure, thank you,” I said and smiled weakly. I grabbed my phone and called my parents. I wanted to warn them about potential danger too. If that gang was really after me, then maybe they would go after my parents, too.
“I will call my parents and tell them about today. Maybe they are the next target,” I told Andrew and he nodded.
“Might be a good idea if your family was looking out for themselves a bit more right now,” he agreed.
“Avalynn,” my father said when he picked up the phone.
“Good evening,” I said.
“What’s wrong?” he asked. That he would ask that question immediately didn’t really surprise me, I never called him just for fun after all.
“Some people broke into the house today. We assume they were looking for me. Maybe it has to do with the man that died,” I said, coming straight to the point.
“Did someone get hurt?” he asked.
“No, everyone is fine. But I just wanted to let you know. Maybe they’ll try to break into your place too,” I answered.
“Are you safe there now? You can come and stay at our house,” my father offered. I didn’t expect that level of caring from him. I couldn’t deny that it made me feel somewhat happy.
“I will be alright. But thank you,” I answered.
“Fair enough. But make sure to leave if it’s getting too dangerous. You know there is a place for you here,” he said, surprising me even more. I could feel a lump forming in my throat and I swallowed a few times to get rid of it.
“Thank you,” I said.
“I won’t tell your mother about it yet. She will only worry too much,” he said.
“Probably for the best,” I said.
“Stay safe and good night,” he said.
“Good night, Dad,” I replied and ended the call.
“Sounds like you got a bit closer with your family again,” Andrew said with a smile on his face.
“Yes,” I said. “Even though it does feel rather surreal. I didn’t think that I could ever get close to them again after what happened.”
“Time heals all wounds, they say.” And I wondered if he was talking about himself too. He was slowly healing; I could see it. He didn’t look as sick and exhausted anymore. Yes, he was still traumatised and was afraid that others would leave his side too, but at least he could finally start to let go of Laura, even if it was hard for him.
“You are probably right,” I said.
“And your friend wouldn’t be angry at you for reconciling either,” Andrew said. I wondered about that. Would Maddy be angry that I got close again to the man who had ruined her family’s life? I didn’t know. I wouldn’t know how I would feel. But even if she was angry at me, she wasn’t here anymore. I had carried that package of guilt around with me for years now and it only made me more miserable. Maybe it was time for me to let go of the past and think more of the future. I would probably never forget that my father had ruined her life, but he was also the one who had saved mine from falling apart. It was hard to decide what was the most honourable path to choose. If I should care about honour in the first place.
“I didn’t mean to start you off on a life crisis now. Don’t think so much, Ava. Just live,” Andrew said and nudged me carefully.
“I can’t help it,” I replied and sighed.
“I know, that’s just part of you,” he said.
“Exactly,” I said.
“But that doesn’t mean you have to analyse every step you take and consider everyone’s feelings all the time. You have the starring role in your own life after all,” Andrew said.
“I think that you care quite a bit about others too,” I said.
“Of course I do. But I also know when to stop and step back. You will do the right thing, you are a good person,” he said, and I smiled. I didn’t actually think I was a good person, but it still made me happy that he thought I was.
“Come on, let’s get some rest. Tomorrow things might be a bit hectic,” he said and got up.
“I am just going to grab some of my things,” I said.
“Alright,” he said, and I left the kitchen to gather a few of my clothes and toiletries. When I entered my room, I felt really uncomfortable. The door to my wardrobe was open and all the other drawers were open too. Made me wonder what they had been searching for in there, it wasn’t as if I would fit in the drawers after all. Imagining some strangers pawing through my stuff was just terrifying.
I quickly grabbed everything and went up to Andrew’s apartment. I knocked on his door and he opened it a few moments later.
“The door was open,” he said and laughed.
“It’s rude to just barge into someone’s apartment without knocking,” I answered.
“It’s basically your house,” he said, and I shook my head. I didn’t want to discuss it with him, but this wasn’t really my house and for me it felt like there was a big separation between his apartment and the area I’d lived in those past few weeks. This was his private area and he used to share it with Laura. It wasn’t my place.
I looked around and saw that the walls were empty. I suppose he’d removed all the decorations and pictures Laura had placed there.
“I am starting to renovate,” he stated and closed the door behind me, locking it carefully. He probably realised what I was thinking when I saw the empty room.
“Okay. If you need any help, I am up for it,” I said.
“Oh, you’re welcome to do most of it. Weren’t you really eager to renovate anyway?” he said and laughed.
“I didn’t think that would include your apartment too,” I answered and moved into what looked like the living room.
“It includes any parts of the house you want to renovate, and we won’t mind having things changed around,” he said and sat down on the couch. I dropped my things on the opposite couch and sat down as well.
“I really wonder why you just let me do all these things in your own house. You haven’t even known me that long,” I said.
“We’ve known you long enough for that. Besides, it feels like we’ve known each other for a long time already,” he said. He wasn’t wrong there. It felt like we’d been around each other for years. It was odd how strangers could become so close to you in such a short time. But it had been the same with Maddy too, it just always felt right with her around. From the very start. That was probably why it was so hard for me to accept her death, she’d left such a big empty hole in my life.
“I always thought Laura was someone like that too. When I met her it just felt like we were meant to be. But after the accident many things changed. Maybe her change in attitude started years ago, I just hadn’t noticed it,” Andrew said.
“I don’t think that she ever wanted to hurt you, she just didn’t know how to avoid it,” I said. Even though I was still very angry about the way she split up with him, I had come to believe that she had truly loved him before.
“The way she left wasn’t right, I know she knows that too. But she always was very ambitious. When she set herself a goal, she had to achieve it. I guess she was overwhelmed that night,” he said.
“You didn’t do anything wrong though,” I said, and he smiled at me weakly.
“I am sure I did some things wrong but, in this case,, I think I just didn’t do enough things right to make her change her mind. I just want her to be happy now,” he said.
“Do you, really?” I asked. The other night he’d sounded really angry about the stunt she’d pulled after all.
“Initially, no. But if I am honest, you helped me heal and move on. The way you handle life and what has happened just made me want to work harder, too. And seeing you going back to your family after everything that has happened – that is true strength in my eyes,” he said. I didn’t know how to react to that kind of compliment. I didn’t think I was handling the situation all that well. I was actually still running from my parents. I mean, even now I wouldn’t want to stay at their place because I didn’t feel comfortable there. Not sure if I would talk about strength there.
“How about we go to sleep?” Andrew proposed.
“Mind if I take a shower first?” I asked. I’d had quite a workout after all, and I didn’t want to go to bed like this.
“Sure, let me show you the bathroom,” he said. “You can have the bed by the way.”
“What? No. I will sleep on the couch,” I replied.
“No, I want you to have the bed,” he said.
“We can both sleep in the bed,” I said then. I didn’t even know what was going through my head to propose something like this. Probably because we had slept in the same bed before it didn’t seem like that big a deal.
“I take the couch, you take the bed,” he said and smiled. I nodded and retreated to the bathroom. I felt embarrassed and stupid. I didn’t quite get why, but I felt weirdly rejected. Thinking about it, it wasn’t exactly normal to sleep in the same bed with someone of the opposite gender, was it?
I took my time with the shower, trying to avoid him as long as I could after that. But eventually I just had to leave the bathroom. Andrew had already prepared his couch to sleep on and when he saw me, he smiled again. He didn’t seem bothered by my statement, but maybe he was just acting really well.
He showed me the bedroom which also looked rather empty, but I didn’t mind. What was left here reminded me of Andrew, and that was really calming.
“If you need anything, you know where to find me,” he said.
“Yeah, thank you,” I answered.
“Of course. Sleep tight, Ava,” he said.
“Nighty-night Andrew,” I replied, and he left the bedroom, leaving the door open. I was happy about that. At least it would be easier for me to hear if someone tried to break into the apartment. Even though Andrew was probably on high alert for the whole night. Maybe that was also the reason why he wanted to sleep in the living room, because it was closer to the front door. I should have proposed to sleep on the other couch, instead of us being in the same bed. Remembering what I’d said made my face heat up again. How could I be so forward at times?
I quickly climbed into bed and the moment I lay down I could feel exhaustion crashing down on me. Andrew’s bed was really comfortable, and it didn’t take long for me to fall asleep.
I wasn’t able to sleep peacefully though. I had nightmares of faceless people chasing me and everything around me was dark. I had no idea where I was running to, it seemed like I was running on the same spot while the stranger was catching me up quickly. The three words written on the mirror were flashing around me in bright red. We see you. We see you. I could hear them chanting it while running after me and I felt so scared and trapped.
When I woke up, I was sweating and an arm around my waist startled me. I panicked for a moment, until I realised it was Andrew sleeping behind me. I quickly calmed down again. I was surprised I didn’t wake him up, but he seemed to be in a really deep sleep. So much for sleeping on the couch!
I scooted a bit closer to him and smiled. Even if this wasn’t ‘normal’, I kind of liked it. And what was normal in my life anyway?
Chapter 22
I woke up when the sun started to shine into the room. Andrew’s arm wasn’t resting on my waist anymore, instead he was lying with his back to me, talking in his sleep. He was mostly repeating Laura’s name, over and over. I didn’t know why it made me feel so sick to my stomach and why it hurt so much to hear him cry after her in his sleep. I couldn’t take any more of it and left the bedroom as quietly as possible.
Andrew was far from recovered, even though he seemed to be in the right mindset yesterday.
I was brushing my teeth when I heard Andrew running from the bedroom towards the bathroom and soon after the door burst open.
“Laura,” Andrew said out of breath. I stared at him dumbfoundedly. He still looked half asleep and it took him a while to realise that I wasn’t Laura. The pain that crossed his features after he’d realised caused a stabbing pain in my heart. I dropped my toothbrush into the sink and pulled him into a hug.
“It’s okay,” I whispered, and he grabbed me and pulled me closer to him. He started sobbing quietly.
“I am here for you, always,” I promised, even though his love for Laura was hurting me. Maybe, just maybe Andrew wasn’t only a friend for me anymore. But right now, I didn’t care. I wanted to hold him close and I wanted to be his anchor.
“Avalynn,” he said, and my heartrate picked up a bit. He looked at me and smiled. “Thank you.”
We walked downstairs and had breakfast with Sebastian and Ryan.
“What is the plan for today?” I asked after we’d finished eating.
“We are going to walk around town for a while, just to see if we are lucky enough to find the person who left us that nice message,” Sebastian said, and I nodded. The chances of finding him were really low, we all knew that. But at least we had a face and a melody to work with.
“We are just going to wait for the window repair people and then we’re heading out,” Ryan said.
Amazingly, the window repair people arrived really early. They measured the window that needed to be replaced and then were on their way again. They weren’t sure if they were able to get the window glass today, but tomorrow for sure.
Thinking of having to spend another night with the window broken was really unsettling. But I was sure they were already going as fast as they could to fix this.
We all got into the car and began driving around the area. At some point we were passing my old apartment and finally I remembered where I had seen those words before.
“Now I know!” I said loudly.
“What?” Ryan asked, confused.
“I could have sworn that I’d seen that message before. Now I know where,” I said.
“You saw it before, but you didn’t tell us?” Ryan asked.
“Sorry, I just wasn’t sure if I actually did see it before or not. It felt so familiar though. When I left my apartment after I’d witnessed that murder, there was a card lying in front of my door. It had the same message on it. I thought it was some kind of promotion and didn’t think much of it,” I explained, feeling a cold shiver running down my spine. They’d been watching me since that day, they’d known exactly where to find me all along.
“They were after for you since then,” Andrew said.
“Good that nothing happened to you,” Ryan said.
“Do you still have the card?” Sebastian asked and I shook my head.
“Okay, let’s just continue with our plan for now. At least now we know for sure that they are after you,” Sebastian said. That wasn’t really something I wanted to have confirmed. I felt dreadful also because I felt that I had brought danger right into their house.
We continued looking around but as expected, we weren’t lucky. Even though we saw many people, we didn’t see the person we were looking for. In fact, not one person had a suspicious melody. After three hours we stopped and went to the office, in hopes that the people there had found something out.
Using my talent like that was still really taxing on me, so I needed a rest. Naturally, none of the others had been lucky either. Whoever had entered the house, they didn’t leave any trace, except the message. And because the cameras had been out since they’d managed to cut the power, we didn’t get any clues from them.
“This is so frustrating,” I said and settled down on the couch. Andrew sat down close to me and patted my hand. I smiled and leaned against him.
“We will find them sooner or later,” he said, and I nodded. This whole ordeal would end only when I found out who was behind all of this. They had turned my life upside down, so at the very least I wanted to know who was to blame. And maybe thank them for throwing me in the arms of this these three guys.
Not everything was bad now, of course. I had contact to my family again, I had a little brother I loved, and I’d found people who would let me be part of their family. They made me stronger, but the crimes had to stop. There were so many innocent people out there who didn’t deserve this kind of criminal energy. People like Puffy.
“Would you mind if I visited my friend at the book store?” I asked after we’d sat around for an hour, doing nothing.
“Are you sure you want to walk about so openly now?” Andrew asked worriedly.
“It will be fine. It’s close to here anyway, and I will be back soon,” I answered. He didn’t seem convinced, but didn’t say any more to stop me, even though I knew I now had a target on my back. I didn’t want that to control my life even more than before and I was sure I’d be safe as long as the sun was still up.
So I walked to the bookstore and spent a bit of time with John. I felt bad whenever I hadn’t seen him for a few days. I wanted to keep him company because he always seemed so lonely in his store. And I loved to listen to his life stories.
Like I promised I didn’t stay long and walked back to the police station. Where they still hadn’t found any new clues. I hadn’t imagined that this job could be this boring.
“If you are so restless, we could also invest some time in your self-defence practice,” Ryan commented. My boredom levels must be rather obvious by now. The thought of going back into the basement made me really uncomfortable though.
