Authors: Trisha Grace
She smiled, sensing his concern. “All right, I guess.” Her phone started vibrating again. She grabbed her phone and rejected the call, then looked up to see Christopher watching her.
“Had a fight with Jason?”
She switched off the phone.
Why was Jason being so persistent? Their relationship clearly didn’t mean a lot to him either. Since he was interested enough to sleep with that woman, shouldn’t he be rejoicing over their breakup?
“Is everything all … right?”
“Yes.” She returned to the kitchen and resumed her eating. “I have another song I need to write.”
“Have you grown tired of your successful career already?”
“What do you mean?”
“You’re not the only one who’s sensitive to tones,” he said with a small smile.
She sighed softly. “I’m writing this song as a favor for a friend. I know nothing about the singer, and the reason behind why I’m doing this kind of disgusts me.”
“Writing a song as a favor disgusts you.”
“Not that.” She looked at him and sighed. “This friend of mine did something stupid, and now she’s being blackmailed. If I don’t give her a song, the blackmailer will send out photos that will destroy her life.”
“Looks like you had an interesting meeting.”
She gave him a wry smile.
“Will you be staying for a few more days?”
“I don’t know.” She pointed at the plate in front of her. “Want some?”
He shook his head and sat across from her. “What happened with Jason?”
She shrugged. “We broke up.”
His brows rose, and he didn’t say a word for a few moments. “Why?” he finally asked.
“I popped by his office and caught him cheating.”
“Oh.” His brows puckered.
“I’m okay,” she said.
Christopher’s brows drew closer.
“I’m somewhat relieved, actually. I think I got off easy.”
“Got off easy?”
She cut a long strip of bacon in half. “I was going to tell him that I can’t marry him.” She paused, considering if she should tell Christopher about how she was reconsidering her relationship with Jason.
She didn’t want him to think it was because of their kiss. She was sure the kiss meant nothing to him.
“And?”
“And I’m kind of glad that I don’t have to be the bad person.” It was also an added bonus that Jason’s indiscretion was so much worse than hers. “I know it’s cowardly, but I’m kind of glad it worked out like this.”
He nodded and she waited.
“Why aren’t you saying anything?”
“What should I say?”
She wasn’t sure what she was expecting him to say, but maybe a smile instead of that stoic look he was giving. “Nothing. Anyway, have you given the Italy vacation any thought?”
His chest heaved as he took a deep breath.
“Come on, you can’t say no. I just went through a breakup. Besides, we can get out of here before Frank finds something else to accuse you about.” She grinned when he laughed. “Please?”
“I don’t feel right a … about letting you pay.”
“Forget about the money. I want to get away for a while, but I don’t want to do it alone. Please go with me.” She leaned toward him and blinked twice. “Then you can help me carry my stuff as well. It’ll be getting colder, but it’ll be warm in the afternoon. I can’t be ca—”
“Haven’t you been to all of … Italy?”
“Hardly. You know how much I love staying at home.”
“Only when your parents … aren’t home.”
“True,” she said. “And since I’m staying alone, I have the apartment all to myself all the time.”
“So you’re home … all the time.”
“Exactly.” She grinned. “So? Will you explore Italy with me?”
“Okay.”
“Yay! Is it all right if you plan our itinerary? I have a song to write.” She looked over at the black screen on her phone.
She should reply to Jason’s texts as well. Maybe he thought he’d hurt her with his behavior. She should assure him that she was fine and that it was best for both of them to move on.
After breakfast, she retreated into the studio with her laptop. Her mail application bounced up and down on the bottom of her laptop’s screen. She opened the application and sighed.
Are you back home? You went back to our house without telling me? You know I rent it out. How selfish of you to just go and live there without thinking about the possible tenants and the trouble it will cause me.
Chloe deleted it without replying. There would be more to come. Maybe another email, then text messages, followed by phone calls to tell her what a selfish and horrible person she was.
She was in too good a mood to let it be affected by her mother. Not today.
Chloe leaned over and looked at Christopher typing away on his laptop. Using her spoon, she scraped the last bit of cheese and put it into her mouth.
Christopher grinned and shook his head. “I’m sure she’ll make you another plate if you want.”
Amy turned to her from the sink. “The mac-and-cheese isn’t enough?”
“She just wants more cheese.”
She nudged Christopher on his arm. “Don’t listen to him. It’s enough.”
“Do you want to take the flight to Rome directly?” Christopher asked while scanning through flight schedules on the Internet.
“I think we should fly to Milan. There aren’t as many flights to Rome. I’m sure you’ll enjoy the train ride anyway.” She got up and took her plate to the sink.“Would you like to come along?” she asked as Amy took the plate from her.
“Maybe next time.”
She pulled in the lower right corner of her lip. “Did my mom call you?”
Amy hesitated.
“I’m sorry if I got you into trouble. I don’t know how she found out I’m here.”
“Oh, I have a pretty good guess.” Amy grinned and waved it off. “But don’t worry about me. I told her you only stayed there for a night, which is the truth.”
“Mm-hmm.”
“I wanted to deny everything, but with all the camera phones nowadays …”
“You didn’t want to be caught red-handed.” She returned to her seat. “She’s still going to pay you for your help, right?”
A corner of Amy’s lips hooked into a smug smile. “There may be people willing to gossip with her, but no one likes her enough to help her.”
“Why do you help her, then?” Chloe propped her hands onto the table and leaned forward. “I know you don’t like her.”
Amy shrugged. “It felt wrong to reject her when I know no one else would help her.”
“Both of you are too kind, but that’s what I love about you guys.”
“You say the sweetest things.” Amy rinsed off the last of the plates, walked over, and pulled her in for a quick hug. “And we love you, too. You know that, right?”
She tipped her head against her shoulder. “I know.”
“Good.” Amy let go of her. “Well, I’m heading out for a while. Don’t get into any trouble while I’m gone.”
“Yes, ma’am.” She pressed her shoulder against Christopher’s. “Did you include Pompeii in the itinerary? I’ve always wanted to go, but never got the chance.”
He arched a brow. “Never got … the chance?”
“I planned, several times, but something always came up.” She peered toward the living room when the doorbell rang. “I thought Josh was already on his camping trip.”
“Maybe he forgot … something.” He stood and walked out of the kitchen.
Pulling the laptop closer to herself, she scanned through the plans Christopher had made.
“Chris!”
She frowned when she heard the female voice. That definitely wasn’t Josh. She leaned back and tried to get a peek of who it was, but Christopher was still standing in front of the door, blocking her view.
“What are you doing … here?” Christopher’s usual color, tinted with a hint of blue, floated into the kitchen and disappeared out the window.
“I just got back to the company. I’m so sorry.”
Chloe waited, but no colors appeared. She glanced toward the living room, but there weren’t any colors in the living room either.
“Are you feeling better? I heard you were hospitalized.” Again, Christopher’s words swirled toward her.
“I’m fine. I’m sorry I wasn’t there to prevent that disastrous performance from happening.”
With her focus on the living room, Chloe finally noticed the tapered red words. She couldn’t stop staring at the words as she noticed how they crumpled and fell apart after barely making it into the living room.
“I’m glad it happened. You … shouldn’t have … to hide my addiction for me.”
“But you still can’t sing.”
“Which is why the … company is—”
“They’re not dropping you. I just had a chat with a few people, and I got them to postpone whatever decision they’ve made about you.”
Chloe stared at the crumbling words, then closed her eyes as she remembered when she’d last seen something like this.
“How did you do that?” Christopher asked.
“Aren’t you going to invite me in?”
Those words struck a sudden panic in Chloe’s heart. She got up and entered the living room just as Christopher was ushering the mysterious person into the room.
“How did you know … where to find me?”
Chloe stared at the familiar face. She’d seen this person before.
“I actually dropped by the house by the river, but you weren’t there.”
“I built that house—”
“I know, I know.” The woman pulled off her scarf and froze when their eyes met.
“Chloe.” Christopher walked toward her. “This is Rebecca.”
Rebecca.
Could it be the same Rebecca who was blackmailing Ella? Chloe swallowed and forced a smile. “I’ve seen you before,” she said to Rebecca, then turned to Christopher. “Remember the letter I left you? I had just placed it on your dresser and was about to leave when she came in.”
“I thought I heard someone in your room, so I went in to see who it was.”
Chloe stared at Rebecca, but no words or colors appeared.
This is a first.
“You said you’d make sure that he got the letter.”
Rebecca smiled sweetly and looked at Christopher. “To say the truth, it was a crazy night. I completely forgot about the letter until now. I didn’t even see the letter.” Still no color.
“I pointed it out to you.” Chloe didn’t want to be confrontational, but she was curious and wanted to keep Rebecca talking.
She looked over to Christopher when she felt his hand on her back.
His brows were puckered as he stared at her with concern. He deepened his furrow, and she took a deep breath and smiled to let him know she was all right.
“I didn’t see it.”
Chloe immediately turned back to Rebecca as a dark green mist grew, but again, something seemed to cut away its life, and the mist fell away without making much headway.
“I should go.” Rebecca gathered her things. “Don’t worry about your contract. When you’re ready, we can get back to work.”
“I can’t … sing anymore,” Christopher said as he moved toward the door.
Chloe licked her lips. She was tempted to pull Christopher back.
Stop being irrational. The colors and images aren’t real; they don’t mean anything.
“We’ll get it back. I’ll find a trainer. How about the speech therapist who worked with you on your stuttering? Maybe he can help. You’re a great singer.” Rebecca laid her hand on his arm. “I won’t let them ruin your future.” The red in her words were brighter, and they lasted slightly longer.
“You don’t have to … help me.”
Rebecca dropped her hand, gave Chloe a polite smile, and walked to the door. “I’ll see you soon.” The colors had disappeared again.
She went over to the window as Christopher closed the door after Rebecca had left.
“What’s wrong?”
“She was your assistant?”
He nodded.
“Is she sick?”
“What do you mean? Oh, you … heard me talking about her … hospitalization?”
She looked back at him as Rebecca drove away. “What was she hospitalized for?”
He shrugged as he walked toward her. “She took a two-week break from … work for personal reasons. I asked … if she was all right and … she assured me that she just needed … a break. Then I suddenly heard she was hospitalized. I’m not sure … for what.”
“She seemed to have certain control over your contract,” she said.
Christopher grinned and pressed his index finger against her forehead. “Stop frowning. Why do you look so worried?”
“Do you find her strange?”
“Did your superpower detect something?”
She rolled her eyes. Only he called her condition a superpower. “I’m serious.”
“So am I.”
She sighed softly and continued, “Sometimes when she speaks, I don’t see any colors or words. Then when they do appear, they appear weak.”
His brows drew closer.
“She’s the first person I’ve ever met who doesn’t have a color when she speaks. As for the weak words, I’ve only seen this when my parents had me committed in the psychiatric hospital.” She cleared her throat. She never liked talking about her stay there.
It was the first time she felt betrayed and abandoned by her parents.
She shuddered as memory served her a snippet of her recent nightmare about waking up and finding herself in the hospital.
Christopher reached over and gave her arm a squeeze.
His touch brought her back to reality, and she smiled just because he was there with her.
“Are you all right?” He took another step closer and wrapped his hand around her. “I won’t let anyone put you there again.”
She put her arms around his waist and squeezed her eyes shut as they burnt. The security from his hug and words flooded her and calmed her down. “I know.” She let go of him and straightened.
Christopher’s face was right in front of hers as he bent and looked at her.
She sucked in a breath when she thought he was going to kiss her, but he suddenly straightened and moved away from her. She blinked and exhaled heavily through her nose.
A moment of silence passed before he turned back to her.
She rubbed her hand against her neck and struggled to remember what they were talking about before that. “And that pattern only appeared in heavily medicated patients.” She couldn’t be sure what condition those patients had; she was too afraid to ask. All she knew was that she should stay away from them.