When the Violin Sings

Chapter 29

Piper slowly opened her eyes as sunlight streamed through the blinds of her and Julia's dorm room. She grumbled slightly, trying to shift back into the covers, but she knew already that her alarm would be going off in a few minutes. She was set to meet Lucy in the morning since both of them had afternoon classes. Piper would've rather stayed in bed.

It had been a few days since that evening she had cried alone to herself in her dorm room. She had put on a straight face, acting like nothing had happened, but her mood had changed considerably in that time. She was upset to have heard Julia's second date went well, and she was annoyed every time Lucy pulled out her phone to text her ex rather than focus on the trial. Everyone around her seemed to be enjoying life while Piper felt like she was pulling everyone's weight.

With a sigh, Piper rolled out of bed and put on a warm winter outfit. Julia was still sound asleep, so Piper did her best to gather her things quietly. She gently shut the door to their dorm and headed down the hall, hoping she could just get through her work with Lucy and then later focus on her classes. It would be a miracle if the two of them found something useful for the case, but Piper severely doubted it. At this point she had grown used to Murphy's disappointed look.

She found Lucy near the streetlamp toward the campus gates. Lucy had finally put on a jacket for once, and her breath was coming out in wisps in the chilly morning air. As Piper approached, Lucy looked up and gave a slight hand wave.

"Morning," she said.

"Morning," Piper replied glumly.

"The same old?" Lucy asked.

"Yeah," Piper said as she began her walk alongside Lucy. They followed their normal path toward the end of the neighborhood before once again looking for possible routes Lucy may have taken up toward the forested hillside. The air was cool and around them, it was quiet. It would've been a peaceful morning, Piper thought, if she didn't have to deal with the stress of the trial.

They scoured around the edges of the neighborhood, but to no avail. Lucy promised to climb no more hillsides, but that didn't leave them very many other options. It was hard to imagine how Lucy had found a route up to the hill in the first place if she swore she didn't go too far past the neighborhood. Perhaps it was just Lucy's memory being faulty again. Piper was used to that at this point, but just once, she had hoped something Lucy said would be useful.

It only took a half hour of them searching with no luck before Lucy began to pull out her phone and text. Piper had only been half-joking a few days earlier when she'd said that she would confiscate Lucy's phone. Now, she was seriously starting to consider it.

"Hey, can you put your phone away?" Piper asked. She tried to sound friendly at first, though her exhaustion was imminent. This wasn't the first time she had asked Lucy over the past few days to save her personal business for later.

"Just a second," Lucy said, continuing to text.

"Lucy, please," Piper begged.

Lucy sighed and shoved the phone back in her pocket. As they continued to walk however, Lucy's phone kept buzzing, and Lucy turned to Piper with pleading eyes.

"Please let me answer it!"

"Lucy, we're working on your trial! Why isn't Leigh asleep or in class anyway?"

"Soccer practice must be finishing up," Lucy figured. "Come on, Pipes, just for a second?"

"Don't call me that," Piper growled.

Lucy continued to stare at her with the begging eyes of a puppy.

"No. You're too distracted. This should be more important," Piper said before pushing past her to continue walking.