ASSUMPTIONS [H.S.]

chapter 5

btw this is how I imagine Amber's voice sounding like, so yeah. Imagine her actually playing the piano and singing like that.

***

"Liv, help meeee," I whine as I plop down onto my bed, the pillows around me jumping a bit. I already called Landon and he was more than willing to cover for me today, so it's my day off.

"Girl, it's up to you," she talks through FaceTime, as I sigh, getting up and starting to pace the room.

"I just don't know if I'm ready for that kind of stuff," I contemplate. I mean, seriously. I barely touched the piano again after weeks of avoidance, and now I'm supposed to perform on camera in just 4 days? Plus, he needs a keyboardist, not a pianist. Sure, I used to practice playing on the keyboard and it's not really that different from the piano, but it would just be additional stress.

"I say go for it, I mean I'm sure the salary would be pretty huge... The faster you pay off the debts, the faster you'll be free," she says, and I sigh once again. For fuck's sake, this is such a dilemma. I mean, I really need the money and it's just a one-time thing, but it's on such short notice, I could just end up fucking everything up and embarrassing myself in the process, having to say goodbye to my career.

I always like to prepare for this kind of stuff mentally. The fact that I would go in there quite unprepared is just making me feel so anxious. It's really frustrating.

"I still haven't decided," I sigh, mentally debating with myself, my hair hurting from the way I was subconsciously pulling it.

"Don't you have lunch today with him?"

"Yeah, in like 2 hours. UGHHH!" I know I probably need to have the answer ready by then, but I really just don't know.

"Do you want me to drive you there and back?" she asks in small concern. The cafe where he invited me to is pretty far away from home. He said it's a secluded place, so it's obviously quite isolated.

"Please," I plead. She's pretty much the only person I let drive me anywhere.

"Alright, I'll be at your apartment in like an hour. Get ready, love ya!" she cheers as I hear some shuffling in the background. We say our goodbyes before hanging up.

I spend some time just laying in my bed trying to weigh out the pros and cons, then walk into my closet, finding a decent outfit, not really feeling like going all out today. I change into some brown, flared jeans and a cream-colored mock neck top. I pair the outfit with white sneakers and a black purse, wearing rings and small hoop earrings.

I throw my hair in a messy low bun, putting black sunglasses on the top of my head, and add natural make-up. My phone rings, indicating Olivia's arrival, so I go downstairs, getting into her black range rover.

We spend the whole car ride just talking about nothing in particular, avoiding the subject I'm not willing to talk about. When we arrive at the cafe, she stops me from reaching the car door handle and says, "Listen, I know how you work and I know you think you can't do it in time, but out of all people, I know you'd work your ass off and have sleepless nights, but you'd do it like no one else ever could. I think this would be good for you," she looks at me with a genuine look, giving me words of assurance.

"Thanks," I smile, before making my way out of the car. My hands are sweating, so I wipe them across my jeans. Why am I nervous?

I check my phone, noticing I've arrived a bit early. Harry was right; there aren't a lot of people here. I scan over the place, seeing a brown, curly-headed man sitting at a bistro table outside the diner. He lifts his head up and runs his ring-covered fingers through his messy hair, as I make my way to the table. He then stands up giving me a quick hug, a vanilla scent radiating off of him.