𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱 𝗼𝗳 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗩𝗼𝗶𝗰𝗲 (𝙵𝚞𝚛𝚛𝚢 𝙱𝚡𝙱)

Track 47 | 𝗛𝗲𝗮𝘃𝗲𝗻 𝗞𝗻𝗼𝘄𝘀 𝗜'𝗺 𝗠𝗶𝘀𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗡𝗼𝘄

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I haven't seen Ari since last night.

To recap, Eden decided to take matters into her own hands and deliver Ari to the emergency room herself. I offered to help, same with the others, but Eden refused and insisted on doing it alone. She had called Ari's foster parents before leaving and told them what had happened, planning to meet them at the hospital. I watched a shell-shocked Ari leave the apartment with blood-soaked ears, aided by a worried Eden who tightly interlocked her arm around his. Once the door had closed, I figured the next time I'd see him would be tomorrow morning at school.

But then, after a night of anxious tossing and turning, the next morning came, and neither Ari nor Eden showed up to school.

The others, as well as I, found it troubling. We tried texting both of them but neither responded. School went on as it usually did, and though it was common for me to not pay attention in class, this time around I really couldn't focus.

Lunch period arrived and Levi, Torrence, Rian, and I, all made our way to the cafeteria. There, we were shocked to find Eden seated at our usual lunch table, stressed out of her mind and spilling her guts in front of Harley, who sat there and listened to every word, providing necessary emotional comfort.

"Eden, what's going on?" I asked as I reached the table, standing over her and Harley. "Where's Ari?"

"I don't know, he didn't come outside this morning," Eden explained, her face sharing the same expression of confusion and distress as mine. The others gathered around, eager to know the details.

"What do you mean?" Levi asked, just as nervous as the rest of us. 

"Eden and Ari ride to school together every morning," I clarified for the rest of them who didn't know. "You're saying he didn't show up? Did you try answering the front door?"

"No, I waited for thirty minutes," Eden whimpered, clearly in distress. "Usually I wait for a bit, I never know what time he's coming down since he can't text, but this time he just didn't show up at all. That's why I was late this morning."

"Wait—so what happened last night? After you took him to the hospital? You never texted us back," I pressed, questioning Eden like she was a suspect involved in a crime.

"M-My phone died, I'm sorry," she stammered. I was obviously putting her under a lot of pressure, which wasn't my intention, so I took a step back to ease her troubles. "I brought him to the hospital and his foster parents were there. They went in with him and told me to go home, so I did. I haven't heard anything from them since."

"Fuck," Rian muttered to himself, turning his head away.

"I texted him a thousand times," Eden huffed, scrolling through her phone. "If he sent messages, I would've gotten them by now, it's long past eleven."

"You think he'll show up later today?" Levi bargained, trying his best to maintain a hopeful mindset. "We have band practice again after school, maybe he'll come by?"

"If he didn't show up to school, I doubt he's gonna show up to band practice," I grumbled, choosing to step away from the huddle. I paced around a bit, panicking like a madman.

What if he's officially gone deaf?

What if that's it for him? No more music?

Maybe I should've been a better teacher. Maybe I should've been harder on him, or at least more encouraging. If he loses his hearing, he won't know how to talk to anyone at all. And it'll be my fault for not getting him to learn sooner.