Da Capo

Chapter 24

Chapter 24

The two weeks leading up to Stephanie's trip back to America were sadly uneventful. Stephanie wasn't allowed back at the Royal Academy anymore (to play her violin, at least), so she had pretty much resigned herself to not practicing anymore for the duration of her stay in London. However, Lydia seemed determined to help Stephanie continue to practice, despite her unfortunate situation – she went and bought a bunch of soundproof foam panels and put them all over the walls of her guest room so Stephanie could play her violin without bothering the neighbors. Stephanie suspected Lydia did that because she felt guilty about Stephanie getting kicked out of the Academy, even though Stephanie didn't blame her in the slightest. However, she did appreciate being able to practice in the apartment during the day without having to worry about the neighbors complaining.

But then there was Kyle, and Stephanie just felt completely lost. He had barely spoken to her since that day in the Royal Academy, and she wasn't sure what to make of that. She knew they hadn't exactly been on speaking terms since their fight over two weeks ago, but Stephanie had thought that maybe he wanted to try to make up with her since the incident with Chloe in the performance hall. He had passionately defended Stephanie's honor at that time, and she honestly appreciated his words at the time, but his radio silence since then bothered her.

Has he changed his mind about me?

Stephanie maintained the silent treatment with him until a few days ago, where she broke down and texted him what time her flight was leaving from Heathrow in the hopes that he would at least come by with Lydia and say goodbye to her. He merely texted her back a 'thanks for the info', but didn't follow up with anything else. Stephanie would be lying if she said she wasn't hurt by that.

He was clearly distancing himself from her. The thought was depressing, but Stephanie forced herself to remember that the two of them were never going to work out anyway. Perhaps this was for the best.

It had to be.

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The morning of Stephanie's departure dawned bright and early, and thankfully there didn't seem to be any typical London rain clouds in the sky as the sun peeked over the horizon. Stephanie's flight was leaving very early in the morning, but Lydia had promised to go with her to the airport despite the early hour. Lydia didn't have a car, so the two of them loaded Stephanie's luggage into a cab they had booked before they drove off toward the airport.

"I can't believe your London trip is actually over," Lydia said, leaning her head against the back headrest and yawning widely. "Oh, 'scuse me," she apologized, covering her mouth. "I'm not used to waking up this early."

"At least you get to go home and go back to bed after this. I have a seven-hour flight to look forward to," Stephanie stated, fighting a yawn as well. "I doubt I'll be able to sleep on the plane."

"Too bad you can't practice on the flight," Lydia joked, and the two of them laughed at the idea of Stephanie taking out her violin and practicing on a crowded plane.

"If only," Stephanie grinned. "I know I've said it already, Lydia, but thank you for everything you've done for me after Chloe got me kicked out of the Academy. You didn't have to cover your guest room walls with soundproof foam so I could continue to practice, but it was very nice of you anyway."

"Oh please, it was my pleasure," Lydia brushed off. "I've been meaning to soundproof one of the rooms of my apartment for ages now – you just gave me the excuse to finally do it."

"Well, now you can practice your own violin in the peace and quiet of your apartment," Stephanie pointed out. "Maybe I should do that at my place... if I had a place to go back to, that is."