The Barefoot Violinist

Alone

The next morning, he insisted on going to school over his mother's protests. He'd finally won her over and closed the front door, surprised to see a black vehicle with dark tinted windows waiting outside for him. One of the men, Tony, was holding the door open for him. Before he could protest, Tony forestalled him.

"Ms. Blue instructed us to take you to school, no argument." He gestured again for Bennett to get into the car. With a sigh and roll of eyes, he complied.

Getting out of the parked car, both men escorted Bennett into the school in silence, walking a distance behind him. When he got to his locker, they stationed themselves on either side of him, looking at the students milling about. Bennett's ears were red from embarrassment. Everybody must be thinking that he's some sort of drama queen. While they were driving, he tried to get them to drop him off outside of school, but Tony only turned to him and said;

"It's best to do as Ms. Blue says for now."

Now he was stuck with two burly security guards following him around everywhere he went. Before he could go to his first class, one held a hand up to stop him, while the other entered the classroom. After a few moments he came back and with a nod, Bennett was allowed to enter and take his seat, with both men stationing themselves on either side of the classroom door outside. They followed him everywhere, not saying a word. He wondered how the school would allow this, but decided that Blue will have all the answers to his questions.

"Blue, I don't mean to be dramatic..." he paused with a smile, "but are these guys really necessary. Nobody is going to attack me you know."

"You'll do as I say Ben, no arguments. They'll take you where you need to be and make sure that you're not disturbed." she said pointedly, her tone indicating that any argument will be useless.

"But the school won't allow this." He tried again, looking for an option out. He didn't need to ask who Blue was preventing from disturbing him.

"Oh, they already have. They didn't want their reputation muddied and spread all over the news." Her face reflected her revulsion. "What you need to understand Ben, is that is that when I want something, nothing can stop me from getting it!" her intensity was almost overwhelming, but Bennett could believe that it was true. "They are there to ease my mind. You do understand, don't you?" The concern in her eyes made him look away and nod.

When he spotted Cory in the hallway, he purposefully avoided eye contact. When Cory tried to come over to him, he was stopped by one of the guys, Jarred, he thinks, watching the burly man cross his arms, feet firmly planted on the ground, ready for anything.

Cory looked sadly at Bennett and turned around. Bennett was glad for this. He didn't want to speak to Cory just yet. Everything was standing out starkly in his head. The time he'd spent with Cory and that awful day where everything went wrong. He could still hear Jake whispering in his ear. In the door of his locker a small card peeked out. "I'm sorry." was all it said with a picture of a bull on it. This time, Bennett did not smile. He scrunched up the card and tossed in the bin as he walked past.

It's been a week since seeing Bennett and Cory felt just as gloomy as before. He couldn't get close enough to speak to him. Blue's security guards followed Bennett everywhere, even when he was on his bike. Obviously, that he was persona non grata when it came to Bennett, but if he could only explain to him what happened, he knew that he could win him back.

He couldn't even listen to Bennett play outside of the music room, the guards were always stationed outside. So, he took to watching the videos of Bennett playing, just to see him again. He'd memorized every feature of Bennett's; his smile, the way he played, his laughter and his playfulness. He wanted his Bennett back, he thought miserably.

Taking the plunge, he dialed Blue's number. No response. Maybe texting would be better.

Cory: Blue?

Blue: Piss off and never call again or I will make good on my promise, or did you forget that?

Cory: Blue, please. It was a misunderstanding. Please I need to see him, even if it's only once, I need to see him!

Blue: That's your problem isn't it. Now piss off.

Cory: Blue, just give me a break, please. That's all I'm asking.

Cory: Blue?

Next, he tried to win Ellie and Victor over, but Ellie looked at him sadly, pity clearly written across her face.

"I don't think any of us can fix this." She said quietly. He turned to Victor, hoping that he'll be more forthcoming.

"Sorry mate, you took it one step too far this time. I'm on Blue's side with this one." Victor frowned, while Ellie nodded in agreement.

Cory sighed and moved on. Finding Tyler, he tried to convince him to speak to Blue again.

"Dude, that's going to be impossible! She really, really hates your guts man. The last time I brought up your name, she had me thrown out of the house! Do you know how scary that woman can be?" he asked.

With a sigh, Cory took his note and slipped it into Bennett's locker. He'd been leaving notes every day, but got no response. He was sure that his security contingent was removing all the notes he had left.

After school, Cory stood on his front porch, not ready to enter the house. Since that fateful day, the house had been deathly quiet. It felt cold and empty again and even when the guys came over, it still felt empty. They were trying to get his mind off Bennett, but the more they tried, the more he missed him.

He'd closed the door to the music room. Looking at it was just too painful and his thoughts kept turning like a hamster wheel, which didn't give him much peace either. He didn't know where to go or what to do. If he could just speak to Bennett, but even that was denied, he thought bitterly.

Taking a deep breath, he unlocked the door and stepped into the silence that reminded him of a mausoleum.