The Music of the Night

Chapter 13

We both looked over to find Gerard and the entire crew staring at us with widened eyes.

Oh my God, I thought to myself in mortification. I'm screwed.

Suddenly, Charlotte feigned a sob and said dramatically, "Oh, thank goodness you're here. Ms. Parker has been harassing and insulting me to no end." She was making puppy-dog eyes at Gerard, and I prayed that he wouldn't believe her.

"I didn't do anything," I croaked, trying to keep the shakiness out of my voice. 

Gerard moved his gaze over to me, and I could only plead with my eyes for him to believe me. Charlotte scoffed and clung herself on to him, being the dramatic diva that she was. 

"I would never," she placed a hand on her chest like she was offended. "What's the point of hurting you anyway? You're a part of this family." She gestured to the hundreds of people with her hand, and her green eyes were like poison ivy as she looked at me with a fake, innocent expression.

Gerard glanced down at Charlotte for moment, who was practically face-to-face with him, and no one dared to breathe, including me.

After a long, excruciating moment, Gerard shrugged her off and stepped over to me, not separating our locked gazes. Before I knew it, his gloved hand wrapped around mine, and he gently pulled me to his side while rubbing his thumb reassuringly along my knuckles. "This was not Ellie's doing, Joel," he stated strongly. "I believe Ms. Banks is at fault here."

Everyone looked over at Charlotte in unison, and she laughed nervously. "I'm afraid you are mistaken, Gerard. Plus, you don't have any proof of it."

All the heads turned toward us, and I wanted to sink in a hole so that no one would ever see me again. But Gerard squeezed my hand and gave me a comforting look, putting me somewhat at ease.

"I do, as a matter of fact." He lifted his other hand and wiped away an errant tear from my cheek, which I didn't even notice was there. Gerard then glanced back over and asked, "Now, why would Ellie be crying if she was the one insulting you, Ms. Banks? I've seen no signs of real distress from you."

It was like a tennis match going back and forth with no end, and I was truly grateful that Gerard had trusted me enough to know that I had done nothing wrong. 

Charlotte's mouth opened, closed, then quivered as she said shakily, "I am in distress, Gerard. Can't you not see?" She whapped up a batch of fake tears for good measure. 

God, she was such an actress.

Joel stepped in and said, "Gerard, why don't you take Ellie back to her station? I'll deal with this." He glanced at me with an understanding expression, telling me nonverbally that he knew it wasn't me. I nodded a "thank you" back to him.

"Will do," Gerard replied. He then turned to me and whispered, "Let's go to our hideout."

I nodded in approval, and he quickly led me out of the scene behind us. Outside, it was a nice, cool day that I would've enjoyed if not for the chaos swirling around in my head. But I decided to keep everything in until were out of sight from everyone.

Gerard opened the door and let go of my hand for a moment so that he could close it. A click sounded off by the door, and I realized that he had locked it. Usually, that would've bothered me, but I was so overwhelmed by my thoughts and emotions that it barely registered in my head as anything but a strategic way of keeping people out, which it probably was.

Once he was sure it was locked, he came back over and guided me to a corner, his arms hovering around me in case I fell over. I sat down with a thud, and Gerard came beside me, close enough so that our arms were touching.

His hand reconnected with mine as he said softly, "You don't need to worry anymore, Ellie. We're safe now."

At those words, I finally broke down and let the tears fall. Uncontrollable sobs came pouring out of my mouth, and Gerard patiently waited like the angel he was.

As I was crying, I spilled everything on what Charlotte had said to me the two times we had met, and I was like a freight train without breaks. I didn't bother to look at Gerard's face, for I was afraid that he was judging me silently while I talked, so I continued to stare down at my lap without glancing at him once.

When I finished my rambling, Gerard brushed my hair back and wiped my tears away. I must've looked so unattractive to him.

Once I got myself somewhat under control, the first thing I managed to ask was, "You don't think it was me?"

Gerard shook his head. "Absolutely not," he replied. "You have too kind of a heart to ever say anything bad about someone."

"But what about what you heard back there?" I argued. "It wasn't exactly nice."

"I've been around enough people to know when they're defending themselves from a bully," Gerard said with a serious tone. "And it was obvious that she was bullying you."

I chuckled humorlessly. "Wow. I must've looked pretty weak."

"No, no," he said, gripping my hand tighter. "You were not weak, Ellie. You were strong. You stood your ground, even when she was trying to get in your head. She was weak for not owning up to her mistakes."

I sniffled and wiped a stray tear away. "You really think so?"

Gerard softly smiled at me and said, "I do."

I smiled too, and we were silent for a few moments before I asked nervously, "Will you...stay with me for a bit? I don't want to face Charlotte right now."

"Of course," he nodded, kissing the back of my hand politely. "You won't need to worry about her while I'm around."

I blushed and looked away from him. "Thank you for defending me back there."

"Anytime."