Beautiful Symphony

Chapter 8

I woke up the next morning with jumbled memories of the previous afternoon. After I told him my name, he said the most frustrating thing ever. He told me it was a pretty name, and he hoped he'd see me again. Was he serious? Was he joking? Why did he have to say that? Now I'll never stop thinking about it. Stupid boys. They will ruin my life.

I had washed my hair and skin thoroughly the night before, hoping to clean off the ice cream disaster that made my evening wonderful that afternoon. I slipped on a solid black sundress and tied the skeleton key necklace around my neck.

I had decided to keep the whole jewelry box thing to myself. I really didn't want to stir up old emotions in Dad, especially since he seemed to be enjoying himself so much on this vacation. He just always got this weird look on his face when we talked about Mom, and I couldn't really blame him. She was his world. She was our world.

I headed straight for the music room. I had been longing for the piano ever since I had left it the last time. I opened the doors to find something I hadn't expected.

The whole room was polished top to bottom, dusted, scrubbed, and orange scented. The paintings were even straightened back up. I gawked at the room for a solid minute before Dad appeared behind me.

"She did a pretty good job, didn't she?" He said with a smile. I gave him a questioning look.

"Crystal heard you playing the other day and decided to clean the place up. I tried to tell her that we could just hire someone to do it, but she insisted on doing it herself." He gave me a smirk and a pat on the back. He knew I didn't expect that one.

He left me with the newly-polished room, and I didn't know what to think. I never knew that Crystal did things for other people. Hell, I didn't even know she knew how to clean. Maybe she wasn't a living Barbie doll after all.

I opened the glass double-doors and let the cool beach air roll in. The view was pretty great, and playing the piano could really wear me out, so I needed the fresh air. I sat down at the piano and pushed my hair over one shoulder. I decided to play an old favorite of mine, Heaven's Lullaby.

The notes bloomed like flowers, filling the air with their scent. This song always calmed me down when I first heard it, and it hadn't failed yet. I swayed a bit with the movement of my hands, letting myself become one with the song. I closed my eyes and drifted into the song. I almost started humming along, when my fingers got tired. I had only been playing for 4 minutes or so, but my fingers weren't used to the sudden exercise.

I opened my eyes and sighed. I looked towards the open doors, hoping to see a calming view, but what I saw made my heart leap out of my chest.

"That was beautiful.." Elliot said, leaning in the doorway. I nearly fell off the stool with his sudden appearance. How in the world does he know where I live?! I swiftly moved behind the piano and eyeballed him from where I stood.

"How do you know where I live?"

"My mother told me."

"Why?"

He smirked. "To bring you a muffin basket."

I pointed to his empty hands. "No muffins."

"Ah, you got me there." He put his hands up in surrender. "But she did tell me to come introduce myself to the neighbors, so hi." I shot him a cold stare. He shot a warm one back.

"Can you play it again?"

"What?"

"That song. Play it again. Or another one. Anything is fine."

This boy had some nerve, barging into my house, requesting me to play songs for him. He didn't even know me. Every ounce of my being told me to kick him out. Make him leave. Tell him to leave me alone and quit being a creep.

But I didn't. It felt like something, someone, was pushing me towards him. I slid back onto the stool, and began to play again. I played a more common song, "You are My Sunshine". Partly to mock him, but partly because I secretly liked it. He listened quietly for a minute or two, before nudging me to scoot over.

I gave him a look, but made room for him, while still playing. He watched my fingers from key to key. I could feel my face turning bright red, and a kept my head down. I finished the song and he began to retrace the notes. He messed up a few times at first, but got about halfway through the song. His arms were moving across the line of keys, and I could feel his heat next to mine.

He finished the song and paused for a moment. He got up and started to leave. Wait! Don't leave yet! I wanted to say. I didn't know why, but I didn't want him to leave. As if he read my mind, he stopped in the doorway. He looked over his shoulder and smiled.

"See you later, Sunshine."

[Author's Note: Hey guys! Thanks so much for reading, voting, and commenting! It is all very appreciated. I hope you've enjoyed the story so far! Please let me know if you have any thoughts or suggestions! :)]