Beautiful Symphony

Chapter 9

[Hey there! Just wanted to give a big thanks to all of the readers! I love all of the love! Oh, and just a warning: this is mainly a chapter focused on Ariette's past and current life. Not much romance. Sorry!]

I laid on the soft comforter of my bed, thoughts swirling all around me. What. Just. Happened. This guy suddenly just shows up at my house, listens to me play, scares the living daylight out of me, plays with me, and leaves my heart in a hot mess. I didn't even know he could play the piano, and I made him play freaking You are My Sunshine.

"See you later, Sunshine." His words echoed in my head. Why would he say that? Was that flirting? Oh, God, Ariette, get a hold of yourself. Why would he ever flirt with someone like you? I groaned and placed my arm over my eyes. If only mom were here. She was the best at dealing with these kinds of things. I quickly pushed the thought of my mother away, sitting up.

I glanced out the bedroom window, taking in the view. It was going to be a long summer.

*****

I overslept until about noon the next day. I had been laying in bed awake most of the night recalling the events from that evening. This stupid boy. He. Was. Messing. Me. Up. I couldn't stand it.

I never really had much luck with boys in the past. When I was younger, I didn't have many friends, and the ones I did have were all girls. Boys just never seemed to notice me. I mean, I wasn't terrible to look at or anything, I guess I was just boring. But, getting a boyfriend never really concerned me. I was usually just happy doing my own thing. My friends in middle school always encouraged me, but I just stayed the way I was.

Friends. I hadn't had those in a while. They gave up on me after 1 year of silence, which was longer than I would have expected them to stick around. I was never the same since it happened. I didn't breathe a single word for almost 3 years. I eventually caved in and gave dull responses and three word sentences.

I couldn't really explain what had happened to me, I just know that it did, and it was real. Dad, at the time, thought it was just my way of grieving. He eventually realized that there was something wrong, and did whatever he could to help.

We were never really as close as Mom and I were, so it was hard for him to try and make me talk again. He sent me to several therapists and doctors, whom all said different things. Some recommended group therapy, some said that I belonged in a mental institution, and others wanted me on meds. Dad refused to do anything he knew I wouldn't want. After a while, I stopped seeing doctors. He was at a standstill. His wife was dead and his daughter was broken.

Until he met her. It had been years since Mom's passing, and he needed someone. I'm not exactly sure how he met Crystal, but I don't think it was anything bad. She was surprisingly nice despite her snobbish appearance. Don't judge a book by its cover, I guess.

When Crystal was first brought into my life, I was... Furious, to say the least. It seems silly to me now, but at the time, I had it out for the woman. She eventually won me over with her homemade snickerdoodles and positive attitude. It was refreshing to have someone like that around every now and then.

All of the thinking about the past and my Dad reminded me of the book I had bought him. I still hadn't given it to him, despite having it placed on my night stand for almost a week now.

I grabbed it from my bedside and walked down the stairs. I figured he was probably working on some extra project from his job. We were supposed to be on vacation, yet this guy still wanted to work. I found him in the parlor, with a few papers and blueprints on the table. He was the CEO of an architectural company, so he kept pretty busy. He looked up at me and smiled.

"Hey, kiddo. Whatcha got there?" His eyes glanced over the book.

"I got this for you." I handed the book towards him. It was a historical book, about European architecture. He accepted the offering and looked over it with a toothy smile.

"This is great. Thank you, darling." He rose up and gave me a side hug, and ruffled my hair. "You know I'm a sucker for this stuff."

I hugged back before leaving him to his work. I couldn't wipe the smile off of my face as I walked back up the staircase. "Gosh, I love him." I whispered to myself before returning to my room, shutting the door behind me.

I laid down on the bed, resting my head against the backboard. I grabbed a book, and got comfy. Reading always made me sleepy, despite the fact that I had slept over 9 hours that night.

Just as I started nodding off, something hit my window. Startled, I snapped my head in the direction of the window. But there was nothing there. It must have been a bug. I started to settle back into my reading position, when I heard it again. This time, I put my book down, and crept over to the window. I slowly peeked down, and saw that idiot standing there, with a handful of pebbles in one hand. Oh my God.

He must have seen me peeking, because his face lit up like a Christmas tree. He was shouting something, but I couldn't hear him. I opened the window, making the "shh" gesture. There was no way I was letting Dad or Crystal see him.

He gave me an infectious smile and stopped yelling.

"Oh lovely maiden, would thou please go on a picnic with me?"

I nearly fell out of the window.