Secret Heart: Other Realm, Frost Family Series, Book 3

Lock 22

Willow glanced up at a familiar voice. "Andrew?" she murmured, startled. "Oh, right, my music," she said under her breath.

Sera, who was standing inside the pantry, putting up the canned cream of soups, turned her head in interest. She watched as Willow rushed out of the pantry. In the background, just loud enough to make out but soft enough that it didn't make it hard for anyone to hold a conversation, music had been playing. It wasn't a song Sera recognized, but she'd liked the sound of it. With it's abrupt ending, she felt a little lost. Willow came back a few seconds later, her shoulders dropping a bit. "Why did you turn off the music?" Sera asked.

Willow glanced at her, black eyes looking tired. "My boyfriend isn't a fan. It sort of drives him nuts," she explained in a subdued tone of voice.

Sera eyed her. "Is that so? Well, personally I didn't think the music was that bad. Who was singing?"

Willow's lips lifted into a smile as she returned to putting away the pasta. "Whitney Houston."

Sera turned back to her task as well. "She's got quite the voice," she observed.

"Yeah, she really does," Willow agreed, her mood brightening.

At the deep freezer, Aiden glared at the stereo on the kitchen counter. "Really, she could have just left it on. Fuck Andrew," he grumbled darkly under his breath.

Nisha eyed her oldest in alarm, pausing in putting up some ground beef. "Aiden? You going to be okay?" she asked in worry.

He blinked, looking at her in confusion. "Yeah, of course, why do you ask?"

She frowned. "You don't normally get angry and you don't normally curse. It just surprised me, that's all."

He let out a quiet laugh. "Oh, that? No, I'm just pissed off at Andrew and at Willow."

Nisha went through what she'd observed and overheard in the past half hour. "Andrew is Willow's boyfriend, right?" He nodded tightly, dark green eyes glittering in annoyance. "Alright, I can see why he might upset you. But what did Willow do?" she questioned.

He gave her a sardonic smile. "Well, she half broke my heart. I told her how I feel, but she told me that I'd be better off with some other woman."

Nisha winced. "Um...yeah, I can see some bad emotions from that...and I'm sorry it ended up like that, honey."

"Honestly, I expected it. I knew she was going to reject me, but I needed to finally tell her. No, what really annoys me is how she doesn't seem to realize that Andrew doesn't deserve her. It also pisses me off that she almost seems to think Andrew is the best she'll ever be able to do for herself. It's like she's terrified of telling him off when he does something she doesn't like. And, right now, it's the music," he spoke in a strange, intense manner.

Nisha eyed him, feeling her heart ache for her son. He really does love her... "Music?" she asked in interest. "Yeah, it stopped."

"Willow's crazy about her music. It's a part of her. She always has music playing in the house, the car, wherever she goes. No guy who can't accept, appreciate, or love that about her is ever going to be able to stay with her..."

"And you do?" Nisha asked gently.

"Yes," he said calmly, shifting the seafood section around as he put the shrimp that had been bought at the bottom of the freezer. "Wait until you hear her sing, Mom," he smiled wistfully. "I guess you all must think I've been replaced by a changeling..." he chuckled softly.

Reaching up, Nisha placed a hand on his shoulder, prompting him to turn his head and stare down at her. "Not at all, honey," she smiled warmly at him. "Besides, love makes everyone crazy and change. And, honestly, a lot of the time, its for the better."