Up in the Stars

Deceit

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Her freshly tuned cello felt warm and familiar under her hands.

The comforting pressure of the wood between her knees.

Enid knows she's been neglecting it, neglecting her music.

Her world has been too busy. Too complicated.

She longs for the simplicity of her first months in America.

Of her life in Wales.

Voices drift down the hallway toward her as she dances her fingers down the strings.

"Practicing without me, angel?" Alexander leans against the doorframe, his golden curls falling into his eyes.

He is smiling at her softly and she can see the ever-present concern in his amber gaze.

It has been there since last week, when they first heard the news about Patrick.

Enid knew she had been distant, disconnected.

Much of her week off had been spent curled in the window seat in the library or outside in the snowy garden.

Days spent reading and wandering, nights spent lying awake, thinking.

She hasn't been avoiding them, but she hadn't sought them out like she normally did, either.

Her mind and emotions are still in a state of disarray.

The memory of their conversation with Graham plays repeatedly in her mind.

It's reminiscent of when her father's vinyl player would get stuck and the same few notes would play again and again.

Echoing inside her until her heart matched their rhythm.

"The showcase is in a week and a half and finals start tomorrow, so I won't have much time to practice during the week." Enid gives him a tentative smile.

"You're going to do wonderfully if Alexander's praise is anything to go by." Graham steps into the room from behind Alexander, giving her a nod in greeting.

His presence startles her, but she shifts her features into a welcoming smile quickly.

"Oh, hi Graham! I didn't realize you were here." Her eyes immediately run over his exposed skin, but she finds nothing.

She is still concerned.

"Just had some business to wrap up." His lips press into a thin smile.

Alexander shifts, something flickering across his eyes as he watches Graham.

Something like a warning.

Enid watches the two of them, sinking her teeth into her bottom lip.

An awkward silence fills the spacious room.

"I need to go into town." She breaks it.

Her phone seems to heat up as she says it, she imagines it searing a hole through her pocket.

She had received a text that morning from an unknown number.

Ready to finally solve the puzzle? Meet me at Harold's Grocer at 1.

Her first impulse had been to show it to Dante who had been cooking breakfast for her.

She had glanced over at him, his hands expertly dicing a strawberry.