Violinist (CENTURIES series: Book #4)

13

The sunlight tickled my thigh as the morning licked itself over the sky. My curtains made riffs of its chilly warmth seek through, striping my bedroom in gleams of light.

The world was eerily silent.

Opening my eyes, the silence broke as my heart begun its unsteady rhythm at the sight of what met my gaze. He laid silently, lips in a thin line. His eyes were closed and his breaths were easy, but even in his sleep he battled with his demons. The lines on his face told of the inner chaos that stirred in his subconscious. Never a break from the war.

Slowly getting up, I grabbed my silk robe and pulled it on, the chill dotting my skin. I silently made my way to the bathroom door and twisted it quietly. I stepped in, leaving the door ajar.

Flipping my eyes to the mirror, I caught my own reflection. My eyes looked tired and the dark circles below them were exhausted. My hair was in a frizz, the curls untamed and wild. I didn't care. Couldn't find the urge to. As I looked at myself, it was like seeing my own reflection again after years, and what met me was a person I hardly recognized. She had all my features, but her eyes... her eyes looked apart. Deeper.

Perhaps the Tony-affect.

Turning my eyes down, I grabbed my toothbrush and wetted it under the tap. I started brushing my teeth, taking longer than usual, working in a drone-like state. I didn't hear anything behind me until I finally looked up at the mirror again and found that my face wasn't the only one in there anymore.

I halted for a moment as Tony silently stepped up behind me, wearing his trench coat he had slept in. His left hand dropped into the pocket of it and, after a moment of searching, he pulled out two things.

I didn't know why it came as a shock to me he had his own toothbrush and toothpaste. Maybe it was the act of seeing him do something so mundane, something so... normal.

He wetted his brush like I had, smeared a layer of toothpaste on the bristles before he jammed it into his mouth. Silently, he started brushing, his eyes downcast. My own hand automatically started the same action again, copying his movements.

He used the same hand he used on his violin to brush his teeth. Sawing back and forth with much less finesse than what he used on his wooden tool, he cleaned his mouth and then wetted the toothbrush again, rinsing it. Moving a hand under the water, he took a handful and brought it to his mouth. He washed himself, scrubbed his beard, then washed his hands again and turned off the tap.

And then, wordlessly, he left the bathroom. Me.

I stood motionless for a few moments before my body turned to autopilot and finished the job of cleaning my own teeth. I moved around slowly, grabbing a hair tie to tie up my hair. Leaning down to the sink, I splashed cold water into my face, the burst of chilliness waking me up.

I had no idea what today would bring. No idea what he would bring, but I knew no matter what, I was going to face it. No backing down now.

I finished up in the bathroom and then went into my bedroom again, finding Tony... not there. Peering towards my door, I saw it being ajar. My heart jumped into my throat and I quickly walked out.

He was sitting on the couch, the apartment silent and abandoned. I had no idea what time it was, no idea if Dan and Kyle were home. I also didn't care as my eyes fell to Tony who sat silently with his violin, not having taken it out of the case yet. He stared at it like usual, mustering up what I had to assume was mental capacity to face his mortal enemy, his inexplicable alley. The only thing he remembered.