Logan

24. Movement

I flicked my Instagram open as soon as I got home... the comfort of my bed, and being wrapped up in my blankets as the cold rain pounded against my window had brought me instant peace.

Damien and I hadn't even recorded any music. We only sat and talked, and sang back and forth, until I'd finally mustered up the courage to ask him to perform with me tomorrow.

I typed in Damien's Instagram handle, and I instantly knew he was a true musician. It was mostly little clips of concerts and sets, different locations in California tagged here and there.

On the off-chance it was a selfie, they were shots of him in dimly lit dressing rooms. He always either had eyeliner on or he was with his guitar, and he was always looking away from the camera.

Something told me that he wasn't used to getting attention, which explained how shy he was during our meeting. His profile photo had the pink and orange ring around it, which indicated a recent story, and I almost too eagerly clicked to watch.

"Hey guys, so guess what? I'm here in the boonies, but I managed to get a gig! I wish I had gotten some videos of our rehearsal, but she seems like a pretty private person and I was way too nervous to ask." It was just a few blocks away from AB's studio, right next to one of the coffee shops. "If you're in the area, come see me and Natalie performing at The Brass Kettle tomorrow at 7:00, there's going to be a few other bands there and I'm so pumped!"

Then it was a couple of funny photos of him sipping on an iced coffee and petting a dog along the walk. Our town was so easy to navigate, of course a complete stranger like him could easily go from place to place.

I called Logan to tell him how excited I was, but it went to voicemail...

-

-

-

*Damien's POV*

When my phone pinged with the notification that Natalie had followed me, I couldn't help but scroll through her photos. She had photos of various celebrities, movie ticket stubs, and the occasional videos of her playing passionately on the guitar.

Always her hands, and never her face; it was the sense of sadness that hooked me on her sound. Her eyes were like a portal, and her voice was the vessel.

I knew she wasn't single, because she was holding someone's hand in her profile picture, but I also couldn't see any clear pictures of the guy...
-
-

I was nervous, I hadn't been to this house since my dad piled me into the car on that fateful night.

I tried calling Skip a few times, but they all went to voicemail. I tried the front entrance, but I couldn't get in. I checked the usual hiding spots for keys, and also came up short. I finally decided to jimmy the basement window and crawled in. The basement was the same, amps and instruments scattered everywhere along with board games and Mom's old scrapbook supplies in a few totes along the far wall. The bedroom on the end of the hallway was made up, thankfully. I set everything down and tried to find something of sustenance in the kitchen. I munched on a banana and some forgotten ramen in the cupboards when my phone rang.

"Damien?" I let out a breath of relief.

"Skip! I tried calling you a few times, but it went to voicemail."

"I know, sorry. We're about an hour away. We decided to stay here tonight since we're looking at venue places for the band, and I'm just taking a few photos."

"We?" My breath hesitated for a moment before I realized who she was talking about. I heard him say 'Who's that?' before I answered. "Oh. Never mind. Uh, well I'm at the house. I would've stayed at a hotel or something, but I didn't think Mom would mind if I crashed here."