Playing for Rya

52. Black Diamond

Song: Ellie Goulding- Love Me Like You Do | The Theorist Piano Cover

The following two-weeks passed without incident. Except for the odd behavior Kris kept up whenever they were together. Gone was her talkative friend, and in her place was a stranger who said very little, fidgeted continuously, and kept insisting that nothing was wrong.

Jace, for his part, had weirded out a little when Rya mentioned Kris' odd behavior. But after he'd gotten past his initial sputter, he had also insisted that everything was alright and that he had not noticed anything out of the ordinary with Kris' recent behavior.

His words might've convinced Rya if he had said them as easily, and with as much conviction as he said everything else. Rya knew her friends well. They were all bad liars, and she had every reason to believe they were lying now. Though, about what, and why, she couldn't tell. And so, at her wits end, she dropped the subject.

She had asked for time off for the coming week, at Derek's request, and had been granted it without question, which made her suspicious that Derek might have pulled strings on her behalf. Not that she minded, if he had.

It was about this time the previous year that she had been excited about starting work at La Cura, and the exact date that they had met again, was fast approaching. Neither of them had said anything about it, and other than the knowledge that he was flying her out of the country, Derek was pretty much mum about the rest of his plans. However, she assumed their anniversary was the reason he had insisted on her taking that particular week off.

In truth, she had a surprise up her sleeve for him too, and she was grateful for whatever additional time she could get to properly execute her ideas.

***

Alessandra Freya Romano had been born two months earlier with her fathers penetrating gaze and a shock of white-blonde hair to rival her mothers'. And as Rya lingered on her video call with Elsa Friday afternoon, she felt a tug of longing as she watched Elsa rock little Freya to sleep after she'd been fed.

"Bella?" Elsa's voice was a hushed whisper as she leaned forward towards her screen. "Are you still with me?" Her hair was pulled into a messy bun, and up close, the bags underneath her eyes were more noticeable, indicating that, perhaps, she was getting a less than adequate amount of sleep. Still, there was a contentedness to her demeanor, and a radiance about her that was enchanting.

"I'm still with you." Rya responded in her own quiet whisper. She recalled how, just months before, she had slipped up on taking her birth control pills and how surprised she had been at Derek's response to her last minute warning after he'd pulled out.

She wondered, for the first time, what it would feel like to hold her baby. Derek's baby. A little person that would be a part of both of them and the purest evidence of the love they shared.

The thought was both scary and exhilarating.

'I'll be back." Elsa said.

Rya's gaze broke away from little Freya's peacefully sleeping form as Elsa slowly stood and headed towards the white, circular crib in the middle of the room. She returned to Rya after she had placed, and swaddled, her baby. She checked the baby monitor, engaged in hushed conversation with Freya's nanny who came into the room just then, before picking up her phone and exiting the nursery.

She yawned as she propped the phone in front of her once more and sat. "Forgive me," she apologized with a smile, "I usually try to get in some sleep anytime I put her down."

"You should go." Rya said firmly in response. "Get some rest. You can just text me the details." She said referring to the reason she had called in the first place, other than to check on mother and child.