*Updates most Mondays*
Book Two in the Darien Grace Chronicles
"I couldn't hear the music. I knew that it was pulsing all around me, I could feel it vibrate through the air, but I couldn't hear it. I hadn't been able to hear it for a while now. I ju...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
Darien Grace
Over the next couple of days, I forced myself out more and more. I spent at least an hour or two at Starbucks every morning. I'd show up when I knew that morning classes had begun and I'd leave just before they released. I was easing back into the life that I'd left, but I wasn't exactly ready to dive in headfirst. The very fact that I was leaving the house at all was progress.
Fall was steadily setting in and the temperature was mercifully dropping; it gave me the perfect excuse to break out every hat, scarf, and oversized jacket I owned. I never left the house without tucking my hair up under a hat, but I was still out in society—I just wasn't flaunting it.
The brim of my black Panama hat obscured most of my hair, the front of it shading my face and obscuring my features. Paired with my gray parka and cream scarf, I chose to believe that I was pretty damn near invisible. It wasn't my typical stark black, but I wasn't vibrant as fuck either. It was almost... normal? Normal was good—normal could blend. Couldn't it? I thought so and that was enough reassurance for me.
I sat at my usual table in the back corner of the shop and worked my way through the online courses Caleb had been able to secure for me. He'd registered me for a few of the gen-ed's I'd procrastinated on, as well as another one of the Madame's composition courses. She was allowing me to take the course in a sort of satellite capacity. She and I would email back and forth about the piece that I was working on while I split my time between the Music Hall's basement and the townhome. All that she asked was that I come to campus at least once a week so that we could meet and work in person.
Today was that one day though. I checked my watch. I had just under half an hour before I was supposed to be in her office—which meant classes would be out in less than fifteen minutes. I wasn't in the mood to leave the security blanket that Starbucks provided. Putting my earbuds back in, I returned my attention to the practice exam I'd been clicking my way through.
I looked up at the sudden influx of people shuffling their way into the shop. I checked my watch. I only had five minutes.
Great. Just fucking great.
Stuffing my laptop back in my cross-body, I grabbed my latte, and forced my way out of the shop. My half-finished piece album played at a near deafening volume as I made my trek across campus. My heart began to beat erratically in my chest as I forced my way through the sea of people. I wasn't in the mood to have to deal with the panic of seeing anyone. I kept my head low, counting on the shadows cast by the brim of my hat to grant me anonymity.
The closer I drew to the practice rooms, the more anxious I became. The recording began playing for the third time, just as I could finally see the building. The entire atmosphere changed, charging—It made my blood run cold.
I hesitated, my steps faltering and the person who had been rushing behind me barreled into me, nearly knocking me to the ground. I cursed as my coffee went flying, exploding across the sidewalk. One strong hand wrapped around my upper arm keeping me from falling face first into the pumpkin flavored mess. Electricity shot through my blood stream kickstarting my heart as if a bolt of lightning has just been driven into my chest. I yanked earbuds out.
