Triage: A Backstage Story

Chapter 5

April 2024

"Bianca!" Scarlett called from her seat on the sofa. "Bianca!"

"What's wrong?" She walked out of the shower, drying her hair with a towel.

"Our band's website is down! I can't find it anywhere."

"Oh." Bianca pursed her lips. "I meant to tell you, Scar. I closed it down."

"What?" Scarlett set her laptop aside. "Why would you do that?"

"We haven't booked a gig in over a year. Alya's not exactly present right now either."

Scarlett scowled. "It's a decision we should have made together."

Bianca sighed and sat next to her. "There's something else you should know. I had an audition for a movie. I got the role and I'll be flying to California for three weeks."

"You didn't tell me about this." Scarlett's eyes widened in shock. "Who's the director?"

Bianca averted her eyes. Scarlett knee she was hiding something.

"Bianca, who's the director?" She asked more firmly.

"Austin Taylor."

"The same guy who assaulted my sister? The one who bullied Alya?" Scarlett scoffed. "I thought you were better than this. So, what, are you a couple now?"

"No! Scar, it's so much money. He's rich and financing it himself. I'll be able to take care of us. At least for awhile."

Scarlett just watched her. "Don't bother coming back."

"What?"

"If you do this, don't bother coming back to this apartment. We're done, Bianca. I can't trust you anymore."

***

Alya entered the Open Hearts facility. Maria looked up from a conversation with the receptionist.

"Alya, I'm glad you came back to see us."

"I wanted to know more about the non profit," she admitted.

Maria brightened. "The founder is a friend of mine. But she has me run the day-to-day things. We provide free access to psychiatrists and therapists for up to a year."

"And you do creative therapy?"

"Yes, here comes our art instructor now."

Alya turned. It was Julie Maslani.

Of all the memories that could have come flooding back when she saw Julie, the one Alya remembered vividly was her first date with Miles.

She'd known he liked someone. Alya had thought it was her and he was too scared to ask her out. So, she asked him out. It was only before their date, she'd found out that Miles had wanted to ask Julie out instead.

But... he'd chosen Alya. And Julie looked so sad. Dark circles rimmed her eyes. She held a box of paints and paint brushes.

She gave Alya a small smile.

"It's good to see you."

Alya hugged her. "You too. You teach art here?"

"Julie and our dance instructor are some of the few staff members we employ," Maria explained. "Almost everything else is volunteer run."

"Would you like to see the art room?" Julie asked.

Alya nodded.

"I can introduce you to our dance instructor, too." Julie led Alya down the hall to the art room. She set the box on a table.

The wall was covered in pieces of artwork. Paintings and sketches stared back at her. Dark, grotesque... and beautiful.

"Did you do all these?" She asked Julie.

"No. Everyone who comes through here leaves something behind for those that come after them."

"What about the dance part?"

"Follow me." Julie walked next door to the dance studio.

A blond man practiced in front of the mirrors. "Morning Julie. Who's your friend?"

"Alya Kendrick."

He blinked. "Yeah. You probably don't remember me. I'm Beckett Bradstreet. We went to school together."

"You were Vanessa's boyfriend," Alya remembered.

"Still together." He smiled.

"That's wonderful. It's nice to see true lovers stay together."

"Alya wants to see what your dancers have done."

Beckett walked over to a bench and pulled out a laptop from his backpack. He pulled up a video from a few months ago. "Several of our patients did this dance." He clicked play.

"Wow," Alya said after a few minutes. "That was beautiful."

"So what do you plan to leave behind?" He asked. 

"I hadn't thought about it," she said.

"Don't scare her, Beckett. She only got here," Julie teased.

"What about music?" Alya asked. "I thought I saw a music room last time I was here."

"We don't have a music instructor." Beckett shrugged. "But you're welcome to use the instruments."

Alya went into the music room, picking up an acoustic guitar like the one she had at the apartment. It fit her hands perfectly like a nice pair of gloves... or like Miles's hand.

He'd played acoustic, too. This guitar reminded her of him, but she smiled, gently strumming the music to Dig Deep.

All this time she'd thought Miles was her home, but while he'd been a big part of her life, music was her true home.

She needed to stop running from what she needed to survive. And holding this guitar, Alya realized what she needed was music.