What The Heart Wants (Stereo Kicks/ James Graham)

Chapter 18

"I'm so sorry you guys." I sighed as I sat down on one of the lower bunks and massaged my temples. "What are you sorry for?" Casey asked as he sat down next to me on the bed. "I just ruined our chances of winning. We needed the vocal coach and I ruined it." I looked up at all of them. "Aria, you didn't do anything wrong. We agree with everything you said and did." Casey assured me. "Yeah. Plus it was kinda hot seeing you put him in his place." Barclay smirked. The boys smiled and agreed with his statement. "You guys are ridiculous." I giggled. "Indeed we are. But seriously, you didn't do anything wrong. Plus we wouldn't have left if we didn't have confidence in you. You can get us through this." Charlie came up to me and gave me a hug. "Thanks Charlie." I smiled and hugged him back. Charlie was quickly becoming one of my favorite boys. I mean, obviously I love them all but Charlie is like my little brother, which is something I need considering I'm so far away from- "So now that we've established you didn't make a mistake, we should start practicing." Tom interrupted me mid-thought. "Agreed." I said as I pulled out my phone and turned on Mirrors by Justin Timberlake. We all listened, and I closed my eyes to brainstorm possible starting places and solos. Once the song was over I opened my eyes and the boys looked at me expectantly. "Alright, so we can start at the beginning." I said. I started the song over and pointed out parts that would sound good with each of the boys' vocals. "Now James, you have a great range and we're going to want to show it off." I looked at him. He nodded his head. "How are we going to do that?" He asked. I smiled and began singing the part I wanted him to try. "Uh...I'm not sure I can hit those notes." He said suspiciously. "You can. Just try." I urged him. He tried, and as I suspected, he nailed it. I smiled proudly. "Told ya." He smiled and shook his head and I handed out the rest of the parts. "Alright. Lets try it." I said and tapped the tempo on my leg. Tom started singing and then we all sang our designated parts. It sounded good. When we finished, the guys looked at me and smiled. "You're incredible, you know that?" Casey smiled at me. "Yes, I do." I joked. They chuckled and we decided to practice again.

We got done rehearsing about twenty minutes ago. The boys decided to play a game of FIFA, so I came down to the beach. This was easily the most beautiful place I had ever been. It made me feel calm and relaxed. It also made me miss home. I slowly pulled out my phone and dialed a number in my phone. I stared at it for a couple seconds before I finally hit 'call'. "Hello?" His voice caused a dull ache in my chest. "Hey. It's me." I said trying to keep my composure. "Aria? Oh my god. Where are you? I've been worried sick!" He yelled into the phone. "Caden, I'm fine. I'm actually in Bermuda." I let out a small laugh. "What the— how did you get there?" He asked. "Well. I'm only here for a few more days. I'm competing in the X Factor UK. I got put into a group and we made it through to judges houses." I said. There was no response. "Caden? You still there?" I asked quietly. "I'm here. Just...processing." He replied. "I know. It's a lot to take in. I'm sorry I didn't tell you I was leaving. I just...had to get away." I managed to get out. "I get it. But Aria...I miss you. You're my only sister. I can't handle this without you. She's getting worse and I don't know what to do." Caden, my little brother whom I abandoned after we found out our mom had Alzheimer's, cried into the phone. I hated hearing him cry. He was the strongest person I knew and knowing that I left him to deal with this all alone was enough to make me hate myself. "Caden I'm so sorry I left. But I can't leave now. I have to stay and see where this goes. If it works out, I'll be able to pay for her treatments." I cried. He took a deep breath before replying. "Fine. But if it doesn't work out, you know what we need to do." He wasn't crying anymore. "Yeah. I know." I looked into the ocean and prayed that this risk would pay off. I heard footsteps behind me and turned to see Casey approaching. "Caden, I have to go." I said into the phone. "Ok. Keep in touch. I miss you Aria." He whispered. "I miss you too." I said, and just then, Casey walked up beside me. "I love you. And good luck." I could hear the smile in his voice. "Thank you. I love you too." I smiled and hung up. Casey looked over at me with his eyebrows raised. "My brother." I answered his unasked question. "I didn't know you had a brother." He stated then sat down on the sand. I sat down next to him, our arms brushing against each other. He looked over at me and smiled. "Why haven't you told us about him?" He asked. "No reason. It just never came up." I shrugged my shoulders. "Aria..." he hesitated. "Hmm?" I looked over at him and began playing with the sand next to me. "Why did you leave?" He asked me. I stopped playing with the sand and looked at him nervously. "I'm sorry. You don't have to tell me." He looked away from me to the ocean. "I'm sorry. I just...don't want to talk about it." I looked at my finger marks in the sand. "It's okay. I shouldn't have asked." He cleared his throat then stood up. I looked up and he extended his hand to me. I took it and he helped me stand. I wiped my hands on my shorts. "Ah shit." I whined. "What is it?" He looked at me. "I should have thought before I wiped my sand covered hands on my white shorts." I groaned. He began laughing. "Oh you think this is funny?" I smiled. "I think its hilarious." He laughed. I quickly bent down and grabbed a handful of the damp sand and threw it at him. He stopped laughing and looked at me. "Oh yeah?" He bent down to pick up his own sand, and that's when I began running. "HEY! GET BACK HERE!" He yelled and began chasing me with the dirt still in his hand. After he was only a few feet away, he chucked the sand and it hit me in the back of the head. I screamed and then laughed. He ran up behind me and wrapped his arms around my waist from behind. "Got you." He whispered in my ear and smiled. I turned and faced him. Our lips were just inches away. He looked down at my lips and then back in my eyes. We stood there for a few seconds, him holding me and both of us just staring at each other. "You scare me." He whispered. I laughed and pulled away. "How the hell do I scare you?" I looked at him. "You're just...I don't know. You make me nervous." He chuckled and rubbed the back of his head nervously. "Well in that case..." I walked up and pressed my lips to his cheek. His face turned a light shade of red, causing me to smile. "Come on." I grabbed his hand. "Where are we going?" He asked, but followed me anyway. "For a walk." I answered and led us back toward the beach. We walked along the beach just talking about random things until the sun set and the cool ocean air caused goose bumps to cascade across my arms every time the wind blew. "We should head inside." He said. I nodded my head and we made our way back to the house, our fingers still intertwined.

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