When the Devil Cries (Arthur Morgan X Male OC)

18. Calm Before the Storm

From Arthur's POV

SHADY BELLE

ONE WEEK LATER

Waking up to a bright beam of sunlight hittin' me directly in the face, I squinted in response and shielded my eyes with a lazy hand, only to feel my ears perk in interest when I suddenly picked up on the distant chime of piano music.

It sounded like it was comin' from downstairs, and I could also hear a few other voices speaking over it -- Hosea and Abigail, to be precise -- but it didn't seem like whoever was playin' it was doing it out of leisure. It seemed more like...they was practicing. As if preparing for some kinda performance.

Heh. If I was bein' honest, I completely forgot there was a piano downstairs in the first place. No one ever used it, and it was covered in dust and old paint just like everything else, but I could see it didn't take Eddie long to find it.

It was nice to hear him playin' again though. It felt like ages since he last hit a single note, and I was glad that the boy finally had some time to just take a breath and do what he loved, for once. He certainly deserved it.

Sluggishly rising from bed, I let out a fatigued yawn and rolled my shoulders, afterwards touchin' up my appearance a bit before grabbing my hat and heading out the door.

It had been a while since I was able to walk freely on my own. Last time I was up and about, I was clingin' onto Dutch like a man whose foot got stuck in a stirrup, and I felt like death. No -- worse than death.

Thanks to Eddie though, I was finally back home and in a good enough shape to return to work. Every inch of me still ached to some extent, but I imagined Dutch was done waiting, and had plans to hit that bank at any minute now. I'd have to be ready.

Pushing the door open, I made my way into the corridor and wandered to the stairs, listenin' in on the conversation that was going on below as Eddie finished the song.

Abigail let out an impressed sigh, her soft voice echoing throughout the otherwise quiet mansion.

"That...was real nice, Eddie. I had no idea Arthur brought such a musician to us."

Eddie smiled at her, thinking back to a certain memory. "Did you know I convinced Arthur to play the piano once?"

Abigail chortled. "You're pullin' my leg."

"No, seriously. I managed to persuade him to play an entire song with me. He's...actually not too bad at it."

Surprisingly, she didn't appear that shocked. "Is that so? Hmm...some part o' me always knew Arthur weren't as gruff as he came across. I mean, you leave that man with a pen and paper for long enough, and he might just create a masterpiece. Still though, I wish I was half as good as you when it came to the piano."

Eddie quirked a brow. "You play the piano?"

"Not well," she replied with a chuckle. "But I dabble in it sometimes. Though, it's hard to practice regularly when I'm constantly lookin' after that boy."

The musician nodded in understanding. "Jack is quite the wanderer, indeed. He always seems to be exploring."

Abigail gave him a nudge. "I was talkin' about John."

The two of them laughed nonchalantly at that, their voices gradually falling silent once Abigail decided it was time for her to leave.

She stood up from the piano, beaming at Eddie in a grateful manner.

"Well, thank you for playin' that song, Mister Ryan. It was a nice change o' pace, compared to what normally goes on around here, but...I should probably get back to work. Miss Grimshaw don't like it when I take breaks. Or rest at all, for that matter."