Out of Tune: The Original 2015 Draft

chapter 29

Every song is like a painting—Dick Dale

The car rolled to a stop outside of a glamorous-looking business building. It was a high rise, several stories tall, with the word Hype Records Ltd. in large bold lettering on the side of the window. It was a building meant for intimidation. I could picture the men who worked in there, all dressed up in their suits and ties and carrying around brief cases.

For just a moment, I felt absolutely and positively sick.

But then it passed and a sure readiness filled my veins. I took a deep breath, calmed myself down and removed my seatbelt. I opened the car door and stepped out onto the busy L.A. sidewalk. My hands were stuffed in my pockets and I could feel the rim of Spencer's glasses against the tip of my finger.

I didn't know why I'd felt the need to bring them along. It had been an impulsive move but it weighed heavily on me now. There was no rhyme or reason for having them with me. It wasn't even as if they were a momentum of anything important. They were just my boyfriend's glasses.

Spencer climbed out of the car behind me. He limped over to me with his crutches and wrapped an arm around my waist for a moment. He only switched back to holding his crutch when he nearly tripped on a crack on the pavement.

"Ready?"

I considered for a moment before nodding and smiling at him. "Definitely."

He grinned and kissed my cheek. "That's my girl."

Two minutes later, the guys and Taylor had all assembled around Spencer and I. The excitement in the air was almost a tangible thing. I could feel it settling against me, keeping time with the pulse in my throat.

"All right," Taylor said. "Let's go."

Everyone started forward. My fingers brushed against the frame of Spencer's glasses once more and before I really knew what I was doing, I stopped and called him back. "Hey, Spence?"

Just as quickly as we'd all started walking, we all stopped. Everyone turned back to look at me but I was looking only at Spencer. I bit my lip and muttered, "Can I have a word?"

Spencer frowned but nodded. "You guys go on ahead. We'll catch up in a minute."

"C'mon," Miles said to Taylor. He grabbed her hand and led her forward. Zeke and Charlie looked as if they wanted to stay and see what was going on but Miles smacked the sides of their heads and ushered them forward.

Once they'd all left to wait just inside the door, Spencer turned back to me. "What's wrong? Are you okay?"

I nodded. "I'm fine. I just wanted to give you these." I pulled his glasses out of my pocket and held them out to him. He didn't take them, just stared at me as if I'd gone a little bit crazy, which maybe I had.

"You wanted to give me my glasses?" Spencer's voice was just bordering on incredulous. "You know I'm wearing contacts, right?"

"I know," I said. "I just...I honestly don't know. I don't know why I brought your glasses. I just did."

Spencer cocked his head to the side. "What's going on, Aileen?"

What was going on? I truly had no idea. But then a question flashed into my mind, pushing all other thoughts away.

"Why did you start wearing contacts? I know they make your eyes itch and irritate you. I've seen you rubbing at your eyes when you think no one is looking," I told him at his confused look. "So why do you wear them?"

"Is now really the time for this conversation?" he refuted.

Probably not. "Yes."

Spencer sighed. "You really want to know?"