Cursed Hearts (A Crossroads Novel) (33 page)

She
stopped in front of the music room, brushing her hand over the weathered door
and peering in through the window.
Empty.
No teacher, no students, and
more importantly, no judgmental stares. The door swung open quietly, and she
pushed it closed behind her, not letting it latch all the way. The spacious,
open room managed to feel both foreign and safe as she leaned
lightly against the door, staring at the abandoned
instruments. She crossed the floor slowly, approaching the piano and running
her fingers gently over the keys. This was what she needed—a song—a way to
express herself. It was like that quote by Hans Christian Andersen.
‘
Where
words fail, music speaks.
’ Sometimes it was the only way she knew how to
find her voice.

Ariahna
sat down at the bench, tucking her knees carefully under the
piano. She was searching for a song – something to
let out everything
that was
buzzing
beneath the surface. She stared down at the keys for a minute
, waiting
for the right one to come to her, groping for
something that could put
words to
how
she was feeling. When she found it, she closed her eyes and began to play.

The
piano chimed gently, ringing out in the perfect silence. Her voice echoed
through the room, as clear and beautiful as a bell, and the haunting
sound washed over her without regard. This was the
purest form of
expression she knew. Sometimes, when she was sitting alone
in that big, empty house, it was all she had. When her father was gone, after the
comfort of her mother’s embrace had become just a distant memory—when all she
had was time and space—this had been her little escape.

She
thought about Christian as she sung. About everything she’d felt for him, and
everything she thought she might have felt. Letting him past her defenses in
the first place had been a mistake. And the horrid part was, she’d known all
along. Trusting anyone other than yourself would only get
you hurt.
Her father had taught her that.
She should have listened. She should have listened to Scarlet, and Dallas, and
even Rome. Everyone had told her to stay away from him. They’d warned her, and
she’d ignored them. She’d been stubborn, or stupid. She’d had to learn the hard
way. What hurt more than knowing it meant nothing to him, though, was the
startling realization of just how much it had meant to her. Christian had
squeezed past her walls and made a little nest in her heart. He’d made her like
him, care about him. And now, she felt empty inside.

Scarlet
leaned against the doorframe, watching Aria drop the fallboard back down onto
the piano. She tilted her head, waiting for the right moment to speak up. There
really wasn’t a ‘right moment’.

“
I Knew You Were Trouble
?” she said softly,
startling her. “I’ve gotta
say,
I didn’t take you for a Taylor Swift fan. Though admittedly, I
think
that version had a little more soul,”
she smiled.

Aria exhaled, looking up at her from beneath lowered
lashes
as she
approached. Scarlet sat beside her on the bench, and the quiet crept back into
the room.

“Christian’s
a prick,” Scarlet muttered.

Ariahna
shook her head softly. “No,” she whispered. “He’s a guy. I think there’s a
distinction. And you were right.”

“I
didn’t want to be, hon.”

“I
know.”

Ariahna
couldn’t decide if this was weird. She smoothed her hands over her skirt,
looking up uncertainly at the older girl beside her.

“Why
are you trying to be my friend?” she asked.

Scarlet’s
instinct was to shrug or roll her eyes at the question, but she
managed to stow the sarcasm for the moment. “You
seem lonely,” she
replied.
That
wasn’t why she’d initiated this little relationship.

“Aren’t
we all?”

Scarlet’s
face pulled into a frown. “Maybe some of us,” she said. “Usually by choice.”
She propped an elbow up on the piano, resting her chin in her hand and turning
a probing look to Aria.

“You
don’t have to take it, you know – the things they’re saying about you. The
hellfire isn’t going to last forever, and you don’t have to let
that sadness and blame I just heard weigh on you.
We aren’t perfect
creatures.
Not every choice we make is going to be a right one. When it’s done though, how
you handle yourself is what determines who you become. So are you going to be
the sad, crushed little girl who got kicked to the curb by a guy? Or are you
going to be strong and confident, and surprise them all? Turn it around, work
the spotlight to your advantage. You don’t have to let them paint you however
they want. You don’t have to become the helpless victim or the easy lay in this
scenario. Make them see who you want, who you are, and tune everything else out.”

Ariahna
took a deep breath, sweeping her fingers through her hair. “I wonder what
they’d say,” she smiled, “if they knew that person that I just saw. Thank you
for being so genuine with me—for being kind. I really didn’t deserve it, and
you definitely didn’t owe me anything. But thank you,” she muttered. “Thank you
for deciding to be more than a stranger.”

Chapter 30

The
school was silent, but if Rome listened hard enough, he could hear the distant
sounds of the party taking place on the other side of the trees. He’d been
waiting for Ariahna in the student lounge like she’d asked, but he was starting
to worry that something was wrong. She was already a half an hour late before
he decided to go see what was keeping her. He was smiling, wondering if she
just couldn’t figure out what to wear. Rome had been so nervous that he’d
showered, twice. He even did his hair and tried to find something that he
looked really good in. Of course all he owned were t-shirts and ripped jeans.
Kaleb’s jacket helped to complete the look, though. Something he felt a little
guilty about.

He
knocked softly on her door. “Ariahna?” he whispered. “It’s Rome.” The door opened
a few seconds later, and when it did, Aria was standing there in her PJ’s. Rome
frowned. “Did… did you forget?”

She
pressed a hand to her forehead, staring down at his boots. “I’m sorry,” she
said. “I’m not going. I’m sure Autumn will be there, though.”

“Autumn?
Why would you—did I do something wrong?”

“No…
I did.”

“Are you alright?” he asked. Ariahna responded by slowly
attempting
to close the door. Rome pressed his palm to the wood.
“We don’t have to go to the party if you don’t want to, but maybe I could cheer
you up? We could talk, or sneak into the music room? I just don’t like seeing
you upset.”

“Do
you honestly care,” she asked quietly, “or is this just a ploy?”

“Aria, I care about you. I know I was a jerk the other
night, but I meant it when I said I wanted to protect you. I want to keep
you safe,
and make you happy. Nothing I’ve ever done or said to you
has been
fake. I’m not him. And I know you just want to be friends, but that doesn’t m
ean I can’t
be the person you run to. If you’re upset or you’re
hurting
, you
can
talk to me. I don’t even care if you’re just using me and you
never feel the
same way about me that I do
about you. I can’t turn it off, and I’d rather be
your friend than not be a part of your life at all. At least it makes
me feel needed.”

“Now I feel like the jerk,” she sighed. She looked up at
Rome
, standing
in her doorway dressed, with his hair done, and smelling
unbelievably good. “Do you still want to go to the party with me?” she asked.
“If I have at least one friend
there who actually sees me as a person instead of a walking joke, it might
be worth going after all – especially if that friend
is you.”

“Yeah,
I’d like that. On the way you can tell me what’s going on.”

Rome
waited outside her door as a few more people snuck off down the hall. When Aria
stepped out of her room, his jaw nearly fell to the floor. “You look… wow,” he
breathed.

Ariahna
glanced down at her attire, suddenly feeling self-conscious. She’d picked out a
flirty, pleated white skirt and a curve-hugging navy blue top. The sleeves
ended just below her elbows, and the hem of the skirt fell mid-thigh. A cream
colored belt cinched at the waist and strappy blue sandals finished it off.

“Are
the shoes too much?”
she asked, glancing back
at the short heels. “I’m not fond of heels, but it’s better than being the
shortest person in the room.” Rome hadn’t answered her yet and she was starting
to doubt her
entire outfit. “Or maybe I should just wear jeans?” she
said nervously. “You know what, I’m going to change.”

“No,” he said, grabbing her hand. “You’re going to be the
hottest girl
there. You might have a hard time walking in those in
the sand, though. Then again, you always have me to hold your shoes for you,”
he grinned.

“Are you sure?” she asked. “I’ve never been to a party
before. I mean,
I’ve
been to parties, just not… with people my age.”

“I’m
positive.”

He led her out of the building and they crossed the field,
disappearing
into
the tree line. Leaves and small twigs crunched under their feet as they went.
Aria was having a difficult time walking through some of the brush in her heels,
and Rome wished he would have thought about that.

“I’m
sorry, I’m slowing us down,” she said.

“I
could carry you?” He could see her blushing even
in the
soft moonlight shining through the treetops.

“No,
that’s alright.” A second later she got her heel stuck in a bit of
mud. Ariahna let out a sad, frustrated sigh. Rome
didn’t give her much
time to pout, though. He picked her up without
warning, making her squeal in surprise. “Rome,” she said softly. “You can put
me down.”

“Nope.
You can be mad at me if you want to, but at least you won’t break an ankle.” She
couldn’t seem to argue with his reasoning. “So you gonna tell me what’s got you
down, or do I have to rough it out of you?”

“I’m
surprised you don’t already know.”

“Is
someone saying something about you?”

“…Everyone
knows,” she said, dropping her gaze. “About me and Christian.” Rome startled
her with a growl, and she felt his fingers tighten around her, his eyes
flashing gold.

“I’m
gonna kill him,” he muttered, tromping through the shrubbery.

“I
don’t want you getting into another fight. That’s not going to solve anything.
I made a mistake, and now I have to live with it.”

“Not like this,” he said. “I just hate people. All of them
freaking suck.
Every
single one of them.”

“Sometimes,”
she whispered.

Rome
set her down carefully while still in the cover of the
trees
. He took her hand and led her out onto the soft sand. She
was having an even
harder time walking on
the beach than in the woods. She finally seemed
to get fed up with
trying, and stopped to rip off her shoes. Rome held an arm out for her to lean
on for support as she slipped them off.

“
That’s so much better,” she said, losing a few inches as
her feet sunk into the sand. “The shoes were definitely a bad idea.” She
dangled them from
one hand as they walked into the mass of people. Loud music thrummed
energetically through the air, making the trees and the shoreline come alive
with sound. A bonfire flared in the center of the gathering, separating a small
stage on one side of the beach and several kegs on the other. Dallas appeared seemingly
out of thin air, startling them.

“And
here I thought you were going to be smart and stay in your room,” he said.
“Come on, you’re with me tonight.” He grabbed her arm, pulling her off towards
the alcohol and away from Rome.

Rome
took one step after them before Eliza zipped into his path.

“Hey
blue eyes, you made it!”

“Uh,
yeah. Look, I got to—”

“Do
me a huge favor? Awesome.” Eliza dragged him excitedly over to the stage as he
practically drew lines in the sand with his feet. “Jason! Matt!” she shouted,
drawing the attention of the
two boys leaning
against the
stage. “You can thank me now. I found you a replacement. In
lieu of
gifts, I
will accept cash as
appreciation.”

“Hell no,” Jason said. “JT can leave his love songs for
the
auditorium.
”

“My
name’s not JT,” Rome said seriously. “It’s Rome.”

“All
apologies,
Romeo
.”

Rome
grit his teeth roughly. He’d heard that nickname at least a thousand times in
his life, and it had never gotten any funnier.

“People
are calling you Justin Timberlake because of that
performance,” Eliza informed him.
“Personally I thought it was a
turn on. It’s sexy when a man isn’t afraid of his sensitive side.”

“Okay,”
Rome drawled. “I was kind of here with someone, so…”

“No!”
Jesse said, jumping off the stage. “You have to sing! They’re going to riot and
kill me if there’s not live entertainment. I promised live entertainment! Why
in the hell did I promise live entertainment?”

“Because
you’re an awesome friend who got us a gig,” Matt said.

“Yeah,
and you’re screwing it up! Where’s what’s-his-face?”

Jason
and Matt shrugged as if they’d choreographed the gesture.

“He
has a problem showing up on time. Or at all,” Jason said.

“And
you’re just telling me this
now
?”

“This
doesn’t concern me,” Rome mumbled. “I’m going to go.”

“No!”
Jesse shouted again, grabbing both his arms. “Come on, you have to do this for me.
I’ll owe you something, anything. God, I’m giving away so much free shit,” he
said. “I’m going to go out of business.”

Rome
sighed, trying not to look at Jesse’s pleading blue eyes. “Can you get ahold of
any old books, like really old ones?” he asked. Maybe this could actually work
out in his favor.

“Old
books?” Jesse said. “Why in the world would you want—? You know what, old books
it is. I can do that. The older the better.”

“I’ll
do it for anything you can get me on The Grove, the yew tree,
the
Artisan, or those old wands he made. Or
anything about the six families.”

Jesse
just stared at him as his eyebrows rose higher and higher into his hairline.
“You know how many books there are on that shit?”

“I
just need some info. I don’t even need to keep them, okay?”

“Fine,
whatever. Just get up there and sing your ass off.”

Rome
stepped onto the stage, throwing the strap to the electric
guitar
over his shoulders. He was actually going
to have some fun with this, and he’d be off stage in time to meet back up with
Ariahna before the night was over. He caught her eye in the crowd, smiling at
her.

Aria
grinned at Rome curiously as he turned to talk to the two other boys on stage.
She hadn’t expected him to be performing tonight, and she couldn’t help but
wonder why he hadn’t told her. She rolled a red plastic cup between her hands,
distantly listening to the sound of Dallas
laughing
and
generally acting like an idiot with his friends.
This wasn’t exactly what she’d
had in mind
when she’d agreed to come. No one was making fun of her, but she didn’t have
anyone to talk to or dance with, either. She was beginning to wonder if maybe
she should just go when a smiling face stepped in front of her, snapping her
out of her thoughts.

“I’m
glad to see you’re feeling better.”

“Um,
thanks. It’s Shawn, right? The RA?”

“I
prefer just Shawn, but Shawn the RA works too,” he laughed.

“How
did you know I was…?”

“I
was the one who found you on the roof.”

“Oh,”
Aria replied, looking away awkwardly.

“I
didn’t tell the nurse where I found you, though. I didn’t want to get you in
trouble. What were you doing up there, anyways?”

“Uh,
it’s a long story,” she smiled. “So… you’re not the kind of person I would have
expected to see at a party like this.”

“Oh,
because I’m the nark, right?” he said playfully.

“No,
I didn’t mean it like that.”

“It’s
okay. I live in a grey area. People don’t tend to like me because I represent
authority, but I’m also captain of the soccer team, and I’m a pretty impressive
swimmer, too, so… jock
outweighs nark, I
guess
.”

“Co-captain,” Dallas corrected, butting in to their
conversation. “The
lesser captain, if you asked some people.”

“If
by some people you mean you, Hayes, your opinion is obviously biased—besides
just being flat out incorrect.”

“Jealousy
can make a man say petty things, Ericson.”

“It’s
okay, I forgive you,” Shawn smiled.

Aria
frowned at their back and forth. “Are you two… friends?”