The Heart's Ashes (15 page)

“
Okay.” He huffed loudly. “Then, I guess we need to try to
find him—convince him to come back.”

“
You’d do that?” I sat up taller, looking into Mike’s warm,
maple eyes. “For me?”

“
Ara, I would cut out my heart for you.”

I looked away
instantly from the fading smirk he always wore as it turned to a
teary-eyed frown. “That’s a little melodramatic, don’t you
think?”

“
It’s the way I feel.”

“
Well, I don’t want you to feel that way, Mike. I want you
move on—find love.”

“
You never moved on from David; maybe I’ll never move on from
you.”

“
No.” I shook my head. “I refuse to believe that. I believe we
have soul mates, Mike. I know yours is out there—just waiting for
you to find her.”

“
I hope you’re right, ‘cause my heart just hurts every time I
have to look at you.”

“
I want to love you. I do love you. But I love you enough to
let you go—for your own good.”

Mike’s eyes focused on nothing for a moment, then he looked
back at me. “If I ever see that little
shit
Eric again—I’ll kill him. He
should not have forced you to drink his blood.”

“
No, he shouldn’t have. He knows that.” I nodded, then smiled.
“He’ll be feeling pretty bad right now. They get overtaken by their
vampire nature, Mike, they lose control. He wasn’t thinking about
me when he did that—he was thinking about the blood, the lust—” my
voice lowered, “the desire.”

“
Does it taste bad?”

“
No. You should try it,” I said with a smirk.

“
Yeah, I’ll pass. Now, come here and give your best friend a
hug.” He kissed the top of my head as I fell onto his
chest.

“
Thanks for calling work for me. I really hate that
job.”

“
So quit.”

“
I can’t quit. I need the money.”

“
Take mine—I’ve got plenty.”

“
Mike, stop it.”

“
I’m serious.”

“
Mike. I’m not taking your money—you know me better than
that.”

“
Fine. Then what do I have to do to get you happy with your
life?”

“
Give my students the will to learn.”

“
Your wish is my command.”

I laughed.
“Yeah, if only. They’re all just snobby rich kids with no talent.
Except one—Aaron. When I eventually run classes from home, I’m
taking him with me.”

Mike wrapped
his arms tighter around me. “Two more years then, and you can
afford that piano.”

I nodded,
smiling, letting myself enjoy the comfort of touch for a while
since Mike seemed to be in no rush to move away from me. After a
few minutes, I said, “Was David okay—after you beat him up? I mean,
I know he heals but—”

“
No. He wasn’t.” His throat made a noise as he swallowed. “We
talked for hours after. He’s a good guy, Ara, and he really needed
to talk; I don’t think he has anyone that listens to
him.”

So, he’s all
alone, too.

Mike ran his
finger over my frown to flatten it out. “We formed a bond over you,
you know. We were like brothers in that time we waited for you to
wake up.”

“
Really?”

“
Yeah. He really was—
is
a good guy.” Mike chuckled once, shaking his
head. “Took him a few days to heal properly from the injuries,
though. I do feel a little bad about it.”

“
Did he ever tell you if he knew who did it—who attacked me?”
I asked carefully.

“
No, but he said he wouldn’t rest until justice had been
served.”

So, he never
told Mike that it was Jason. I wonder if I should let the truth out
now. “Mike?”

“
Yeah, baby?”

“
Eric’s my friend,” I said instead. “I’ll talk to him about
the blood thing. But, please don’t hurt him. He never meant any
harm by it—it’s just his nature. He doesn’t see it the way you
do.”

“
Look, I get that, Ar. But don’t expect me to be civil to
him.”

“Okay, I
wouldn’t.”

Chapter
5

The wild dance
of branches gave warning that autumn was on its way, while the
night sky outlined the trees in dark blue, completely hiding the
lake across the road. I slipped my car into gear, hopped out and
shut my door quietly, feeling an eerie chill on my skin, not
incited by the wind. I tucked my hands under my arms and glanced
over my shoulder, the muscles tightening in my neck. “Hello?”

The silhouette
across the road stood motionless, silent. There was nothing
threatening about the height or general size of the, what I assumed
to be a man, but in comparison to me, small and slight, standing on
the driveway outside my house, with nothing but the moonlight to
show the rows of fences along the footpath, his mere presence made
me feel suddenly uneasy. Or maybe it was that he seemed to
be...watching me.

“
Can I...can I help you with something?” Eyes adjusting to the
darkness, I noticed the man shift his weight to his other
foot—clarifying that it was, in fact, a person, not just an
oddly-shaped tree that’d grown there overnight. But he was being
rude by ignoring me. Either he had an agenda in this street, or he
was up to no good.

With a bit of
hesitation, I took a step in his direction.

“
Ara?” The front door swung open and warm, yellow light from
inside licked the path.

“
Hey, Mike.” I smiled, then looked over my shoulder to the
man—who was gone.

“
What’re you doing standing out here in the dark?” Mike
scanned the street.

“
I uh—I was just doing my bit for neighbourhood
watch.”

“
Why?” He stepped completely outside then, and stood taller as
he looked across the road. “Is someone out there?”

“
Um, no.” I shook off the eerie feeling. “Not
anymore.”

Mike, keeping
his eyes on the street, ushered me inside by the arm, then took my
bag and placed it on the hallstand. “How was work?”

“
Same.”

“
Well, first thing tomorrow I want you to ring and tell them
to stick their job up their—”

“
Uh, Mike?” I danced from foot to foot, trying to get into my
kitchen. “Why are you stopping me from passing?”

“
I’m not.”

“
Yes.” I tried to get past again. “You are.”

“
Em?” Mike jerked his chin up, seeming to send his voice
behind him, and the soft lemon light of the kitchen responded,
spilling warmth into the darkness beyond my roadblock best friend.
He smiled down at me and rolled his arm in a wide circle as he
said, “Surprise.”

For some
reason, my eyes automatically followed his hand, staying there,
confused for a second, until I noticed Emily by the wall in my
soon-to-be-music room. Her wide, enthusiastic smile held
anticipation.

“
What?” I said, a little confused.

“
Em. You need to move,” Mike said, as if he were talking to a
flat note.

“
Oh. Sorry.” She jiggled about, not sure which way to go, then
finally moved to her right, revealing a splash of white in front of
the window behind her.

There, lit by
the bluish glow of the moon and a line of tea-light candles across
its glossy top, was a baby grand piano—a mini version of the ones
my heroes use in their soloist performances.

I nearly fell
to my knees, but covered my mouth with two hands instead. “Where
did this come from?”

“
I bought it for you,” Mike said simply, as if he was talking
about a thirty-dollar shirt.

“
Mike. Why?” I folded over a little, unable to take another
step toward the piano. The
piano
! Oh my God.

Mike laughed
lightly and placed a supportive palm to my lower back. “Come on.
Come sit.”

I’d never seen
a piano in a space I owned before. Of course, I’d always dreamed of
it, envisioned it, but...but never believed it possible. I walked
with the pace of a person in shock, my eyes wide, my legs rigid,
and sat on the felt-covered stool, running my fingers along the
pearly gloss.

“
Now, I know you don’t like people spending money on you—”
Mike knelt beside me; I dragged my teary eyes away from my present
to look at him. “So, I figured I’d buy this for you, and you can
repay me by letting me stay in your house until I buy my
own.”

“
You know I’d do that anyway.”

“
I know.” He nodded and smiled.

Emily sat
beside me, waking me from whatever world I’d slipped into to cope
with bewilderment. “I can’t believe this. I—”

“
You like it?” Mike said, standing up.

“
Like? I
love
.” I laughed a little.

“
Well, test it out.” Emily grabbed my hand and placed it on
the keys.

“
I can’t.” I dropped my hand back into my lap. “I...I feel
numb, like I want to cry and laugh and play every song I know—all
at the same time.”

Mike and Emily
looked at each other, poorly hiding the glittering joy in their
eyes.

“
God,” I said, touching the keys again. “You even knew exactly
which one I wanted.”

Mike
practically snorted out the hilarity. “Anyone who’s ever listened
to you talk for an hour does, baby.”

Against the
white keys, my long, pale fingers looked welcome and belonging. I
pressed down lightly so they wouldn’t make any sound, but I could
feel the solid, responding weight of them under my touch. It felt
like coming home, like the hug you get off your dad at the end of a
really bad day, or like the theme song to the sitcom your mum
watches every weeknight.

Despite
teaching piano, it had been a very long time since I actually
played—for myself—for anyone. I wanted nothing more than to shed
the proverbial chains of my music-less world and run the tracks,
play the most powerful piece I could think of—one that used all my
fingers and possibly my toes—but I had to do one thing first.

I launched off
the stool, wrapping myself around Mike at full speed, sending him
stumbling back a few steps until his hips smacked into the piano.
His musky scent and the warmth of his chin against my brow, his
gristly stubble pricking into my hairline, became my world for a
tight squeeze. “I love you, Mike—thank you so much.”

He cupped a
heavy hand to the back of my head and nodded, clearing his
throat.

“
Okay.” I stepped back, swiping my tears. “
Now
I’ll play for you.”

Snuggling up
on the couch in the front lounge room, my eyes wandered to the
lake; its beauty stealing attention from the book in hand. Wind
blew soft ripples over the dark water, making the lake look
deep—like the thoughts in my mind.

Every time I
played the piano over the last few days, I tried so hard not to
imagine David coming up behind me, whispering in my ear about
silver planes and pyramids—tried not imagine him placing my silver
locket around my neck and begging me not to return it, ever again.
But, thinking about not thinking about him made me think about him.
My chest sunk.

When is that
stupid girl in me going to learn?

The book
landed on the coffee table, luckily, since I wasn’t really aiming
for it, as I jumped up.

The miles of
self-reflection one can achieve by looking at a lonely lake will
have to wait—I’ve got a deep burn in my fingers that needs to be
released on the keys of my new piano.

After a while,
the physical sting inspiration caused in my fingertips eased, and I
played more thoughtfully. I felt so refreshed, like dipping my face
in a pond of cool water on a hot day, and the burden of my aching
soul, searing for the absence David, didn’t seem so severe.

“
Good to see you writing songs again,” Mike noted as he sat
beside me on the piano stool.

“
How’d you know I was writing?”

“
Uh—due to the constant note-tapping, then stopping.” He
raised his brows a few times, the lines on his forehead forming
three rippled indents.

“
Oh, sorry. Am I bugging you?” I popped my pen behind my ear
and shuffled the sheets of paper into a neat pile on the
stand.

“
Not one bit, baby. I actually just came to tell you I’m off
to the station—gotta drop those papers in before I start next
week.”

“
I still can’t believe you’re swapping the beat for a
desk.”

Mike grinned.
“It’s not a desk, Ar, and it gives me a better chance at making
Detective.”

“
But you make a good beat cop. You always did.”

Mike nodded
thoughtfully. “I know.”

“
So, then—why are you settling for this?”

“
It’s better pay.”

“
That’s crap, and you know it.”

“
It’s the way it is, Ar.”

Irritation
swam in my jaw as he walked away, tapping a pile of papers against
his open palm. I knew the real reason he took a desk job, and it
made my stomach twist. The ‘cop’ in Mike must’ve been screaming out
for some action, but he’d deny himself that, under the guise of a
better career, just to stick around for me.

The front door
closed as the notes in my song reached it, and only once the subtle
chimes of a lullaby music-box made me smile, I realised what I was
playing. I drew my hands quickly from the keys and spun around to
soft clapping.