Page 45 of Play Me

I pull the bow across the strings, my hands already knowing what I want to play.

“How ‘bout this one?” I play each note slowly and deliberately, letting each sound linger in the air and soak into her bruises and wash the hurt away. She smiles and nods, eyes still closed. Halfway through the song she opens her eyes and watches me. In the soft glow of the late night, with her watching me, my fingers find their own way on the strings as I smile at her and mouth the words, “I’ll stand by you, I’ll stand by you, won’t let nobody hurt you...”

She sighs gently as the song comes to an end. “Thank you.

I just nod and start to play a soft melody I’d been playing with for the last few weeks.

“What’s this one called? It’s so pretty. Is it an original?”

“Yes. It doesn’t have a name yet.” I lie to her.

“Let’s give it one.”

“Ok. What do you think it should be?”

“Something beautiful.”

“That’s easy. I have an idea.”

“Ok good. You can tell me when I wake up.” She starts to slur and her eyes close as her breathing slows.

“Ok...”

“Just don’t stop playing.”

“I won’t.”

And I play until she falls asleep, the sun comes up and my fingers bleed.

CADENCE

“So then Sebastian put you into the car and you passed out! You don’t remember that part?” Sarah asks as she fluffs the pillows behind me and pushes me back to lie against them.

“Well, not really. I remember the guy, and then I remember the doctor and then the Sebastian part last night.”

“What do you mean the Sebastian part last night?”

“Um, nothing. Where is everyone?” I look around. It’s deathly quiet, which is rare whenever the band is around.

“Well, the guys are outside wanting to come visit and Dennis is off dealing with ...well, let’s just say, there were some photos.”

“Of what?”

“Of Sebastian bashing up the guy.”

“What?” Oh, Sebastian.

“Don’t worry about it, Dennis is dealing with it.” She waves her hand, trying to get me to stop asking.

“Damn.”

“Can I let the guys in?” She asks when we hear a soft knock on the door.

“Sure. Wait, how do I look?”

“Like you ran into a telephone phone with your face over and over again for fun.”

“Nice.” To be honest, it was how I felt.