AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I nod.
Without taking his eyes off me, he starts.
“Oh,” I gasp in surprise when I realize it’s The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face. - the same he played the first time he came here.
Just like that night, I’m defenseless against the light that his music bears. It seeps through the fractures in the thick armor I’ve put around the places and spaces that are most vulnerable.
I feel the thaw immediately. Just like that, a long, dark winter ends. Color and light spring to life illuminating all the things I haven’t been able to see for so long. Hungry to capture it, I open my eyes reach and for my sketch pad.
Carter is lost to the song too. His head is tilted back like he’s gazing at the ceiling, but his eyes are closed. He and the piano work in effortless unison to create, what to my heart, mind, soul, and body, is the very sound of temptation, hope, and courage, and love.
When I hear it, I can do anything.
I’m not stupid. I know nothing lasts forever, but while I have this light, I’m going revel in it.
By the time I’m done with my sketch, the sky is tinged with the telltale plum of dawn and Carter is fast asleep on the floor with his head propped on one of the white throw pillows from my couch. He’s on his back with one arm flung over his eyes.
I should wake him and send him home.
I’m tired and have to be at the library in less than six hours, I should go to bed.
Instead, I hurry to the linen closet in the hallway and grab the biggest blanket I’ve got. I turn off the light in the studio and lie down next to him, I curl myself into his warm body, us my folded hands as a pillow, and drape the blanket over us.
He stirs, and I hold my breath and wait to see if he’s waking up. But he lowers his arm to wrap it around me, so I lift my head and put it on his shoulder.
It’s going to hurt so bad when he leaves again, but dammit right now, it feels so good. My eyes drift shut and I let sleep claim me.
When my alarm goes off, I’m alone in my bed. Blindly, I reach for my phone to check the time and smile when I see a yellow sticky note on the screen.
“Thank you, for keeping me warm
See you later,
Carter
The butterflies in my stomach, dormant for over a decade, test their wings.
It’s not everything I want. But having him back in my life again even just as a friend, feels like a piece of my heart that was missing is found it’s way home.
And that will have to be enough.
22
Carter
Truth
“Carter, listen to me. Once you know the truth, you can’t un-know it.”
I laugh at Penn’s dramatic warning. “You sound like the disclaimer notice on the website where I got the test,.”
I walk out of the post office and draw in a deep breath. The air is sweet, and the tree-lined streets of this small town provide the perfect amount of shade from the scorching summer sun. I like it here.
Penn sighs deeply. “Because this could change your whole life. You need. to think about it more carefully.””
“I don’t know why you’re so distressed. I’m the one who has no idea who he really is.”
“Then why are you making a joke out of this?” Her distress only deepens.
