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“Her opinion matters to you,” Richard said with a knowing look.
Arthur’s heart stuttered. “I-I don’t…” He had no appropriate response for his friend because what he said had hit home. Carmen did matter to him. He didn’t quite know when that had happened, when she had quite managed to sneak into his heart.
“It’s all right. You don’t have to explain anything to me,” Richard said. Arthur fell silent. He didn’t recognize his own feelings because he had never felt this way before.
“A piano isn’t the only way you can help her,” Richard said, breaking his chain of thoughts.
“How do you mean?” Arthur frowned.
“When is the first show?” Richard asked.
“Next week but why do you ask?” In their many years of friendship, he had never seen his friend take an interest in music.
“I have an idea.”
* * *
Carmen startled awake at the loud crash and sat up on her bed immediately. She thought she had imagined it until she heard it again. The lamps were dimmed, and everyone was asleep in their beds. She was the only one awake.
The sound grew louder this time. A terrible thought occurred to her. Was someone trying to crash inside?
They had nothing much to themselves so as to justify an attack from robbers. But… Without thinking twice, she ran towards the music hall. The great door which led inside was padlocked and there was no other way of getting inside, except if somebody tried to climb in through the windows.
She immediately unlocked the door by taking out a jangle of keys from her pocket. Her hands shook as she tried one after the other. She had forgotten to bring a lamp and it was too dark to see anything in the darkened hallway.
Carmen rushed in as soon as the key turned in the lock. Her head whipped side to side as she tried to locate the sound. And then she heard it…Footsteps. They were mute but they were definitely somewhere around her.
“Who is there?” she called out as bravely as she could. She walked down the rows of the chairs which had recently been polished and cleaned for the guests. “Come out.”
The footsteps sounded again, and an odd noise accompanied them. Carmen frowned trying to identify it until she realized…it was a person dragging their feet. Her body went rigidly cold and the oddest feeling came over her. She knew she was in grave danger.
And then came that terrible note of music. Someone was whistling, their voice drawing closer. “Jaxon,” she muttered under her breath. She hadn’t been imagining it after all. He was here and he was stalking her.
