AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Scarlet
Three years ago:
“Where are we going again?” I ask Gia as I attempt to keep up with her. She’s four inches taller than me, her stride longer, so with our arms linked, if I don’t take two steps for every one of hers, it looks like she’s dragging me down the sidewalk.
Which she sort of is.
Twenty minutes ago she threw my coat in my face and told me to change. To wear something warm.
She refused to elaborate before dragging me out the door and halfway across campus.
“There’s a pop-up concert on campus tonight. It was just announced, and the band is amazing. But if you don’t pick up the pace, we won’t be anywhere near the stage. Which is the only place to be.”
That’s it? A concert?
She gives my arm a little tug, and I struggle to keep up with her even more, my boots pounding against the pavement. The wind stings my face as a gust kicks up, the freshly fallen leaves dancing across the path in front of us.
Fall in Michigan is beautiful. It can also be bitter cold. Not that Chicago doesn’t look and feel the same this time of year, but there’s something about the big city that doesn’t capture the same magic. Or maybe I’m just now taking the time to slow down and notice.
I’m not being shuttled from school to piano lessons or dance class.
Busy attending events I had no interest in. Or helping my mother plan and host them.
Doing everything they asked of me without question.
Until I didn’t.
Until I stood up for myself for the first time in my life. Making a decision I knew went against what they wanted. Not for me, but for them. As much as I love and respect my parents, as grateful as I am for all they’ve done for me, I don’t want their life. And when I tried to explain that to them, that’s when—
The distinct strum of a guitar pulls me from my memory. Followed by the beat of a drum and a deep, sultry voice that has my knees threatening to buckle.
There’s a crowd gathering in front of a small stage when we round the corner. There has to be at least fifty people milling around, waiting for the impromptu concert to start. Only one member of the band is on stage. He’s crouched in front of an amplifier, his guitar slung across his back.
Off to the side, three girls are waving their arms over their heads in our direction, motioning for us to join them. Gia releases my arm, takes my hand in hers, and suddenly we’re running, my heart beating wildly in my chest the closer we get to where her friends are standing.
Cleo, Kora, and Mya. Gia’s sorority sisters.
I could call them my friends too, but I’m not a Zeta. I chose not to rush even after Gia begged me to. It wasn’t that the thought hadn't crossed my mind. My mother would be elated if I decided to. It doesn’t even matter which sorority. It would be her dream come true.
Her dream.
Not mine.
If I decide to join, I want it to be because I want it, not to appease my mother. Plus, bridging the gap in our relationship is going to take more than a few Greek letters.
“You made it.” Cleo pulls Gia in for a hug as she tosses me a smile. I have a hard time telling if it’s genuine. The few times I’ve met her she’s been all over the map—angry, sad, excited. But tonight she appears content.
“You’re going to love Fade Into Nothing,” Kora says as she slides up next to me.
“Never heard of them.”
“Their lead singer, Colt, has an amazing voice.”
“Was that him I heard a few minutes ago?”
“Sound check,” she explains as we follow the girls through the crowd toward the stage. Kora sucks in a deep breath as the bodies part and we slow to a stop.
I’m about to ask if she’s okay when the same voice that made me weak in the knees earlier catches my attention again. I turn toward the sound, and my knees actually buckle.
