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Atlas just spreads his arm out with a grin. “She’s missed you. Go bang on her for a bit,” he teases me.
Rolling my eyes, I shudder. “As if I’d ever hurt her like that,” I tell him. Sitting at the keys I close my eyes, shutting everything off as I begin to play.
Humming for a moment, I take a deep breath and sing the lines that have been banging inside my ribs, begging to be released. Word after word follows, and even when I finish the words that I wrote, more follows.
Opening my eyes in panic, worried I’ll forget these lyrics, I smile when I see Derek is recording. Winking at him, I continue singing, until I run out of steam.
“Roark?” I ask, turning towards him, seeing him quickly brushing his eyes of tears.
“Yes, girl,” he answers, his throat thick with emotion.
“Are you okay? Want a second?” I ask, biting my lip. I know these words hurt, but they’re a little farther removed from my own pain, which is what I needed.
“Fuck, I don’t know if I’m okay,” Mav mutters.
I’vereduced my band to tears. Shit.
“Shit. Maybe it’s still too fucking dark,” I sigh, picking up my notebook and tossing it onto the floor.
Derek shakes his head. “Baby, I recorded it for you to look back on, but it’s so fucking good,” he reassures me.
Layla nods, eyes wide. “Holy shit,” she breathes. “I don’t know how I’ll be able to sing that song with you. There’s no way I’ll be able to do it justice,” she says, shaking her head.
“Layla,” I say, ready to wheedle her onto my side. “Babe, I’m so not intimidating. Seriously, just wait till it’s all put together, okay?”
“Lenny, I’m ready,” Roark promises gruffly, the hint of his tears still in his voice.
“Derek, please keep that video, I may have ad libbed towards the end. I was really in the groove, and I don’t want to forget any of it,” I explain apologetically.
Blinking at me, he leans down and picks up my notebook. “If you don’t need me, I’ll write the rest for you. I promise my handwriting is decent,” he says with a smirk.
Grinning at him, I nod. “Thank you,” I say sincerely. “Roark, show me what you got, baby.”
Slowly, we work through the parts of the song until it’s perfect. Now, it’s just convincing my sister she can sing this with me. “Lay, come here, please?” I ask with a smile and she sighs.
“I’m not good enough,” Layla complains.
Taking a sip of water, I can’t respond without choking. Uncle Jordan just happened to come in as she said that and frowns.
“What’s going on?” he asks and I scrunch my nose as I swallow hard.
Damn, I drank too much too fast.
Clearing my throat, I explain. “I feel like this song should be a duet, and Layla is having some imposter syndrome issues. I want to run it through a couple of times with her so she can decide then.”
Derek puts my notebook next to me where I’m now sitting. “Can I make a suggestion as an outside party? Feel free to tell me to fuck off,” he jokes.
Mav and Atlas snicker, though they look worriedly at Layla. I know they care about her, even though they’re being idiots right now.
“Hit me with it,” I tell him with a smile.
“What if I record it as you run through it, then you could play it back and decide?” Derek asks.
Layla blows out a breath before nodding. “We may as well know for sure if I can measure up and make this work,” she agrees and I roll my lips inward.
My little sister is fucking dramatic.
I explain to her where to come in and what I’m thinking for the song. Standing, I lean over Atlas’s keyboard and hit the key I want her to sing in as well.
