Page 32 of The Ghost of You

“You go by Dee now?”

Darnell nods. “Dee Bak.”

“So very gangster of you,” I joke. He always said if he made it big he was going to choose a rap name even if he was singing pop-country.

“I told you I was gonna make it,” he answers back throwing a pillow at me.

I look him in the eyes, trying to portray how proud I am of the kid who was a musical genius but couldn’t afford the shirt on his back. He got into the University of Georgia on a scholarship and he said it was the best thing that ever happened to him. “You did. I’m proud of you. But I’m calling you Darnell.”

“Coopcake, you can call me whatever you want.”

I smile at his old nickname for me.

Mason scratches his head and looks at us confused, pointing between the two of us. “You wanna fill me in on this?”

Darnell speaks before I do. “Remember me tellin’ you about my folk band, The Highway to Home?”

Mason replies, “Yeah, what about it?”

Darnell points his thumb at me. “She was the singer.”

“One of them,” I cut in.

“And she happens to be the lead singer/songwriter for The Sparrows.”

“Was,” I correct him.

“No shit,” Mason says in awe. “I’ve heard of The Sparrows. I actually idolize those songwriters. You are AM Cooper?”

AM Cooper was my songwriting name. I always used it back in the day because I thought it sounded cooler than Anna May. Even the small fan base we gained only knew me as AM. “In the flesh,” I sigh in reply to Mason.

“Fucking hell, man. Living legend.”

I grip my hands in front of me and study them. “I am far from a living legend.”

“To me you are.”

I look up at Mason and his smile could melt off panties. He is just as handsome as his brother but with a few less lines around the eyes. I force a closed-lip grin. I’ve never been one to take compliments well.

“So why aren’t you burning up the charts Anna May?” Darnell asks me.

I bite my lip trying to find some reason I stopped playing music besides the real reason. Darnell only knows about the accident like everyone else. He was one of the first people to stop talking to me when I quit. He said it was a waste of true talent. By the way he is treating me, I guess he forgot all that. “I—I didn’t want to be on stage anymore.”

Darnell gives me a strange look and then he must figure it out because a look of understanding crosses his features. “I’m sorry, Anna. About the way I treated you after the accident. I shouldn’t have acted the way I did.”

My fingers go to the rings around my neck out of habit. I glance toward Mason and he looks more confused than before. I need to end this conversation now. Or else I might run out of this studio or even the city.

“It was a long time ago. All is forgiven. How about we write some songs?” I say quickly, picking up my guitar to change the subject. I strum the first few notes of one of The Sparrows fan favorites. Mason scrambles to pick up a guitar and join in with me. I find it endearing he knows the song. Before I know it I am singing the words to a song that used to be my soul song and Mason is harmonizing with me. I glance over at Darnell and he has a goofy grin on his face.

When we finish the song, Mason flips out and acts like he just sang with Adele or Alicia Keys. It helps me relax and get comfortable. I hum a melody I’ve had in my head for a few days and Darnell picks up a pen and paper to start writing down words. Mason rushes out of the room and comes back with a notebook full of half-written songs and one-liners.

We spend the next four hours playing music. And where I thought I was going to be scared, anxious, and sick over playing in front of others again. It brought a sense of hope back into my life I hadn’t felt it a long time.

By the time I leave and head home, I feel happier than I have felt in the longest time.

10

Noah

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