Page 166 of Never Sleep with the Enemy

“What if... there was?”

40

KATRINA

Two Years Later

My fingers dance across Freddie’s keys. I’ve played these scales so many times, I don’t even need to look. Eyes closed, I just breathe, letting the vibrations travel up through my fingertips and into my bones as I try not to think about the days—months—ahead.

It’s never easy being away from home so long, but it’s always worth it in the end.

One final note fades, and I open my eyes. Through the wide windows, the desert sky glows a dusty orange, slowly giving way to night’s deepening blue. I glide my fingers once more across the piano, touching each key like a farewell.

“Well,” I sigh, “it’s time to go, Freddie.”

Freddie doesn’t answer. He’s a piano.

But the silence carries a weight, a quiet ache of goodbye.

“Don’t give me that look,” I say. “It’s my job. If I could take you with me, I would. In a heartbeat! But you’d hate the road. Too many trucks. Too much bouncing. You’d just get hurt, so...” I swallow. “You’re staying here, and I’m going on tour again.”

Freddie hums silently.

“I knew you’d understand, buddy.” I run my hand along his polished top, the surface cool beneath my palm. “You won’t be alone the whole time. Derrick’s gonna swing by now and then. Dust you off. Keep you company. You remember Derrick?”

Freddie stares.

“Logan?” I shake my head. “No, he won’t be here because we’re, uh…” My smile sneaks in. “We’re going on tour together for the first time. Criminal Records and The Electrics on the same stage in nearly forty cities all over the world.TheLove Conquers All Tour.That name was my idea, but everyone agreed it was appropriate for our first major world tour under our label, Breakout Music. What do you think?”

I tap middle C.

Freddie hums back.

“Yeah. I think so, too.”

My throat tightens. I bite my cheek and look through the windows. The sun’s almost gone, painting the sky in a brilliant fire before night swallows it whole.

“It starts tonight at The Sin and Sand, like always,” I whisper. “Then we drive to LA. Then San Francisco. Mexico City. Bogotá.” A laugh bubbles up. “Madrid, Rome, Paris. Casa-freakin’-blanca, Freddie! Shanghai, Tokyo. Sydney.”

I breathe it all in, the wonder of it, the sheer ridiculous joy.

“There was a time I didn’t think I’d ever see past my front yard.” Tears prick the corners of my eyes. “Now I’m gonna see the world with the man I love. With my friends. My family.” My fingers sweep gently over Freddie’s keys. “When I see you again, I’ll be a year older. Might be a whole new person by then, with dozens of new stories. I can’t wait to tell you all of them.”

Freddie remains quiet.

“I said don’t look at me like that,” I tease gently. I lean forward and kiss him, the wood cool against my lips. “I’ll miss you, buddy,” I whisper as I lower the lid. “I’ll bring you back something pretty!”

I rise slowly and leave the room, closing the doors behind me with care.

“Are you ready to go?” Logan asks from the couch. Our suitcases are lined up by the door, packed tight with road essentials and not much else.

I exhale hard. “No,” I squeak, the sound embarrassingly small.

Logan laughs and opens his arms. I shuffle over and sink into his lap, letting his warmth pull me back together. “He’ll be all right,” he murmurs. “Freddie’s been alone before.”

“Not for an entire year! What if he forgets me?”

“He won’t.”

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