Page 34 of A Duet of Darkness and Dreams

ISABELLA

It only took until the end of November, but for once, I’m early to my History of Fashion class, and as I take my seat, I wonder where Becks is and— Oh, wait. It’s release day. How did I forget? I’ve only been telling everyone who calls into the newspaper office for weeks. Maybe she’s out celebrating with the guys. At the thought of the five of them out together without me, my chest aches.

“Isabella!”

I look up, and there Becks is, skipping toward me with an absolutely stunning smile.

“You’re in a good mood,” I say as she falls into her seat next to me.

“It’s release day!” she sings. “I haven’t been able to sleep for a week. James either. Actually, none of the guys have been sleeping. I swear our neighbors must think a group of vampires live at our house. Everyone is both excited and scared out of their minds.”

I think of Dave. Has he been mindlessly wandering around San Francisco in the middle of the night? Has he passed by the phone and thought of calling me? I think of all the times I’vedialed their house, punching the numbers in—all but the last one. I wish I were brave enough to make those calls. Certainly it would take my mind off the endless obsession of checking the mailbox, hoping for any news pertaining to an internship.

With every day that passes, my hope slips away a little more. At this point, I would take anything. I wish I could tell him how nervous I am about my future. How I’m so excited for his. Other than the newspaper office, it’s not like much goes on in my life, but his is full of adventure. I wish I could be more like that, but I’ve never been overly outgoing. I wish he would call me, but I doubt he ever will—he’s not lonely like I am. He no doubt has loads of beautiful women he could call to keep him company.

“I’m sure it’ll be amazing. You’ll see.”

“Actually,” she says, rolling her lips. “I have a gift for you.” She opens the flap of her bag and pulls out a large flat cardboard square.

“Is that—?”

“It’s a copy of the EP!” she says, grinning widely. “The guys wanted you to be the first to have one after everything you’ve done.”

She hands me the vinyl album, and I can’t help but let the grin overtake my face. “Thank you so much. Hey . . . oh my god, is thisyouon the cover?”

Becks’s cheeks turn bright pink. “I mean, yeah.” She tucks her blonde hair behind her ears. “What do you think?”

I take in the sultry, scandalous image of Becks in basically her underwear, a cross, and her boyfriend’s guitar. “This is so hot. Guys are going to want to buy this even if they aren’t into metal.”

“That’s what James thought too. Good thing for him, I’m a loyal girl.”

I turn the vinyl cover over in my hands, admiring her photo and reading the names of their songs, when a small card falls out onto my desk.

“What’s that?” Becks asks.

I set the record down and pick up the card. “No idea. You didn’t put this here?”

She shakes her head, so I open the card to find a handwritten note.

Izzy,

Thanks for everything. I know metal isn’t your thing but you might find track 5 interesting.

Dave

The breath whooshes out of me on a laugh.

“What does it say?” she asks, leaning closer to read over my shoulder. “Oh, that was sweet of him,” she says. “What does he mean by interesting?”

I shrug, not sure how much I want to go into detail of that first night I met Dave. That maybe I want to keep that just for me. But I can’t keep the smile off my face that we have a joke. A joke between just us. “I don’t know. Guess I’ll have to listen to it and figure it out.”

“You’re coming tonight, right?”

“Hmm?”

“To the release party,” Becks adds, raising her eyebrows expectantly.

“Oh.” I shake my head, tucking the album and the card into my messenger bag. “I don’t know. I’m really busy and have been trying to catch up on everything. Finals start in just a couple of weeks.”

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