Page 65 of The Pursuit of Happiness

I think I justcreated the most insane guitar solo of all time ever to be heard on a song. I’m perched on a stool in the studio, playing to only myself while Sly and Brody talk drums and exchange tips, and Ivory is tuning her bass and playing with the strings on the floor.

It’s been two weeks since Sly’s parents came to visit, two weeks since Duncan stopped texting me, and two weeks of working in the studio. After our little heart to heart in which we confessed our love to each other, Sly and I have been in a dreamlike state. I’ve never been this happy before and I owe every perfect moment of it to him. He confessed to me last week that he had Dallas somehow stop Duncan from contacting me and I was so grateful to him that he cared enough to do that for me.

We had dinner with his parents before they left and Rose and James made me feel like I was already a member of their family. They were so welcoming and loving, something I will never forget and will always appreciate. I love them already as if they were my own parents. Rose and I exchanged numbers and she’s been texting me here and there to talk. I’m just amazed that she cares so much about me to get to know me. I’ve never had this kind of experience with parents before, especially not my own. I’m not sure I’d ever be able to give this up. Not after already falling in love with not just their son, but them too.

We’ve spent every day in the studio, working for hours on the album. We’re almost done with all seven songs and havealready moved into the recording process. We plan to be done in another week or two max.

I hum a melody to the solo I was working on and replicate it, perfecting it. There is nothing like manipulating these six strings. They seem to absorb every emotion I feel and translate it into sound. I’ve been channeling the heavier parts of metal, making sounds I’ve never made with my guitar, and I’m impressed with the sounds. I took inspiration from Thunderstrike and their extremely heavy and dark notes.

My phone rings from where I left it on the floor by my stool and I look down to peek at the screen, only to notice that it’s my mother. I groan and throw my head back. Sly peeks at me over his shoulder, his attention suddenly on me completely. I don’t want to answer, but I know that if I don’t, she’ll just call until I do. I stand up and keep my guitar slung around my shoulder. I reach down for my phone and press the green answer button, “Hello?”

“Privet, Aria.”Hello, Aria,she greets.

“Hi, Mom.” I’m reluctant to speak to her and the reason isn’t completely fair. After spending so much time with Sly and his very loving and very inviting family, it made me realize and put into perspective all the fucked up things my mother has done to me and it’s resurfaced a lot of bitterness I thought I had buried long ago.

Sly raises a brow at me, knowing my checkered history with my mother. He rises from his seat at his drum set and walks closer to me, dropping onto the couch beside me. I can’t help but smile at him. I know part of why he’s suddenly so close is because he’s nosy and wants to know what I’m talking about and the other part is because he knows how things are with my mother and he wants to offer me support. I love him all the more for it.

“YA prosto khotel pozvonit’ i uznat’, kak dela. YA videlatvoyego parnya v novostyakh. On ochen’ krasivyy.”I just wanted to call and see how things are. I saw your boyfriend in the news. He’s very handsome.I can hear her smile on the other end. I know for her, this is a way for us to bond, by talking about boys. But she literally dates women so she’s the last person I want to talk boys with.

Part of me also wants to keep Sly to myself, as selfish as that is. “Da, on ochen’ krasivyy.”Yes, he is very handsome.I grin as I answer, speaking in Russian so that Sly can’t understand what I’m saying. He raises his brows in surprise and intrigue. I think I may have forgotten to mention to him that I speak another language.

“Is he good boy?” She asks and I want to laugh at her poor attempt at English.

“Da,” I answer.

She takes a long breath, “And how you are? Are you okay?”

I swallow and answer, “Yeah, I’m okay. Things are starting to get a lot better.” I peek up at Sly who is hanging onto every word coming out of my mouth and I add, “On delayet menya ochen’ schastlivym.”He’s making me very happy.

My mom must have me on speaker because I can hear her hands clapping in excitement, “YA rad eto slyshat’. Ty eto zasluzhivayesh’.”I am happy to hear that. You deserve this.

I choke on words I never speak in surprise. My mother is not usually so affectionate. This may be the most I’ve gotten from her. Ever. “Thank you, Mom.” My voice is warm and I realize that I mean the words. I can see she’s trying to make an effort and I appreciate it.

“I know you are very busy so I let you go. We talk soon, okay? Call me.”

I nod even though she can’t see me, a weak smile on my lips, “Yeah, I will.”

She hangs up a moment later and leaves me with a sense ofhope. Hope for a stronger relationship and a better future.

When I slide my phone into my back pocket, Sly is immediately asking, “You speak Russian?”

I laugh, nodding, “Da.”

He shakes his head in disbelief, “How did I not know that?”

I shrug, “You never asked.”

He nods, “True.” He rises from his seat and stands before me, wrapping his arms around my waist and pulling me into his body. “Say something to me in Russian.”

I grin at the childlike excitement on his face. I lean in close to his lips, never taking my eyes off of his, and I whisper, “YA tebya lyublyu.”I love you.

His eyes practically sparkle as he whispers back, “What does it mean?”

I kiss him once before patting his chest, “It means that I love you.”

He smiles so wide as he kisses me so deeply. We only stop when a deep, male voice complains, “Gross.”

We break apart to find Nate at the door. Behind him comes Miles and Rogan. I look at Sly to catch his reaction since nobody informed any of us that they would be dropping by. Based on the sudden stiffness of his shoulders, I don’t think he was aware either. The tension in his body can only be caused by one particular person. Rogan. Sly told me they agreed to let shit go and move on, but I don’t think Sly forgot, maybe just forgave.

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