Page 6 of Michael's Awakening
Chapter Three
Gabriel
I opened my eyes to the bright light streaming in through the window and groaned. Grabbing my blanket, I pulled it over my head and rolled over, not yet ready to leave the comfort of my bed. It was warm there. And I was damn exhausted.
It was Saturday morning, the big day. The music recital was later that day, and I’d stayed awake for the majority of the night rehearsing my part. I knew I had my piece down, but that did nothing to stop my anxiety.
I had never performed in front of a big audience before.
My love for the cello came from my mother. When I was young, I’d hear her playing from the other room, and I’d go in there and sit in the floor to watch her. She would look down at me with the most beautiful of smiles lighting her face, as the music continued to echo throughout the room. Her hands would move with such grace that I knew she must have been touched by an angel.
It had been magical.
That’s why I decided to take cello lessons. My mother taught me how to play when I was younger, but I had fallen out of love with it after her death. It just brought back too many memories that I hadn’t been ready to face. Two months ago, I arranged for a private instructor through the university I lived near, and the lessons lasted for fifteen weeks. Usually, people didn’t perform any recitals until the end of the fifteen weeks in order to make sure they were performance ready, but my instructor had informed me that I had real passion and talent for playing the cello and had arranged for me to perform with the students who had been performing for years.
So, yeah, that just added onto the pressure I already felt.
With a deep sigh, I sat up in bed and squinted my eyes against the harsh morning light. I picked up my phone and glanced at the clock. Eight a.m. The concert wasn’t until six o’clock that evening so I still had a few hours to spare before my nerves really began to spiral out of control. Right before I placed my phone down, it buzzed in my hand.
It was a text from my best friend Melissa.
Up and at ‘em, gorgeous babe.
I smiled at the text and then rubbed the sleepiness from my eyes before responding withWell, you’re right about that. I am gorgeous.
The next text came in almost immediately.I knew you were going to say that. How’s this? Get your ass out of bed.
Something I loved about Melissa was she was very straight forward and didn’t take any crap from anybody. And that included me. But, she was one of my best friends and I could always count on her for anything. She was an art major at the college I took my lessons from, but I’d met her in high school. She’d been one of the only people to not look at me like I was an alien. When we’d started talking one day in Algebra class, we just clicked and have been friends ever since.
I knew that she would be there cheering me on tonight, along with my family.
Laughing at the text put pressure on my bladder and made me realize I had to pee. So, it looked like I had to face the inevitable anyway and get my fabulous ass out of bed. Sending back a quick reply that simply readBite me, I sighed and walked to the bathroom.
After my bladder was happy and I was properly showered, I started a pot of coffee and scrounged around in my kitchen for something decent to eat for breakfast. It seemed like I had not only neglected visiting my family lately, but I had also neglected to go grocery shopping.
A heavy knocking on the door caused my head to snap around, almost giving me whiplash.
Curious as to who would be beating down my door at this ungodly hour in the morning, I walked over and peered through the peephole. A huge grin formed on my face, as I saw who it was.
“Zack! What are you doing here?” I unlocked and opened the door, letting my brother inside.
“Well, I had some free time this morning so I thought I’d come see you since we still hadn’t set a lunch date. I brought breakfast.” A dimpled grin was visible on his face as he held up the box of donuts before setting them on the kitchen table.
“Only you’d consider crazy amounts of sugar and carbs a nutritious breakfast.” I rolled my eyes and walked over to the cabinet, pulling out two plates. “You want coffee? I just made some.”
“Hey, no one said anything about anutritiousbreakfast,” he said with a chuckle. “Hell yeah, I want coffee. Don’t gotta ask me twice.”
I smirked and got down two cups, filling them with coffee, but leaving room in mine for some cream. Turning around, I walked back toward the table and set the cups down. “Now, give me one of those sugar-infested things. I’m starving.”
Zack smiled and pushed the box toward me, after he had already shoved two donuts into his mouth.
We really were the exact opposites of each other. Growing up, Zack had always been the jock type, while I was the more theatrical one. Obviously. He had taken after our mother and had her hazel eyes, while my eyes were blue like our father.
The only thing we seemed to have in common was our blond hair, but even that wasn’t a big similarity since I bleached mine a different shade and was always highlighting it with crazy colors that fit whatever mood I was in. The next color on my list was a vibrant teal. For right now, though, it was just blond.
We sat in silence while we ate– my mind repeating and slightly obsessing over the notes for my cello piece. After a few minutes, I finally snapped out of it and asked Zack how work was going for him. He was a physical trainer and he also did personal training for members at the local gym on the side.
Zack was all about helping people; he had one of the biggest hearts of anyone I knew.
