Page 157 of Of Heartbreak and Harmony
Silence.
“Can I tell you what I imagined last night? I imagined sitting with you at that piano and listening to you play every night. Beethoven and Bach and Chopin.”
Silence.
“Can you see it, baby? Can you see it?”
Silence.
“Just hang in there, okay? Just...just don’t go. Please, baby. Please, Firebird. Someone is coming. Please don’t go.”
Silence.
41
CALLIE
I hear voices.
Faint, whispered conversation in a language I should know, but can’t make out. Two people. No three. Voices that fill me with warmth. That sound like music and home. That feel like smooth, rich honey and salty, ocean air. I see flames dancing on the backs of my eyelids. Strong, decorated fingers holding a lit match. Full lips. Secrets.
I listen more closely, deciphering words through the haze.
Weeks. Sleep. Recovery.
Go home, someone says.We’ll stay with her.
I want to be here when she wakes up.
Weeks. Sleep. Recovery.
I’m not leaving.
Warmth encases my hand. A familiar sensation, both soft and rough. My fingers squeeze, and I tell myself to squeeze back. I try. I try again.
Nothing.
“I’m here, Firebird.”
Green eyes. Lit matches. Full lips.
“I’m right here. I miss you, but take all the time you need, baby. I’ll be here when you’re ready.”
Loud music. Silver rings. White teeth.
“I love you, Calla Lily Sunrise James. I’m right here.”
Torren.
My throat aches.
I try to swallow to ease the pain. I feel like I’m swallowing sand. My chest burns, and all I want is water. Ice water. Gallons of it.
My eyelids are sticky and heavy as I force them open, but the light in the room burns, so I have to force them shut again.
“Fuck.”
It comes out more as a cough than an actual word. My voice sounds strange in my head, and my mouth feels like it was stuffed with cotton balls. I try to open my eyes again, this time more slowly, letting the light in bit by bit. It still stings, but less so, until I’m able to peer through my lashes into an unfamiliar room with cream-colored walls.
