Underwater (22 page)

After the talk with Toby, I felt like I could go up there and face the freaking music. “Your boss gave me a pep talk,” I said with a small smile.

“Toby?” he asked, raising a brow.

“The one and only.”

“Okay, first he is
our
boss now. Second, are you shitting me? Toby and pep talk don’t go in the same sentence.”

“Shh...” I said, placing my finger across his lips. “Don’t tell anyone, he doesn’t want his
reputation
ruined.”

He licked my finger, smirking at me as he said, “His secret is safe with me.” Then he smacked my ass. “Go get ‘em, tiger.”

“You’re going to cheer me on?”

“Always.” He took a step back, smiled with shyness that wasn’t there a few seconds ago, then turned around and disappeared around the corner.

I missed him already.

I stood behind the scenes, a nervous wreck, but at the same time feeling a spark of excitement.

Toby stood on the stage, holding a microphone as he introduced me to everyone. “She performed here once and she left her mark,” he said. “So of course, I couldn’t give up the opportunity to make her one of our own!”

I smiled because his words made me feel warm inside. It was my first day and it already felt like home. Earlier, after I parted ways with Dorian, some of the employees approached me, welcoming me to the family. It filled me with a sense of security.

“Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome Aria!”

I stepped forward, concentrating on putting one foot in front of the other until I reached the middle of the stage. With a smile and a pat on my shoulder, Toby stepped aside. I gazed down at the sea of faces as they clapped and cheered from the dance floor. All I heard though, were my own breaths, and every inhale I drew in vibrated with nervousness. My eyes jumped from face to face, looking frantically for the only face in the crowd who was able to calm me.

Dorian.

And there he was… leaning back against the wooden bar, his arms crossed over his chest, watching me. For a few moments, we stared at each other while I tried to calm my racing heart.

I smiled.

He smiled.

And with an imperceptible nod, he mouthed,
“You can do this.”

I took a deep breath, counted to three, and then said, “Hello everyone! I’m going to sing
Every Teardrop is a Waterfall
by Coldplay.”

I pulled out my lucky pick from my back pocket, took another deep breath, and closed my eyes. With the guitar strap wrapped around my neck and knowing the chords like the palm of my hand, I started strumming.

The melody was colorful, vibrant, and alive.

Slowly I opened my eyes, my heart fluttering as I sang. And when I brought the song to an end, I was relieved to hear the whistles and calls of approval from the crowd.

I thanked everyone for their support and encouragement and then jumped directly to the next song, knowing that for the rest of the night, I was going to rock this freaking stage.

I was thanking the people who were congratulating me on my performance, when I heard my best friend’s voice.

“Aria!”

My head shot up automatically, my eyes searching, jumping from face to face until I found hers among the crowd. She brightened the whole room as she ran towards me with a guy hot on her heels, trying to keep up with her.

“Ella!” I screamed. “What are you doing here?”

“You really had a doubt I would miss your first show?” she said with a mischievous smile. “You fucking did it! I was holding my breath for a minute there, sure you were going to run off the stage, but then you sang! You fucking sang, Aria!” she said while pulling me towards her for a hug. “I’m so proud of you. I truly am.”

“Thank you.” Still locked in her embrace, the guy that had followed behind her was standing with both hands in his front pockets, watching our exchange. My curiosity got the best of me and I asked quietly, “Who’s the guy?”

She pulled back. “You don’t remember?”

Frowning, I shook my head.

“It’s Danny!”

Danny? The name rang a bell, but I didn’t recognize his face. Still frowning, I shook my head again.

“My cousin, Danny. You two were best buds before you moved away. You seriously don’t remember him?”

My eyes widened as realization suddenly hit. “That’s Danny?” I whispered-shouted. “Danny with the glasses and braces?
That
Danny?”

“He grew up nicely, don’t you think?” Ella grinned. “He came to visit me and wanted to tag along when he heard you were back in town.”

She signaled for him to come closer. I watched him approach, feeling awkward and excited. When he reached us, he stood next to Ella and smiled down at me.

“Hey, Aria. It’s been a while.”

It all happened in a matter of seconds, but one moment Danny stood next to Ella, and the next, he was picking me up and holding me in a bear hug. “It’s so good to see you again!” Danny said, his deep voice near my ear.

“It’s good to see you too,” I said, honestly meaning it. He’d been a dear friend of mine when I was younger. Seeing him again threw me back to the past when River was alive, and my family was healthy and happy.

It made my heart hurt.

“Oh god, I think you should put her down,” Ella shouted to Danny while slapping her hand on his arm frantically. “Like, yesterday!”

Before I could comprehend what was happening, I was torn from Danny’s arms, directly into the eye of the storm. I gasped when I hit a hard chest. Strong hands wrapped around me.

Slowly, I lifted my head.

Dorian looked livid.

He radiated anger. His deep blue eyes, looking black in the dim light, focused on Danny, and with a little imagination, I could picture arrows launching from his pupils straight into the heart of the enemy.

And in this case, the poor enemy was Danny.

“Dorian,” I said hesitantly.

I didn’t know what to do or how to act. He was unpredictable when he was angry. And right now he was furious.

“What is your problem, man?” Danny asked with a scowl.

Dorian stood still, a simmering volcano about to erupt as he glared at Danny with venom. “She’s mine.” He spoke with a voice deep and low. “Touch her again,” he said, his eyes burning, “and you’re a dead man.”

“Dorian!” I shrieked, trying to break free from his hold, but he didn’t allow me to move an inch, only tightening his grip around my body, keeping me locked in his thundering arms.

“Listen, I have no idea what your fucking problem is…” Danny said while moving closer, “…but chill the fuck out.” And then he put his hand on Dorian’s shoulder.

Oh fuckfuckfuck!

The moment Danny touched him, I shouted, “Dorian, no!” But it was too late. He was quick as a lightning. One second, I was held in his arms. A second later, he’d carefully planted me behind his back, still protecting me in all his madness. Danny’s dark, blue eyes opened wide, a look of panic flitted across his features as Dorian swung his fist back and punched him right in the chin.

Danny took a few steps back, groaning. “Fuck!”

I stepped around Dorian like a whirlwind, standing in front of him while signaling to him with both of my hands to stop. I wanted to touch him so badly, hold his hand, touch his face, and calm him down. But at the same time, I was afraid that further contact would do more harm than good, because the man standing in front of me…
wasn’t Dorian.

He looked like a lost, wild, and untamed beast.

“Dorian!” I shouted as my heart beat faster and faster. I stood in front of him, waiting for him to look at me.

He didn’t.

I took a tentative step forward, getting closer to him until I stood inches from his tall frame. “Dorian,” I tried again. “It’s me... look at me.”

I waited for the darkness surrounding his mind to vanish and fade away. I waited while holding my breath, not moving a muscle for what felt like hours, days, years…and finally, he blinked, his long, black lashes fluttering. He looked confused, his eyes wide, while a small crease formed between his eyebrows. His blue eyes – which had appeared black a few moments ago – jumped from me to Danny, once, twice, three times while the grooves between his brows deepened.

My heart lurched painfully.

When his eyes focused on me, they softened.

“Tiny...” His voice shook and his expression was remorseful. His eyes burned as he watched me, remnants of confusion still lingering. He was rattled to the bone, scared, confused, and...
misunderstood
.

He took a step in my direction while stretching his hand out to me, his eyes pleading for me to understand him, to take his hand, to touch him, to
forgive
him. His sudden movement threw me off, and without meaning to, I flinched. I wanted to mentally slap myself for doing so. Cursing myself, I was about to go to him, to take his hand, to do something, anything... but the look of pain in his eyes stopped me cold, planting my feet to the ground. His face fell, and the hurt I saw broke my fucking heart. He looked shattered. The corners of his mouth lowered into a frown and his shoulders slumped. His hand dropped to his side, and he stepped back slowly, his eyes still trained on me.

Without saying a word, he turned around and stormed outside, with Toby hot on his heels.

I wanted to follow him, but first I needed to check on Ella and Danny.

“Hey guys,” I said, not sure how they were going to react after what happened. “I’m so sorry.”

“Hey, don’t worry about it,” Danny tried to smile, even though it seemed like moving his chin hurt like hell. “Your man is a bit…”

“Scary?” Ella jumped to comment.

“I was going to say possessive,” he said, grinning at her. “But that works, too.”

“Worst first impression ever, huh?” I murmured, wincing. I really wanted her to like him. For them to get along. But so far, every encounter had been a disaster.

We both looked at each other, and at the same time, the corners of our mouths lifted and we both started laughing.
Was it the adrenaline rush? Nerves? Fear?

“Well… I really have to go,” I said. “He needs me.”

She sighed. “I won’t try to stop you,” she said, placing her hand on my shoulder. “But please be careful out there, okay? He looked unsettled and I don’t want you to get hurt.” She stepped closer and whispered in my ear, “Or him, for that matter, because if you end up hurt, it’s going to break him.”

To say I was shocked would be putting it mildly. I didn’t know why she said that or what she saw when she looked at him, but before I could ask her, she kissed my cheek, took Danny’s arm, and pulled him away.

As I watched them go, he turned his head around and called out, “I’m glad I got to see you again, Aria! Hope we’ll get to meet again soon.” Then he turned back, put his arm around Ella’s shoulder and together they disappeared into the crowd.

I took a deep breath and headed towards the back door, where I’d seen Dorian disappear to.

I hoped to God I didn’t ruin everything.

The alley was dark and the streetlights dimmed. I looked up at the clear sky, filled with twinkling stars that cast a soft glow, while the gentle breeze blew across my face. As I approached Toby and Dorian, I could see that Dorian was sitting on the ground, his head tucked between his bent legs. His hands were buried in the roots of his dark messy hair, his fingers pulling at the edges.