As I showered and got dressed, I tried not to think about the horrible images I’d seen last night. I vowed never to let Draven see them; I knew him well enough to know that he’d never forgive his own soul. I dried my hair, then pulled on my black tights and purple skirt. I then layered a tank top on before adding a lace shirt, then covered it with a short black jacket. I took a deep breath, then leaned forward and stared at my complexion. You can do this...you can win this before it begins, I promised myself.
The moment those words left my lips, I heard my father’s guitar come to life. I looked at the thin air around me and nodded once before I opened the bathroom door. I ran upstairs to grab my phone and bag. Night had come, and the only thing that was lighting my room was the rock lamp. I swear, I could feel the hum of energy as I grabbed my phone from my table. I thought about turning it off, but I wanted to feel this calm energy when this night was over.
I stopped in my old room to grab my black boots and slid into them just before I ran down the stairs. I couldn’t make out the voices, but I knew there was at least one man down there. When I got to the base of the, stairs laughter erupted. I could see my mom and Evan at the table with cups of coffee, laughing at something Kara had just said. Monroe and Madison were there, too, but they didn’t seem as relaxed; they carried the same nervousness that I did.
“There she is,” my mother said when she saw me walking closer.
“I didn’t mean to sleep all day. When does this concert start?”
Evan looked at his watch. “I better get back. The first band plays in an hour.”
“Are you hungry?” my mom asked me.
“Too nervous.”
Evan grinned slightly. “You sound like the boys; I couldn’t get them to eat either.”
“Is Draven already there?” I asked.
He nodded. “He’s been there since around noon…really proud of that sound you guys came up with – never heard anything like it before.”
I let out a jagged breath. “Can’t wait to hear it all together.” I looked at Monroe and Madison. “You guys wanna ride with me? I’m gonna head over there.”
“We’ll all go,” my mom said. As she stood and hugged Evan goodbye, she whispered, “They’ll be fine,” in his ear, which made him smile and hug her tighter.
Madison helped Kara clear away the coffee cups and shut down the house. I caught my mother’s stare. She winked at me, but I knew she wanted to say more. “You OK?” she asked as she came to my side.
“Nervous,” I said as I opened the door, eager to leave.
“It’s your birthday concert. Have fun, OK?” mom said as she pressed the unlock button on Kara’s car.
I nodded, then briskly walked to my car. Madison climbed in the front seat, and Monroe in the back. We didn’t say much until we were almost at the school.
“You didn’t come home last night, did you?” I asked Madison.
“I went to my mom’s after I left Britain’s; all this talk about leaving me made me want to see her.”
“How did it go with Britain?” I asked, not knowing if I still had that to rely on.
“Alright, I guess. We really don’t talk much; it’s a lot of awkward stares and a battle of wits - but I like trying to figure him out.”
“You do like a good mystery,” I mumbled.
I looked in my rearview mirror. “How did you like New York?” I asked Monroe.
She didn’t answer me; she just continued to stare out the window.
“I tried to get Monroe to let me borrow that purple lipstick, but she wouldn’t let me,” Madison teased, turning to look at Monroe.
I glanced in my rearview mirror to see Monroe trying to hold back a grin. “It looks good with all that eyeliner,” I said as I slowed down. We’d managed to find ourselves at a standstill, and I couldn’t figure out why.
Monroe leaned forward, and Madison leaned out her window. “Oh my God - this is traffic for the concert!” Madison said with wide eyes.
“No way,” I said as we inched forward with the other cars.
“The school is like a mile ahead. There are signs directing people. These people are all trying to get in,” Madison said as her voice echoed an unusual excitement.
“This is insane,” I said, instantly feeling nervous for Draven. There was no way I could perform in front of all these people.
I couldn’t sit still in my seat; it felt like the fifteen minutes it took us to reach the parking lot lasted an eternity.
“Evan said pull around to the back,” Madison said, trying to get me to go the opposite way of the cars.
“Yeah, well this cop is saying no,” I said as I stopped and let him direct cars from another lane to turn.
The cop walked to my car and tipped his hat. “Charlie – Happy Birthday,” he said as he smiled and stopped traffic for us to go around the back of the school.
“Do you see how many people are here?” Madison said. “Look at all those radio satiation vans - are those news crews?” she asked, leaning across me.
I ignored her and sped around to the side of the building, where I parked near the wide doors that looked like they led to a gym or something. Kara pulled up beside me.
I shook my head as I got out of my car. “This is insane,” I said to them.
“A lot of energy here,” my mom said as she put her arm around me and led me in. Unconsciously, I reached for my wrist to the charms on my bracelet, wondering if the little rock on my bracelet had the same kind of calm energy escaping from it as the lamp in my room.
“Let me see how that turned out,” my mom said, dropping her arm and taking my wrist. “Beautiful, and it healed fast, too.”
“Mom, are you OK?”
“Yeah, why?” she asked in a confused tone.
“You just told me a tattoo is beautiful, and you’re talking about energy and stuff.”
“Charlie, that’s not the first tattoo I’ve seen, and I’m very aware of energy.”
“Right, I keep forgetting this side of you.”
She laughed as she walked ahead with Kara. I reached in my bag, pulled my phone out, and texted: ‘I’m here – where are you’ to Draven.
By the time I reached the doors, he texted back: ‘back stage a lot of nerves back here – I’ll send Grayson to make sure you get to your seat.’
I gritted my teeth and texted” ‘I don’t want a seat I want to be back stage’. I wanted to be as close to him as possible in case that world decided to erupt around him.
His response was instant: ‘baby help me balance I need you to stand in front of me.’
‘K’ was my response. I figured the front row was close enough. Mom and Kara had walked ahead, and I saw Evan waiting for them at the end of the hall.
Madison was crouched down in the corner, talking on her phone.
“Your brother is coming to show us where to sit,” I said to Monroe.
She didn’t really reply as she started to walk up the narrow staircase that was to our left. I followed her, wanting to get out of the path of the door. She stopped a few steps up, and in the shadows of the stairwell pulled a bracelet out of her pocket and handed it to me. “Happy Birthday,” she said quietly.
I smiled curiously as I reached for it. It was much like the one she’d already made me, expect all the charms were stones; not orange like the one I was wearing, but white and black. The colors were in perfect order as they circled the leather cord, six stones in all.
“It’s beautiful,” I said as I put it on. “I would have settled for borrowing your purple lipstick from you – you know, just to make Madison jealous,” I teased.
She didn’t smile as she reached to help me with my bracelet. “Purple is my favorite color tonight. I see the ones I love surrounded by it.”
I furrowed my eyebrows, finding her words odd. At that moment, Grayson and Winston appeared at the bottom of the stairs. “There you are,” he said with a relieved grin. “Monroe, go with Winston, love. He’ll take you to your seat.”
Monroe looked at me and pressed her lips together, causing the purple on her lips to brighten, then she held her head down as she went to Winston. Madison kept her eyes down, speaking in a whisper as she talked on her phone and came over to Grayson and me.
“It’s this way,” Grayson said, pointing up the steps.
“Wait,” I said, stopping him from climbing past me. “He said in front of him.”
“Right,” Grayson said as he grinned and climbed the stairs. Confused, I followed him to a third story balcony, one that in the old days would have controlled the lights. It was my own private seat. From the doorway, I could see the stage clearly – like I was right in front of it. Long strands of silver confetti were hanging from the ceiling, and flickering lights made them look like stars glimmering in mid-air. Madison walked to the edge, but I stayed back, listening to the noise of the crowd below.
“Are you OK?” Grayson asked.
I nodded, even though it was a lie – I was terrified.
“Listen,” Grayson said as he leaned in the doorway. “I’m not gonna lie: tonight may be wicked.”
“Wicked in a bad way, you mean?”
He titled his head slightly and tried to hide the grief I saw reflecting in his dark eyes. “That song is powerful – but it’s only epic when he puts anger behind the lyrics.”
“What? Like real anger? He can’t be angry...that world...that world -”
He raised his hand to stop me. “Yeah, that world comes to life when he finds the emotion that makes the words stronger…he’s spent more time there yesterday and today than he has here…I’m sure his test is close – really close – by now.”
“Is he OK?” I asked, horrified.
He nodded and glanced in Madison’s direction. “It’s not that bad anymore. I mean, it’s bad, but Britain isn’t showing up there anymore, and Draven already called Bianca on her twisted seduction.”
“What’s left then? How do we get those shadows out, stop Draven and all of you from begin haunted by it?”
“We have to face our demons, step back into our thoughts and witness the evil we’ve created – fight the pull of the power.”
“Have you done it before? It can be done, right?”
He shook his head no once. “Not my time – not yet.”
“But it’s his,” I mumbled as a sick feeling came to me. I didn’t want Draven to see any past deeds of this life or another – not after what Silas had shown me last night.
“It appears so. He’s been tempted by that place more than me and Winston combined, but he’s managed to fight it off for years without even knowing that that was what he was doing. I think tonight he’ll fight for his peace of mind, and I know he’ll pass the test – choose to stay in this world…then you’ll help him fight the urge to go back.”
“You keep him safe on that stage – all of you – do you hear me?”
Grayson titled his head, encouraging me to walk to the edge of the balcony. The old box that was used to hand direct the lights was in the middle of the balcony, making it impossible for me and Madison to stand side-by-side. Grayson walked up behind me and pointed to the stage. “We’re in a perfect circle,” he said as he pointed to where Aden’s drums would be, then to where the base would be, Winston – dark. Then he nodded to where Madison was standing - light – then center stage, Draven - dark, then to where we were standing – light – then finally passing to where Grayson would stand – dark – then back to Aden - light…we were standing in a perfect circle of light and darkness - in balance.
I looked down at the bracelet Monroe had just given me, staring at the six white and black stones around the leather cord. “Tell me you and your sister knows something I don’t – that this balance thing is gonna protect us.”
Grayson smirked. “My sister is entirely wiser than I am,” he said as he stepped away, then turned to go down the stairs.
I looked back at the bottom floor and saw my mother and Kara standing to the right of the packed auditorium. Nana, Wesley, and Erica were standing to the left across from them. It seemed that no matter which direction Draven or the others looked, they’d see one of us – a peaceful soul wanting nothing more than to support them. My eyes rose to the confetti that was hanging from ceiling. Now that I was closer, I focused on the paper outlines - gasping as I realized what they were: tiny butterflies. The irony couldn’t have been any more alarming. My father’s message in those rocks (‘the answers all around you’) was echoing in my memory.
Madison squeezed my shoulder, asking me to step back; it was the only thing that pulled me from my thoughts.
“Hey, Britain isn’t here – like, not in this ZIP code.”
“What? How do you know?” I thought, thinking I’d made this whole deal out to be more than it was. With Britain gone, there wasn’t much for Bianca to provoke Draven with – much for her to toy with us about.
A devious smile came to the corners of her lips. “When he told me he cared about me last night, wanted to build something real between us, I told him to prove it, to fly across the world - and he did.”
“What?”
She raised her phone and waved it slightly from side to side. “He just called me from a hotel in Japan and told me that he’d do anything to get over the addiction he had for you if I let him come into my life…at least as a friend.”
“What about Bianca? Is she gone, too? Like, moved on to her next victim?”