Page 80 of Bluebird

Luke dropped his box onto the kitchen bench and turned to us, clearly waiting for one of us to fill him in.

“Natalie, here, wants to buy your piano,” Nate blurted.

My wide eyes met Nate’s amused grin and I scowled.

“What?” Luke laughed at the seemingly ridiculous question.

“I thought you were getting rid of it, that’s all,” I uttered quietly, keeping my eyes lowered.

“Why would I get rid of it?”

“Never mind,” I huffed.

Luke crossed his arms. “Blue, you know you can come over and play it anytime you want, but you’re not taking it back to the states. Not a chance.”

“Argh…just forget it,” I snapped, and stormed out of the house.

As I returned home and closed the front door behind me, I peeked out the window to see Luke and Nate in a heated discussion in his front yard. Nate appeared to be doing all the talking and Luke stood with his head down and shoulders slumped. He glanced over to our house, and I quickly moved away from the window before he caught me prying.

I spent the rest of the day lying in bed contemplating my future, as Luke’s words ate away at me. I never said I was going back to Nashville, but I never said I was staying either. The truth was, I had no idea what I was doing, and I was annoyed at Luke’s assumption. Fairleigh may not be my home anymore, but neither was Nashville and I didn’t know where that left me.

My world had been flipped yet again, and I felt lost and confused.

Usually I would’ve turned my heartache into a song, but I hadn’t touched my guitar, sung a note, or written a single word since my ordeal, nor did I have any desire to.

* * *

Mum cooked a special meal to officially welcome Luke back ‘home’ and I had no choice but to leave the comfort of my bed and venture downstairs to join them.

Luke and I both remained quiet whilst we ate. Our usual chatter had been replaced with awkward conversation and uncomfortable glances. Thankfully, Mum was so excited to have a somewhat new neighbour, she dominated the conversation. Luke politely listened and replied in an appropriate manner, but I could tell his thoughts were elsewhere.

Once dinner came to end, Luke thanked Mum and mentioned his early start in the morning. As he got up to leave, my mum, as usual, frantically prepared some leftovers for him to take home. Enough to fill his fridge and belly for the rest of the week.

Before I had a chance to escape upstairs, Luke came up beside me, and brushed my arm.

“Hey, can we talk for a moment?” he whispered, motioning outside.

I pressed my lips together and nodded, following him out onto the front porch. We stood silently for a moment, staring across at the house Luke now called home.

He ran his fingers through his hair and sighed. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about Marni.”

“It would have saved me some embarrassment earlier,” I said, wrapping my arms around my waist.

His jaw tightened. “Yeah, Nate explained your reasons for wanting Nan’s piano…I’m sorry, Blue.”

I nodded, but kept my eyes from meeting his.

“I meant what I said though,” he continued. “You’re more than welcome to come over and play it. Anytime you want.”

I let out a nervous laugh.

Luke faced me whilst I stared across the road. “What’s going on, Blue?”

“To be honest,” I sighed. “I’m not sure if I even want to play again.”

“You’re joking, right?”

I said nothing, just lowered my gaze.