Page 101 of Die for You

“What?”

“Play, Aurora. If you should be able to play in front of anyone, it should be us.”

“I...I can’t.” I twist my hands together. They know this. I haven’t been able to play in front of anyone in years. Why would that be any different now?

“Don’t let him dictate who you are.” Knox’s voice drops an octave, brows stern but gaze still tender. “Or what you’re capable of.”

He’s right. My stage fright has one clear point of origin: Jeremiah. His snide comments about how I was hurting his ears, how I was wasting my time, how I’d never amount to be anything more than his girlfriend.

Finn’s hands land on my shoulders, warm and surprisingly light. He turns me until I’m facing the keys, grabs my hands, and places them on the keys. I expect him to pull away, but his palms rest against my skin. With me for every step, every note.

With trembling fingers, I press key after key, slowly, hesitantly. My heart hammers, echoing so loud I almost can’t hear the tentative ring of the keys.

Even with the staccato notes, the melody is familiar. One I memorized as a kid on my violin. A song I could play with my eyes closed, if I was alone.

But Finn’s still hovering behind me, palms following my hands across the keyboard. Knox at my side; Damien at the other. Surrounded by three Devils, three pairs of eyes, and all of their attention focused solely on me.

Yet my fingers don’t fumble over the notes. And with every measure, my hands move faster, the notes ingrained into my brain as deeply as my own name. My pulse starts to slow, matching the andante pace of the notes.

“Sing.” Damien’s command is little more than a whisper. The softest I’ve ever heard a word leave his lips. More a plea than an order.

When I part my lips, the words follow. Throat tight and hoarse from the stress, from being near tears moments ago, and I can barely hear my own voice over the notes. But none of the Devils push me to be louder. They know my limits. They know I’m trying, that this is the most I’ve been able to do in a long,longtime, and they’re proud of whatever I’m capable of.

My mouth shuts before the final notes from the piano stop ringing. A smile I can’t fight against pulls at my lips. I can’t remember the last time I played like that, striking every note perfectly, even alone.

I can play again. In front of people. Because of them. Because of the Devils.

“Wow,” Knox breathes, and he’s not fully smiling. Not looking at me the way he usually does, like there’s some secret he knows about me that I haven’t divulged to him yet. No, he’s looking at me like I’ve told him a secret he’s never heard, that he didn’t know was possible. Like he’s in awe of me. “Aurora, that was...”

Finn’s hands drift up from mine to pull my hair back over my shoulders before resting on my neck. I shiver as he leans down, his lip brushing my ear. The word leaves his mouth low enough that only I can hear. “Incredible.”

“See? You can do anything. Anything you want.” Damien’s wide, heavy palm lands on my knee, his thumb stroking over my skin. “We’ll be with you. At your audition. If you start to get nervous, if you think you might not be able to play, you look out at the faces watching and you’ll see us. Your biggest fans.”

The Devils are too good for me. So, so much better than I deserve. I can’t believe after a lifetime of loneliness, rejection, loss...that I’ve gotten this lucky.

I smile through happy tears. “What if they don’t let you in?”

“You think we’ll give them a choice?”

“Juilliard is in New York.”

The Devils exchange confused glances.

“Right?” Knox finally says, drawing out the word. “You don’t want to move to New York?”

“I do, but...” I squeeze my eyes shut, not wanting to hear their answer, but knowing I need to. “But what does that mean for us? You all have family and friends here. Your lives arehere.”

“New York isn’t that far.” Damien rolls his eyes like my concern is ridiculous. “We’ll live with you.”

Knox scoots closer, nudging my knee with his. “Wherever you go, we follow.”

“I can’t ask you to do that.” I shake my head, hating myself for saying the words out loud. Hating myself for not being selfish enough to take them away from their whole lives. “I can’t ask you to leave everything behind for me.”

Finn grabs my chin, jerking my head to the side so I’m forced to crank my eyes up to meet his. That piercing, intense crystal-blue gaze is back. “Youare everything.”

A tear slips down my cheek now, quickly followed by another. I’m at a loss for words now. Completely lost in my love for them.

Because that’s what this is. I don’t know how long I’ve felt this way or how long I’ve been falling, but I know for sure now.