Page 70 of Everything After

I wasn’t usually one for talking to myself, but Cody and Jack were the two guys that had the ability to bring out the worst in me, I thought as I slid into my car.

Another wave of rage threatened to consume me when another image of Cody’s behavior flashed through my mind’s eye again. “Goddammit,” I barked aloud.

“What? What happened?” Oscar called out.

“Just start the car and drive,” I ground out as a stabbing pain registered in both palms. I examined them again, taking in the bloody state they were in, and I thanked God that there were no concerts planned in my near future.

“You’re bleeding. Are you going to tell me what happened?” Oscar questioned, his narrowed eyes darting between my hands and my face.

Ignoring him, I leaned over, opened the glove box and pulled some tissues from a small box that Lily always kept in there. “Fuck,” I cussed again while I dabbed at my bloodied, right palm.

“That fucker Cody pawed my wife.”

“You fought?”

“No, not that I didn’t want to rip the fucker’s head off right then. But he’ll keep. Lily asked me to leave… I saw how upset the whole scene was making her, so I did.”

“One ass-kicking for Cody on order then,” Oscar remarked calmly and slowly moved us off. “Where are we headed, boss?”

“To the university.”

By the time I arrived at Florida State University, I was in a much calmer mood. Oscar walked behind as I left the car, and I found Derek and Delilah working as usual in the college music studio.

“Ah, just the man I wanted to see. I meant to ask you, are you coming to the alumni reunion being held here next week?” he asked.

I must have looked puzzled because he frowned. “Reunion?”

“Oh, it’s being held by your wife’s graduation year and the year above, I believe. But… you were a tutor for most of those students at that time, and I’m sure they’d get a kick out of two famous rock stars showing up.”

“I wasn’t aware there was a reunion. Lily didn’t mention it.”

“She didn’t? Oh, I do hope she’ll come. She was a popular girl while she was here. I would think she’d get a positive welcome from her peers.”

“I’ll ask. If she decides to come, I’ll tag along.”

“Splendid,” he gushed with a beaming, satisfied smile. “Alright, I’ll get out of your hair and let you genii get down to the business of making music.”

I looked at Delilah and saw her glance up to her hairline in response to his patronizing remark, but I took comfort in the fact that some things never changed. Both Delilah and I remained silent until he left the room, then I turned to address her.

“Have you worked on many other pieces since I was in London?”

“I have. I thought I’d score a new arrangement for “Life on Mars?” by David Bowie.”

“Damn,” I muttered. “Big risk to touch a Bowie song, since he was an exceptional performer.”

“Yeah, I know, but I kind of like what I did with it,” Delilah admitted.

“Alright. Let me hear it,” I prompted, nodding at her piano as I hopped up and sat on the desk, wincing again when I’d put weight on my palms to do so.

Delilah studied her piano keys for a beat, placed her long, slender fingers in position and began to play the intro in the key of C.

The piece she played was much faster, at almost a frantic pace but somehow, she’d still managed to make it sound like a modern song, slash, rap version, which was in stark comparison to Bowie’s deliberately slow, original recording. In yet another surprising twist, Delilah had an insane vocal range with an incredible fast paced lyrical ability, and I was in awe.

My breath had caught in my throat during her enthralling performance, and it was only when I became aware of a knot in my chest, that I remembered to let it go.

Watching Delilah perform with the self-belief that had been missing in Lily when I’d first taken her into the same studio, brought a lump to my throat. I remained speechless for a few seconds after she finished playing, and I believed right then that I was in the presence of the music world’s next big thing.

“Fuck,” I stated, shaking my head after recovering from her performance. “Genius,” I remarked. I jumped down from the table, held my arms out and flashed her an appreciative smile. “What you just did then… I-I don’t have the words to describe it... apart from goosebumps!” I said, pushing up the sleeve on my leather jacket. The hairs on my arm stood on end. “Sweetheart, I really believe I’m in the presence of greatness.”