Page 107 of Heartstring

“Kay.”

“Can I come in?”

I step away from the door and close it once she’s inside.

“What are you doing here?”

She crashes into me and starts crying. I hold her and run my hands over her long blonde hair, the same shade as her dad’s.

“Do you want to sit?”

She nods.

“Drink?”

“Do you have milk?”

“Sure. Why don’t you sit on the couch while I get your drink?”

She nods. While I’m in the kitchen, I send Seymour a message to let Stan out with a brief explanation. A moment later, Stan runs down the stairs and into Kay’s arms.

When I join her on the couch, Stan is practically on top of her.

“Word of warning, his farts are particularly smelly today.”

I’m glad when she laughs.

“Do you want to tell me why you’re here? And how you got here? I thought you were in Vermont.”

“I’ve done something really bad, and I’m scared my dad will never forgive me. When he finds out, he’s going to move us away to some new place where I don’t know anyone, and it will be awful.”

Tears run down her pink cheeks. I encourage her to take a sip of her milk, hoping it’ll calm her a little.

“Do you want to tell me what you did?”

She shakes her head.

“If I say it, you’ll tell my dad.”

“Kay, I will only tell your dad if what you say is something that puts you in danger or in a vulnerable position. That’s because he needs to know so he can help you.”

She nods.

“He will never forgive me. Once, I got lost backstage. I was so scared that I found somewhere I felt safe and fell asleep. Everyone was looking for me, but it wasn’t my fault. I didn’t run or anything. That place had so many rooms and walls of equipment. I guess I was near the stage because I could hear them practice. Their music always puts me to sleep.”

She smiles when I say, “Maybe don’t suggest that for their marketing materials. It’s probably not the intended purpose. Then again, they could reach a whole new market. Baby lullabies.”

“Dad shouted at me. He looked so angry. Fox was the one who kept me company until Dad calmed down. He told me he was worried that something happened to me.”

“That’s quite a normal reaction. Maybe not the shouting,” I say. “But he must have felt helpless when he couldn’t find you. You’re the most important thing in his life, you know?”

She nods.

“Even if he forgave me for one thing, he won’t forgive me for this.”

“What do you mean?”

“I ran away.”