Page 121 of Strings

Amy is staring at me. I can feel it, but I can’t take my eyes off of him to know for sure.

He starts to walk as he plays, moving around people and tables. Where is he going?

I feel the tears in my eyes as he gets closer. He stops moving when he’s directly in front of me, but he continues to play. Everyone turns in their chairs and watches him. The tears roll down my face. For once, crying doesn’t make me feel weak. It just makes me feel.

Amy grabs my arm and squeezes. Sebastian plays with such passion. It’s as if it’s only the two of us, and everyone else has faded away.

As the song ends and the crowd cheers, Sebastian holds out his hand to me. “Stay. Don’t ever leave me.”

“But what about all I’ve done?”

He lowers his hand and closes the space between us. “I don’t care about what you did before you met me. What I care about is that everything you do going forward includes me.”

Can this be real?

“Don’t you see? I can’t help it. I’m in love with you. I wanted to tell you that I thought we should date for real when I came back from Spain, but…”

“Spain? Is that what you wanted to talk to me about that day?”

“Is that all you heard?” He laughs.

“No, I heard it all. This time it was loud and clear. I’ll never run again.”

“Unless you’re running to me.”

“I love you, Sebastian.”

“I know. How could you not?” He smirks and I laugh. He leans into me and kisses me like no one’s watching. Sebastian Corronov loves me. My blank slate isn’t blank anymore. My life isn’t over, it’s just beginning. And it’s all because I sat down in the wrong seat at the wrong time with the right guy.

“Err, excuse me, Sebastian? That was stunning. The Sym is lucky to have you.”

One by one, people approach him to shake his hand. I step off to the side. This is all him. He deserves this and more.

Ms. Joe waves to me from across the room, so I make my way over to her.

She pulls me into a hug. It’s really tight.

“Thank you for giving these kids a chance. People are asking for their autographs. You’d think they won the lottery. They’re so happy.”

“Ms. Pearson?”

An older man taps me on the shoulder. “Yes?”

“My name is Theodore Ackerman. I’ve been attending these stuffy galas for the past ten years. But tonight, I actually enjoyed myself and from what I hear, that’s because of you.”

“No, the kids did that. Sebastian did that. They are the ones with the talent. I simply showed up and ordered some food.”

“Regardless, I wanted to tell you how much it meant to me. See, once upon a time, I was one of them. My family was poor, but I was determined to make something of myself. Someone took a chance on me too, and it’s why I’m standing here today. When you said that your life might have been different if you had a man like Mr. Corronov in it, well… that hit deep.”

“Thank you so much. That means a lot to me. I’m glad what I said touched you. Mr. Ackerman, this is Ms. Joe. She runs the center.”

They shake hands, but Mr. Ackerman doesn’t release hers. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Ms. Joe. If you run the center, then I guess I should hand this to you.” He lets go and reaches into his coat pocket. “Here is a check for $100,000. You give those kids everything they need, and if that’s not enough, you give me a call.”

Ms. Joe gawks at him for a half second, then pulls Theodore in for one of her hugs. I reach out to try to make sure she doesn’t break him, but he seems to be enjoying it—to each their own. I immediately think to tell Sebastian. He’s going to be so happy. I search the room for him. He’s pulling a piece of paper from his pocket. It’s my note.

He’s expression drops as he reads it. He stuffs the note back in his pocket, briefly looks around the room, then walks away. Fear hits me hard. Did I ruin everything again?

Strings