The second the doors opened revealing our stop, music floated inside the car, and even though many other sounds were trying to drown it out, I recognized it instantly.
“Do you hear that?” she asked the second we stepped onto the platform.
I made a sound of agreement.
“It’s so beautiful.”
“Come on,” I implored, tugging her hand and leading her toward the sound.
The music grew closer, and Ivory became enamored. “It’s so powerful it mutes all the other sounds down here,” she observed.
I would have to agree. The air hummed with lustrous sounds of a deep, heart-ripping tone.
“What a beautiful melody, almost sad but also optimistic in some notes. Whoever is playing must have so much passion in them, so much talent.”
Glancing down, I asked, “You like it that much?”
“Oh yes. I’ve been to the symphony many times, and I’ve never heard anything quite like this. It’s unique and utterly beautiful.”
“Want to meet the musician?”
Sparkling blue eyes widened on mine. “Can we?”
Smiling my most charming smile, I tilted my head. “I think I could make that happen.”
A small crowd of people gathered around the violinist despite how early it was in the morning. The melody being played was so beautiful that many people spared a moment to stop and listen.
We stood near the back, Ivory stretching up on her tiptoes, trying to see, and still, she couldn’t. Frustrated, she slumped at my side.
Chuckling, I pulled her forward, tapping someone on the shoulder. “Excuse me, mate.”
“Were you a pirate in your past life?” she asked totally randomly.
I paused only for one second and then winked, making her blush. “Maybe.”
The crowd parted, and I let go of her hand to place mine at the small of her back and push her forward.
She gasped, body flinging dramatically back, then colliding with my chest. I was becoming more accustomed to her dramatics, so this time, I decided to use it to my advantage and wrap my arms around her from behind.
“Neo!” she exclaimed, pointing. “That’s Fletcher!”
My chin brushed against her damp black hair with my nod. “He’s good, right?”
“I wondered what was in that case he carried.” Her voice was hushed.
“He can’t hold a job, is lousy at stealing, but that boy can play a fiddle,” I mused, feeling pride well up inside me.
I never meant to get so attached to my friends. Moving in with them was basically a means to an end. A way to survive.
Somewhere along the way, though, they became my family.
“Why would anyone want to be good at stealing?” She glanced up at me.
The bottom fell out of my belly, but I couldn’t look away. “Because for some, it’s survival.”
Emotion passed between us, an emotion I couldn’t identify. And then Fletch hit a flute-like note, drawing Ivory’s attention once more.
I thought fleetingly of releasing her from the circle of my arms, but then she wiggled farther against me, snuggling closer, and all thought of pulling away vanished as if it had never formed.
The top of her head made a perfect resting place for my chin, and we remained silent as Fletcher continued to play, creating a story with his song, weaving notes together to create harmony. You knew by watching that Fletch didn’t just play his violin.
He felt it.
He allowed it to reach deep inside and play out his most secret emotions, spinning them into an eloquent tune that was so powerful his entire body swayed. Many times, I wondered if it was him playing the violin or the violin playing him.
His hands stopped, and the music ebbed until there was nothing left and everyone started to move along, dropping cash into his open instrument case.
“Fletcher!” Ivory exclaimed, pulling away to rush toward him.
His entire face lit up with surprise, light-brown eyes going wide. “Princess?” he called, lowering the violin off his shoulder. His eyes flickered to me but then went immediately back to the small girl rushing to his side.
“Oh my goodness, that was incredible! You are so very talented!”
His cheeks turned red, his entire aura bashful. If he could have hidden his face, he probably would have. Why the dude needed to act like that was beyond me. We told him all the time that he was good.
“Aww, shucks,” he murmured, looking down.
“No, really!” She tugged on the sleeve of his jacket enthusiastically. “I’ve never heard anyone play like this before. Why are you down here in the subway? You should be on a stage!”
“Who would put me on a stage?” he mumbled.
“I would!”
His eyes lifted, searching her face. “Really?”
“Most assuredly.” She confirmed.
Sometimes I wondered if she read a dictionary for fun.
Fletcher’s floppy hair flounced when he threw his arms around her, swallowing her whole. He was the smallest of the four of us, but even he was larger than Ivory.
“That means so much to me,” he exclaimed, sniffling into her hair.
“That’s enough,” I said, reaching between them for some separation.
Noticing what I was wearing, Fletch made a face, pointing to me with his bow. “Is that a hospital gown?”
“You will never believe everything that has happened!” Ivory exclaimed, totally stealing Fletch’s attention once more. “Neo took me to the fish market, and they threw a giant dead fish at me!”
Fletcher made a strangled sound. “He took you there? For real? Aren’t those fishermen scary?”
“Oh, they look a little brash on the outside, but Kraken is a true gentleman. He even helped carry Neo to the hospital.”
Fletch’s eyes bugged out. Drawing her toward his open violin case, he said, “Tell me more.”
It was like the two were on a whole other planet. I swear they needed some tea and cookies in front of them, and it would be like an episode of Golden Girls.
“I don’t think the subway is a good place for this conversation.” I reminded them, arching a brow.
Ivory made a face. “He’s probably right.”
“But you were just getting to the good part.” He pouted.
“We can tell you later. We were on our way somewhere,” Ivory offered.
Swinging toward me, Fletcher gave me a look of surprise. “You’re bringing her to the tower?”
Of course he would know. This was the only reason I would get off at the subway stop. My only confirmation was a nod.
“Whoa,” he mused.
“What’s the tower?” Ivory questioned.
“You didn’t tell her yet?” Fletcher whispered to me. His voice was so loud it was not actually a whisper.
“I haven’t exactly had time,” I retorted, gesturing to my attire.
“Right.” He scratched behind his ear, his eyes turning worried. “But you’re okay, right?”
Fletcher was a lot of things, and when he looked at me like that, not caring about whatever trouble I’d probably gotten into but rather that I was okay, it just proved he was one of my family.
“Yeah, I’m okay,” I told him, making the apprehension in his eyes dissipate. “But do you think, ah, I could borrow your jacket?”
“Oh yeah.” His head bobbed. Quickly, he packed away his instrument, closing up the case, then shrugged out of his jacket and tossed it to me.
Grateful, I tugged it on over the gown, realizing it only made me look more ridiculous, but hey, it was better than nothing.
“But what’s the tower?” Ivory asked again, waiting for someone to explain.
“I’ll show you.” I promised, turning back to Fletch. “Look, the press knows she’s alive. They’re out looking, so be careful, okay?”
“Will do.”
“C’mon, princess,” I said, taking her hand and tugging her away from Fletch toward the stairs.
“Bye!�
�� he called out after us, and Ivory turned back to wave.
The tower was a large brownstone building deep in the city that was so old it was considered historic, but it was cared for better than most other places I’d looked into.
We stood on the sidewalk, staring up at the building that really had no indication out front of what kind of place it was, which was also something I liked about it.
The face had lots of windows, but many of the rooms inside did not. It turned out the windows overlooking the street fetched a higher premium, one I wasn’t lucky enough to be able to afford. Sometimes the sight of those windows left a bitter tang on my tongue because they were reminders of things I couldn’t provide.
Potted mums lined the concrete steps leading up to the black double doors, and there was a welcome mat, which frankly didn’t make me feel welcome.
Pausing with my hand on the knob, I drew in a ragged breath, the weight of what I was about to do suddenly making it hard to breathe. I’d never done this before. Never brought anyone here. The only people who’d ever visited were my roommates, and it took me a long time to even allow them.
A light, tentative touch settled over my arm. “Neo?”
Glancing down only created more turmoil inside me. She’d asked for this, right? More time. More of me.
Well.
Maybe not more of me. But maybe I wanted to give it.
Or maybe because I thought it would make it easier when she went back home.
Honestly, it didn’t matter right now because right now I was ripe with apprehension.
“This is the tower?” she asked, still leaving her hand to rest on my arm.
I nodded.
“There’s something inside you want me to see?”
“Not something. Someone.”
Her bow-shaped mouth formed a little O. “Really? Who?”
“My sister.”
39
Ivory
* * *
Neo had a sister? He’d never mentioned her before. I always thought he didn’t have a family, so hearing about this now was momentarily stunning.
Suddenly, a flash of memory from the night I was locked up in jail and had used up my one call to Neo filled my mind.
He called me Virginia that night.
“Is your sister’s name Virginia?”
Neo stopped walking down the hall, peeking around with a suspicious look floating behind his eyes. “How do you know that?”
I smiled, suddenly feeling relief I didn’t realize I needed. So that’s who she was. “That night I called you from jail, you called me Virginia when you answered.”
Realization dawned, and he grunted. “That’s because no other girls call me but her.”
That made me so happy I swear I heard a symphony of chiming bells in the back of my mind.
“Why are you smiling like that?” he asked, wary.
“Because I get to meet your sister!” I beamed.
When we were in the elevator traveling up, he turned to me, a solemn look stealing all the usual charm from his face. “When we get up there,” he began, “please don’t stare.”
“Stare,” I echoed. “Why in the world would I stare? Staring is rude.”
“Just don’t,” he bit out, voice harsh.
I hadn’t heard that tone out of him since we’d met in the bar. I’d nearly forgotten that side of him. It made me realize with crystal clarity that his charm and easy smile covered up a lot.
I fell into step behind him when he exited the elevator, walking down a long, very white corridor. The feeling here was clinical and kinda sad. When we passed by what looked like a nurse’s station, I tugged on the back of his borrowed jacket.
“Neo?”
His feet stopped, and I collided with his back, bouncing off. With more agility than I ever possessed, he spun, steadying me with a single hand on my elbow.
“What?” There it was again, the harshness in his tone. But it was softened by the gentle way he still held my arm.
“Is this a hospital?”
Glancing at the nurse’s station and then back, he replied, “It’s more like assisted living. But they do offer medical care.”
“Oh, so like a live-in care facility?”
He nodded.
Across the hall, loud yelling erupted from one of the rooms. Neo didn’t react, but I was startled, making his hand tug me closer to his body.
“It’s okay. That, ah… resident gets a little loud sometimes.”
I nodded, stepping back.
“Hey, Neo!” A woman in all-white scrubs appeared. Her skin was a gorgeous glowing shade of mahogany, her hair a mess of bouncy dark curls that framed a face with exotic features and full lips.
“Emogen, girl,” Neo said, all the harshness he’d been giving me gone as he stepped around and held out a hand.
The pair did some complicated handshake thingy that they’d clearly done a thousand times before because neither of them made a single mistake. Once that was done, they both laughed and Emogen pulled back, parking a hand on her hip to look him up and down.
Clucking her tongue, she finally spoke. “Boy, what have you gone and done now?”
Neo chuckled, holding out his arms so she could get a better look at his incredibly awful attire. “You don’t like my new look? I thought you knew style!”
“Oh, I know style, and that is not it,” she announced, shaking her head.
“Exactly!” I sang, glad someone agreed.
Her deep eyes switched to me. “And who might you be?”
“Hello.” I started forward, but Neo put out his arm, holding me back.
“How’s V?”
Emogen seemed to forget I was there. “Oh, she’s her usual sunshiny self. I almost need sunglasses when I go in her room.”
“Any news?” His voice dropped a little with the question.
The nurse sighed. “I’m afraid not.”
Neo’s head bobbed as though he weren’t surprised, but I could feel disappointment wrapping around him.
“Go on back. I’ll see if I can rustle up some scrubs for you. Gowns are not a good look on you, my man.”
He held out his fist, and the two knocked them together. “You’re the best.”
“I know!” she hummed, moving off down the hallway.
A large part of me wanted to be insanely jealous of whatever her relationship with Neo was. They were obviously familiar with each other. But I knew it was wrong to be jealous, and I told myself not to be.
Warm fingers circled mine, slipping between each of my digits, tangling together. Looking down, I noted his golden skin against my pallor and then glanced back up to see him watching me.
“I want you to meet my sister,” he said, voice soft. “She’s most important to me. The reason for everything I do.”
“I would love to meet her.”
He nodded, and we walked, a few of the other patients calling out greetings to him from their rooms. He stopped and spoke to all of them, making them laugh and smile.
He remembered details about them, asking about small things like their favorite book or show on TV. He even helped one woman water a plant beside her bed.
Watching him made me swell with emotion so thick my chest ached under the pressure. Someone had just tried to kill him. He’d been unconscious and had ten stitches in the back of his head. But here he was, laughing and being sunlight for other people.
Most people I knew would write a check and think they’d helped save the world. But watching him now, I realized that watering some tiny plant and offering a few moments of undivided attention was far more valuable than money.
“Princess?” I heard him speak my name, but it didn’t register until his face came down on my level and his nearly black stare dove into mine. “What’s wrong?”
“I admire you,” I confessed, my tongue controlled by my feelings.
He straightened as a sudden “deer caught in headlights” look morphed across his face. “What?” His voice was hoarse.
>
“You try to conceal it, but the kindness in your heart is beautiful.”
Rocking back on his heels, he said nothing.
I caught him off guard. Has no one ever told him this before?
A change came over him, twisting the surprise into something else, something darker and more difficult to read. “You wouldn’t say that if you knew me.”
He seemed so sure I faltered.
“Her room is here,” he said, voice not cold, but not warm either.
Halfway across the hall, I called out to him. He stopped and waited for me to catch up to his side.
“Neo,” I asked, hands wrapping around his wrist, “your sister, why is she here?”
I felt a probing sidelong stare, watching the muscle in the side of his jaw jump.
“She’s paralyzed.”
He left me standing there stunned, walking away without offering any kind of information or detail.
Paralyzed.
“V!” he called out, snapping me back.
Bell-like laughter chimed out into the hall as he disappeared inside the room.
“There’s my girl!” I heard him practically sing, and I couldn’t stop the smile forming on my lips.
There was not one ounce of harshness or even intensity in his tone just then. It was all charm, all warmth, and all love.
More laughter floated out, drawing me to the doorway where I watched Neo spinning around with a girl in his arms, carrying her bridal style as her arms looped around his neck.
The young woman had insanely long wheat-colored hair that floated out around them with every turn Neo made. Her feet were covered in pink socks, and she was dressed in a blue T-shirt dress.
“I’m dizzy!” she squealed, tightening her arms around his neck, dark lashes squeezing closed.
Laughing, Neo stopped spinning but made no move to put her down. Instead, he kissed the top of her head, smiling down. “You’re not gonna puke on me, are you?”
“Would serve you right if I did!” she announced, her eyes finding me and widening. “Hello.” Her voice was friendly despite her curiosity.
“Hello,” I echoed, unsure what to say or do.
Clearing his throat, Neo introduced us. “Virginia, this is Ivory. Ivory, this is my little sister, Virginia.”
Ivory White : A House of Misfits Standalone Page 20
