Sing For Me

by Grace, Trisha

  He sighed softly. “Stay behind me.”

  She nodded.

  Though her feet weren’t making any noise, she still tried to lighten her footsteps.

  “Rebecca,” Christopher said when he stepped into the kitchen.

  “Chloe!” her mother shouted.

  Chloe pursed her lips when she saw her mother seated on one of the chairs by the dining table. The chair had been shifted closer to the stove.

  She had never seen such wild fear in her mother’s eyes. Streaks of maroon blood stained her mother’s right cheek, right where Christopher’s injury was.

  Shifting her focus from her mother, Chloe turned to Rebecca. “Hi, Rebecca.”

  Rebecca didn’t bother to acknowledge her. Pointing a small paring knife at her mother, she said, “She hurt you.”

  “I’m fine. The wound will heal.”

  “But she shouldn’t have hurt you.” She moved toward the stove and placed her hand on one of the knobs. “Chloe will be next. She isn’t good for you. You should leave now. I don’t want you to get affected by the gas.”

  Chloe felt blood draining from her as a tingling sensation spread across her skin. This isn’t Rebecca. “Rebecca,” she said with a smile. “This isn’t you; you don’t have to do this.”

  Rebecca shook her head as her hand with the knife reached up and smacked herself against her temple. “I have to do this. They know best; they know what to do. I just need to listen to them.”

  “No, they don’t know best. You trust Christopher, right? Why don’t you listen to him?”

  Rebecca looked over at Christopher, and for a moment Chloe could see the softness in her face. That moment, however, faded almost as quickly as it came over her. “No! He’s being controlled by you!” She thrust her knife toward her.

  Christopher immediately stepped in front of her. “No, Rebecca, listen.”

  “No! I’m not listening to anyone but them.”

  “I know you care about Christopher. I know you trust him.”

  “You know nothing!”

  “I’ve been committed as well,” she said, and Rebecca finally turned to look at her. “I see colors from sounds, and my parents thought I was crazy. They admitted me into the hospital and sent me for tests after tests to prove that something was wrong with me.”

  Chloe sighed silently when she noticed Rebecca loosening her grip on the knife. “They gave me bottles of medicine that made my head spin whenever I took them.”

  Rebecca nodded. “I hate the medicine.”

  “There was a young girl who stayed in the same ward as I did, and she taught me how to hide the pill in the back of my mouth so that the nurses wouldn’t know and I could spit it out later.”

  That anecdote brought about a chuckle from Rebecca.

  “See? Now I see your color. I see your color when you talk about Chris. Other than that, I don’t see anything from your words because they aren’t you. You don’t have to listen to them or do what they’re telling you to.”

  Rebecca smacked her hand against her head again, this time against her forehead. “They won’t stop until I do what they say. They won’t stop.”

  “I know. But you’re strong, you can stand up to them.”

  Rebecca’s head started moving left and right in short, staccato jerks.

  “Rebecca.” Christopher took a step forward. “Just pay attention to my voice. You once said that my voice gives you clarity, right? You said it calms the noise in your mind. So listen to me.”

  Dropping her hand by her side, Rebecca moved toward Christopher.

  Chloe sucked in a breath and forced herself to stay rooted. She knew Rebecca cared about Christopher, but she didn’t want Rebecca so close to him, not with a knife in her hand.

  Christopher stretched out one of his hands. “Let’s get out of here. We’ll find a way to stop the voices in your head. All right?”

  “They can’t be stopped. They’ve been with me since I was young.”

  “Of course they can. They weren’t talking to you when you were working with me.”

  From the corner of her eye, Chloe saw her mother getting to her feet. In one quick move, her mother grabbed the pan on the stove and smashed it on the back of Rebecca’s head.

  Rebecca felt forward, but Christopher caught her right before she hit the ground.

  Her mother raised the pan again, but Rebecca was out cold.

  “Stop!” Chloe moved next to Christopher. “She’s out.”

  “You sure took your time,” her mother said as she placed the pan back onto the stove.

  Chloe rolled her eyes and ran her hand down Christopher’s back. “I’ll call the cops.”

  Chapter Nineteen

  “How’s she doing?” Chloe asked as they entered the psychiatrist’s office.

  “She’s doing a lot better. I’ve reduced her medication to nearly a third was what she used to take. The equine therapy you helped set up is working very well for her.”

  Chloe smiled and nodded. “That’s good.”

  “I still can’t believe you got someone to give you permission to use their ranch.”

  Chloe looked over and grinned at Christopher. “I guess being a superstar helps when asking for a favor.”

  “Well, it’s working great for her. Just make sure she keeps up with the rest of the medication and she should be able to live normally.”

  “Thank you, Doctor.” Chloe shook the doctor’s hand and left the office with Christopher.

  Christopher lifted her hand to his lips. “You’re so amazing, you know.”

  She smiled.

  “You could’ve left Rebecca here; you didn’t have to do anything to help her.”

  “You made the whole equine therapy possible.”

  “You were the one who researched the whole thing and … found the ranch. All I did was ask, took a few … photos, and signed a few autographs.”

  She shrugged. She was just glad Rebecca was doing better.

  The doctor in the hospital finally allowed Rebecca to go home after eight months in the hospital. Just two months into the therapy, even Chloe and Christopher could see Rebecca was getting better. The mention of the voices dropped significantly. She didn’t talk about the imaginary people as much, and she was actually able to admit she was sick.

  Two weeks ago, right before she was discharged from the hospital, Rebecca actually asked Chloe how she was doing.

  “I’m sure that with the right help, she can get her condition under control,” she said. “Oh, and my mother sent me an email.”

  “Another one?”

  “It’s different this time.” She handed him the phone.

  Less than a week after what happened with Rebecca, her mother sent her a long, scathing email.

  Chloe had glossed through the first paragraph, which was enough to let her know it was another of her mother’s vents. She replied stating that she’d deleted it without reading and that she would apply for a protection order if her mother persisted in harassing her.

  Her mother continued sending her emails and text messages, of course.

  After a third warning, she applied for a protection order.

  Her mother seemed to finally get the message after that, and all emails and text messages ceased. The email she received yesterday was drastically different. The email contained a short paragraph with nothing derogatory about her.

  “She’s divorcing your father?”

  Chloe cast a glance at Christopher and shrugged. “So she says.”

  “And she’s … seeing a therapist?”

  Chloe pursed her lips. “I don’t know if she’s serious or if this is just another way to wriggle back into my life so that she can go crazy on me again.”

  “I guess time will tell.”

  She nodded.

  “So.” Christopher hooked his arm around her waist. “Are you all packed?”

  She broke into a wide grin. “Almost.”

  The songs she wrote for Christopher and Nicole had skyr
ocketed to the top of various charts and had remained there for weeks. So after a few months she wrote seven more songs for Christopher, with him filling in the lyrics for two of them. Two more months of production later, Christopher’s album was ready.

  The sales had been phenomenal, and he was going on a tour for his concerts, kicking off the first show that night.

  “Are you sure you want me to go with you?” Chloe asked. Her part was done, and it seemed pointless for her to tag along.

  “I’m not going if you’re not.”

  She laughed softly. “I’m almost done packing anyway.”

  “Good. I’ll send you home so you can pack whatever you need. Josh will pick you up tonight, and I’ll see you at the concert.”

  “Okay.”

  Chloe checked the time on her phone and sighed. She shouldn’t have waited for Josh to pick her up; she should’ve made her way to the concert on her own.

  “Stop checking the time.” Josh placed her hand on her arm and pushed her forward.

  She shrugged off his hand. “We’re so late, and now we can’t even get in.” She looked over her shoulder at the laser lights coming out through the top of the stadium. The low thumping of the music coming from within didn’t help ease her anger either.

  “The traffic was horrible.”

  She stopped walking and stared at Josh. “You could’ve picked me up on time.”

  It was Christopher’s first major concert since his disastrous performance a while back, and she wanted to be there when he stepped out on stage. It was too late now. The concert had started an hour ago.

  Worse still, the security guarding the back door refused to let them in.

  “Okay, breathe. Let’s find a place to seat and wait. I’ll—”

  “Stop pushing me.” She took a step away from him. “Why don’t we just wait by the back door?”

  “Look.” He pointed to what appeared to be a stage in the middle of a grass field. “Seems like someone had an event there, and there’s even a chair.” He nudged her forward again, but she refused to budge.

  “I don’t want to sit there.” She closed her eyes and sighed softly. “I want to be inside, standing in the backstage and cheering your brother on.”

  “I know, I know. I’m sorry, but just trust me. I’ll settle everything and get you inside.” He pointed to the seat again. “Just take a seat, please.”

  She groaned and tipped her head back. “Fine, but don’t call Chris. I don’t want to distract him. I’ve already texted him to let him know we’ll be late.” She took a step toward the chair. “Maybe I should call Jason.”

  “Jason? You’re calling your ex-boyfriend at a time like this.”

  “He has contacts. I’m sure he can get us in there.”

  Josh rolled his eyes and pointed to the chair again. “Sit, and don’t call your ex-boyfriend.”

  Chloe trudged over and sat on the white wooden chair. She stared at the small stage in front of her, then glanced around at the empty grass field. It was weird that whoever organized the event had left the stage behind. There were even spotlights and speakers by the sides of the stage.

  She looked down at the chair. Why did they leave one chair behind? She pursed her lips and was about to go after Josh when a wave of dull colors drifted out from the stadium behind. She looked over and noticed that all the lights in the stadium appeared to have gone out.

  Then, the lights in the area around where she was seated went out as well.

  For a second, everything around her was pitch black.

  Before she could react, she heard Christopher’s voice. “Wise men say only fools rush in.”

  She smiled and glanced around. The voice was too close for it to be coming from the stadium.

  “But I can’t help falling in love with you.”

  The lights on the stage came on, and there Christopher was, standing right in the middle of the stage, holding a microphone.

  Waves of colors burst from the stadium as cheers erupted, but a series of hushed ‘shh’ followed right after and silence returned.

  She didn’t quite understand what was going on. She was certain his concert was taking place in the stadium behind her. What was he doing here?

  The questions weren’t important enough to distract her from his voice.

  She leaned forward and enjoyed the rest of the song, the performance he’d prepared solely for her.

  “Hi,” he said and hopped off the stage when the song ended. “I’m sorry you got worried just now.”

  Strips of Christmas lights lit up by her sides, warming up the area they were standing at with a low yellow glow. Someone must have been busy while he was singing.

  “What’s going on?” she asked as he got nearer. “I thought you’re having a concert in the stadium.”

  “They’re watching from within the stadium.” He pointed to a remote controlled drone flying nearby.

  She laughed softly. She hadn’t even noticed that.

  “Did you enjoy the performance?”

  She nodded. “But I don’t understand.”

  He grinned and took her hand. “This is a gesture of my promise.”

  “Your promise?”

  He pursed and released his lips. “My promise that no matter where we go from here, you’ll always be my number one priority. Your whole life you’ve been taught to not be a bother, but you never have to do that with me.”

  She turned her head to the side and brushed away the drop of tear hanging on the corner of her eye.

  He held her gently by her chin and turned her face back to him.

  “I want you to know that you’re worth every bother. For you, I don’t mind letting ten thousand people wait. As long as you need me, I’ll drop everything I’m doing.”

  She didn’t have to look at the colors emitting from his words to know he was telling the truth. In her heart, she knew that was always the case.

  “You’re more important to me than anything in the world.”

  She broke into a small smile.

  “Several times during the competition, the judges asked if I was singing to a particular someone. I never answered them before, but now I want to let everyone know. No matter how many people I’m singing to, I only have you in my mind.” He reached over and brushed the tears from her face.

  Don’t cry, he mouthed and smiled. “So after all this preparation, I have one—no, two things I’d like you to promise me. Then I have a present and a question for you. I know it’s a lot of requests.”

  “You’ve done a lot of preparation.”

  “True,” he said and laughed. “So it’s a yes?”

  She nodded.

  “First, I want you to promise that you’ll call me if you ever run into trouble, like how you couldn’t get in through the back door. No matter how small the issue is, no matter what I’m doing, you’ll call me—not anyone else. Not Josh, and definitely not Jason.”

  She laughed even as another drop of tear escaped. She turned her face away again.

  “Second.” He weaved his hand into her hair, cupping the back of her head. “Never turn away from me when you cry.”

  She buried her face in her hands while the rest of her tears fell.

  He pulled her into his arms. “I want you to turn to me for everything. Promise?”

  She nodded in his chest and wiped away her tears before looking up at him.

  He nodded at her with an arch brow, and her head bobbed twice. “I promise,” she said.

  She pressed her palms against her face to get rid of the remaining moisture.

  He took one of her hands as he pulled out a squarish red box. “Now, your present.” Opening the box, there were two silver rings within. “I bought this for us eight years ago. I was going to give it to you after the competition, provided you didn’t slap me after I kissed you.”

  She pressed her fingers to her lips as she laughed.

  “Mine has your name on it while yours has mine.” He paused and took out one of them to show
it to her. The drone that was hovering above them moved closer. “I know it’s childish, but I want you to have it.”

  “It looks beautiful.”

  “So you’ll wear it?” he asked as he lifted her hand.

  “Of course.”

  He slipped the ring on, but continued holding on to her fingers. “One last thing before we go back inside.” He got down on one knee and pulled out another box, black this time. “Chloe.” He opened the box that held a diamond ring and asked, “Will you marry me?”

  She cupped her hand over her lips. She held her hand there for a moment before dropping it to her chest. Tears fell from her eyes again, and she was grinning too broadly to speak.

  All she could do was allow her head to bob up and down.

  He slipped the diamond ring on her finger, stopping right above the other ring he’d just placed on her. “I love you.” He got up on his feet and kissed her.

  “I love you, too.” She looked at her rings and laughed. “I probably would’ve said yes if you were to propose to me with those rings eight years ago.”

  He lifted her hand to his lips. “And Josh wanted me to tell you that I planned everything. He was late because he was following my instructions.”

  She pulled in her lower lip. “I was so horrible to him all the way here.”

  “Yeah, he was quite uncertain if he’d make it here alive.”

  They laughed, right before someone pulled her into a bear hug and lifted her off the ground.

  “Josh.” Christopher pulled Chloe back from him. “Stop being so rough with her.”

  “So protective.” Josh grinned and nudged her. “I’m such an awesome brother, am I not? I swear I thought you might just strangle me on the way here.”

  “That thought did pass my mind a couple of times.”

  “So, will I be getting double presents on my birthday for the rest of my life?”

  Christopher shook his head.

  “Yes,” Chloe said and leaned closer against Christopher. She was only here with Christopher because of Josh. Whatever Josh wanted, if she could get it for him, she would.

  Author's Note

  Dear Reader,