Page 47 of Resist Me

“You don’t have to stop.”

“I don’t need an audience,” I replied, getting to my feet.

“Isn’t that sort of the point?”

“Not remotely. If it is, then you’re playing for the wrong reasons.”

“And what are your reasons?”

She moved further into the room and reached out to glide her fingers across the smooth black surface of the piano. I contemplated her question. I didn’t even know if it was worth answering.

“It’s my passion,” I said simply, leaning my hip against the instrument.

She smirked. “But not to share it with others.”

“I never said that. Spreading the feeling that comes with music is different than wanting an audience. It’s reaching into the deepest parts of yourself and giving others a glimpse, whether what comes out is good or bad; content or tortured.”

“Spoken like a true artist. Will you share it with me, then?”

My lips pursed for a moment. “Maybe sometime. I’m not keen on exacerbating your brother’s hatred for me right now.”

“He’s not capable of that. Dislike, sure. Competition, absolutely. Hate?” She shook her head and something shifted in her blue eyes. “It’s like you said. Letting others glimpse the deepest parts of you, but sometimes they look different to others than they feel inside of you.”

I hummed thoughtfully. “So, he secretly wants to be my best friend.”

The darkness faded from her expression and she let out a laugh. “Doubtful. Kai has him locked down in that regard.”

That much was abundantly clear. They showed up here together and never left a shred of doubt that they were basically inseparable. It was a bond that must not have come easily. The spoils of war mightbe beautiful, but they were stained red by the battles fought to win them. Every good thing in our life came at a certain cost and I could see that there was pain that had brought them closer somewhere along the way.

“Why are you here, Willow?”

Biting her lip, she spider crawled her fingers across the piano. “Well, I’m supposed to meet West in the gym when he’s out of class. I started talking to some football players, you came up, and they mentioned that you’re a music major, which I was shocked about because…” She gestured at me as if that explained her point. “Anyway, I had a feeling I could find you if I came looking. Call it a sixth sense.”

“Right,” I said, drawing out the word. Something curdled in my stomach as I took in her intense gaze. Damnit. “Not to be presumptuous-”

She cut me off with a laugh. “Presumptuous. Aren’t you just so proper?”

“Yeah, sure. I just want to make sure you know that I’m not interested like that. If that’s what you thought…”

“Oh, no, no. That’s not why I’m here. You’re obviously gay.”

“Obviously?” Nobody had ever thought I was ‘obviously gay.’ Was she a witch? She was West’s twin, so it tracked.

She waved a dismissive hand. “Besides, I saw the way you looked at West.”

I wanted to ask what the hell she meant by that as well, but she kept going.

“The reason I came to find you is that I want you to invite him to the party this weekend.”

“At the frat?”

She nodded exuberantly. “I heard about it and I want to go, but I know that he’s gonna be all like, ‘No, Willow, that’s not what you should be doing your first weekend here.’ I, on the other hand, think it’s a perfect way to celebrate my first weekend here, plus I can meet people. If he did agree, he’d want to come with me, but he’s all pissy with you- more than usual for some reason- so I thought you could smooth things over and invite him.”

I blinked a few times. She talked really fast and even though English was my first and only language, I didn’t feel fluent right now.

“Look,” I began, running my fingers through my hair. “This doesn’t really feel like my place. And to be honest, I don’t want to put in the effort with West anymore. I tried and it just pissed him off more, so I’m good. No love lost or whatever.”

Her lips were set in a tight line as she nodded. She rounded the piano, dragging her fingers on it along the way. When she sat on the bench and lifted the lid, I raised a brow. She started to play a Disney song I couldn’t name. It was choppy, but I was still surprised.

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