Page 101 of Pervade London
I pressed my Strad to his chest. “I’m dying here,” I said.
“That hurts me more than you know,” he admitted.
“You love him, not me.”
He stepped back. “Em, it’s not like that.”
“Then say you love me more.”
His expression showed his conflicted emotions, and it wrenched my soul.I shoved the Strad into his hands.
Pivoting fast, I sprinted out of the room.
If I couldn’t have Xavier, nothing mattered. I didn’t care about playing in an orchestra, didn’t care about where I would live, none of it mattered because my heart was shattered irreversibly.
We were over.
I ran blindly through the maze of hallways, rounding sharp turns, continuing on and on to put distance between us.In my head, the ghostly notes from my violin still played, the music haunting me with each step into the unknown.
Somehow, I was able to find the same bedroom I’d used before. After crashing through the door, I hurried over and flung myself onto the bed, burying my face in the pillow to hide my tears.
Minutes later, I heard the door open and felt the mattress dipping, then comforting fingers stroked my hair.
“Emily, please,” Xavier said, his voice shaky. “I can’t bear to see you like this.”
I braved a look at him. “I love you. I don’t understand why we can’t be together.”
He rose from the bed and paced the length of the room.
I pushed myself up against the headboard. “I want to spend every night with you. Wake up with you. Be there for you.”
“Me too.” He paused and offered me a smile. “More than anything.”
“Don’t you trust me?”
“With my life.”
I swiped away a tear. “I believe you when you say your work is important. If this is what you want…if this will make you happy…”
“Oh, Em.”
Putting a hand to my chest, I whispered, “It just hurts so bad.”
He stared at me with a conflicted expression.“I talk to computers.” He gave me a rueful smile. “Stupid, really. Here you are in front of me…real, authentic, good.”
“I don’t understand. You mean you code?”
“No, it’s very different. When computers talk with each other, I interpret what they’re saying.”
“Computers talk?”
“Artificial intelligence.”
“What do you mean by that exactly?”
“Computers have evolved. They make decisions. Some even take action.”
“What’s it like talking with it?”
