Page 79 of My Rock Star Neighbor
“I prefer that to their seeing your legs.”
“Don’t be ridiculous.This is practically miniskirt length,” she says.“You wear the sweatpants.”
I give her the sneakers, and she laces them up.
Then I text Luca.The guy is in security, and we need that now.No response.
After a brief call withThe Intelligencersecurity department, she picks up Sherlock, and we head back to the lobby to meet the police.
“Don’t mention my story or my investigation,” Maddie says.
“But what if it’s related?”I ask.
“I can’t reveal my story.That’s the protocol,” she says.“Our paper’s security will also investigate.”
We explain to the police what happened and take them up to Maddie’s apartment.They say they’ll check it first before we can enter.Maddie and I hold back in the hallway while they survey the apartment.But her ransacked studio is visible through the doorway.Maddie shivers.Her monitor is shattered and in pieces on the floor.I put my arm around her and pull her close to me.
“I’ll get you a new monitor,” I say.“Should we wait in my apartment?Let me get you some sweatpants.”
Maddie takes a deep breath and nods.I unlock my door and open it for her to proceed in.
“I can’t believe you didn’t even grab one of your guitars,” she says.
“The guy had ahammer.I only thought ofyou.”
We stare at each other for a moment, registering what I said.Maddie looks like she’s about to ask a question.Her eyes are filled with uncertainty, but also a dawning awareness.
I don’t say anything more.What I said is true.I did think only of Maddie.
The crackle of the police radio next door interrupts the silence.
My comforter is in a heap on the floor, where I threw it in my haste to grab clothes and get to Maddie.Sherlock promptly makes his way over there to settle down.I hand Maddie a pair of sweatpants.“Now, can you humor me?”
She takes the sweatpants and retreats into my bathroom.Sherlock meows at the door, and Maddie opens the door a bit and lets him in.
She probably needs a moment to herself, as do I.I collapse into a chair.My phone beeps.
Luca:Are you okay?Can’t talk right now.In a client meeting.
Me:Yes, but worried about Maddie.
Luca:Send me the video, and I’ll run it through my database.
Me:I need to protect Maddie.
Luca:Got it.It seems unsophisticated.More like a warning.She would have woken up when he smashed the window.
Unsophisticated.That’s one way to look at it.She might have woken up, but she might have frozen and not been able to get out in time.
Me:Maybe.
Luca:You can stay at my place.I’m out for the month.Work.
As I start to text back that I’m not leaving Maddie, another bubble appears.
Luca:Both of you.
I take a deep breath, and a framed poster catches my attention.It was my first live performance—in middle school—in an after-school band.I knew then that I loved that feeling of playing, listening to what the other band members were doing, and finding my own way to express what I wanted to say but also to fall in with their rhythm.I’d been obsessed with playing.Boy, had my mom been opposed.The music teacher had taken her aside and said I had a gift.And my mom acknowledged that it was clearly not something I was going to give up.
