Page 6 of Now and Forever
Gaige didn't reply, the line simply went dead. Grayson's smile widened for a moment just as Golden began her next song but it soon faded as his thoughts turned back to her. Throughout his son’s high school years, Grayson had developed a fondness for the girl who was constantly by Gaige's side. That fondness only made the mistake he committed two years ago all the more painful. Not only did it cost him his son's anger, but the stark void left by Golden's sudden departure from his life.
This time, there would be no mistakes.
Chapter six
Ding Dong
At the sound of the doorbell ringing, Golden froze. She was standing in the middle of the kitchen cleaning some old food out of the fridge wearing only a t-shirt and her underwear. Running a hand through her untamed short curls, she quickly walked across the living room to the front door. Outside she could hear the crumple of paper bags shifting. Looking out the peephole she watched as a high school-age boy, wearing a uniform, sat down her grocery bags one by one.
Bless the person who invented delivery service. The Family Basket, the only grocery store chain in Stardust Cove, had its own delivery service before apps were even invented. And now that they had an app and only a ten-dollar delivery fee Golden vowed never to in-person grocery shop ever again.
"Pretty sure the lack of a car was what really made that decision," she mumbled to herself as she ran back to the bedroom and grabbed the pair of shorts sitting on top of heropen suitcase. Ever since she came back, she had yet to move her clothes to the actual closet instead of working out of her suitcase on the floor.
Somewhat dressed now, she popped onto the porch and grabbed the bags. Putting the groceries away, her thoughts began to drift. For the past few nights at the lounge, she hadn't received any more flowers from Grayson. Instead, there was just the man on the balcony. Sitting above the light, draped in shadows, he sat in the private balcony of Le Palais for each of her performances.
At first, she thought it was just some random customer. But the more she thought about it the more doubt eased itself in between the cracks of her mind. The person was always alone. The balcony table was a table for two, a popular date night spot for couples who wanted to eat their dinner and enjoy the show at the same time. But it was only ever him. Even with the deep shadows around his figure and the light obscuring her view, Golden knew it was a man. It wasn't just the tall figure and the glimpse of his shoes that led her to that conclusion, it was the stillness of the person. The silent watchfulness that told every inch of her feminine instinct whoever it was on that balcony was male.
Was it Grayson?
Just thinking it sent her stomach fluttering. Putting the last of the groceries away, Golden clutched the last paper bag in her hand and stared out the window over the sink overlooking the back yard. Excitement and hurt swirled inside her, wrapping itself around her heart like a vine. The thought of Grayson watching her performance each night was unsettling. On one hand, it made her want to smile like an idiot at the man she secretly adored all throughout high school coming to watch herperform, while on the other hand, it picked at an old wound that had never healed.
"Mr. Rosebank," her voice strained and shaky as she spoke into the phone. "I…I…need to talk to you-"
Grayson's smooth, deep voice cut her off before she could finish. "Golden, I can't speak right now, I'm getting on a plane. I have to go. I'm sure Gaige can talk to you about whatever it is."
The line had gone dead before she could reply. The silence on the other end of the phone felt like a hammer's strike in an empty room. Turning around, Golden looked at her aunt's still body and carefully dialed 911.
Golden shut her eyes at the assault of the memory.
Isolation was an emotion she never stopped feeling after her mother died. The feeling only ever grew worse when her dad remarried and his new wife didn't think Golden fit with their new family. Loneliness had crept into her skin and ran alongside her veins when she followed her aunt into her quiet overstuffed house with her suitcase.
Golden had tried to fight the pervasive feeling, she tried to adapt to her new life in Stardust Cove and put the sadness behind her. And for a while she did, she beat the lonely feeling always hovering at her back. She joined the school choir and transferred to the prestigious Stardust Heights school despite the lengthy bus ride it took to get there. She made friends with the most popular boy in town, and she even wedged herself into his family and friends. But you can never outrun loneliness. It had never left her side; it merely bided its time and waited. It was there for her like an unwelcome embrace when she came home to find her aunt dead in her chair. But its grand finale wasthe man she trusted most in the world turning his back on her when she needed him most; the loneliness bloomed fully then.
Annoyed, she let herself recall that painful day, a day she had been actively trying to forget for two years. Golden turned around and threw the bag into the recycling.
"Think about something else," she ordered herself.
Going to the bedroom, she gathered up a pile of dirty clothes into her arms.
"Memo to self, get a clothes basket," she said, eyeing the two socks on the floor that escaped her full arms.
Suddenly, she could hearThe Brindisifrom La Traviata playing from the bedroom. It was her phone. Cursing, she hurried to the laundry room and dumped the clothes into the open washer before rushing back to her room.
Golden answered with a breathless, "Hello?"
"Hello, Miss Ray, did I catch you at a bad time?" The woman on the other end didn't pause for her to answer. "My name is Malinda Pitts and I'm the director of HR at Rosebank Publishing. I'm calling about the application you submitted for the production assistant position."
Golden frowned. Standing in the middle of her empty living room, she glared at the fireplace trying to make sense of what she was saying. "Umm, I think…" Suddenly the facts clicked and her hand squeezed around her phone's casing. Gaige! He must have submitted an application for her at his dad's company.
Either the woman didn't hear her hesitation or didn't care, she continued right along. "If you are free today at two, I can squeeze you in for an interview. How does that sound?"
Flummoxed, Golden shook her head but found herself agreeing. "Yeah, sure, that works," she replied in a cheery tone she absolutely did not mean.
She was going to strangle Gaige the next time she saw him! Memo to self, she thought, look into any sort of courier service that offered strangulation services.
"Great!" The woman said. "I will text and email you the details of the company and will meet you at the front door of the building at two pm sharp."
Golden stood there for a solid minute after the phone line went dead. With more than a trace of fear, she looked at her phone and immediately cursed. It was currently twelve forty-five. She not only needed to find an outfit to wear out of her very limited suitcase wardrobe but run to the bus as soon as humanly possible.
