Page 65 of Born into Darkness
The corner of her mouth lifts up as she plays. “There’s a beauty in sadness, a kind that can’t be appreciated fully on its own. It needs the sad to highlight the beauty. They work together. I’ve always been drawn to the mix, and I guess I passed that down to you. The music you create always has a touch of heartbreak in it.” She meets my eyes. “That’s why everyone is so drawn to it. It’s not an easy balance to create, but you do it so easily. You always have, and something tells me that this experience isn’t going to take anything away from your ability as a musician. I think it’s going to strengthen it.”
“Thanks, Mom. I really hope you’re right.”
She nudges my arm and gives me a wink without missing a note in the song she’s still playing. “Of course I’m right. I’m your mom. I’m always right.”
“That is true,” I say, making her laugh.
Taking her fingers off the keys, she reaches over to give my left hand a squeeze. “I promise everything is going to be okay. I won’t lie and say the rehabilitation is going to be easy, but you’ll get through it, and you’ll come out stronger on the other side. Plus,” she says, breaking into a huge smile, “you have Talia now, and that’s going to make all the difference.”
“It will,” I agree, knowing she’s right.
“Now get your butt back in bed before she wakes up and realizes you’re gone.”
I lift a brow at her. “What makes you think she’s in my bed?”
She laughs. “I’m not an idiot, honey. Besides the fact that you’re both hopelessly in love with one another, you also just came out of a very traumatic situation where you were the other’s lifeline. Of course she’s going to crawl into bed with you. Why do you think I put her right next door to you? I didn’t want her to feel nervous about wandering the hallways in the middle of the night.”
“Thanks, Mom.”
“I’d say be smart, but your dad and I really want grandkids.”
“Jesus,” I say, giving a soft laugh. “And that’s my cue to leave.”
She gives another laugh but, thankfully, drops the topic. Instead, she stands and says, “Yeah, I need to get back to bed, too. I just wanted to see if I’d find you in here and to make sure you’re okay.”
Giving me a quick hug, she reaches up to pat my cheek. “I’m so happy you’re safe and home.” Her eyes start to tear up, but she shakes her head, refusing to give into them.
“I love you, Mom,” I tell her. “I’m sorry I made you worry.”
“That wasn’t your fault. You did exactly what you were trained to do, and I couldn’t be prouder of you.” She grabs my arm and walks with me to the door. “Let’s not ever do this again, though. I don’t think my heart can take it.”
“I’m more than happy to agree to that.”
She smiles up at me. “And I love you, too, Max. Now, go get some sleep. Enjoy that numb arm while you can.”
“Night, Mom,” I tell her, taking a left as she takes a right to go back to my dad.
No one else seems to be having any trouble sleeping, so the halls are empty, and when I slip back into my room, I’m expecting to find Talia asleep like I’d left her, but instead she’s sitting up, arms wrapped around her bent legs, hugging them into her chest. She looks over when she hears the door, and the scared look in her eyes has me feeling like an absolute jackass.
“Fuck,” I whisper, crossing the distance and getting back into bed so I can pull her up against me. “I’m sorry I wasn’t here when you woke up.”
“Where were you?”
Her voice is shaky and raw, like she’s been crying, and there’s enough light filtering in from the bathroom for me to see the dried tears on her cheeks.
“I’m so sorry,” I say again, wrapping my left arm around her and kissing her forehead. “I couldn’t sleep, and I didn’t want to wake you. We have a soundproofed room on the other side of the penthouse for late-night practicing. My mom found me in there, and we talked for a bit.”
“How did the playing go?”
I let out a harsh laugh. “Not so great, but I wasn’t expecting a miracle. It’s hard to play with just one hand.”
“You’ll be able to play again,” she assures me, not a bit of doubt in her voice. “What did you and your mom talk about?”
“You, she likes you very much, by the way, and music and about how happy she is that I’m back. I should probably warn you that she’ll most likely be breaking out the old photos tomorrow.”
“I really like her, too, and I’m glad that she likes me.” She tilts her head up to look at me. “I can’t wait to see those photos. God, I bet you were adorable when you were younger.”
“I was pretty fucking cute,” I say, making her laugh.
