Page 77 of Abigail's King
I saw shock on Davi’s face as I welcomed him in Portuguese.
“You didn’t tell me she spoke Portuguese, Mateus. Gorgeous, intelligent, and speaks Portuguese. Is there anything you can’t do?”
I laughed at his question. If he was trying to put me at ease with this meeting, then he was doing a good job.
“I only speak a little Portuguese. Just some of the most used phrases. I am trying to learn more though. And I am sure there are plenty of things that I cannot do. But I will always have fun trying.”
The three of us stood there laughing, and the last remnants of doubt about whether this had been a good idea completely left me. I was just going to enjoy today and have some fun with Kye’s friends. Again, I hoped to be able to find out something about Kye that he wouldn’t reveal to me, and if I got to play the piano with the guys, then it would be a good day.
So far, the day had been amazing. I had met the rest of the band and chatted with them for quite a while about what they all used to get up to back in the day. I was starting to realise that Ricardo had been far more carefree back then before everything that happened to him.
Mateus had popped out for a while, leaving Davi in charge of looking after me, under strict instructions of pain should anything happen to me. I couldn’t help but laugh at the fact that Mateus was being so protective of me just because I was carrying his nieces and or nephews. So I was sitting here as the band went through some of the old songs that they used to play.
It didn’t escape my notice that all the good rock groups were in there: Def Leppard, Bon Jovi, and Guns ‘n’ Roses, to name but a few. But not once did they play a song by Meat Loaf, which I knew had been one of Kye’s favourites. Davi walked over to me while they were on a break, while the rest of the guys went to get a drink.
“So, what do you think?”
“I think you’re great, but I do have one question. I know Kye loved Meat Loaf, but you haven’t played any of his songs. Why?”
I saw the sadness come over Davi’s face and immediately regretted asking the question.
“Don’t worry, you don’t have to answer that.”
He gave me a small smile before he spoke. “No, it’s fine. Just brings back memories, I guess. Meat Loaf was always Ricardo’s – sorry, Kye’s – favourite. I never sang any of his songs. He always had the best voice for those.”
There was one other question I wanted to ask while I had Davi here, but I wasn’t sure whether he would want to answer it.
“Davi, can I ask you a question? Please say if you do not want to answer.”
He gave me a nod, which I took to mean it was okay.
“What happened to turn Ricardo into Kye? I know about the situation with Sofia and Mateus. But you were with him after that. What happened to him?”
He let out a big sigh, and I was expecting him to say that it was something he didn’t want to talk about. But he surprised me when he started to speak.
“I can only tell you what I know. There are a lot of things that have happened in his life that only he knows. When he walked out after the situation with Sofia, he came to live with me for a while. He was deeply depressed and needed an outlet. He found that in the gangs around Madeira. I tried to tell him to get out while he could, but I guess he got in too deep. I don’t think he ever got over the depressive state he was in. If the truth be known, he had always struggled with his mental health, but over the years, he managed to hide it from everyone. When I look back now…”
I could see this topic was just as painful for Davi as it was for me. That he was also blaming himself for what had happened to Kye.
I took his hand in mine. “He’s his own man. I don’t think he would have listened to anything either of us would have had to say. You helped him as much as you could, the same as me. He needs to be the one to seek that help, and if we are lucky, he will come back to us for it. I’m not so hopeful myself, but I’m sure he will come to you. If he does, please look after him. I’ve seen sides of him that both worry me and scare me. The only way I can describe it is that he is a tortured soul. I hope that one day he will come to me and get to know his children, but I will just have to wait and see.”
“How did Ricardo end up with someone like you? I would date you in a second after what you just said. If he doesn’t come back to you, then he is a fool, and I am more than willing to take his place.”
I sat there shocked for a moment. Was Davi hitting on the mother of his best friend’s unborn children? Surely there was a code about that between “bros.” It wasn’t until I saw the beam of a smile come across his face and he winked at me that I let out the breath that I hadn’t realised I was holding in.
It was then that Davi burst into laughter. “I’m sorry, Abigail. That was mean of me. Although I did mean what I said. I would go out with you if you weren’t my best friend’s woman. Anyway, enough of the wind-ups. What do you want us to play next?”
I’d made my decision a while back that I was going to walk over to the piano in the corner and play, but I wasn’t sure how they would take that. Well, I was about to find out.
“I’ll tell you what. How about I play something on the piano, and you follow me?”
Davi raised his eyebrows. “You play the piano as well? Is there no end to your talents?”
“I’m good at a few other things, but as you said, best friend’s woman and all that.”
I returned the wink he had given me earlier, causing the whole room to start laughing. I hadn’t noticed that the rest of the band had now come back and had been listening to part of our conversation. I didn’t want to know how much, but I was sure they would remind me of it at some point in the afternoon.
“So let’s hear you play, then.”
Davi gestured over to the piano, and like the gentleman he was, helped me from my seat and made sure I got there without getting hurt. I was positive that I was capable of getting across an empty room by myself, but I guessed he had taken the warning Mateus had given him to heart. I sat down at the piano and played a few chords and scales just to make sure it was tuned correctly, which of course it was. At first, I wasn’t sure what to play, but then, as if an invisible force was guiding my fingers, I started to play a song. The one that Kye and I had sung together on our first night.
I played and sang all the way through, remembering every second of our time together. I was sure that tears were falling down my face. If Mateus had seen me now, he would probably have been inflicting pain on Davi for upsetting me in some way. It wasn’t until the end that I realised Davi and the band were just standing there with various looks on their faces from shock to amazement – and then Davi, with the biggest grin on his face.
But he wasn’t looking at me. He was looking over at the entrance to the hall.
I followed his gaze to see Mateus had come back. But it wasn’t him that I had eyes for, it was the man who stood next to him that caught my attention: Kye.
