Shattered Grace (Fallen from Grace) (24 page)

Grabbing Grace and Leah by the elbow, Emily ushered them forward. “Come on. Let’s get a seat up front before they’re all taken.” Emily was so predictable: she always sat in the very front row whenever Tommy played, in the middle seat at the middle table in the middle of the room. She was dead center in the middle of the stage. A raging fire wouldn’t get her to move from that seat.

“
I wonder if these tables can be moved?” Grace asked, trying to scoot the table next to theirs closer.

“
Why?” Emily asked.

“
For starters, where’s your boyfriend going to sit when he’s not onstage? In your lap? There’s only three chairs to a table and these are already taken. Plus, Zeke and Brian will need a place to sit, and so will the rest of the band.”

“
Good point,” Emily said, reluctantly getting up to help slide tables and move chairs.

“
See,” Grace said, plopping down in the seat next to Emily. “Better, right?”

Emily didn’t respond, too engrossed watching Tommy help the guys get the instruments ready. Grace eyed the stage, not really interested in watching the band set up, but there wasn’t anything else for her to do. Zeke wasn’t there to talk to, Emily didn’t want to talk, and Leah was clearly too nervous. Grace glanced at her friends and wondered when they both became nothing but about the guys they crushed on. She wondered if she should be concerned, or thankful she hadn’t met anyone who completely consumed her like that.

Much to Grace’s surprise, eight thirty rolled around before she knew it. People-watching happened to be one of her favorite pastimes, and as the room quickly filled up, there were plenty of people at The Board Shop for that.

Tommy stepped up to the mic, holding nothing but his confidence. “Hi, everyone.” The crowd hooted and hollered. His only saying hello disappointed her. This crowd was way bigger than at Latté Da’s and in a different town. It seemed a better way would have been a shouted, “Hellooo, Bountifullll!” with a fist in the air. Maybe she was dreaming too big for Distant Echo right now?

“
This one’s for my baby.” Tommy grabbed the mic from the stand, then glanced back to the band to give them their cue. The drummer started first, keeping tempo for the guitars to follow, then the keyboard. True to his word, he didn’t scream words into the mic that made her want to curl in on herself and protect her ears. It was nice. Grace listened with excitement and fascination, mixed up with a little relief. The music definitely wasn’t like it was last week, and she found herself starting to relax.

Emily made sappy lovesick eyes at Tommy the whole time he sang. Every now and then he’d make eye contact back, winking his acknowledgement of his girl. Each time he did that, it was like a fan-girl took possession of Grace’s best friend’s body. She screamed, shouted, and fanned her face. Sweet and funny and rather annoying
,
Grace thought. But all in all, she really was happy Emily had found love. Her mind drifted a little, thinking about where Emily and Tommy’s relationship might go, and she thought about how she would kick her butt if Emily ditched her plans for going to college, a goal she’d shared with Grace and had been planning together since they were little girls.

Leah, on the other hand, sat on the edge of her seat, nervously turning around every few minutes looking toward the front door. A couple of songs in, Zeke and Brian finally showed up. Grace waved in their direction so they’d know where the group was sitting. Zeke sat next to Grace—no surprise there—and Brian sat next to Leah, which actually did surprise Grace since he was shyer than her. Apparently Leah was shocked as well. When the song was over, Zeke leaned on the table closer to Grace.

“
Sorry we’re late. I couldn’t get my damn car to start.”

“
Uh-oh,” Grace said with a slight smile.

He tried saying something else, but the music started up again and drowned out anything he attempted to say. Distant Echo played a couple more songs and then announced the headline band was coming on next.

Thumping drumbeats had Grace bringing her attention back to the stage. Her heart stuttered as she focused on the band. You’ve got to be kidding me, she thought. Standing only ten feet in front of her, dazzling underneath shining, brightly colored lights, was none other than Darius. He was the lead singer of Falling Down, the main act. Stunned, Grace listened intently as the band started to play.

The music was loud and angry. Not quite mosh-worthy, but close. Grace could only make out a word here and there. She understood enough to know the song was about lying and trust. Basically, about her life.

Zeke inched uncomfortably close, trying to talk in her ear. Every now and then she’d smile and give a polite nod or shake of her head. After a couple of nodding “Mm-hmm’s” and a few head-shaking “Uh-uh’s,” she wondered if she’d unknowingly agreed to anything. She scooted closer to the edge of her seat, meaning to make it clear she didn’t want to talk. She wanted to listen to the music. And to watch Darius.

When the song ended, Grace had to restrain her inner fan-girl. It was tough staying in her seat when all she wanted to do was jump up and down and scream. Listening to Darius sing made her want to slide off the chair into a puddle of goo under the table. Emily deserved a pass, she realized, as Grace finally totally got it.

“
This next one’s called ‘Killing Man’ by Jack Savoretti.” Darius put the mic back in its stand and the band began a slow, ominous rhythm that shushed the crowd. Darius’ eyes closed as he hung on to the mic like a lifeline.

Grace’s knees trembled. This guy was definitely a danger to the heart. Her mind shot off warning bells to leave. Now
.
She bit the inside of her cheek, ignoring it, and tightened her fingers around her knees. The melody swam over her, making her shiver. She took in a cursory breath, and struggled to take in another. She should get up now, walk away. But the first line chained her to her seat.

In the haunting timbre of his voice was an outpouring of emotion that completely captivated her heart. Everyone and everything fell away as she sat enslaved, caught up in every word he sang. The song was a crying out of his soul. She felt it as surely as she felt her own heartbeat.

Darius was gone to the melody. The sad curve of his lips left her picturing ways to make them happy, wanting to feel them softly turn upward against her own. Wonderful, she thought, now I’ll never be able to stay away from him. Zeke whispered again in her ear, but she couldn’t make it out. Didn’t care to, either.

Darius didn’t open his eyes until the song was over. When he finished, no one moved. At first, there was only silence, and an eerie expectation that hung in the air. Something magical had happened onstage, and the crowd felt it too. All of a sudden, the roar of applause and shrill whistles jerked Grace back to her senses. Darius waved to the audience to quiet them, picked up his guitar, and swayed slightly to and fro as he started plucking the strings. He had yet to make eye contact with her. Still mystified by the song, she wondered what it meant to him.

After a couple more riffs, Falling Down announced they were going to take a break and Distant Echo would be back on in ten minutes. Grace was finally able to suck in enough air to be considered breathing normally. If Darius came over and talked to her, she didn’t know what she’d say or do.

Before she could get too deep in her mental conversation with Darius, Grace was torn from her thoughts, sensing something unusual from somewhere behind her. A tingling current pulsed through her veins, lifting her from her seat. It was different from what she’d felt in the parking lot of her school; not like what she’d felt from Limye either. This was a pull.

She left their table and weaved through the crowded room of mostly seated bodies, stopping at the edge of the seating area to scan the other half of The Board Shop. The sensation wasn’t coming from the people playing games, or from the lone couple sitting at the coffee bar. After seeing nothing, she contemplated going back to her seat when a man, dark as the night sky, crossed her path and went behind the counter in front of the skateboard display. The pull was coming from him. Grace walked up to the counter, feeling no fear, but suddenly at a loss for words. What was she supposed to say, “What the heck are you?”

The dark man broke the ice first, smiling down at her. “There hasn’t been a female in here for a while.”

Grace glanced around the room. “Uh, that’s kind of a weird thing to say. There’s girls everywhere.” Confused, she turned back to him.

“
I’m not talking about them. I meant us.”

“
Us?”

Placing an elbow on top of the Plexiglas, he sighed. “Okay, I’ll play it your way. What can I do for you?”

Eyeing the dark man’s smirk as he leaned on the counter, Grace sifted through her brain for what words to form. She came up empty, so she improvised. “Actually, I thought you were someone else. My mistake.” She turned to go back to her friends.

“
Hold up,” he said, gripping her by the elbow. “I didn’t catch your name.”

Anger rushed through her as she glared at the hand wrapped around her arm. Who did he think he was? She didn’t give him permission to touch her. Yanking her arm free, she channeled all her anger into pinning him with her stare. “That’s because I didn’t give it.”

Surprised, he stood at full height, and backed away from the counter. “Whoa. Okay, I’m sorry.”

She stepped back up to the counter, feeling silly for overreacting. “I’m sorry. I—”

“
Don’t bother trying to get her name,” someone behind her said, then leaned on the counter next to her. “She won’t give it.”

Caught off guard, she gawked at the owner of the mystery voice. She snapped her mouth shut and forced a nonchalance she didn’t feel as Darius stared down at her with his intense green eyes and a slight upturn to his mouth. Inside, Grace frowned. She wanted his mouth turning up for different reasons. At her expense wasn’t what she had in mind.

He was teasing her.

She bristled. “Not to strange men yelling at me from a dark street corner.” Flirty and mysterious was what she was actually going for, not hard to get. But whatever.

“
Well, I didn’t yell at you from a dark street corner,” the guy behind the counter said. “And I still didn’t get your name.”

Grace gripped her hips with angry hands. “No, you put your hands on me. That’s not okay.”

The guy threw his hands back in the air. “Hey, I said I was sorry.”

“
Let’s play nice,” Darius said, staring down at Grace. “I’m Darius, in case you forgot.” The corners of his mouth hooked upward again. Seriously, how could she forget? “This is Mathias.” He waved a hand in Mathias’ direction. “Mathias, this is—”

He held out a hand expectantly as they both waited, anticipating a name. She had to give Darius credit for trying. The sexual menace he threw off made every nerve ending zing, reminding Grace why he was hazardous for her health. He’d probably played flirty little games countless times before. Grace couldn’t deny the draw to him, or the way his voice made her want to give everything over to him, but she couldn’t afford another compound fracture to her heart. Lately, her heart resembled a patchwork quilt, held together by minor repairs to the stitching.

The stitch of hope wouldn’t hold her heart together forever though. Grace thought it ironic she’d literally held hope in her hands at the bank the other day, and yet she wasn’t sure if she could truly believe in it. All week she’d hoped she’d see Darius again, but hope of a different kind had her turning to walk away. She surprised even herself. “Nice try. I have to get back to my friends.” For the second time, she tried to get back to her seat, but Darius stepped into her path.