“I would, but I have to do some work. I’ve been slacking recently for obvious reasons.”
Getting all of Jade’s stuff from her apartment on James Island hadn’t taken long. She was able to break the lease with no issues and even though she paid till the end of the month, she moved out early.
She claimed she wanted to be here for me.
And I couldn’t refuse.
But she still had her job, and we’d been on the go almost constantly since I got back.
Me, on the other hand, I was still unemployed. But I applied at the local music store after having a great conversationwith the owner, Dave Ortega, about our shared love of music. He made it sound like I was a shoo-in for the position. I anxiously awaited his call after the Thanksgiving holiday.
It seemed like the universe had finally given me something.
“Alright, well, if you get bored, you know where I’ll be.”
I grabbed my wireless speaker and my cup of coffee and walked to my room. I still had a few boxes of items I’d never unpacked when I lived with Elijah.
Cutting open the first one, I was instantly filled with nostalgia. It contained all my stuff from college. Some of my old scarves, random papers, and Columbia paraphernalia.
I gasped as I saw the corners of the tattered notebook I’d spent hours writing into. My old songbook from high school.
“Oh my gosh,” I whispered. “Look at you.”
It was worn, familiar, and fit in my hand, just like I remembered. Lowering myself to the floor, I opened the first page and… laughed.
I’d forgotten how ridiculous these songs were.
Most were about crushes I had on guys who didn’t know I existed, since that was how most of middle and high school went.
“I’ll always love you, even when you marry Sarah.” I barked out a laugh, remembering my terribly embarrassing crush on an upperclassman named Mark.
Who puts that kind of stuff in a song?
“Hey, is this yours?” Jade poked her head into my room, carrying a brown guitar case. I frowned and grabbed it from her.
Once again, looking at the leather, with all its scratches and nicks, brought me back to Columbia, where Elijah and I used to sing and play all the time. I unzipped the case, pulled out his guitar and ran my hand down the strings. Even if I was done with him, this was still a beautiful piece of art. It was an oldGibson. Only the best for Elijah Powell. But the wood held many memories as I ran my finger over its imperfections.
“No, it’s not. But I’m going to keep it. Elijah doesn’t play anymore. He won’t even notice it’s gone.”
I pulled it against me and strummed a few times. The strings hadn’t been tuned in years and it was off key, but it felt like hugging an old friend I hadn’t realized I’d missed so much.
I didn’t know how to play, but suddenly, I was desperate to learn.
I’d been a bit in limbo the last week or so, unsure what I wanted to do with my new life.
There were moments when I felt lost out at sea and couldn’t find my way back to shore. But now, I finally had something I wanted. It wasn’t a long-term goal, but it would lift my spirits exponentially.
I was going to learn to play the guitar and write more songs.
“Cadence, over here!”
Blake’s hand shot up from a table in the corner of the local Starbucks. She held up two cups of coffee, letting me know she’d already ordered for me.
“Did you know that this was the place I ran into Jamie for the first time after he moved back?”
“Seriously?”
“I didn’t even know hewasback. He caught me totally off guard. I was running late for work, too.”
