A chorus of ‘ooohhhs’ and ‘ahhhs’ resound around the soundproofed walls before bouncing inwards and reverberating again.
‘Tonight, there’s someone really special here.’ His eyes bore into me across the room with a heat that makes me squirm in my seat.
‘The brunette from London?’ Someone shouts from the front row, and I sink lower into my seat, grateful for the low lighting.
‘All will be revealed.’ Ryan offers a dazzling wink as he breaks every heart in the room, bar mine, which has trebled in size.
‘I’ve got some insane, brand-new material for you tonight, but how about I start with a classic?’
Foot stomping and deafening applause ensues.
The opening bars of a song I didn’t realise I was familiar with echoes around the room, created with a few elegant strokes from the guitar Ryan clutches to his front.
How do I know that tune?
Even as I allow its hypnotic, enchanting melody to envelop me, I can’t fully relax into it because it’s bugging me relentlessly as to how I know it. I’ve never listened to Ryan’s music – deliberately.
I associate the soothing lull with reassurance, protection and a feeble sense of hope.
Suddenly, it hits me like a truck.
Megan. She hums this tune over and over again. Usually at a time when I’m so low, I think I’ll never be able to see the light again. But when I hear it, I know with unwavering uncertainty I will.
I never realised it washissong.
Thick fingers pluck the strings with expertise. Dark entrancing eyes search out mine again, then he stares at me with a heat that melts away every other person in the room.
He leans into the microphone, his lips brushing the metal in a way that flips my stomach. ‘For any of you who haven’t heard this song before, or have never truly listened to the lyrics, this song is for you.’
While a murmur of disbelieving laughter ripples through the crowd, his eyes remain locked on mine. It’s so intense I feel the world might actually have ceased moving.
‘It’s called “The Mark You Made.”’
He closes his eyes as if entering the song on a deeper level.
‘Once upon a time,
A long time ago,
I gave my heart to a girl,
A girl I used to know.
She said she loved me,
She offered her heart too,
I didn’t mean to break it.
To break it clean in two.
Hearts and limbs united
In the most intrinsic way.
Enmeshed together
Entangled more than words can say.
