A ripple of laughter.
"But I wanted to take a moment to thank the person who made this possible. Our library was facing closure. Our children were facing the loss of something precious, a space to read, to learn, to dream. And one person refused to accept that. One person said 'absolutely not' and then worked herself to exhaustion to make sure it didn't happen."
Annabelle's face was burning. She hadn't expected this.
"Annabelle Swift organized the fundraiser, rallied the community, and quite frankly wouldn't take no for an answer from anyone. Including me." Lily's voice was warm. "So before we officially reopen this library, I think we owe her a round of applause."
The room erupted in clapping. Annabelle stood there, frozen, as people smiled at her and even Gloria actually looked pleased for her instead of annoyed.
It should have felt good. It should have felt like victory.
Instead, it just felt hollow.
Because the person she wanted to share it with wasn't here.
"Thank you," she managed, her voice barely carrying over the applause. "I… thank you. I couldn't have done it without all of you."
The applause continued, and Annabelle felt tears threatening again, which was ridiculous because she'd just cried in the bathroom and this was supposed to be a happy moment.
Lily was still standing at the front, smiling at her. Then Nina appeared at Lily's side, slightly breathless, and whispered something in her ear.
Lily's expression changed. Something flashed across her face. Surprise, maybe, or satisfaction. She glanced at Annabelle, then back at Nina, who nodded eagerly.
"Actually," Lily said, raising her voice over the dying applause. "It seems we have a special guest."
Annabelle's heart stopped.
No.
No, it couldn't be.
The library door opened.
And there stood Raven.
Chapter Thirty-Four
Raven's hands were sweating.
She couldn't remember the last time she'd been nervous before a performance. Years, probably. Maybe never. She'd played Glastonbury in front of a hundred thousand people without breaking a sweat. She'd done stadium tours, late-night talk shows, acoustic sessions for radio stations at six in the morning after exactly zero hours of sleep. None of it had made her feel like this, like her heart was trying to escape through her throat.
But then, she'd never had to play for the one person whose opinion actually mattered.
She peered through the window in the library door, guitar in hand, watching Annabelle move through the crowd with that bright, brittle smile that everyone else seemed to accept as genuine. Raven knew better. She could see the exhaustion in the set of Annabelle's shoulders, the way her laugh was just a fraction too loud, the tightness around her eyes that said she was holding herself together by sheer force of will.
Lily was mid-speech, thanking everyone for their support, thanking Annabelle specifically for everything she'd done. Annabelle stood near the front, hands clasped in front of her, nodding along with that same fixed smile.
She hadn't seen Raven yet.
Jamie stood beside Raven in the doorway, clutching his own guitar, a cheap beginner's model that Raven had brought with her for him. She’d managed to attract his attention when everyone was busy, managed to get him out here without anyone noticing. His face was pale, his fingers trembling slightly on the frets. But he needed this as much as she did, so he had to be included.
"You remember what we practiced?" Raven murmured.
Jamie nodded, not taking his eyes off the crowd. "G, D, Em, C. Just keep repeating."
"That's it. And if you mess up, just keep going. Nobody'll notice."
"What if I freeze?"
