Then the room erupted.
People were cheering, stomping their feet, clapping so hard it echoed off the walls. The children were going absolutely wild, shouting Jamie's name. Someone yelled, "Encore!" Several others took up the cry.
But Raven barely heard any of it.
She was looking at Annabelle, who was backing toward the door, shaking her head slightly, tears still streaming down her face. Their eyes met one more time, and then Annabelle turned and fled.
Without thinking, without even acknowledging the crowd, Raven thrust her guitar into Jamie's hands.
"You were brilliant," she said quickly, and then she was moving, pushing through the crowd, ignoring the hands reaching out to her, the voices calling her name.
She had to find Annabelle. She had to.
The corridor was empty, fluorescent lights humming overhead, children's artwork lining the walls. Raven looked left, then right, her heart hammering.
"Annabelle?" Her voice echoed.
A sound, a half-sob, quickly stifled, came from around the corner. Raven followed it, her footsteps loud on the linoleum floor.
She found Annabelle standing in the middle of the corridor, arms wrapped around herself, staring at a bulletin board covered in children's drawings like it held the secrets of the universe.
"Hey," Raven said softly.
Annabelle didn't turn around. "You came back."
"I came back."
"I heard your song on the radio. On my drive to school yesterday." Annabelle's voice was thick with tears. "It's really good. Number four on the charts, they said."
"Number two, actually. As of this morning."
"Congratulations."
"Annabelle…"
"You didn't have to come back," Annabelle said, still not turning around. "I'm glad you're finding success. I'm glad you got your music back. You don't owe me anything."
"I owe you everything." The words came out fiercer than Raven intended. "You gave me my music back. You gave me… Christ, Annabelle, you gave me myself back."
Finally, Annabelle turned around. Her face was blotchy, her eyes red, mascara smudged. She looked absolutely wrecked.
She'd never been more beautiful.
"I'm sorry," Raven said, the words rushing out before she could lose her nerve. "I'm sorry for leaving. I'm sorry for walking away after everything you did for me, after you…" Her voice cracked. "After you saw me. Really saw me, all the broken bits, and you didn't run. And I ran anyway because that's what I do, that's what I've always done, and I…"
"Raven…"
"I'm not finished." Raven took a step closer. "I had this whole speech planned. Practiced it the entire drive here. But now all I can think is that I'm tired. I'm so bloody tired of leaving things unfinished. I'm tired of running away when things get hard. And for once in my pathetic life, I'm going to see something through."
Annabelle was crying again, silent tears tracking down her cheeks. "See what through?"
"The library project. I've been working with my label for the past two weeks. We're setting up a charity for school libraries, funding, books, music programs for underfunded schools. The profits from 'Why Make it Right?' are going to it. All of them."
Annabelle's hand came up to her mouth. "Raven, that's…"
"I'm calling it 'The Safe Place Fund.' After what I told you about the library being my sanctuary when I was a kid. When everything at the group home or with some set of foster parents was shit, when I couldn't stand to be around anyone, I'd go to the library and just… exist. Without anyone expecting anything from me." Raven swallowed hard. "You gave these kids that. You fought for it. And I want to make sure it keeps happening. Not just here, but everywhere."
"That's…" Annabelle was openly sobbing now. "That's the most incredible…"
