Raven pulled off her headphones, looking guilty. "Sorry. I was going to move it."
"You said that yesterday. And the day before. And…"
"I know, I know." Raven set down her guitar and stood, stretching. "I've just been… I've been thinking."
"About the guitar blocking our hallway?"
"About change."
Annabelle felt something cold settle in her stomach. "Change?"
"Yeah." Raven crossed her arms, looking defensive. "Look, we need to talk, but I've got to get to London for a recording session. I'm already late. Can we talk about this when I get back?"
"Talk about what?"
"It's time for a change, Annabelle." Raven grabbed her leather jacket from where it was draped over the chair. "Things can't stay like this forever."
And then she was gone, door closing behind her with a decisive click, leaving Annabelle standing in the music room with her heart suddenly racing.
Things can't stay like this forever.
Oh God.
This was it. The moment Annabelle had been dreading for two years. Raven had finally had enough of the commuting, the small cottage, the quiet village life that was so different from her glamorous career. She was leaving. For good this time.
Annabelle sank onto the chair Raven had just vacated, still warm, and pressed her hands to her face.
She'd known this day would come eventually. Hadn't she? Raven was a rockstar. Two successful solo albums, Grammy nominations, sold-out tours. What was she doing stuck in a tiny cottage in Bankton with a primary school teacher who got over-excited about laminating things?
Stop it, she told herself firmly. You're spiraling. She probably just means she wants a bigger house. Or maybe she wants to repaint the spare room. Or…
But the cold feeling in her stomach wouldn't go away.
AFTER A SLEEPLESS night, Annabelle had almost convinced herself she was being ridiculous.
Probably.
Maybe.
Raven loved her. She loved Raven. That was completely and indisputably true. Therefore, Raven wasn’t thinking about leaving her. So she must be thinking about leaving the village. It was the only thing that made sense.
She swept into her classroom with her brightest smile firmly in place, greeting the children as they filed in for registration. Jenny showed her a drawing of what appeared to be a dragon eating ice cream. Luke proudly announced he'd lost another tooth. Bailey asked if they could have Billy the bull visit again, which was an absolute no after last time, when Billy had chewed all the posters in the classroom, but Annabelle let her down gently.
Everything was fine. Everything was always fine.
"Ms. Swift?" Nina appeared at her elbow during morning break. "Are you okay? You seem a bit… distracted."
"I'm perfect!" Annabelle said brightly. Too brightly, judging by Nina's concerned expression. "Absolutely brilliant. Why do you ask?"
"You called Luke 'Jenny' three times this morning."
"Did I?" Annabelle laughed. "How silly of me. Just tired, I think."
She wasn't tired. She was terrified.
By lunch time, she couldn't take it anymore. There was something that she knew she had to do, no matter how much she didn’t want to do it. But like she always told the children, if you were scared to do something, then you just had to do it scared.
She found Lily in the library, the saved library, still going strong two years later, with a brand new section for music and performing arts funded by The Safe Place Fund, and closed the door behind her.
