Claude chuckled lovingly and tucked a muffin into my hands. “Take him one of these and take a deep breath, too. This is Stark we’re talking about; he has an incredible soft spot for you, so if anyone can win him over, it’s you.”
“Let’s hope so…” I grabbed my fiancé’s sleeve. “Come on, loser.”
“Thanks for the muffin!” Odysseus called over his shoulder.
“Good luck you two. May the Gods be in your favor!” Claude gulped.
Sure enough, piano music could be heard from the Perry-Crawford home. It glided through the air from an open window that Bexley was placing a planter box in, which had adorable succulents and other flowers I couldn’t quite name springing from it. Her hands were covered in dirt as she clapped them on her apron and turned to see who was walking up her sidewalk. “Nick, my darling! Nice to see you two!”
“Hey, Bex,” I greeted her solemnly. She welcomed me with a hug and kiss before relaying the same to Odysseus. “Is Stark with you guys right now?”
“He’s just inside with May. They’re practicing for a talent show Stark enrolled in.”
“Gods, he must really be bored,” I laughed.
She shrugged with a wink. “The man is full of mystery. You can go right in: I’m sure he needs a break anyway.”
“This will be the last time I see the light of day!” I squeaked as Odysseus dragged, literally dragged, me up the steps.
“You’re being more suspicious by throwing a tantrum. Level yourself and be confident so he feels confident.”
“Funny that the mute is telling people to be confident!”
He pondered my comment. “Touché.” I threw my hands up in defeat and wrenched the door open, storming through the living room. Odysseus hurried to keep pace but failed miserably.
May was leaning against the piano with a pencil in her hand, which she tapped alongside the tune that Stark played methodically. His eyes were dead fixed on the keys he strummed, and he bobbed his head to the melody to keep himself in key. May looked up when she heard us enter the house and smiled widely. “Look what the cat dragged in. Hello my lovelies!”
“H-Hey guys…” Odysseus nudged me to force the stutter out of me. I cleared my throat loudly. “Whatchya doing?”
“Just practicing. I’ve always wanted to learn to play, so May offered to teach me.” Stark kept up with the song as he spoke, “What brings you two to our neck of the woods?”
Odysseus gestured to Stark with his chin, raising his eyebrows as if to say, ‘spit it out!’
I laughed nervously, loudly, and this made Stark turn to me slightly. His expression was unamused, and that made my stomach twist so hard I thought I was going to throw up. “I, er, came to see you, Stark. Someone… wanted to talk to you and asked if I could convince you to meet with them.”
“Someone?” he prompted as he played.
I shrunk into my shirt collar. “S-Seraphine…”
Stark slammed his hands down on the piano, making multiple keys play abruptly. I yelped and dove behind Odysseus to protectmyself, and this time, he didn’t stop me from hiding. Stark spun on the bench to glare at me heavily. “What did you just say to me?”
“Please don’t kill me!” I sobbed.
Odysseus took over talking. “Stark, it’s not Nick’s fault: he’s just the messenger. Seraphine asked him to try and convince you into talking with her-…”
“Why on the God’s green fucking Earth would I want to speak to that woman?” he shot back, in a pure rage at this point.
Odysseus trembled like a leaf and kept trying to break the hold I had on his waist to pull me back out from behind him, but I refused to budge and instead buried my face in his lower back so Stark’s glare wouldn’t burn a hole through my head. Odysseus took a settling breath before continuing, “Look, I know you guys have bad blood and all, but wouldn’t you like to say your piece and gain some closure-…?”
“I have all the closure I need. I have a life that I very much enjoy, WITHOUT Seraphine, might I add!”
“You realize you’re playing piano for a talent show cause you’re that socially reserved, right?” I muttered weakly.
Stark went to roar at me, but instead, May thunked his head with her pencil. “He’s right, you know. Stark, you spend your whole existence trying to fill this void within yourself, a void that you couldn’t even fill when you were alive, and that void is named Seraphine. Wouldn’t it help, even a little, if you entertained one conversation with her? Just one?”
Stark’s bottom lip jutted out as he thought of a response. I figured I was momentarily safe and slithered out from behind Odysseus, who quietly scolded me for leaving him hanging like that. Instead, I moved to sit on the bean bag beside Stark, who refused to look at me. I reached out and took his hand, happy he didn’t pull away. “Stark, you know I want you to be happy, right?That I would never make you do something you don’t want to do?”
“Yeah, yeah…” he grumbled.
