Chapter
Seven: Let the Music Heal Your Soul
You are completely
I feel so deeply
You’re my friend for every day
And I want it that way
My life is for you
And I adore you
I love you more everyday
And I want I that way
Rylee sighed in contentment
as she set her bag down on down comforter. It, like everything else in
"her" room, was light blue. She smiled, thinking of all the thought
that went into the design of the room. From the window seat overlooking the
garden, to the blue linens, the whole room was decorated with her in mind. It
was definitely a girl’s room, with the light blue and the light oak furniture.
And it was definitely hers. Anyone who knew her would be able to tell in an
instant that it was Rylee’s room. Brian certainly went through a lot of
trouble for her, running up a huge long distance bill to ask her such things as
whether she though the light blue would look better with a star motif or with
little flowers. At the time, she thought he had just wanted her opinion, and it
was not until she first set foot in the house that she saw the room was hers,
and hers alone. She ran a hand over the oak vanity table before going downstairs
to join the guys.
There was a slight spring in
her step, as she bounded down the curved staircase and into the living room
where, as expected, Nick was seated on the couch engrossed in his PlayStation.
Rylee, still on an emotional high from the last couple days, started humming a
melody that had been running through her head and sat down beside him.
"Stupid game," he
muttered, shutting off the game he was losing. He turned to Rylee with mile
curiosity. "What are you singing?"
"A song," she
replied vaguely.
He rolled his eyes.
"Gee, thanks for clearing that up for me, Ry! I meant, what song are you
singing?"
She smiled at his sarcasm
and started singing a few bars of the song in her head.
"I’m in love with
you,
Boy, I swear it’s true,
And everything I do,
Is all for you.
Boy, can’t you see,
We’re meant to be,
And you gotta believe,
You’re all I need."
"That’s pretty
good." Nick said. "I don’t think I know it. Who’s it by?"
Rylee ducked her head shyly.
"Um," she said, hesitantly. "Me?"
Nick’s eyes went wide in
surprise. "You write? Whoa! That’s cool! I didn’t know that!"
"Yeah, well, no one
does."
"Really? Not even
Brian?" he asked.
"Nope."
"Whoa!" he said
slowly. "I feel so… so honored!" He flashed her a smile. "Sing
something else."
She thought for a moment,
then took a deep breath and started singing again, this time slower.
"Goodbye, Love,
It’s a choice I have to make
Cuz there’s a risk I cannot take
To be with you.
Goodbye, Love,
And though you still don’t know
It’s so hard to let you go,
Baby, it’s true.
Goodbye, Love."
"Is that about
Brian?" Nick asked quietly.
She didn’t answer him but
just smiled softly.
"Can you sing it
again?"
She sang again, finishing
quietly. She looked up at Nick, marveling at the change in his expression. He
looked stunned at the depth of emotion she just expressed. He opened his mouth,
like he was going to say something, but a voice from the doorway interrupted
him.
"Wow, Ry," Brian
said, coming into the room. "I forgot how beautiful your voice is."
She smiled her thanks. She
ran her fingers through her hair, thankful that Brian hadn’t seemed to notice
the song was about him.
Brian paused for a moment,
then his face brightened as if he had just had a brilliant idea. "Hey,
Ry," he sidled up next to her on the couch, a sly grin on his face.
"Remember, when we were kids… and we used to sing together… didn’t
you always want to be a singer?"
"Yeah," she
replied, cautiously. "Why?"
"Yeah, Bri, what are
you thinking?" Nick added.
"Nick," Brian
continued. "Remember when Johnny was talking about the tour for the next
album? How it’s gonna be hard to find a really good opening act?"
"Yeah…" Nick
replied, still not understanding what Brian was getting at.
"Well, I just found
one," he said proudly, gesturing to Rylee.
"What?" Nick
asked, surprised.
"Yeah," Brian
said, coming off the couch. He began pacing around the room, as his mind raced
with plans. "She’s perfect! You heard her voice! Plus, how many Asian
singers do you know of in the US?"
"Um…."
"You can’t think of
any, can you?" Brian continued, without bothering to let Nick think.
"The only ones that are even heard of in the United States are Billy
Crawford and CoCo Lee."
"Who?"
"Exactly! Neither of
them is exactly American; they were both born overseas. But Rylee! Rylee is
pretty much as American as me! Man, if this was gonna work at any time, it would
be right now! The pop music scene is totally blowing up! She fits in well enough
to have a marketable audience, yet she’s different enough not to be a
clone."
"Yeah!" Nick
added, becoming excited himself. He joined Brian in his pacing. "All we
need is a demo. I’m sure we can get into the studio. And we can get a song
from the studio too. Or Rylee can write her own!"
"You write, too?"
Brian barely turned to Rylee before continuing his repartee. "That’s even
better! Then she can get an audition with JIVE..."
"Then she’ll get
signed…" Nick continued.
"Then she can open for
us on the next tour!" They both finished together. Excited with their idea,
they both turned to Rylee, who was still seated on the couch.
During their whole outburst,
she sat calmly, with a smile on amusement on her lips. But towards the end, she
made herself comfortable and pretended to be asleep. She was still in that
position when they both turned to her in excitement, pretending to snore softly.
"Rylee!" Brian and
Nick exclaimed together.
"What? Oh, were you
guys talking to me? Sorry, I must have fallen asleep on you there!" she
teased them.
"So what do you
think?" Brian asked, ignoring her words, and coming to sit on the coffee
table in front of her.
"Well…" she
began, acting like she was thinking it over.
"Come on, Ry!"
Nick encouraged, sitting next to Brian on the coffee table.
She smiled at their
eagerness. "Actually, boys," she said patiently. "I’m in the
middle of getting signed by JIVE right now."
"WHAT?!?"
"Sure, why do you think
I was so eager to come down here in the first place? It sure as heck wasn’t
just to see you!"
"But how…"
"When did..."
"Why didn’t…"
They were very surprised and it showed in their lack of motor skills.
Rylee laughed a little and
explained. "Ya know, I do have a life of my own while y’all are away! I
talked to one of the executives a couple months ago. He seemed to have the same
idea as Brian. You know, the whole Asian-American pop thing. So I gave him a
demo, and he set up an audition, for last Thursday."
There was a momentary pause,
as they both let the information sink in. Then, they both began talking at once.
"Last Thursday?" they said at the same time. They looked at each other
curiously, and then back at Rylee. "Who took you?" they said together
again,
"Cuz you didn’t tell
us," Brian said.
"Yeah," Nick
added. "And we were all at the studio last Thursday."
"Except Kevin! Kevin
took you, right?" Brian concluded.
"Yup!" Rylee
confirmed.
"So, how did it
go?" they wanted to know.
"Ah, it went pretty
well, I think. It kinda made me nervous that they kept scribbling stuff down
while I was singing. But they looked like they enjoyed it and they were all
smiling. So, I hope that’s a good sign."
"But when do you find
out if you got it or not?" Brian asked.
"Um," Rylee
paused, trying to remember. "I should get my answer…" A spark of
recognition flashed across her face as she leapt up off the couch. "Today!
Ah! I forgot! I told them I was gonna be gone, so they said they’d leave me a
voice-mail!" With that, she flew out of the room and up the stairs.
Brian and Nick moved to sit
on the couch, a little overwhelmed by Rylee’s revelation. All of a sudden,
they heard a loud "YES!" coming from Rylee’s room.
They looked at each other,
slightly confused. "Yes?" Then it dawned on them. "Yes!"
they exclaimed, and practically fell off the coach and ran into Rylee’s room.
She was standing facing the opposite direction, her cell phone in one hand.
Brian grabbed her by her shoulders and spun her around until she was inches away
from him. Her eyes sparkled with excitement. "You got it?" Brian asked
incredulously.
All she could do was nod.
Brian whooped loudly, picked her up and swung her around in a huge circle. Once
her feet touched the carpet again, Nick joined Brian in giving her a massive
hug.
"This is so
great!" Nick exclaimed happily, one arm around each of his friends.
Brian still had his arms
wrapped around her waist; he leaned down until his forehead rested against hers.
"I’m so proud of you, Angel," he said softly. "Even though I
didn’t really have anything to do with it!" he added with a charming
grin.
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