Death's Awakening

Chapter Nine: Parrish

The door to her room opened with a creak and Parrish pulled her headphones from her ears.

"I told you not to come in without knocking," she said, jumping up from the bed. If her mom came bursting into her room without asking one more time, she was going to seriously lose it.

"It's just me," a soft voice said.

Parrish relaxed and moved back toward her bed. Some of her schoolwork was spread across the comforter. She brushed it to the side in one big pile and sat down.

Zoe walked in and shut the door behind her. Her hand looked so small on the doorknob and Parrish smiled. She was like a little porcelain doll, but when she picked up her bow and violin, she was transformed. She could play something soft and heartbreaking like Barber's Violin Concerto, but she could also bring out the strength of a composer like Bartok. That little girl had more talent in her pinky finger than Parrish had in her whole body.

She was really going to miss her.

"Are you guys about ready to go?"

Zoe shrugged and hung her head. Her long hair fell across her shoulder, partially covering her face. "Dad said we should leave in a few minutes just in case there's any traffic."

Parrish nodded. "Are you nervous?"

Zoe crossed the room and sat next to Parrish on the bed. She had to rise onto her tiptoes just to reach high enough. "A little," she said. "I think Mom and Dad are more nervous about it than I am. They keep asking me if I have everything memorized and if I want to run through the Tchaikovsky one more time."

Zoe sighed, then slowly placed her little hand in Parrish's.

Parrish bit the inside of her lower lip and blinked back hot tears. She squeezed her sister's hand and sniffed.

"I wish you could come with me," Zoe said, her voice trembling a little.

Parrish swiped at her eyes with her index finger. This was stupid. She was not going to cry. It would be nice to have the house mostly to herself for the next few months. Her mom was staying home for the first two weeks, then she was joining Zoe and their dad in London. Her mom's sister Stacey was flying out to stay with Parrish for the rest of the length of Zoe's tour. Three months with no parents.

Three months of not hearing about Zoe's talent and Zoe's practicing and Zoe's dedication. Every. Single. Minute. It would be heaven.

So why did her eyes sting?

Maybe she was just still feeling emotional about what happened the night before with the man. She wasn't sure what had happened to him. Was he still alive?

Seeing him collapse like that really shook her up. For some reason, it made her want to keep her sister close to her. To not let her go.

Zoe leaned against her, putting her head on her arm. "Do you think they'll let me order room service at the hotels?"

Parrish laughed. "Probably." She sniffed again. "You gotta eat something, right? It's not like you're going to have a full service kitchen or anything. Well, except when you get to Australia. You're in an apartment there for a couple weeks, right?"

Zoe shrugged. "I can't remember."

"Well, hopefully you'll have a better memory when it comes to Tchaikovsky." She nudged Zoe with her elbow.

Her sister looked up, her lips pressed tight and her eyes narrow, pretending to be mad. Parrish stared right back at her, eyes locked. Their faces serious.

It was Zoe who laughed first. Even her laughter was musical.

It filled the room and tugged on Parrish's heartstrings. "I'm going to miss you, you know that right?" Parrish said.

"You will?" Zoe's big brown eyes were brimming with tears, something Parrish didn't see very often. In order to be a top performer at the age of ten, you had to have nerves of steel and incredible control over your emotions.

Something about those tears broke Parrish's heart.

"A little," she said, then winked as she swallowed back another rush of emotion.

Zoe giggled again, then threw her arms around her. Parrish hugged her back, so tight she was probably cutting off the poor girl's circulation.

"I love you," Zoe said.

Their dad called out from the bottom of the stairs and Zoe let go and hopped off the bed.

"I better get going. Are you going to come downstairs to say goodbye to Dad?"

"Sure," Parrish said. She stood and followed her sister into the hallway, but then turned back to her room, remembering. "Wait."

Zoe paused at the top of the stairs as Parrish ran back into her room and pulled a small box out from under the bed. She couldn't believe she'd almost forgotten.

Parrish walked toward the staircase and handed her sister the tiny box. "For when you get lonely," she said.

Zoe pulled the blue ribbon off the box and tied it into her ponytail. Parrish laughed. It was a tradition with Zoe. She always tied gift ribbons in her hair or stuck those sticky Christmas bows to her forehead or her shirt. Sometimes she liked the bows and ribbons on the giftwrap more than the gift inside. Parrish had very carefully chosen this blue silk ribbon months ago when they first learned about Zoe's upcoming tour.

Zoe pulled the top off of the small box and gasped. With shaking fingers, she pulled the silver necklace out of the box and let it dangle in the air between them. Parrish smiled at the surprise and joy on her sister's face.

The necklace itself was nothing special. Just a plain silver chain like any other. It was the pendant that was special. A silver infinity sign with two birthstones embedded in the loops. One for each of them. May's emerald for Parrish and an amethyst for Zoe's in February.

"So you'll know I love you for infinity," Parrish said.

Zoe's tears came freely now, tumbling down her pale cheek. She rushed toward Parrish and threw her arms around her. Parrish stumbled slightly, then hugged her back.

"Zoe, come on," their mom called up from the hallway. "You're going to be late."

Parrish pulled away and smiled down at her sister. The truth was she kind of wanted to hate her for how talented and perfect she was, but she couldn't. She was probably the only person on the planet Parrish could truly say she loved with all her heart.

"Get going," she said. "Have fun."

"I will," Zoe said. She wiped her tears with the back of her hand, the necklace clutched tight. "Love you."

Zoe took off down the stairs and Parrish followed. She gave her father a hug and stood with her mother in the driveway as he and Zoe drove away, sadness heavy on her heart.

I appreciate you for reading!! Just a few more chapters until this seriously heats up with the virus. Can't wait!

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