Rushing Whispers

    The band had arrived earlier in the day and promptly set up in the studio. As we expected, Lee seemed less heartbroken than he had on Wednesday, though I could still easily see that he missed Liliane.      With everyone but Sylvia and I having been in the studio for the better part of three hours, the two of us lounged in the kitchen with hot drinks.      “Did your sister enjoy spending the holidays here?” she asked me.      “I think she enjoyed it more than she expected to,” I admitted. “How has everything been with you and Clyde?”      “Not terrible,” Sylvia replied. “I think I might be getting a handle on all this.”      I smiled. “I’m glad, then.”      Sylvia excused herself to use the bathroom, so I stood and poured myself a glass of water. I drank slowly and filled the glass a second time, only shutting off the tap when I heard hushed voices in the hallway.  ...

    “This must have been what you felt like when we went home last year.”      My sister and I were sitting together at the kitchen table on her last night in Scotland.      “Pretty much,” I answered.      Liliane shook her head and softly chuckled. “Who knew it would turn out like this?”      “Not a single one of us,” I replied immediately.      After a brief pause to sip her tea, Liliane spoke freely.      “I used to cry and beg to God that I’d get over Greg,” she mumbled. “Get over how he treated me.”      “You didn’t deserve what he did,” I told her firmly.      “He never hit me,” she said, seemingly brushing off the way her ex-boyfriend had treated her.      “He didn’t have to,” I retorted. “Dad never hit me , but I still got hurt.”      Her look of sympathy mirrored my own. “Still, it doesn’t matter.”    ...

    “Are you ready to go?” I asked my sister.      We were just about to leave for the restaurant where we would celebrate her birthday, and neither Cameron or I had told her that Lee would be waiting for us there.      “I guess so,” Liliane answered. “We don’t have to go out, you know. We could cancel and just stay here,” she mumbled.      “Nonsense,” Cameron replied. “A Scot never turns down a celebration.”      “Fine,” she gave in with a chuckle. “Let’s go.”      We took a taxi into Aberdeen, to the restaurant Cameron had chosen. He’d been there before and assured us that the service was as good as the food.      The drive only took twenty minutes. I was pleased by that, as the three of us had dressed up for the evening; Cameron in a casual suit and both myself and Liliane wearing very presentable skirts and blouses.      “We’ve a reservation for eight o’cl...

    I was woken by a repeated knocking at my bedroom door. I groaned and turned over in the bed to look at the clock; it was nearing two in the morning. The knocking paused only momentarily before the door opened a few inches and my sister hissed my name.      I crawled out of bed and went to the door, seeing my sister standing on the other side of it. I stepped into the hallway and softly closed the bedroom door behind me.       “Is everything okay?” I asked her.      Liliane didn’t answer. Instead, she met my worried gaze with her own.      “What the hell happened?” I grabbed my sister’s hand and pulled her into her room, turning on the lamp as we entered.      Without a word of explanation, Liliane sat on the edge of the bed and sighed. She was still dressed in the outfit she’d left in for her date with Lee earlier this evening.      “Say something,” I demanded afte...

    The festivities continued in full force well after the stroke of midnight. It was refreshing to be around everyone, and see them all so happy. It seemed that this coming year would be full of surprises.      I was alone in the kitchen to drink a glass of water when Cameron came up behind me.      "Happy new year, Emily," came his sweet voice.      I turned to face him as a smile spread across my face. "Happy new year, Cameron." I closed the small gap between us and gave him a soft kiss.      Cameron's lips only left mine for a brief moment before he kissed me again, fiercely. His hands moved to my hips and he pulled me closer to his body.      The intensity surprised me, but I was more than happy to oblige him. It was only when his lips dragged to my neck that I questioned him.      "Cameron," I said through a giggle. "What are you doing?"      He mumble...