We Have Till Dawn - Cara Dee Page 0,30

family had a lake house next to Claire’s family’s “estate,” and so on and so on, and just shoot me. She was perfect for him in the vision Gideon had created. A family life with heirs and lake houses and private jets. Blah.

Shawn stood up and marched for the exit, and I looked over at my brother in question. He just shook his head subtly, not wanting to get into it, and ordered everyone to focus and get back to work.

When he lost his politeness, which was rare, everyone heeled and listened.

It was a physical jab in the anxiety pump to hear Anthony snap at you because it happened practically never.

An hour later, we were all lost in the music again.

Anthony and I were both playing the guitar for this, and the song was fast enough for us to have worked up a sweat. I fucking loved it. We were in our element. We played, we sang, we stopped to make changes, and the choir was given freedom to be creative with the harmonies. Sometimes, it was the best way to create a song. To let it surface from a sea of improvised freedom.

We had Sylvia, an old classmate of Anthony’s, playing synth next to Luiz on the drums, and she’d gotten a lot better at her new hobby since last time. It was Anthony who’d encouraged her to learn an instrument after her sister died, and she’d always loved the eighties…

“Sorry!” Tia exclaimed after mixing up the cues for the harmonies. I shook my head and made a quick circular motion, silently telling her to just jump in again, before I played the next lick. It was our favorite way to work, to keep going and going until we nailed the song.

Anthony hit the chorus again and sang of getting back up and holding on tight because love was hard. And it was fucking supposed to be. I wanted to drill the lyrics into his skull.

The third verse was quiet, with focus on the synth and backup vocals, and it built up to the last chorus where I got some action too. I stepped forward to the microphone and joined in on the singing.

Anthony and I stood across from each other so we could communicate throughout the rehearsal, and when he nodded at my guitar and said, “After the third, I want more freestyle,” I knew what to do.

We started the song all over again.

Everyone was fired up, and it was a rush to me. To Anthony too. To have this steady flow of energy traveling through us—it was why we loved playing.

I grinned and screwed my eyes shut as I missed a cue, but there was no time to think about it. Keep going, keep going. I jumped in again as soon as I could, and I blew out a heavy breath.

A beat later, I noticed a handful of friends in the choir glancing at the door, so I looked over too, and I smiled widely. He came. Gideon actually showed up. He looked a little ruffled in his very unruffled suit; my guess was that he was a bit overwhelmed, but he offered a small smile and sat down in one of the chairs below the window.

My eyes were still on him as I leaned toward the mic and sang backup for Anthony, and I prayed Gideon paid attention to the lyrics too. Then I backed off and dropped my gaze and delivered what I hoped was an impressive solo, short as it may be. It wasn’t the kind of song to amaze, to be honest.

It would be kinda cool if he were amazed by me, though.

At around ten, everyone was starting to get tired and checking the clock on the wall a lot, so it was time to wind things down. Gideon had spent half an hour watching us rehearse the same song over and over, and that couldn’t have been a blast. But he was here. He hadn’t checked his phone a single time either.

“Only one rehearsal to go!” Maria exclaimed happily.

“We’ll have two hours in the morning the same day as the concert too,” Anthony replied, reaching for his towel to wipe his face.

I wiped my forehead on the sleeve of my Henley.

“Only two rehearsals to go!” Maria corrected jokingly.

The first rush of people was quick to say their goodbyes and wish everyone a happy weekend before ducking out, leaving Anthony and me with Maria, Luiz, Sylvia, and Nina. While Anthony huddled with most