The Bad Boy's Singer

15. Him

“As you know, life is an echo; we get what we give.”

— David DeNotaris



I was a moth to the flames of attraction. It was true what they said: you attract what you are. I attracted pain, trouble and mistakes. When Rayna uttered her last words to me, I knew that she meant it from the bottom of her heart.

My guitar rested in my hands to claim control over myself again. I was a momentarily changed person around her but I started to get back to my old ways. Elodie had joined me a couples of minutes ago but she went to her practice leaving me to wallow alone with my loved instrument.

I went back to the thoughts of Alana and what happened to her. She was held in a police station right now with her relatives when she promised me that she was okay with bandages all around her, I couldn't feel anything but compassion towards her.

Professor Diana got infuriated with me and I had no choice but to tell her Alana's story as her face changed from mad to empathetic. She wanted to eliminate me from the competition because I didn't take it seriously but she changed her mind to get me back in.

A knock interrupted my thoughts and I opened it revealing Dray. I called him earlier to talk to him as we planned to meet up in my room.

"Hey man, what got you into a sour mood?" Dray sat down on my bed when I closed the door once he asked.

"I got late to training and professor Diana freaked out on me," I told him and he laughed at me.

"Well, that's what you deserved. The contest is a big deal to her," he reasoned and I left everything out. It wasn't my story to tell so we talked about his party life.

"–can you believe it?" he exclaimed, and I tried to listen to him but my mind shifted somewhere else. Rayna's words were stuck in my head about how I was living a sob story. Something else caught my attention; she was fine earlier until she got dizzy from the pill.

Herbal pills doesn't make anyone dizzy. I was confused at my statement. What if someone misplaced her pills? there was only one person connected to the therapy section and was responsible for their operations.

Mr. Atkins. He did it, I was entirely sure and I had to double check it with Dray.

"Is Mr. Atkins responsible for the therapy section?" Dray's eyes were puzzled for interrupting him with a random question.

"Yes, that guy lives there, I saw him this morning talking to the therapist, I don't know what's her name." Dray notified me and I connected all the dots.

Rayna was drugged and if Juilliard council found out, her scholarship is gone.

But what was his motive? maybe he despised her talent and wanted cut off her dreams?

I had to find out.

"Let's walk outside," I suggested and he furrowed his eyebrows at my randomness but decided to follow me nonetheless.

"Dude, are you sure you didn't hit your head?" he was concerned and I punched him on the shoulder as we stepped out of my room.

I needed to map out my plan as soon as possible. I wasn't going to let Mr. Atkins dismantle a person's dream even if that person hated my guts. I had to do what was right to the whole academy.

No wonder Mr. Atkins had gone missing these past few days. He wanted to hinder others' dreams because his didn't get through.

"I am not hit by the head, there's so much of s**t going through my mind," I honestly voiced out my thoughts and I wanted a helping hand. I knew that Dray would be suitable for the job but I didn't tell him it was about Rayna. "I wanted to tell you that Mr. Atkins was up to something and I need you to get revenge on him," I told him about Mr. Atkins outing me to my mom instead of the real story.

"My point is I want to get him back for doing this and for drugging a student here," I pointed out and Dray's fists balled up at the mention of Mr. Atkins, Dray hated his guts as much as I did.

"Count me in, we will get this sick bastard out of Juilliard. Why would he do that to a student though? do you know the name of the student?" he asked me twice in a row and I had no answers.

"I don't know but we need to stop him," I said as people with bicycles passed by us through the chilly night. "We need to collect evidence from the therapy section he goes to, I also need to pass by the mechanics lab to get the needed tools, that and a recording chip from the security section." I listed and Dray grew more excited at the rush of adrenaline.

I also remembered that Rayna's session was in the morning. I was surprised when the people working there didn't notice the absence of Rayna's file. I bet they made copies from it.

Dray had to go to catch some sleep after we agreed to meet in the morning and I headed back to my room, as soon as I reached there, I changed my clothes and hid my guitar to my safest place before I went to bed.

My mind was in a terrible race and I couldn't stop the trails I collected for Rayna. I didn't know why I cared so much about her life, it was probably because I believed her about the abuse.

She had every right to despise me and that was my plan after all. I didn't want her to like me; I was a dead end. Thinking about my parents and how they met, my sister and my other plans.

I was eventually going to follow my career without love.