A Heretic and Some Vampires

Chapter 9

Everyone slows to a stop when the music ends, and the room erupts into loud cheering. Dante ran up to me and picked me up, spinning me around as he told me how proud he was of me and how amazing I was. I laughed at his happiness and thanked him when he put me back down. Then, he pulled me towards Kat, Andrew, Brent and the boys.

“Thank you for that, Clem. That was beautiful.” Andrew says with an honest smile.

“I wanted to do something to thank you for everything you’ve done for me,” I say, smiling at him.

Kat hugs me tightly. “I’ve never heard someone sound so beautiful.” She whispers in my ear.

“Thank you,” I whisper back.

I feel water droplets on my shoulder.

“Kat, are you crying?” I ask, shocked.

“I’m sorry. It was just so beautiful.” She says as she pulls back and wipes her tears away.

“I’m glad I used waterproof make-up tonight.” I smile at her as I wipe a tear from her cheek.

“Andrew, when you said she was incredible, I was not expecting that,” Brent says with a shocked expression.

“I did say her voice is more than incredible.” Andrew chuckles. “Though that was the first time I have heard her sing like that before. Normally she’s just playing around.” He adds.

“Clementine, you have a gift. Have you ever had a voice coach before? Or anything of the sort? Lessons maybe?” Brent asks me.

“No. Voice coaches are a real thing? I’ve only had a few years of dancing lessons as a kid. No singing lessons.” I tell him honestly.

“Amazing. Your voice is the best I have ever heard. And it’s completely original. No autotune, no technique. Just you, and you're incredible.” Brent tells me with a kind yet serious expression.

“Thank you,” I say, shocked.

The music starts up again, and Brent smiles at me.

“May I have this dance?” He bows slightly.

“Sure.” I smile warmly.

He takes my hand leads me to the dance floor.

We dance around the room with a few other couples as he asks me a few questions.

“Have you ever thought about being a professional singer, Clementine?”

“I have. It used to be my dream before I stopped singing a couple of years ago.” I reply truthfully.

“Do you mind if I ask why you stopped?”

“It’s not a happy story, but my ex-girlfriend used to hit me when I sang. Before she did, I used to sing for her all the time, but she wouldn’t even let me do that anymore. It started after I sent a fair silent.” I answer honestly.

“I’m so sorry. What happened?” He asks with a sad expression.

“I accidentally sang along to the radio as she was driving, and she was busy hitting me, causing us to crash. She died instantly while I was pinned by a branch.” I admit before he spins me around.

“That’s this scar here?” He asks, nodding to my shoulder.

“Yeah.”

“One thing I have to ask you, can you write your own music?”

“No, I’m not good with writing songs. I have tried, but I just can’t do it.” I tell him.

I have tried before, but I can’t seem to write lyrics. It sometimes annoys me too.

“That’s fine. I can work around that.” He smiles.

The song ends, and Brent bows as I curtsy. We walk back to Kat and Andrew, talking with the boys and the first two people I met.

“You have an amazing voice, Miss Phoenix.” The man, George said smiling.

“Thank you, George. And please just call me Clementine or Clem. Whichever.” I smile back.

“Where did you learn to sing like that?” The lady, Hope, asked me in a sweet tone.

“Oh, I’ve never had lessons,” I say with a small smile.

“Oh! That’s even more amazing.” She says brightly.

“Thank you.” I chuckle.

The rest of the evening was terrific. So many people had asked me if I had ever had lessons, and most were shocked when I said I hadn’t. I received praise all night, even as they were all leaving at 2 am.

“I hope to hear you sing again soon, Clem. I really enjoyed hearing you sing.” Hope said to me as she hugged me.

“Thank you. I’m sure if you come over, you’ll catch me singing at some point.” I chuckle as George gives me a small hug as well.

I had gotten to know them both throughout the evening. I had even told them how I ended up here. Even about my parents, obviously without going into detail. Which they were okay with.

“Alright. Good night everyone.” Hope and George both wave as they climb into their car and drive away.

Andrew closes the door, and we all stand in a circle.

“Thank you both for this evening. You made my year.” Andrew says with a genuine smile.

“I hardly did a thing. I only invited everyone and set up the caterer. Clem was the one that decorated the ballroom, fixed the sound system, made me this dress, helped me get ready and made everyone’s night by singing such a beautiful song. Clem, I will never be able to repay you for your help and your performance. Thank you.” Kat smiles as she tears up.

I hug her warmly. “Your welcome. And you don’t need to repay me. Today was me thanking you for everything you’ve done for me. So this was me trying to repay you.” I say softly as we stand there hugging.

“Thank you, sweetie.” She whispers as we pull away.

“Ok, I’m going to head to bed. I’m exhausted. Happy birthday again, Andrew. Good night guys.” I smile as I walk towards my room.

Tonight was the best night I have had in a long time. I’m glad I finally got the courage to sing in public again. Even if it was in my new home, it was still in front of people I had only just met, I had no idea how they were going to react, but I did not expect them to react the way they did. I mean, I had the women in tears. Brent had told me I sang with such emotion. He said it was like I had lived a thousand lives and put all my feelings into the song. I was just happy that I was finally safe. I haven’t felt safe since Tash began hitting me. I know she’s dead now, but I still felt as if she was going to come out of nowhere and catch me singing and hit me for it. Singing for everyone tonight brought me a lot of my confidence back. So I’m glad I didn’t chicken out. That was why I didn’t tell anyone what I was planning. I didn’t want to chicken out and have anyone know about it.

I made it to my room and carefully took off my dress. I hung it up with the blue one and put on my red booty shorts and black singlet. I quickly brushed my teeth and went to bed, falling asleep before my head even hit the pillow.