Tangled in Notes

Chapter Twenty-Seven

I frowned and stomped my feet hard. “Ahh…” I mumbled and slipped the headphones away from my head. I arched them back to the microphone’s back holder.

I walked out of the door. I looked around. “Where is he?” I asked and my eyes un-purposely landed on the food over the table. I ran for it and sat over the seat Jared was sitting on before. I grabbed the sandwich and without much thinking, I ate it all up. I rubbed my tummy with pleasure. “Wow.” I gulped hard. “This is good.” I mumbled then bit another one.

I had the juice in my hand and gulped it down my throat. I sighed. I was enjoying the food when the door suddenly went open. I froze.

My mouth was open and I could feel the sandwich’s presence inside. I blinked and stared at Jared looking at me like I was a crazy woman who entered their house finding food to eat.

“Hurry up. Go get your bag in my room then leave.” He closes the door.

Oh. I blinked as the sandwich from my mouth rolled down to the carpet floor. I gulped hard and forced to unfreeze myself. I held both of my shaking hands. “Geez. He had to enter that moment I was eating.”

When I finally recovered from the shock, I stepped out of Jared’s studio only to find out that it was already sunset. We were there that long? I frowned and went upstairs – which was a good thing by the way. I loved going back up and down to their stairs – I feel royal.

I headed towards his room.

I knocked but no one was there. I just opened his door and found my bag lying down his bed. I grabbed it and hung them in my shoulder. I walked straight to see the pictures he had. I stopped and looked at the photo of a man, a woman and a little boy who was crying. I smiled at thought that it might be Jared.

I looked at the other and saw a photo of him and a girl. He was really young in the picture. Even his hair was black. The largest picture of all caught my attention. It was a picture of them. I could see Sean, Kevin, Jared, Armin, Joshua. I smiled. They looked so happy in the picture. Even Jared. He was wearing a very wide smile. It was a smile I have never seen. I looked at the date water-marked at the bottom left of the picture. 12-25-2013.

“What are you doing?”

I jumped back a little in fright and saw Jared peeping from his room-balcony. I looked at him. “I was just,” I paused and looked at the pictures awkwardly. “Looking at the picture—”

“Obviously.” He stood and walked closer to where I was.

I looked back down and grabbed the small frame of a man cuddling a kid – who was definitely Jared judging by the way he smiled with his large white teeth all in a straight line. “You and your dad?” I turned to him.

He nodded, surprisingly. He leaned over the wall with his arms crossed.

I turned back to the photograph and smiled. “You looked happy.”

“That was before I thought he was a superhero.”

I chuckled at his reply. I brought the photo down and sighed looking at him. “Do you know the six best English words?”

“Rainbows?”

I sheepishly giggled. “No. But good guess.”

He looked at me with an impatient glare. “Then?”

“Passion, Smile,” I smiled. I didn’t know why. Just the word itself makes me. “Love, Eternity, Mother,” I paused and looked at him deeply. “—and Father.” I sighed and looked away. Just by thinking about it makes me sad. “You’re lucky you still have your mom.” I forced a smile. “I. . . I lost my parents when I was young. And, it was so hard for me to think that I was the only person my sister can depend on. They were very good to people. They had charities,” I paused and wiped my tears away still smiling. “They had donations. For church, for beggars and— I always wondered why God takes people who don’t deserv—”

“Julia,”

I stopped when he called my name. I looked at him with watery eyes.

“When you’re in a garden, what flowers do you pick first?”

I paused and stared at him. I looked down and saw him handing me a handkerchief. I grabbed it from him.

He smiled lightly then walked away.

Beautiful ones.