Viagon Wars: Chapter Four (Unedited Version)

Chapter 41

Dimitry sighed as she entered her room. She thanked God every time she walked into the house her mother deemed too small to live in. In her mother’s brain, if it only had three stories and one kitchen, it was too small, and not even worth visiting.2

Dimitry shook her head to herself. She still had to convince herself her mother had really stooped to putting her in a music class. Even her mother had to have known it wouldn’t work. She’d made her decision, and she wasn’t going to go back on it.3

Dimitry wasn’t blind enough, however, not to notice how the band suffered without her. They’d just released "Separation", their first album without her, and it was not doing half so well as their previous records. It didn’t matter to them, though. They were true musicians with little care for popularity or money. It helped that they were well off without the proceeds from their record deals.4

The reason Dimitry had started singing in the beginning was for the love of the music and the emotions behind it. When she lost perspective of that, she lost the right to pursue it. Thus, she’d quit.5

Dimitry walked over to her desk and set her backpack on the floor beside her chair. She pulled out her Calculus book as she sat down, and sighed again as she pulled out the notebook her homework was in, opened it, and began working.6

Calculus, just like every other math subject she’d ever taken, came easy to her, and the lack of preoccupation gave her mind room to wander. Since music was her soul, naturally that’s where her mind headed.7

She set her pencil down and turned in her chair to see the object of her distraction. 8

The sunlight streaming in from her two six-foot windows made the instrument look majestic. The smooth black lacquer made the subtle curves in the wood sleek and touchable. The strings simply begged to be played, and the bow that sat beside it seemed to pine for attention. They didn’t understand why they’d been neglected, abandoned, and forgotten.9

It was a shame that something so beautiful had to sit and collect dust, but she knew if she so much as touched her violin, she wouldn’t be able to put it down again. If that happened, her mother would win, and she’d be just another slave to the music industry and the fickle crowds that controlled them.10

“Dimitry?”11

Feeling guilty, as if she’d been caught with her hand in the cookie jar, Dimitry turned in her chair. She knew by the voice that it was only her brother, Dominik, but she still felt guilty.12

“I didn’t hear you come in,” Dominik said as he walked further into her room.13

Dimitry smiled at him. He was so different from their mother, and Dimitry knew she could always count on him to be there.14

“I came in the back,” she said. “I put my bike in the garage.”15

Dominik raised an eyebrow at her. “Really, now? How was school? Did you make any friends, Miss Antisocial?”16

Dimitry shrugged. “School was okay. Mom tried to put me in a music class.”17

He grimaced to show his sympathy. 18

“And for your information,” she continued. “I did make a friend today.”19

“Oh, yeah?” She could hear the disbelief in his voice. “What’s her name then?”20

“His name is Nathen.”21

Dominik smiled. “A boy, huh? Don’t let mom hear about this friend of yours. She’ll flip to hear you’re actually enjoying yourself outside of Roses and Lullabies.”22

Dimitry tilted her head. “Speaking of,” she said. “I saw the Jag out front. Did you bring it over?”23

He shook his head. “Wishful thinking, youngling. Mom showed up about twenty minutes ago.”24

Dimitry groaned; so much for being outside of her mother’s graces. “What could she possibly want in a house that only has one kitchen for her to avoid?”25

“A son and daughter.”26

Dimitry looked at her feet. “Not real ones,” she grumbled.27

“Come now, Rose. That’s not fair.”28

Dimitry looked at her brother. She had no choice when it came to their mother, but Dominik was 25. He didn’t have to stick around, and even though she was grateful for it, she didn’t understand it.29

“You’re right,” she said, mainly to make him happy. “I’m sorry.”30

He smiled at her, pleased. “C’mon” he said. “Mom wants to go look at pianos.”31

Dimitry looked at him. Was he joking? Nope. He was completely serious. “Are you coming too?” she asked as she stood to follow. If he was going, she could handle her mother’s antics for an hour or two.32

“You know better than that,” he told her. “I have to go to work. You’ll be fine. Just humor her.”33

Dimitry glared at him. It was easy for him to say, he wasn’t going with them. “I seriously don’t like you right now.”34

He laughed. “I know, but mom wouldn’t let me go anyway. She wants to try to convince you to go back to the band. Don’t worry, she can’t force you. Just do what makes you happy. Don’t think about anyone else.”35

Dimitry nodded. He was right, as usual. She needed to stop worrying about what her mother said and thought. Her music was her choice, and not even her mother could force her into something she didn’t want to do. The only problem was she really wanted to sing.36

“Stop frowning,” Dominik said as he tousled her hair. “You’ll get wrinkles. Try to have fun at The Store, and I’ll see you later.”37

“Alright,” Dimitry said.38

“Dimitry! Let’s go! The Store closes soon!”39

Dimitry rolled her eyes as she headed down the stairs to the foyer. “It’s only three o’clock, mom,” she called. “The Store doesn’t close until eight.”40

“Exactly,” her mother said as she motioned Dimitry out of the house and toward the Jag. “It takes time to pick out just the right thing.”41

“Alright, mom. Whatever you say.”42

Dimitry opened the door to the metallic blue car and slid into the passenger’s seat. The Jag was the only good thing about going anywhere with her mother. The car had the most gorgeous black leather seating with an electric blue stitching. The stereo system was top of the line, and the ride was smooth and exhilarating, even when you weren’t the one driving.43

“Finally,” Dimitry’s mother, Caroline, said as she got in the car. “Did you put your seatbelt on?”44

“Yes, mother,” Dimitry said, slightly annoyed.45

Caroline started the car and “Vanity” filled the car. Dimitry reached up and hit the eject button.46

“Hey!” Caroline protested. “I was listening to that!”47

Grabbing the CD and putting it in the holder attached to the visor, Dimitry raised her eyebrow. “Listen to something else,” she said.48

“It’s my car.” Caroline’s protesting was very much like a sixteen-year-old’s when their parent was in the passenger’s seat. It almost made Dimitry cringe.49

“The drive isn’t that long. Listen to something else, and you can listen to that when I’m not in the car.”50

Caroline pouted as she chose another CD and popped it in. “I don’t know any musicians who are as against their own music as you are,” she complained.51

“You don’t know any other musicians,” Dimitry replied as she turned to look at the city they’d just arrived to. The buildings here were quaint and slightly antiqued, but Dimitry found them peaceful. It was a small city that most wouldn’t even call a city. They would call it a “town”, but that didn’t change the fact that The Store was the best little shop to buy a piano in the whole state. Dimitry had even bought her violin from The Store when she’d first started touring. 52

She sighed at the memory as they parked in front of the display window.53

“Here we are!” Caroline said in an excited voice. “I’m gonna go say hi to Joey.” She bounded out of the car leaving Dimitry to follow at a more sedate pace.54

Joey Thomas was the owner of The Store, single, and more interested in Caroline Martin than was good for him. Still, he was kind to Dimitry and didn’t try to “steer her in the right direction” when it came to his pianos. He understood the special relationship between a musician and their instrument, and once he’d discovered she knew what she was looking for, he’d left her alone to make her own decisions. 55

Dimitry took a breath as she opened the door and stepped into the mood lit shop, directly in front of a baby grand.56

Her fingers danced lightly over the piano, softly caressing the black and white keys. It seemed so long ago that she was a part of the music instead of a part of the politics of the rich and famous. Somehow, somewhere along the path to discover herself, she’d taken a wrong turn, and how she’d suffered for it. She couldn’t completely blame Caroline for her emersion in the world of high rollers and groupies.57

A shrill and flirtatious laughter broke through Dimitry’s thoughts, drawing her attention to the leggy blond with too much make up on and not enough clothing. That was Caroline for you, though. She was always trying way too hard to make herself seem younger than she was.58

Dimitry sighed in disgust. She often wondered why Dominik had let the woman adopt them when she was just a child herself. She supposed he had his reasons, though.59

Sighing again, this time forlorn, Dimitry looked down at the piano keys her hand was still resting on.60

I suppose while I’m here, I might as well try to enjoy myself, she thought as she sat at the beautiful baby grand. While the violin was by far her favorite instrument, there was nothing in the world quite like singing at a piano.61

“Though the winter blows cold62

Winds that try to suffocate me63

Still love keeps me warm64

Tell me how I am one you adore”65

The lyrics of Roses and Lullabies debut song without her floated through her head. She ran her fingers over the keys. Back and forth, back and forth; her touch was feather light, not making a sound. She wouldn’t give in.66

This was fighting dirty, even for Caroline. How was Dimitry supposed to keep herself from indulgence when there were beautiful pieces of workmanship all around her? How could she say no to the pleading?67

Her violin at home with its pedestal and natural spotlights whispered to her every day, softly asking her to play it, just once. The baby grand, however, was not so kind. Surrounding her, it screamed and demanded that she play it right here, and right now. Once would not be enough for this enticing instrument, and her fingers itched to give it what it begged for.68

The memory of the perfect serenity inside music and how she felt when she sang clamored insider her skull. No room. No room for thought or objection, just the fierce longing at the smooth cool touch of the keys beneath her fingers. Even Caroline’s ridiculous flirting was silenced and forgotten.69

Dimitry glanced at where her fingers were resting on the keys. She didn’t even have to think about which keys would make which sounds or how they would flow together, she just knew. It was almost instinctive. The sounds, the notes, were beautiful and as much a part of her as the heart that was beating in her chest.70

Perhaps one song wouldn’t hurt anything. It didn’t mean she would go back to the band, but she simply couldn’t sit there any longer without somehow easing the itch in her unused fingers. Just a short song wouldn’t hurt anything.71

Sitting up properly on the bench, Dimitry turned to face the piano completely, her hands held just inches above the keys. She took a deep breath, let it out, and then let the music flow through her. Oh, but she’d forgotten how this felt. It was so good, so right, and utterly perfect as if the universe itself had aligned in that moment just for her.72

Carried by the music and the feeling, she opened her mouth and sang.73

“For so long I would look in the mirror74

And the face I would see just wouldn’t be me75

I had forgotten what I lived for76

What I’d once longed to be.77

Don’t think what you see is reality78

‘Cause it doesn’t take talent to lie79

I’m just trying to be true to me80

I finally realize. That I’ve only been playing at happy.”81

Dimitry continued to play, simply vocalizing instead of singing lyrics. It continued like that for twenty minutes, and Dimitry didn’t notice that Joey and Caroline had stopped their conversation to listen to her sing.82

Joey and Caroline themselves hadn’t noticed. It just wasn’t possible to ignore Dimitry when she was singing and playing.83

When Dimitry stopped playing, they still couldn’t continue their conversation. They found themselves holding their breath in the hope that she would play again, even if it were the same thing.84

Ignoring them, and not wanting to hear her mother gloat, Dimitry stepped outside and pulled out her cell phone. She scrolled through her contacts and hit call when she reached the one she’d been looking for.85

“Hello?” said a female voice. Good old Layla. She always answered after the first ring.86

“Layla,” Dimitry said simply. “It’s Dimitry.”87

“Dimitry? Are you okay? Is something wrong?”88

Leave it to Layla to jump to conclusions. Then again, what else could she think? Dimitry hadn’t called her at all while she was with the band, let alone after she’d left it. Still, the drummer would be the most sympathetic, and ask the least amount of questions.89

“I’m okay, Layla, don’t worry about that. I’m calling because I just wrote a song.”90

Dimitry heard the phone hit a solid surface and then a high pitched squealing in the background. She knew from experience Layla had put the phone down and was now dancing around her flat squealing in excitement.91

The phone was picked up again. “Does this mean you’re back? You’ll play with us again?” Her voice was filled with bottled up joy, confirming Dimitry’s suspicions.92

“I’m back,” Dimitry said. “And if the rest of the band will have me, I’ll play with Roses and Lullabies again.”93

Dimitry heard a chorus of male exclamations in the background, letting her know she’d interrupted a rehearsal and she’d been put on speaker.94

“Should I take that as a ‘yes’?”95

“Of course,” Layla said. “Besides, I don’t like being the only girl in the band.”96

“What she meant to say,” Aeron, the lead guitarist and occasional back-up vocals said. “Is that it would be foolish of us to allow you to sing or write with anyone else.”97

“Well, duh, that’s what I meant.” Layla’s tone said she thought that had been obvious.98

Dimitry found herself laughing at Layla’s spunk. The eccentric drummer had always been her favorite person in the band to hang out with.99

“That’s a nice sound,” Aeron said. He’d always thought of Dimitry as a younger sister, and it’d almost broken his heart when she’d left the band. He was very happy to have her back.100

“Thanks, guys,” Dimitry said. “I’ll go get my bike and meet you at Layla’s flat with the new song. Do you think you can wait for me?”101

“No!” Layla shouted. “We need you here now!”102

Dimitry laughed again. “Alright Layla, I’m on my way.”103

“Yay!”104

With that last bit of excitement ringing in her ears, Dimitry hit end call and went inside to gather her mother.105