Disharmony

Secrets

You can’t escape.

Even though they were whispered, the words sent shivers through her bones. They chased after her as she ran, nipping at her ankles, playing with her hair, consuming her entirely and making it difficult to breathe.

She ran as fast as she could, but it seemed she could never get away. Every time she thought she was ahead, she would turn to find them right behind her, taunting her, teasing her, yelling at her because she couldn’t get away fast enough.

Her legs finally give out beneath her and she crumbles to the floor, her heart pounding and her breathing shallow as she lowers her head to accept her fate. They surround her, trapping her in her place as she looks up at them in terror. She can’t see their faces, but she knows exactly who they are; one of them stepping forwards to grab her, his face obscured.

They’ve entered her dreams frequently for years, threatening to send her to her ruin; vowing that there will come a time when this life and the fame consumes her completely and leaves her a hollow shell, unable to recover.

Parting her lips, she tries to cry out as he reaches towards her, his hands ready to wrap around her neck and strangle the life out of her. No matter how loud she thinks she’s screaming, nothing comes out and soon enough his fingers are closing around her throat, cutting off her air supply. Her vision goes blurry and as she fades from consciousness, he whispers once more.

I told you I’d find you.

She woke with a gasp in a cold sweat, breathing heavily as she attempted to make sense of her surroundings. The room was dimly lit, the curtains pulled over the windows, leaving her unable to see anything save a dark silhouette standing over the end of her bed. Gasping softly, she held back a scream and blinked rapidly to make sure she wasn’t hallucinating.

The figure stepped forward, allowing the faint light peeking through the heavy curtains to shine across his face and she sighed in relief before rolling her eyes.

“Xavier…what are you doing here?” She groaned as she pushed herself into a seated position and leaned back to rest against the headboard. Her mind was still hazy from sleep and she felt slightly queasy.

“Are you alright?” he whispered, his lips pursed and his brow quizzical. His hair was a mess of dark chocolate colored locks, and seeing as he’d more than likely just woken up and the only article of clothing on his body was a pair of boxer briefs with tacos printed on them.

She blinked slowly, because although his words registered, she had a hard time processing their meaning. That and she was slightly frightened to know the answer to her next question.

“How long have you been here?” she said groggily, pulling her blanket up beneath her armpits and snuggling further into the silky sheets.

He didn’t answer, just stared at her intently for a moment, his blue eyes boring into hers and causing her heart to race. His fingers twitched at his side and he c****d his head just slightly as though contemplating his next move.

“What do you want, Spiers?” she sighed, crossing her arms over her chest on top of the blanket and gazing at him pointedly. It was much too early for this nonsense.

“You were screaming,” he said quietly, taking another step closer. “You were screaming in your sleep.”

Her eyes widened at his words and she quickly racked her brain for the simplest explanation. And then she realized that, in this remarkable case, the truth actually was just that: simple.

“I had a bad dream,” she said nonchalantly, glancing at the clock on the bedside table out of the corner of her eye.

6:23. Even if she got Xavier out within the next minute, she’d have to be up soon after that anyway. Tour rehearsals started today, which meant no more sleeping past 6:30.

Nodding, he pursed his lips as she threw back the blanket and swung her legs over the side of the bed.

“Kari, if you’re in some kind of trouble, you can tell me about it,” he spoke softly, but sternly.

She almost laughed until she turned her head to see the look in his eyes. His irises were a captivating mixture of sky blue and sea foam green and swirled with an emotion she couldn’t quite place. All she knew was that it caused her stomach to tighten into knots, yet at the same time make her feel as though something inside was fluttering.

She had assumed he’d said those words out of politeness, because really, what else could she expect him to say in this sort of situation. She’d assumed when she looked into his eyes, she’d see insincerity and she could just brush it off.

But she saw genuine concern. Xavier actually cared whether or not she was in trouble and for the life of her, she couldn’t figure out why. She couldn’t remember the last time someone had asked her how she felt and actually wanted to know the answer.

So why did this boy she’d met less than a week ago give a s**t about whether or not she’d had a bad dream?

“I’m a big girl, Spiers,” she laughed, standing up and squishing her toes into the plush carpeting of her hotel room floor, “I can take care of myself.”

“I know,” he replied, his brow still furrowed, “But that doesn’t mean you have to do it alone.”

His response caught her off guard and she stared at him, tilting her head to the side as she tried to figure out his game.

Kari was given a record deal at the age of sixteen and she’d gotten it by walking into a record company’s office and refusing to leave until they heard her sing. Her first number one single came at seventeen and by eighteen she was headlining her own tour.

So it was safe to say she’d been around the block a few times. After years of spending time with music industry executives and other artists, she’d learned a very important lesson: trust no one. People may laugh at her jokes and tell her how amazing she is to her face, but those same lips would spill all of her secrets to the press in a heartbeat.

She’d been in this business long enough to know that people weren’t sweet without reason.

And Xavier was no exception. His concern may be genuine, but he had ulterior motive. She just needed time to figure it out.

“Trust me,” she shook her head, raising her hands, palms flat to the ceiling to stretch out her back. “A team of psychiatrists couldn’t tackle my problems. They’ve tried and I think some of them might now be traumatized. It’s best to stay away.”

He parted his lips to speak, but got distracted, his gaze dropping from her face to somewhere lower on her body. Furrowing her brow, she followed his line of sight and smirked deeply when she noticed exactly where he was staring. The oversized t-shirt she wore to sleep lifted when she stretched, exposing her thighs and the bottom of her backside, which, because of her G-string, looked as though it was currently bare.

Apparently Xavier Spiers was not immune to the wiles of a woman.

Holding in a laugh, she grabbed a hair tie off the side table and combed her hair back from her forehead, tying her long, dark waves into a messy bun on the top of her head.

“How’d you get in here, anyways?” she asked as she stepped towards the side of the room, opened a dresser drawer, and began to search for an appropriate outfit. Rehearsal meant a lot of movement, so she wanted to be comfortable.

There was a moment of silence in which she turned her head to look at him. He snapped out of his trance when he noticed her staring and shrugged.

“I picked the lock.”

She laughed as she pulled her favorite loose tank from the drawer, only to turn and see his expression remain completely calm. Gaping, she glanced towards the open door, shaking her head in amazement.

Sure enough, the lock was damaged, a shredded credit card and contorted hair pin lying on the floor.

“Were you a criminal in a past life?” she joked, turning her attention back to her dresser.

Perhaps she had been too quick to judge Xavier. She apparently didn’t know as much about him as she believed. For instance, she had no idea he was an expert on breaking and entering.

“I guess we all have our secrets.”

Deciding not to take his bait, she simply nodded and pulled yoga pants and a sports bra from her drawer before turning back to Xavier.

“Yes,” she smiled secretively, “But what fun would it be if people knew everything about us?”

He didn’t reply, just hummed softly, but continued to stare her down. She could swear his eyes were a few shades darker than they had been just moments before and she was startled by his ability to make her feel utterly exposed.

Vulnerability was not a trait she was terribly comfortable showing, so she quickly broke his gaze and changed the subject.

“Well, Spiers, this chat has been entirely too fascinating, but if you’ll excuse me, I need to get ready. We have a long day ahead of us.”

Clearing his throat, he nodded and stepped to the side, allowing her to walk safely towards the bathroom. She stopped in the doorway, turning and leaning against the wooden frame, playing absentmindedly with the collar of the shirt in her hands.

“Why?”

He stopped as well, his hand resting on the door handle as his brows pulled into a deep furrow. “Why what?”

“Why do you care so much?”

His lips parted and then closed and then opened again as though he was having trouble forming an intelligent response. Finally, he settled on shrugging and smirking lightly.

“I don’t care,” he said, his tone light, “I just wanted you to stop screaming so I could go back to sleep.”

“Right,” she nodded. As much as she hated to admit it, she was a tad bit hurt. For an instant she’d felt as though maybe Xavier wasn’t like the executives which ran her label. Maybe he cared about her as a human being rather than a person with the ability to make him millions of dollars.

All of his switching sides between good and bad was confusing and she despised him for it. This tour was going to be hard enough work without having to figure him out as well.

He smiled once more, shaking his head as he exited her room and shut the door.

Sighing, she walked into the bathroom and turned on the shower. This relationship was going nowhere fast.