Chapter Text
“Next up we have Julie Molina!”
Julie’s hands are shaking as she makes her way up to the stage, hesitantly placing her sheet music on the keyboard’s music stand. For a brief moment, she considers bolting. Then she sees her mother’s tidy scrawl on the bottom of the page.
Julie, you can do it. Love mom.
She takes a deep breath in, lets it out slowly, and with renewed determination plays the first note.
Here’s the one thing I want you to know
You got some place to go…
The music pours out of her. It’s been a year since she lost her mom, since her voice was trapped, caged by her grief. All at once it comes rushing back. Her fingers fly over the keys as she unleashes her voice.
So wake that spirit, spirit
I wanna hear it, hear it
No need to fear it, you're not alone
You're gonna find your way, oh
It feels like coming home. She’s been so lost without her mom, without her music. The lyrics, one last gift from her mother, guide her back to herself. And Julie isn’t alone. Her mom will always be with her in her music.
Time to come out of the dark, wake up
Wake up
And for the first time in over a year, Julie feels alive again. There’s a brief silence before the crowd erupts in cheers. She takes a moment to scan the crowd and sees her dad and Carlos holding each other, eyes glistening. As she steps off the stage and begins to make her way to her family an unfamiliar voice calls her name.
“Julie! Julie Molina!”
Julie turns to find the source of the voice and encounters a tall, slender man in a suit. He stands out from the crowd of mostly teenagers at the venue. The man makes his way over to her and hands her a business card.
“Julie! Caleb Covington. Wonderful performance up there. What would you say if I told you that I could make all your dreams come true?”
Maybe it was the exhilaration of being on stage again, or maybe it was her musician self, trapped for so long and desperate for more, but Julie was about to make a decision that would change her life.
***
“Dude, we go on in less than five minutes, you need to get ready.”
Luke knows he should be double checking that his guitar is tuned and getting warmed up before their turn on stage but he can't help it, he’s captivated by the human wrecking ball pouring her heart out to the crowd. He knows that feeling, when the music takes over and unleashes every emotion that’s been trapped inside, looking for an outlet. She’s a kindred spirit, he just knows it. He’s hoping to get a glimpse of her so he can try to talk to her after their set, but all he can see is thick, dark curls.
Luke gives the best performance of his life, fueled by a little voice in the back of his head that hopes a girl with curly hair and the voice of an angel will be just as enamored with him as he was with her.
But after they’ve packed up their instruments and made their way back into the crowd he can’t find her anywhere. His disappointment is palpable, and the voice has permanently etched itself into his soul where the thought of what might have been will haunt him.