That morning, both Tom and Belinda had massive headaches. They found themselves sitting at the kitchen table late, cupping coffee in hand and looking depressed, but when their eyes met, a smile played across their lips.
"Next time, I'll bring something stronger." Tom laughed, trying to hold back the pain.
Belinda lowered her head, trying to ease the tension in her neck. "Whiskey will be fine!" she retorted.
Madeleine watched them, amused, but without attempting to console them. She thought it was stupid for two young men to drown their disappointment in alcohol, and she'd been telling them so the whole time.
"I'm almost going to get drunk again so I don't hear it," Tom muttered under his breath, as Belinda rested her head on the table.
She had to admit: even in her disappointment, she found herself crying on his shoulder. That boy was truly exceptional. It was a real shame her thoughts were always on her brother... Damn, she couldn't stop thinking about Bill!
The individual in question hadn't shown up all morning, and when he did appear, he maintained a detached, though no longer hostile, attitude.
Belinda was grateful, especially since she knew he wasn't feeling comfortable either and, perhaps, had decided it was better to have a more relaxed atmosphere at home.
The ringing of the phone made her jump.
"Hello?"
The voice on the other end was terse and hasty, each word seeming to hammer a nail into her brain. She raised her head and listened with her eyes closed to the torrent of words her mother was pouring out at her, barely grasping the meaning of what was being said.
"Enough, not so fast! I can't..." she complained. "Wait..."
She slowly opened her eyes and passed the phone aside, intending to hand it to her sister so she could calmly relay the conversation. But to her surprise, it was Bill who grabbed the phone and, putting it to his ear, replied in German in a deep, annoyed tone. "Mit wem spreche ich?"
Belinda jumped and tried to get up, but her legs wouldn't support her. Shaking her head, she put it back on the table, giving up and starting to giggle.
"Who the hell is she talking to?" Naomi asked in dismay, her hand still outstretched to receive the phone.
"Mom! But I don't think she understood... Maybe she thought it was Alex."
The two sisters turned to look at him while Bill, moving away from them, first widened his eyes and then, embarrassed, continued the conversation in a less excited tone. There were many pauses during which he nodded and even smiled.
Belinda looked at him, stunned, and realized she couldn't help but feel a deep affection for him: once again, despite all the nasty things they'd said, she had to admit he wasn't as self-centered as he'd repeatedly claimed.
After several minutes, Bill approached Naomi and handed her his phone, looking at Belinda for the first time with a faint smile. "Your mom is a wonderful person!" he said before returning to his place on the couch.
"What did she tell you?"
"That you don't deserve me!" He chuckled. "And I agree with her!"
Belinda stared at him in shock, wondering what Tracy had said; her mother always managed to throw her off! Meanwhile, he continued to smile, as if he were the custodian of a secret.
Damn Tom and his damn beers! he thought to himself.
"Hellen, I need a massage from you," he complained, raising an arm toward her.
Laughing, the girl moved closer to her to relax her neck and head.
"But it's no use for hangovers," Hellen clarified. "Until you throw out what you've been drinking, this is all useless!"
"But I spent the night in the bathroom," he grumbled.
"Me too!" Tom agreed, raising his hand and bursting into laughter.
Meanwhile, Naomi finished her conversation with her mother and returned to her sister. "Mommy says she's ashamed of you."
"And why?"
Naomi handed her phone back. "Because of the embarrassment you make her look at other people's houses."
"What did you two tell her?" Belinda asked annoyed.
"Oh, nothing at all!" Her sister sneered, exchanging a knowing look with Bill.
"Leave me alone!" Belinda muttered. "You'll tell me everything later!"
She lowered her head again to Hellen and surrendered to the magical touch of her hands.
***
Belinda woke toward evening, her mouth raw, but at least her headache was gone. She stretched lazily on the bed and looked out the window: the sunset was beautiful, with red streaks running across the sky. She got up and went to throw open the windows to let in the fresh air. Meanwhile, she heard her sister's voice in the garden, talking conspiratorially to someone.
"Do you understand?" she was saying to the person she couldn't see. "Listen to me this time, otherwise it won't work!"
She heard a groan in response, but she couldn't make out who the other person was.
It's probably Tom! she thought, smiling. Maybe they've managed to sort things out.
She felt better and, after taking a shower, tied her hair back, put on a tracksuit, and went to the living room.
Belinda looked around for Tom and found him lying on the sofa; He waved at her with one hand, while with the other he held the phone and talked intently to someone.
There was a strangely still air, and Belinda realized she had missed something. She sighed, preparing for some rebuke, but everything seemed to be going on as usual. The TV was on a music channel, which was showing the week's hits, and shortly afterward the commercial for the competition came on, bringing her back to normalcy a little.
She sat in a corner chair, listening distractedly, while trying to remember what her mother had said during their conversation that morning. From what little she remembered, she thought she'd postponed her departure because her little brother wasn't feeling well, even though it wasn't anything serious, but then... nothing! She couldn't remember anything else.
It must be old age! she said to herself, sighing. I never remember what the hell I did or said hours later.
Naomi came back from the garden at that moment and, seeing her, approached and sat down next to her. "How are you?"
"Better, thanks! Is there something I need to apologize for? I don't remember much from this morning..."
"No, I don't think so!" her sister replied. "What's the matter, are you losing your temper?"
"Ah, blessed youth!" sighed Belinda and tapped her forehead. "I think I have no space left on my hard drive!"
"It happens to old hags," her sister teased, patting her on the head.
"Easy, I'm delicate! By the way, what else did Mommy say?"
"About what?" Naomi asked, perplexed.
"I only remember that she said she wouldn't leave because Raffy wasn't feeling well, and then... I can't remember."
"Nothing else important," her sister confirmed. "She was just worried about you, but I told her you'd done something stupid, and then she wanted to know everything. You know how she is, right?"
"Yeah… And you must have been thrilled to be able to tell her that her good eldest daughter had been at her worst for once by getting drunk!" she muttered.
"Don't worry!" Naomi gave her a knowing look. "I told her you had sunstroke."
"You know you're a sweetheart?" Belinda hugged her tightly. "Remind me that I owe you a big favor."
"You can count on it, sister!"
More relaxed, Belinda reached for a newspaper from the cabinet, but as she opened it to read some news, Bill suddenly appeared at her side.
She looked up in surprise, expecting the usual leering look, but instead he sat down next to her.
"Would you like to play, Bel?" he asked.
The girl straightened warily. Bill was watching her calmly, his eyes unblinking, and this surprised her even more.
"Am I still asleep? Is this a dream?" she asked cautiously.
The boy burst out laughing, shaking his head. "No, silly, you're awake! Why do you say that?"
"I'm missing some fragments... What the hell happened while I was sleeping?" she asked, perplexed.
"Absolutely nothing!"
"Then why are you asking me to play? Is there something I don't know?"
"It's just that none of us, except Tom, have heard you play," he replied calmly. "I'm curious."
Belinda narrowed her eyes at him: was this the same Bill who hadn't spoken to her since the day before? And now he was asking her to play? What was going on?
As she was processing strange thoughts, Kristian approached her too.
"Come on, Bel, you owe us!" he urged, smiling. "Don't forget I helped you find the chords for the keyboard."
Still wary, she got up and followed the others into the rehearsal room, where they took seats so they could listen to her.
"What do you want to hear?" she asked, perplexed. "Not Bill's song! I don't feel like singing it."
"Okay!" Hellen replied with a smile. "Play us something else... even without singing, if you don't feel like it. I've never seen you with an instrument in your hand."
"Oh, okay..." She picked up the blue electric guitar Tom had lent her. "Let's see what I can do!"
She closed her eyes for a moment, trying to gather her thoughts, and missed the strange look Hellen gave Bill as he winked at her.
She started by playing her signature piece, a piece by Ligabue, which she always used as the opening act for her concerts because it made her feel good and gave her the right energy.
She began by humming the song, which grew stronger and more confident as she performed it, her fingers moving quickly over the strings. When she finished, she felt good, as if she'd awakened from a long, restful sleep.
She looked at Hellen, who clapped her hands, and the others did the same.
"Well, I don't know if you know this composer, but perhaps I'm not doing him justice: he's truly a show-off!"
"Yes, I know him. "I was in Milan a few years ago and saw him at a concert with a friend... I like his music!" the girl replied.
"I didn't know you played so well!" exclaimed Klaus, walking over to the drums. "Shall we try something together?" He picked up his sticks and began banging on the drums.
Belinda followed his rhythm with her head and, after a few moments, began strumming melodious notes that matched the boy's percussion. Carried away by the enthusiasm, Tom also picked up his guitar, while Kristian took up the keyboard.
The melody that emerged was certainly not catchy or enough to record a song, but they had a lot of fun.
"Come on, that's a really cool song!" Naomi encouraged them, raising her arm, and after a quick glance at each other, the boys began playing a Metallica song, while Bill sang it.
The atmosphere was captivating, and no one noticed the time passing.
A distant rumble jolted them awake, and they realized it was well past dinner time.
Tom put his guitar back in its case. "I don't know if there's a storm coming or if it was my stomach, but I'm hungry!"
"Now that I think about it, I haven't eaten either!" Belinda exclaimed, smiling.
"You know, if you don't eat at a regular time, you risk shrinking a few centimeters every hour?" Kristian teased.
"Oh, yeah? Then you better start taking a few bites right away, smartass! I've been loving things rare lately!"
Running away in a feigned terror, the boy ran out of the room, while Belinda chased after him, urging him to stop and act like a man.
The joking atmosphere continued at the table, allowing the evening to pass peacefully until they decided to go to bed.
Belinda watched them leave, wished everyone goodnight, and decided to stay in the living room to watch TV for a while since she wasn't sleepy. The programs were all boring, and after a while, listening to music seemed like a better idea. She rummaged through the CDs on the dresser and found her sister's binder. Opening it, she discovered she'd brought all of Scream's CDs and DVDs with her, and, curious, she began to browse through them. She found their first album, put it in the player, put on her headphones, and played it.
Naomi had always reproached her for never having listened to their music, and now she had the chance to fill that gap. The songs played one after another, while she concentrated on Bill's voice.
She found her voice decidedly different on the last CD. Before, it had a harsher, sharper edge, while on the latest album it had been enriched with more mature, hoarse, and less strident sounds.
It wasn't really her kind of music, but she didn't mind.
A flash of lightning lit up the sky and she realized it would rain that night.
Just like a few weeks ago, she reflected, looking outside. I was sitting right here when I dreamed of Alex's arrival... How strange, I feel like I'm having déjà vu.
She shook her head to clear the thought and with a sudden jerk, she stood up and began dancing to the music, singing silently with only the movement of her lips. She was relaxing and enjoying that magical moment, with Bill's voice performing a concert just for her, while the outside world was far away.
The fast rhythm gave way to a very sweet melody, sad and poignant, and even her movements became softer. At a certain point, she felt a presence, but she wasn't afraid. She opened her eyes and saw Bill before her, wordlessly offering her a hand.
She smiled as if it were a silent game and, bowing, accepted his offer to dance. She wrapped her arms around his neck and leaned against him, following his movements, careful not to step on his bare feet. They swayed slowly in the darkness of the room, illuminated by sudden flashes of light that didn't interrupt their dance. Suddenly, Belinda gently pulled away from him and, intertwining their fingers, led him into an impromptu waltz, while she lowered her headphones and they twirled around the room, to a rhythm only they could hear.
Finally, tired but smiling, she separated from her partner and with a silent bow thanked him for his fantastic performance. Bill bowed elegantly in return and kissed the back of her hand.
Belinda laughed softly and, leaning close to his ear, whispered, "You're like a dream... You'll always be a part of my life, you know that?"
"I hope so, my little Cinderella!"
After giving her a sweet kiss on the lips, he retreated to his room, as silent as he had appeared.
Outside, it had started to rain, but for Belinda, it was as if sweet, magical dust was falling from the sky, descending to illuminate the grass.
She turned off the stereo, unplugged her headphones, and smiling, returned to her room, certain that no bad dreams would disturb her that night.