55 Interlude: Daniel and Alex (2)

Alex sighed backstage and got ready to perform.

"Up next. Alexandra Lebed!"

She walked slowly onto the stage, her stomach twisting and turning. She considered leaving and just going home. Alex brushed away those those thoughts. She could do this. She would do this.

She sat down in front of the piano and positioned herself.

"You may begin."

Alex breathed in deeply before bravely asking a question.

"Can I change the piece I'm going to perform?"

The judges were bewildered.

"Last minute? You know the last time to change your piece was before the first rehearsal, right?"

"Yes, but I have just written a new piece, and I would like to present it to you all."

One of the judges opened their mouth to say no, but they were stopped by another.

"This will be the one exception. Prepare for harsher judging, as your actions are not without repercussions."

"Yes. Thank you very much for this."

The judges glared at the one who interrupted them.

"This is against the rules!" one of them angrily whispered.

"I'll tell them to make an exception," she said.

The other judges could only huff is displeasure. They couldn't do anything. This woman was the most experienced and famous person in the classical music industry. Ilessia. She was a famous conductor and pianist who had countless connections from her many years in the industry.

Alex pulled out the crumpled and hastily written score and placed it in front of her. The judges' faces darkened more.

"You may begin," Illesia said calmly, not paying any mind to the glowering judges beside her.

Alex began to play.

The notes were jumbled, and the judges frowned even more and prepared to stop her, but Illessia looked at them.

"Wait. I believe it will be worth it."

They sighed and reculantly continued to watch.

The notes began to morph into a conflicted tune that held so many emotions at once. It was as if it was asking why why why. There was anger, sadness, and denial. Despite its sound being hash, it was beautiful in all of its chaos.

The judges and audience watched in rapture as the girl masterfully manipulated the piano, coaxing out different feelings, that the audience could somehow feel so clearly despite the song's mish mash of notes.

Suddenly, the tune morphed into one of tired acceptance and silently died down, signalling the end of the piece.

The auditorium was silent, no one willing to break the spell the song had cast on them.

Alex slowly rose from her seat and bowed, the silence was broken by clapping that turned from tentative to thunderous.

Minutes passed by, and Illessia had to quiet them down in order to continue the tournament and talk to the girl.

"What is the name of your piece?"

"Loss."

" What led you to create this and when was it made?"

"I recently lost someone who was very dear to me. They aren't dead, but it feels like it. It was made just this morning."

"Just this morning? Amazing. The complexity of the emotions you convey is unparalleled among your peers. It could use some polishing, not a lot, but this is to be expected with how recently you wrote it."

Alex bowed. "Thank you very much."

"You have shocked me with this piece, and I look forward to your future achievements," another judge said, his demeanor undergoing a complete 180 from before her performance.

The other judges also gave compliments, and she left the stage with cheers echoing from behind her.

When Alex got home, she found Daniel watching TV on the couch, as if he had done nothing wrong.

When he heard the door close, he looked up and smiled at her. The blossoming grin only gave her endless pain. How could he smile like this? When he did what he did?

He rose from the couch and pulled her into a hug, her head nestled in chest.

"Hey baby, I saw the live broadcast of your performance. It was great. I'm sorry that you lost someone though. Do you want to talk about it?"

He released her from his embrace to look at her.

Alex's eyes welled with tears and were quickly overflowing. The tears rolled down her face in fat drops. Daniel gently wiped them away and kissed her cheek softly before pulling her into his embrace again.

"Whenever you're ready."

He felt her nod and the wet tears that dampened his shirt. He listened to her sniffing and sobbing breaths.

After a while, she quieted and pulled away.

"You okay to talk now, baby?"

"Yeah," she said with a shaky smile, her beautiful olive eyes rimmed with red and cute nose pink.

"I'm listening."

"Today I found something."

"Found what?"

"I know Daniel. I can't believe it took you fucking a girl next door for me to realize it."

He froze.

"They didn't mean anything."

"And does that make it better. You screw me over for women you don't care about. Really makes me feel like I mean something to you."

"I-"

"What? Why Daniel? WHY?" Alex was in hysterics, her tears streaming down her face.

"I just…"

"You don't know! God! I'm done. How many times have you done this? How many times have you lied to me?" Alex didn't wait for an answer and stormed out the door.

"Wait! No! Alex, I love you."

She turned to look at him. "Evidently, not enough. I'll get my stuff tomorrow at 12 and you better be gone. Otherwise, I'm blocking you."

Daniel pulled her into a hug. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry. Please. We can talk this out. Please baby."

Her tears came back, and she pulled herself out of his embrace. "No."

"Alex… please…"

"I'm sorry, no. I can't. I-I just can't take it." She ran off and into a closing elevator, barely making it.

Daniel's eyes widened and he ran to the elevator, but it closed just before he got there.

Daniel quickly ran into the stairwell. He went down over 30 floors, reaching the bottom, out of breath but frantically looking for Alex. He spotted her just in time to see her get in her car and drive away.

He fell to his knees on the pavement.