Chapter 5: Music of an Angel

It's been three days since I last heard from Cassy. I had tried watching the New York news and searching for Jordan's case up on the internet but no luck. I don't know if I had really wanted to find his case or not, I just hope that he's in jail somewhere and I would be safe for at least a little while. For the most part I had surrounded myself in isolation and stayed in my room or kept to myself at work. Candace glares at me but knowing that I wasn't going to be fired calmed me and stopped her from trying anything else. Donna had tried to talk to me a few times, but I gave her simple short answers. Displeased with my replies she frowned and gave me my space. I didn't want anyone to get hurt anymore, I don't want anyone to risk what they have for me. I'm dangerous to be around, and definitely not worth the kindness I had been shown in this town.

On the fourth day Donna woke me up with her usual preppy attitude. "Sam, no more depressing attitude. I have a surprise for you". I buried my face in the pillows trying to hide from the light. I felt her hands shaking my shoulders. "Sam" she called out. "Wake up" she said shaking me gently. I let out a large yawn and stretched the sleep away. "Okay, okay I'm up what do you want?" I asked her groggily rolling onto my back. "You need to get up and out of the house hinny. You're not dead so get up". I looked back at her. "But why?" I asked. "I have a friend who's single and I think you would really like him". She said smiling. "Really? You're trying to set me up on a date?" she nodded smiling once more. "Well, see I already told him you were gunner go so I guess you better start getting ready" she said bouncing off of my bed. I sighed once more sitting up. "You better get your booty moving, he'll pick you up at four so you have three hours to get all primped up" Donna said leaving the room. I sat on the bed looking out the window for a minute after she left. A date? I thought to myself. Why would anyone be interested in going on a date with me? Especially now that I'm pregnant. Had she even told him that I was carrying my abusive ex's child? I guess that's not usually something you would say to a person when persuading them to go out on a date with their friend. I sighed once more. "This is going to be a disaster" I said to myself laying back on the bed.

It took me a little over an hour to shower and get dressed. Little makeup covered my face since I didn't really own much. As I walked out to the living room I could see that Donna wasn't happy. "Girl, you look like you're going out to the grocery store not on a date". I looked down at my outfit and shrugged my shoulders. "This is the best I've got". She smiled back at me as if a little light bulb went off in her head. "Maybe, but I've got tons of clothes that will fit you! And tons of makeup too!" She exclaimed bouncing up from the couch. She grabbed my hand and led me into her bedroom. I sat on the edge of her bed as she pulled out dress after dress and sorted them into yes, no's and maybe piles. "Um, Donna" I said looking down at the piles of shimmery and silky gowns. "I'm not really into dresses though" I told her running my hands through the fabric. She seemed displeased once more. "Well fine, I hove tons of tops and cute jeans". She started anther pile of fashion tops and jeans and finally picked out a really cute purple striped tank with beading and dark skinny jeans.

She set them on my lap and gestured for me to try them on. Donna was a little taller and larger than I was so her clothes fit a little baggy but covered the baby bump perfectly. I couldn't help but feel a little better about myself as I tried on the clothing. Maybe one day I'll be able to afford a nice selection of clothing like this. Once I had changed, I sat on the edge of the bed as she brought out two makeup cases. Setting them on the bed beside me she started pulling out cover up and powder and smoothed it over my skin. After what seemed like ages and being hushed and told to open and close my eyes and pucker my lips, Donna stepped back to take a look at her masterpiece. Satisfied she handed me a small mirror to take a look at myself. Wow. I thought to myself. I had cover up, blush, bronzer, eye shadow, mascara, eye liner and lip gloss on and I looked amazing. Donna could have gone to beauty school with her skills. "Wow Donna. I look great, I told her still looking in the mirror. For a nurse she had pretty good skills with a brush.

"There, now you're ready for your hot date" she said putting away the makeup kits. Standing up, I looked at myself in the body length mirror across the room. I was a totally different girl. The girl from the Bronx was dark with little to no makeup and dirty old clothes thrown on, but this girl in the mirror with new trendy clothes and makeup looked like she stepped out of a fashion magazine with her nice hair, glowing skin and clean cut clothes. As I stood Donna started brushing my hair and playing with it. She attempted at putting it up in a bun, but I stopped her. "No I want it down" I told her. I didn't want the girl from the Bronx to totally disappear, after all, that girl was still me. She could see that I wasn't going to let her change my hair so she let it down and brushed it smooth. "There picture perfect" she said holding my shoulders and squeezing. Looking at her dresser I read the clock saying I had half an hour till he got here. "Who am I going out with?" I asked her as we sat down on the couch. "This guy I work with. His name is Robert and he's really sweet" she told me. I nodded back to her, could he be a doctor or a nurse? A man with a job would be a nice change for once. "What does he look like?" I asked her playfully. "You shall see" she replied giggling. We sat there for another twenty minutes till the door rang. Donna immediately jumped up and rushed to the door opening it wide letting Robert in. I stood leaning against the doorway as she greeted him and introduced him to me. He was handsome, tall with dark hair and deep brown eyes. He smiled when he saw me standing there. "Well I guess we better get going" he said in his deep voice. I smiled pulling on my coat. Nice job Donna I thought as I snuck a wink at her. Robert put his hand around my waist as he led me down the steps and to his truck. I was reaching for the door when he stopped me. "A pretty lady like you should never have to open a door" he said to me helping me in the car. I hope to God he couldn't see me blushing right now. Pulling myself up was a bit harder with the extra baby weight. I angled myself so it was a bit harder to tell my stomach poked out a bit.

We drove around the town for a bit finally arriving at a small coffee shop. Sitting at a table by the window we talked about our jobs and the people we knew and a bit about his college classes he was attending and how he wanted to work in the cardiology department. Towards the end of the night, I had gathered up the courage to ask him one more question. I asked him how he felt about children. Clearly taken aback by the randomness of the question he stammered out "well I really don't like children and I definitely don't plan on having children anytime soon". I pursed my lips. I could tell he was eyeing me down, glancing over my body to see if he could notice something he may have missed before. I covered my hands over my stomach "Robert, that's the thing" I said "I'm pregnant". He fiddled with his hands, his knuckles turning white. "Oh, well I don't know. I'm not ready to be a dad to some kid that's not mine". I bit my lip and moved my hot chocolate mug around the table. "I think I should take you home now, I have to be up early". I know he didn't mean it to hurt as much as it did, but it still stung my heart as he said it. After that, it was an awkward and long drive home even though I could tell he was taking the quickest route possible. I could see from the corner of his eye that he was looking at my stomach trying to see if my stomach was bulging a bit, anything to justify that I was pregnant. When I got out of the car I turned and said goodbye, he nodded wishing me a good night. This was horrible. I thought to myself. As I walked through the door Donna was sitting on the couch watching some romance movie. "Well? How did it go?" she asked me. I shook my head. "No more dates Donna, promise me that". She looked sad, but nodded. Getting myself a drink from the kitchen I sat on the couch beside her and saw a smile grow on her face. I sighed and looked over at her. "What are you churning up in that brain of yours now?" I asked her raising one eyebrow. She turned to me with her toothy ear to ear grin. "You know we didn't do anything for your birthday". I thought about this for a second. "Yes I know" I replied to her trying to play it off. "Well how about this. Some of the nurses yesterday said that there was a band playing at the bar you work at. Do you want to go?" she asked me. I remember the cook telling me a few days ago that every once in a while Nick would ask a band to play some music to bring in customers or on special occasions. "Yeah, sure" I told her nodding and sipping the juice from my cup. "Great, they start at eight tomorrow night so after that it's straight to bed okay". I nodded in agreement and went back to watching some cooking show.

Once again we spent a couple hours getting ready. Donna excitedly put on my makeup and dressed me. This time, I was wearing an emerald green tank with beadwork on the neckline and tight fitting jeans that hid my bump, but made everything else look good. Donna looked amazing in a sleek black dress with jewelry all over her. For a small town bar we looked as if we were getting ready to go to a club in the city. "Why are we dressing up so much for a bar?" I asked her. She seemed sad at the question. "I never get to wear any of my party clothes, so I love when I get a chance to go out" she told me putting on her earrings. I looked at myself in the mirror. I wonder if the other people in the town were getting so done up for this band. I didn't even know if this band was any good or not or even what the name of the band was. "Well you ready?" Donna asked me standing in the doorway hands on her hips. "As ready as I'll ever be" I replied back to her. "Okay lets rock birthday girl". I looked back at her and laughed as she excitedly bounced towards the front door.

The bar was packed as we walked in. I looked around at the people and the staff at the bar. There were two bartenders and three waitresses. Almost all of the staff was on except me. Ever since the altercation with Candace, Nick had cut my hours to twenty a week hoping to please her. I never have to work with her anymore which is a huge stress reliever, but now as Donna and I sit at a table I can feel her glaring at me. Donna looked over at me. "You okay?" she asked. I nodded back to her. "Yeah I'm fine" I replied. She smiled at me and waved over a waitress. She took our order and brought us our drinks. Donna leaned over to me "you know how to drive right?" She asked me. I nodded back to her.

"Good" she said sipping some fruity alcoholic drink. At the front of the bar there was a stage set up with the bands equipment. "I wonder if they're any good" I said to Donna who was watching the band also.

She shrugged her shoulders, "there pretty good, I don't get out much with work, but it's always nice to get out sometime". I nodded towards her. I sipped my ice cold Pepsi and looked up at the stage to see the band finally set up and who were now walking onto the stage. Donna nudged me. "Look at the drummer isn't he dreamy?" she asked me as she sipped her fruity martini. The drummer was a tall man, with strong arms covered in tattoos, he had a hard face in a constant frown. I shrugged once more. "Yeah, I guess he's nice looking". Donna looked at him a bit more and smiled to me. "Maybe this will be my lucky night". She told me. I laughed a bit. "Maybe". It was weird to think of a nice girl like Donna to be into the kind of guy most would avoid when walking on the street. I shook out the idea of her in bed with someone from my head and started watching the band set up.

The music started slowly with a deep base then quickened as the lyrics were sung. A sweet deep voice that started singing had caught my ear. I looked over at the singer who was a tall man with dark brown hair that waved a bit past his ears. His chocolate eyes were warm and soft. He was very handsome and well built. His hands wrapped around the microphone as his lips formed the words. I could see Donna looking at me from the corner of my eye, but I was too entranced with the singer. "His names Adam" she said to me. I tilted my head slightly trying to look past the crowd of people who had now formed by the stage. The whole town must have been here. Even a few of the elderly people sat at the back of the bar and watched the younger people have fun. Adam sang about a broken love, a struggle with drugs, and a beautiful woman who married a trucker with no money and only love to give. His voice was sweet and deep. I couldn't take my eyes away from him as he swayed to the beautiful music. "You know we should go up closer maybe he will notice you" she said giggling. I thought about it for a second. The crowd of people who also stood close to the stage didn't look inviting, but I nodded at Donna and took another sip of my drink and walked to the front. Donna and I brushed past the other people and stood close by the stage. I looked up to Adam watching his lips move and his hips sway.

We watched the band as they finished another song. Donna had her eyes glued on the drummer, probably waiting for him to notice her. As the song finished Adam took a step back and looked down at the crowd of people. Looking up, I bit my lip. Like Donna, I was also hoping someone would notice me, preferably Adam. I watched his eyes move over the crowd and when his eyes hit me I felt a rush through my body. He smiled still watching me. Donna grabbed my arms squeezing it. Adam introduced the next song titled 'It Takes Just One Kiss'. As he sang the words about a man who had fallen in love with a stranger his gaze never left mine. When he smiled you could see the corner of his eyes crinkle and his pearly white teeth shine through his pale pink lips. Wide eyed, I watched him sing the last words of the song. Donna tugged at my arm and broke my gaze. "Hey it's getting pretty late we should go home" she suggested to me. I looked back at Adam. I didn't want to leave. I wanted to listen to every single word of his. Turning back to her I bit my lip. "I want to stay, but you can go home though. I promise I'll be okay walking" I told her. Her eyebrows rose. "Are you sure?" she asked me. I nodded to her. "Yes, if anything happens I'll call you. I'll be fine" I said looking back at the singer. She followed my gaze. "Oh, okay I understand. Have fun girly". She smiled and started walking to the exit pushing past the large crowd of people that had joined to watch the band. Looking back I could see Adam quickly smile trying not to have anyone notice. I wonder if he is smiling because I stayed. In the back of my head I had hoped that I was the reason for his smile, but then again what are the chances.

He sang two more songs, his eyes coming back to me occasionally. After his last song the crowd had slowly started to disappear as people went home to their warms beds and families. I stood in the same spot as I had for the past hour, still watching Adam sing. His songs were beautiful and sweet. He sang about forbidden love and struggle, something that almost everyone can relate to in some sort of way. A man handed him a glass of water, he took a sip and then thanked everyone for coming out to watch them. A few people applauded him. I stood there for a moment, hoping he would get off the stage and talk to me. But it wasn't until his band started packing up that I decided it was best to go home. Adam and his band mates had started packing their equipment when I had started to walk out the door. Looking back I took a glance at Adam who was lifting a part of the drum set. I looked over at his body. I bet if I could see him with his shirt off I would see his muscles rippling as he picked the equipment up. His eyes met mine and he smiled showing his white teeth once again. I could feel my face get hot so I ducked out the front doors hoping he wouldn't see that he had made me blush. I hurried to the car to find Donna talking to some of the people at her work. "I really want to find that drummer" she said to me with a slight tone of drunkenness. I laughed "Ah no, I don't think so" I told her trying to lead her back towards the car. I couldn't go back into the bar, what if Adam saw me and tries to spark a conversation? I'd probably melt in my spot and act awkward. We were outside the bar when Donnas wish was answered. The drummer walked out the doors and lit a cigarette. Instantly Donna was by his side gushing how he was the most important person in the band. After a few minutes of heavy flirting, she whispered in his ear. Nodding she led him towards her car. Quickly she turned to me "you don't mind walking right? We're not too far from home". I nodded, "yeah I'll be fine" I said laughing. "It'll give you some time with your boy" I said with a wink. She giggled and thanked me. Now if only it was easy like that for me to find a decent man. They drove away and I started the quiet walk home.