A few minutes later, we make our way inside and the hostess seats us at our table. We order our meals and drinks and get ready for the entertainment to begin.
I lean into her, “Are you going to sing an original or a cover?”
“Maybe both? I guess we’ll see how it goes.”
We watch the acts sing and perform onstage as the night goes on. Once the last act finishes their performance, the host walks back on stage and taps the mic.
“I just want to thank everyone for coming out tonight. We have one more performance for the evening. So, everyone please give a warm welcome to Miss Raya Winters!”
I cheer and clap with the rest of the crowd and Raya turns to me, looking a little shaky and on edge. I lean in and whisper, “Do you want me to go with you?”
She breathes deep and exhales, “No, I can do this.”
I smile at her confidence, “That’s my girl.”
Standing up, she grabs the guitar and heads to the stage. She looks fidgety as she walks up the steps and sits on the stool, but I have faith in her. After tuning her guitar for a few seconds, she moves her mouth closer to the mic.
“Uh…Hi everyone. I’m Raya and I want to thank you all for having me. This is my first time singing in public and I’m kind of freaking out over here, so please bear with me. This is a song that touched my soul the first time I heard it. It’s about standing your ground, being strong, and fighting those against you. I’d like to dedicate this song to my friend, Layla. I miss you.”
She begins to flick her fingers along the strings of the guitar and sings the lyrics to Skyscraper by Demi Lovato. As she belts out the words, tears spill down her face as the emotion takes over. I look around the room and see a few of the patrons crying as well. I look at my girl and all I feel is pride. Pride for her willingness to fight, pride for her bravery, and pride for her commitment to get better and open up again.
As she sings the final chords of the song, my cell phone vibrates in my pocket. I quickly take it out and Davis’s name illuminates the display.
I look at Raya as she sings. I need to answer this. So I quickly get up out of my seat and head toward the back of the pub to answer the call.
“Hello?”
“Duke, where are you?”
“We’re in town at the pub, why?”
“There have been reports of a possible sighting of our guy.”
My stomach drops, “When and where?”
“Last night, just outside of Manhattan.”
“Are we sure that it’s him?”
“It hasn’t been confirmed yet, but I wanted to give a heads up, just in case you want to get out of there.”
“Do you think that’s the best plan, to run? We don’t even know if it’s really Derrick. I don’t want to frighten Raya for no reason.”
“I understand your point, kid. Just make sure you stay on high alert until we know for sure.”
“Okay, keep me informed. I got to go.”
“Take care of yourself, kid.”
I hang up and walk back to my table just as Raya finishes singing the second song. The crowd goes wild and cheers for her exponentially. She stands up off the barstool and takes a quick bow. When she makes her way back to me, I engulf her in a tight hug and plant a huge kiss on her lips. The crowd coos and awes around us as we passionately kiss.
Duke
We drive back home and all I think about is my phone call with Davis. Should I tell her? What if it makes matters worse? Will she want to run?
“What are you thinking about?”
She startles me out of my thoughts, “Sorry, I was thinking about something.”