Flesh & Bone: An Inspirational Contemporary Romance (A Guitar Girl Romance Book 2)

by Hope Franke

  He expected her to scowl and ignore him, but her eyes were soft and her lips actually hinted at a smile. His heart jerked in his chest as he tried to process.

  Herr Baumann opened in prayer and Eva sang a short list of songs he’d recognized from when Jörg played, though Eva’s versions were drastic improvements. Sebastian was mesmerized by her presence on stage and lassoed by her voice. It was customary to applaud after each song and Sebastian didn’t hold back. He felt his lips tug up as he drank her in. She caught him grinning and smiled in return. A real, bona fide smile!

  What was going on?

  When she finished singing, he approached her tentatively. He clearly remembered her telling him that she didn’t want to see him, but he couldn’t let this opportunity pass.

  “Hi,” he said

  “Hi.”

  “Nice set. I miss hearing you sing.”

  She buckled the guitar case shut and looked up at him from under her dark lashes, a move that made his knees quiver. “Thanks. I’ve missed playing.”

  She didn’t tell him to shove off, so that was a good sign.

  “I’m surprised to see you here,” he added.

  “I’m surprised myself.”

  Her demeanor was completely altered from the day before. Her eyes were kinder and her lips relaxed.

  Sebastian snapped himself back to attention. He had to stop looking at her lips!

  “Well, good to see you again,” he said, taking backward steps toward the kitchen.

  “Sebastian?”

  Sebastian stopped. Eva waved him back and he took the three steps needed to return to her side. “Yeah?”

  “I want to apologize for how I treated you yesterday. It was uncalled for and I’m sorry.”

  Sebastian scratched his head and gazed back at her, questioningly. “Accepted, though no apology is necessary. I’m the one in need of forgiveness.”

  Eva’s eyelids fluttered, and her knuckles whitened as she gripped her cane. “Yes, I’m aware of the situation. You are in need of forgiveness and I am in need of the ability to forgive. It’s not easy, but I want to do it.”

  “Thank you, Eva. You can’t know how much that means to me.”

  She nodded and grabbed her coat. Sebastian stepped up quickly to help her put it on. He inhaled deeply the scent of her shampoo, thankful that he had one last chance to stand this close to her.

  She stiffened slightly at his touch but didn’t pull away. He stepped back, not wanting to push his luck.

  “Maybe I’ll see you tomorrow?” she said politely.

  Sebastian shook his head. “It’s my last day.”

  Eva’s eyes widened with surprise. “I thought you had another six weeks.”

  “I do, but I’m serving them at the hospital. That way I can be closer to my father.”

  “Oh. Of course. How is he?”

  “Not well, but he’s still with us.”

  Sebastian sensed her awkwardness. “I should get back to work. Don’t want to slack off on my last day.” He saluted her. “Maybe I’ll see you around.”

  Forgiving someone didn’t mean that what they did was okay. When Annette said she forgave Eva, she wasn’t saying what Eva did was okay. Dismissing Annette’s feelings by kissing Xavier wasn’t okay. Just like what Sebastian did by fleeing the scene of an accident would never be okay.

  So what did forgiveness mean? Why did Eva care if Annette forgave her or not? Why did Annette extend it? A lot of girls wouldn’t have.

  These were things that Eva pondered as she played for the homeless people in the street church. She’d been coming regularly over the last few weeks when her school schedule allowed, and it felt good. She missed singing and performing. She missed playing her guitar.

  And she found that she missed Sebastian. Though her time with him at the street church only overlapped once, she could still imagine him standing in the corner, watching her with such intensity it made her feel like gelatin.

  For the first time in months, reflecting on Sebastian Weiss didn’t cause a boulder-size lump to swell in her chest. It didn’t make the muscles in her neck tighten until the base of her skull throbbed. It didn’t make her feel like she’d been bound by wire and hung from a line.

  Today, when she thought about Sebastian, she felt… light, serene.

  Was this what forgiveness did? All this time she thought Sebastian would be the only one to benefit from an offer of forgiveness, but Eva was starting to see that she was the primary benefactor.

  She was just about to start her set when the door opened with a blast of cold and Sebastian walked in. Her heart stammered to a stop when he smiled at her with a shy nod. She couldn’t bring herself to smile back.

  Some of the regulars recognized him and called him over. “Bastian, we missed you!”

  Sebastian shook the hands of each person at the table. “Missed you guys, too.”

  Eva wondered why he came. Not to work, obviously. To see the people he’d come to know. To see her?

  The feelings swirling through her heart and mind were too complicated to assess in the moment. She closed her eyes and let herself hide in the music. Between songs, she’d peek out, and every single time Sebastian caught her looking at him. The corner of his mouth pulled up to one side and when she finished her last song he winked.

  Her papa approached him, and they shook hands and smiled in a relaxed manner Eva never thought she’d see between them in a million years. Sebastian said something that made her papa laugh, and he patted Sebastian on the back.

  Eva’s stomach turned to goo. She felt like the world had turned upside down in a day and it made her dizzy. Sebastian stood in line with the homeless and accepted a bowl of soup and a bun. Eva did the same, choosing a seat two tables away. Far enough to not look like she wanted to be near him, but close enough that she could hear what he was saying.

  The truth slammed into her. She did want to be near him.

  She made polite small talk with a woman at her table who was continually interrupted by two young children. It gave Eva opportunity to eavesdrop on Sebastian. He was listening to a middle-aged man with salt-and-pepper hair tell his life story. Sebastian paid attention like he really cared. Eva believed he did.

  Because, she realized, Sebastian was a good person. In many ways, a better one than she.

  There was no mistaking that petite form with the stilted gait. Sebastian watched her through the dim light of his flat, standing back far enough from the window that, should she glance up and look, she wouldn’t see him staring down at her.

  He wondered where she was going and couldn’t think of any place nearby that would account for her having to take his road to get there. He was more than a little surprised when she stopped in front of his building. She stood there staring at the door and finally reached up and pressed the buzzer.

  Though Sebastian knew she had to be there for him, he still jumped at the sound. He sprinted to the button by his door and pressed it.

  “Who is it?” he asked, though he knew it was Eva. He didn’t want her to know he’d been watching.

  “It’s Eva.”

  Sebastian opened the door to his flat and waited for her. He felt pensive yet intrigued. “This is a surprise,” he said. “Come in.”

  Eva smiled at him weakly. Her hair was tucked under a cap, and she had a purple scarf around her neck. Her cheeks and nose were rosy red from the early spring chill, and Sebastian had to bite his cheek to keep from grinning at how cute she was.

  “Can I take your coat?”

  “No, that’s okay. I won’t be staying long.”

  Disappointing. And ominous.

  “Something to drink?”

  Eva’s hands went to her narrow throat and she swallowed dryly. “Water would be nice.”

  She took a seat in the chair she usually sat in when she used to come to write with him, in what felt like another lifetime. Sebastian sat across from her and placed two glasses of water on the coffee table. Eva’s hand trembled slightly as s
he sipped hers, and Sebastian wondered what he could do to ease her nerves.

  “Is everything all right?” he asked.

  “Yes. Fine.”

  Sebastian waited, and the quiet between them felt like a cement wall, one he had to wait for Eva to climb.

  “I’m always glad to see you,” he said, hoping to prod her a little. “But I’m unsure of my role here. Is there something you need from me?”

  She inhaled deeply. “I just need you to listen.”

  “I’m all ears.”

  Eva stared down at her hands clasped in her lap. “I have something to say and it’s long and I just ask that you don’t say anything until I’m finished. Agreed?”

  Sebastian’s own nerves were soaring. Whatever she came here to say, he wanted to hear it. “Agreed.”

  “I used to be outgoing, carefree,” Eva began timidly. “A little reckless even. I had friends. We’d go hiking and biking, swimming. Hang out at the mall. Talk about boys and music and boys and school gossip. And boys.” She paused and her lips pulled up in amusement.

  “There was one I really liked a lot, Benni, and I thought he liked me. I used to entertain myself with long daydreams about our fairytale wedding.” She scrunched her face, feeling embarrassed. “I was fifteen. It was what girls did.

  “All that changed after the accident.”

  Sebastian stiffened at the word, accident, but remained still.

  Eva continued, “I spent so much time in the hospital, I fell behind in school, my friends had moved on. Benni got a serious girlfriend.

  “I felt weak and unattractive. I was embarrassed by my leg and preoccupied with my pain. Not just the physical pain in my body, but also the emotional pain of being left behind and forgotten.

  “Except by Annette. She was the only one who went out of her way to stay my friend, and I didn’t make it easy for her. I teetered on the edge of a dark, emotional pit, but she wouldn’t let go. She wouldn’t let me fall.”

  Eva paused, and Sebastian witnessed a myriad of emotions pass over her face.

  “And a little while ago, I did something awful to her,” Eva said. “I was thoughtless and selfish, and I hurt her.” Eva bit down on her trembling lower lip, and Sebastian held back from reaching out for her. He didn’t know if that was what she wanted—if she wanted him to touch her.

  “Annette is everything good, and I don’t deserve her friendship. But she forgave me. So easily. She’s the one who challenged me to forgive you.”

  Sebastian cleared his throat, but Eva held up her hand before he could speak. “You said you’d wait.”

  Sebastian shifted back and kept his mouth shut. Eva took a moment to remove her jacket. Good, she was staying for a little while, at least. Sebastian watched her carefully, listening.

  “I wanted to forgive you, I really did, but there was this mountain of pain in my heart and grief over what I felt I’d lost. But I had a revelation recently. I don’t think I would’ve liked the person I would have become if it hadn’t been for the accident. I saw what I was capable of, Sebastian, and I didn’t like it. For the first time I’m starting to recognize that maybe the accident didn’t just rob me of things, but maybe… maybe it gave me something, too.

  “Without the accident I wouldn’t have written “The Water Song.” I wouldn’t have had to battle anything, or known what it was like to conquer. I wouldn’t have met you.”

  Tears were flowing freely at this point, and Sebastian couldn’t stand it anymore. He ran to the bathroom and returned with a roll of toilet paper. “Sorry. I don’t have any tissues.”

  Eva laughed through her sobbing and blew in a very unladylike manner. “I must look a mess.”

  Sebastian shook his head slowly. “No. You’re more beautiful than ever.”

  “Shh,” she said lightly. “I’m not finished. Where was I?”

  “You wouldn’t have met me.”

  “Sebastian, I wouldn’t have met you. That night at the Blue Note, everything that led up to my being there and singing that song, it wouldn’t have happened. I would’ve been this mean girl and I wouldn’t have fallen in love with you.”

  Sebastian’s heart stopped. Did she just say what he thought she said? Every fiber of his being was tense and heated as he waited for the rest.

  “For the first time since the accident, I’m actually thankful for it.”

  Sebastian let out a breath. “Eva.”

  “Wait.” She smiled. “There’s more. I’m here to ask you to forgive me. I was unkind and thoughtless. I treated you horribly.”

  “I committed a crime. I left you,” Sebastian said. “I’ll never forgive myself for that.”

  “You must. It’s the only way I will forgive you. And you want my forgiveness, don’t you?”

  His lips twitched. “More than anything.”

  “I love you, Sebastian.”

  He was on his knees in front of her, gripping her hands. “Can I speak now? Please?”

  She smirked and nodded.

  “I love you, too, Eva. So much.” He kissed her knuckles and the palm of her hands, overwhelmed with gratitude and something close to shock at this unexpected turn of events. He reached for her face, tracing her jaw until his hand wove through her hair to the back of her neck. His lips gently touched hers, and she responded eagerly, desperate and thirsty. She ran her soft cheek along his rough one, her tears blending with his as they both wept. They were survivors. They were in love. Sebastian scooped her up like she weighed nothing and carried her to the sofa.

  He held her beside him, careful of her leg. He pressed his lips into her hair. “I just want to hold you. Is that okay?”

  She wrapped her arms around his neck in response.

  He whispered in her ear, “I can’t believe you came back to me.”

  “I can’t believe you want me back.”

  He squeezed her tighter. “I so want you back. You’re mine now. Deal?”

  She giggled into his chest. “Deal.”

  Eva hated hospitals. The bright lights, the squishy sounds the nurses’ shoes made, the antiseptic cleaner that didn’t quite mask the scent of sickness that permeated the halls. All of it triggered bad memories, and she stuttered to a stop in the lobby.

  Sebastian squeezed her hand. “Are you okay?”

  She forced a smile. She knew it would be tough on her when he asked her to come, and she’d said yes. No way would she back out now. “I’m fine.”

  The off-white paint on the elevator doors was scratched in places where stretchers and wheelchairs had banged into it—janitors with their overstocked carts, kitchen staff with food trolleys.

  “My mother and sister are coming,” Sebastian said, breaking the silence between them. He’d mentioned this already, but Eva didn’t point it out. Obviously, he was nervous.

  Which just made her more nervous.

  They exited the elevator and moved down the hallway until they came to a private room, number 36B and Sebastian gave her another uneasy grin.

  “We don’t have to do this,” Eva said.

  “I want to. I want him… I want them to meet you.”

  Eva thought coffee and cake at Sebastian’s flat would’ve been a more relaxed setting, but his father wasn’t well enough to leave the hospital. Sebastian had told her he probably wouldn’t be coming home again.

  When Eva stepped into the room, her eyes skipped over the strangers to the IV pole and the monitor equipment. For an instant, she was the one with the tubes running from her arms and her nose. Her blood plummeted to her feet, and she gripped Sebastian’s arm to keep from fainting.

  “Eva?”

  Get a grip!

  “I’m fine.”

  A well-dressed middle-aged woman with greying brunette hair stood next to a younger version of herself.

  “Mama, Leah,” Sebastian started, “This is Eva. Eva, my mother and sister.”

  “Pleased to meet you,” Frau Weiss said. Her handshake was dry and firm.

  “Hello,” his sister ad
ded.

  “Nice to meet you both,” Eva said.

  There was a moment of awkwardness when they took in her cane and registered that she was the girl Sebastian had hit and the reason he had been arrested.

  Herr Weiss grunted from his position on the bed. “I’m not dead yet,” he muttered gruffly. “Let me see the girl.”

  Eva’s eyes widened with trepidation, but Sebastian grinned and shook his head. “His bark is worse than his bite.”

  Herr Weiss smiled when his eyes landed on Eva. “So you’re the reason my son’s been in such a good mood these last few days.”

  “I hope so.”

  The four of them stood around Sebastian’s father’s prostrate form, quiet like they were at a wake and not a hospital with the man still quite alive. Eva wondered if she should say something but her mind was completely blank.

  Finally, Frau Weiss broke the quiet. “Sebastian tells us you’re a student?”

  “Yes. I’m in my first year.”

  “What are you going to major in?”

  “Art History and Music.”

  Eva felt the stares of Sebastian’s mother and sister on her. When she glanced at them, their gazes darted away. These are the people who ostracized Sebastian for pursuing music.

  “Eva’s an excellent musician and singer-songwriter,” Sebastian added.

  “How nice,” Frau Weiss responded politely.

  Leah was more straightforward. “I’m surprised you’re with Sebastian again, after, you know.”

  Frau Weiss reprimanded, “Leah!”

  “It’s true,” Leah continued, undaunted. “Not many girls would. I have to commend you.”

  Eva wasn’t sure how to respond to that.

  “No one knows the truth to that more than me,” Sebastian said, draping an arm over Eva’s shoulder protectively.

  Herr Weiss coughed and all eyes turned apprehensively to him. “I’m on my death bed so you need to pay attention to me.”

  “There’s no danger in that not happening,” Frau Weiss said without smiling.

  Herr Weiss ignored her jab. “It’s time I owned my faults. I was wrong, son. If music makes you happy, if this little girl makes you happy, then I bless you to pursue both. You only live once.”