any more chapter 9 updates i just can’t help myself 🤭🤭🤭
At The End Of The Road: Chapter 9 Excerpt
Darrel
Lilah had gone quiet, a rare occurrence for her. I followed her gaze to the piano in the corner of the living room. It had sat untouched for the last few months, the black-and-white photos of Grandma and Grandpa Curtis, mom and dad, and our few organized family photos on the top recently polished but the keys themselves dusty. “Oh yeah, been meaning to ask ya for ages, Li. You want your piano books back?” I lifted the worn flowered cushion on the bench seat and rifled around in the hollowed-out space beneath, pulling out a few dog-eared copies of books. Czerny’s Practical Method for Beginner’s Piano sat on top, still open to the last piece she and mom had worked on together. The page was filled with mom’s loopy handwriting highlighting different sections. Certain notes on the staff were circled. I tried to ignore the date she had written at the top. January 6th. The day after my twentieth birthday. Two days before the accident. Mom’s cheerful notation next to it (“Way to go, Lilah!”) was surrounded by smiley face stamps, declaring the song mastered. My breath caught in my chest. It was little things like that that made the grief surge out of nowhere sometimes, realizing I’d already forgotten some of the simple habits and gestures that made her the person she was.
Lilah’s gray eyes welled up. “I don’t wanna play no more.”
“How come? You were real good.”
A tear ran down her cheek, and she turned away from me to bury her face into her mother’s dress. “I don’t wanna play without Mrs. Curtis,” she sniffled. “She’s the only one I want to teach me.”
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Sorry it's been so long! You guys keep me motivated- I'm always so flattered how many people are still invested and looking forward to updates even when the chapters are more few and far between. Life is hectic but good. Exciting countdown- three days to my birthday, four until I see The Outsiders on tour again! I am beyond excited to experience it again from a closer seat, wit a different cast (had a lot of understudies the first time I went- would love to see OG and covers for variety!) and to experience it with my twin aka my fellow Outsiders fanatic for the first time! I will take notes and record the audio for anyone who wants it 😊
Happy trails to many of the OG cast members! I will miss them but happy and excited to see what they'll do next. I am very excited to have a new crew on board and enjoying getting to know them through social media/ interviews and hoping to scope out some audio. Will be writing lots this week- updates on a tentative time for Chapter 9 release coming soon!