Drake Sisters 06 - Turbulent Sea

I love music. This is my life because it makes sense. And every now and then a letter gets through to me, or someone comes up to me after a show and tells me my songs matter to them. What about you, Ilya? You're so good at handing out judgment. Do you love what you do? Are you sure what you do is the right choice for you?'
    'I didn't have a choice. I do what I have to do to' survive.' He took the chair across from her and stretched out his legs. 'Your voice changed my life.'
    The admission was so unexpected, it stunned her into silence for a moment. She searched his expression. As always, he gave nothing away. There was little softness about Ilya. He was hard and capable and could be counted on if he was on your side. She didn't know how she knew that about him, but the feeling in her was strong.
    'How did my voice change your life?'
    Ilya could see the genuine surprise on her face. Joley was so transparent, every thought that crossed her mind was telegraphed on her mobile features. He had no softer, happier memories. Grim, dark experiences, hard physical and mental labor and unrelenting pain had shaped who and what he had become - until Joley. She had unexpectedly given him back his humanity. Somewhere inside all of that calm discipline and control, she had tapped into long forgotten emotion. She had made the sun shine and taught him laughter. Maybe it was rusty in sound, and came rarely, but he now knew what true happiness felt like.
    He cleared his throat, knowing he was going to give a piece of himself away. 'I was in a very bad place, an ugly place, when I first heard your voice. You sounded like an angel, and I didn't believe in them. I didn't know joy in life until the first time I listened to a song by you. I knew duty and survival, but not joy or what it meant to really live. You gave that to me. I guess if you give that same thing to others, it's well worth the sacrifices you make, although to be honest, I don't like the danger it puts you in. I suppose that's selfish of me.'
    Joley's eyes softened, were almost luminous. For a moment he imagined he saw love in them. He'd never seen, or maybe recognized, love or mought much about it until he had crossed paths with the Drake family. They had a great capacity for loving - especially, Joley. She was a wild thing, impetuous and compulsive, but she knew how to love fiercely, passionately and protectively. He hadn't known he wanted that for himself until he'd first laid eyes on her.
    'I wish I could be as good a person as you make me out to be,' Joley said. 'I have a temper that I spend half my life having to rein in. I'm not at all like my sisters, Ilya. They really are good people. I just can't seem to be forgiving and I have a tendency to fly off the handle when people do stupid things.' She looked away from him, ducking her head as if something about her character shamed her.
    His gut tightened in reaction. 'Why are you so afraid of who you are, Joley? There's nothing wrong with you.'
    Lights flashed as cars went by and the sounds of traffic filled the silence in the bus. She twisted her fingers together and shrugged her shoulders.
    'Maybe. Maybe not. You never really know what's inside of people.'
    'That's not true of us. We see through different eyes and hear sounds no one else hears. We touch other people's minds and thoughts all too easily. You recognize evil when you see it. So do I. Most people think evil is just a word.
    We know it exists and that it does terrible, vicious things and spreads as it goes. We see one another, and I don't see anything in you that you should ever be ashamed of.'
    'Maybe you don't see all of me. I know I don't see all of you. I can't pierce the shadows of your aura. I've caught glimpses, but you hide yourself very well - even from me, and I've touched your mind a thousand times.'
    'But you know I'm not evil.'
    She bit her bottom lip and shivered a little. Ilya immediately rose and dragged the comforter from the bed to wrap her in.
    'No, you're not evil,' she admitted, almost reluctantly. 'But I don't know what you are. You're not the sweet boy next door, that's for sure.'
    'You don't want the sweet boy next door. If you did, you'd be with Rick.'
    'Rick?' Her gaze jumped to his. 'Why Rick? Brian's my best friend.'
    'You're not attracted to Brian and he isn't attracted to you. But you have some chemistry with Rick.' His blue eyes burned hot. 'I don't like it, but it's there.'
    'You're nuts. He's like a brother. All the band