Out-and-regretting-it comprehensive attendee Jayden Phillips turns his cast-iron plans for life upside-down by falling in love with private-school violinist Darren Peace, a sardonic boy with the craziest hair Jayden's ever seen.<br><br>But all is not what it seems, and Jayden's bullying problem becomes meaningless when he is confronted with what the music does to Darren. How do you stop a dangerous depression rooted in the same thing that makes someone what they are? Dark moods, blank apathy, and the undertow of self-loathing all simmer beneath Darren's dry and beautiful veneer, and Jayden feels powerless to stop them.<br><br>Then a mugging gone wrong takes the music forcibly away, and Jayden is finally given the chance to change Darren's life -- and, quite literally, his mind.

Vivaldi in the Dark

“It’s okay,” he repeated softly. “It’s all right. It’s history, right? You said you hadn’t done that since May. It’s all right.” 


Jayden kissed the bare neck. “It’s not sick,” he insisted quietly. “And you don’t do it anymore. That’s the important part. You’re getting better if you don’t do that anymore.”


Darren had withdrawn, and Jayden silently cursed himself for having given in to the curiosity. What else was a snag on his inner arm going to be? He’d known. Darren had told him about this.


Chapter 52