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

“Is your mum really going to accost me?”


“Yeah, sorry,” Jayden pulled a face. “She’s insistent that she and Dad have to meet you properly.”


“I don’t know what she means,” Jayden said and grimaced. “Seriously, I’m sorry, they’re going to be really embarrassing, and…”


The bedroom door opened, and Mrs. Phillips’ fluffy ginger hair preceded her into the room. “Hello, darling.” She beamed at Jayden and turned those big dark eyes on Darren. “And hello to you, dear.”


“Livvy!” she insisted. Darren nodded, but didn’t repeat it. She’d been doing it ever since they met, but it was kind of weird to call her Livvy. She was, like, forty or something. Way younger than Mother, but still. He couldn’t imagine Mother inviting Jayden to call her Alison. “Jayden, come and help me with dinner.”


“Come on, both of you!” she insisted and trotted off down the stairs. Darren smirked at the look on Jayden’s face.


Chapter 82