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

“Oh, darling,” she murmured, but didn’t say anything else. He clung to her and cried, just for a moment, and wished desperately that Darren’s family were different


His phone buzzed in his pocket as they reached the ground floor, and he blinked away the tears to find a text from Scott. Wait in the cafe, their leaving soon so ill tell u when u can come back up. sorry about all this shit.


Mum read it, nodded once, and took him off towards the cafe, murmuring about a drink and a snack. “Horrible people,” she said decidedly as they sat down. “Especially her. What a horrible, horrible woman.”


“I’ve never met them,” Jayden croaked.


“I rather gathered that, darling.” Mum squeezed his wrist. “At least his brother’s a nice boy. Are they stepbrothers or…”


“Half,” Jayden croaked. “Yeah. I guess I have to stand up for his sister, too, she’s only six.”


Chapter 90