"It's over there, if you want to look at it." Mrs Clemmensen told me, gesturing across her living room at a spectacular grand piano.
"Thank you." I said walking towards it. "It looks very old."
"It was my grandmother's."
"Oh, did she play?"
"Yes, very well. It's something of a family heirloom, that piano."
It wasn't uncommon for me to be here. I was a family friend of the Clemmensens and I spent many an afternoon chatting with Andy's grandmother, Eva. Today, she'd told me she was selling her piano, I'd asked her why and I still hadn't gotten a direct answer. I had been one of Andy's best friend's for almost ten years now. We met in primary school and we'd been through everything together.
I sat down on the piano stool running my hands along the keys and then I started to play the first thing that came to mind; Andy's song The Back of My Head. He'd written it about a year ago when he was fifteen. He was very good on the piano and he'd taught me everything I knew.
"Oh, I know that song." Mrs Clemmensen said. "What's it called again."
"It's The Back of My Head, Mrs Clemmensen, Andy wrote it."
"Oh right," she said now. "I remember when he wrote that."
"You do?" I had no idea.
"Oh, yes, he wrote it right there in that very corner." She paused as if remembering something. "I was cleaning that the other day and I found this." She held out to me a small folded square of paper.
I took it. "What is this?" I asked.
"Just look." She told me and so I did. I unfolded the square to reveal a music sheet and on it written in faint pencil in Andy's tiny hand writing was the music and lyrics for the Back of My Head.
"Oh my goodness," I gasped. "But why are you giving this to me… I mean why not Andy."
"Because… she said if you looked closely you'd realised he wanted you to have it."
I was confused so I looked again and just below the song title was written for Gemma Grace. I was so shocked… I knew what this song was about, it was so depressing really but it brought back so many memories of all of the times Andy and I sung this song together, when he was teaching it to me. "I-I had no idea." I blinked back my tears and handed it back to Mrs Clemmensen. She didn't take it.
"He wanted you to have it." She told me.
O-okay." I said but I was unconvinced; if Andy wanted me to have this, he would've given it to me. "Mrs Clemmensen, I have to go." I said and without even waiting for a farewell I rushed out to my car, feeling suddenly safe in the enclosed space. I had to see Andy… where would he be. Working, maybe.
I usually would've left Andy be at work, but today, under these circumstances, things were different. As I pulled into a carpark outside the Budgewoi pizza place I was almost too nervous to go inside… but I had to, Andy needed to know I had found his song and I needed to know why he wrote it for me of all people.
"Andy?" As I entered, the doorbell chimed. I saw Tom, one of the guys Andy worked with, at the counter.
"Hey." He said. "I'm surprised to see you here."
"I know." I told him "But this is an emergency, I wouldn't be here if it wasn't."
Tom didn't answer this he just turned around and called "Andy!"
Andy came rushing to the front, his blonde hair a mess. "Hey." He grinned when he saw me.
I suddenly felt very awkward; what could I say to him? "Do you ever brush your hair?" I managed.
"Maybe… so what's up?"
I froze. I hadn't thought this through, at all. What could I say? "Um it's nothing, sorry I came." I turned.
"Hey, wait," Andy said. "I thought we didn't keep secrets."
"Well…" I said, here goes. "That's just the thing, I thought so too."
"What?" Andy looked confused.
I pulled the folded paper from my pocket. "Look," I said. "I know you're busy, so I'll cut straight to the chase. I found this." I held out the square to Andy as his grandmother had done to me only minutes before.
"What's this?" he asked.
"Look." I told him. He did and as he read through it he froze.
"Gem, I never-
"What you never told me?"
"Well-
"Why, Andrew? I thought we were friends."
"We are." Andy said, he knew I only called him Andrew when I was upset with him.
"It's just like you said, Andrew, friends don't keep secrets." I said icily as I stepped out of the shop, the bell chiming behind me.
I started to cry and then I heard Andy's voice behind me. "Wait, Gem, I can explain."
"I don't want to know." I said.
"But… don't leave."
I turned around to face Andy. He was closer than I thought; right in front of me. "Why?" I asked. "Give me one good reason."
"I love you… is that good enough."
This hit me very hard and very suddenly. It was all too much, I broke down crying. Andy put his arms around me. "Hey," he said "It's okay."
"That's just it though," I choked. "It isn't."
"Let's go inside." Andy told me "Where it's warmer."