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My warm hands glide against the smooth ivory and ebony keys of the baby grand piano they have in the old schools auditorium. I have a smile playing at my lips as the song continues, it’s echo filling me with excitement. The sound a piano makes is something that invigorates me through my fingertips, down my chest to my toes. It spreads everywhere like a disease. It’s like a drug, addicting beyond belief where you think that even a minute without it is suicide. My eyes skim the music, but are glued to my hands, making sure to not mess up the beautiful harmony I have held in my long fingers. I stretch my fingers only slightly to play an octave, keeping my fingers in that position to play just a little bit more. I can feel the emotion running through my fingertips like a faucet, water pouring out of it, unable to stop. Sadness, anger, depression, loneliness, somethings that most people are familiar with. I have put my memories into this song, this simple composition and I know it’s soon to come to an end. My smile fades as I play the final chord, it ends in pain, misery, because the end a beautiful song can hold those emotions. My green eyes slide closed as I hold down the damper pedal, though my fingers are still resting on the keys. I can hear the echo, fading rapidly, but if you listen close enough, the notes are still there, still reminiscing in the air until they are forgotten, and slowly they fade.
“Madeline...” He whispers, I can hear him clear across auditorium, though I’m not surprised, I had just been listening intently on those chords I was playing. I open my eyes, revealing the green orbs that rarely hold any emotion but happiness. Now they are flooded with others, the antithesis of said emotion. Tyler is standing at the doors, a barely noticeable smile on his elongated features. I place my shivering fingers on the bench, willing myself to turn around and face him fully. He is taking quick steps now, up to the stage, his eyes on his shoes as if he’s making sure he doesn’t fall.
He makes it in front of me, his chest heaving up and down from the run he had just done. Our auditorium is the largest in the school district so I’m not surprised. I give a weak smile before turning my gaze down, hoping he doesn’t notice the amount of emotions I am holding within. He gets it though, hell, he has known me for more then ten years. I feel his warm hands on my shoulder and I look up at him, as if speaking with my eyes. I can feel tears brimming them, and I refuse to let him see me cry. I turn my body back to the piano, almost hoping it will give me advice, maybe it will talk for me?
He knows what has happened and his arms wrap around me in a bear hug. I can feel his breath on my neck and I try to make my breaths less shaky, maybe the lack of wavering in my voice will reassure him. But can I even trust myself to speak? What if the air I’m holding in is the last I have left? Speaking can’t be that terrible can it? Trust is something I can’t really do for myself and so the silence consumes us. I don’t mind it though, it’s nice, nothing compared to the sound of a piano. I want to turn around and hug him tightly, but this is something I can not do, my muscles are frozen in place, arms at my side.
“I figured you would be here.” I hadn’t seen Tyler for two years ever since he joined the army. I hadn’t heard from him in a year. What was he doing here? I wanted to ask him how he had been, but I was too caught up in my thoughts to do so.
The crash... the back of my mind was like a broken record, replaying this thought over and over. Sometimes the word, “alone” would enter my mind and I would force it out, though it was almost so real I could physically feel the stab of loneliness.
“I’m sorry about your family...” He whispered in my ear, his breath tickling my neck. I could feel him moving closer his hands dipping lower now wrapping around my own pail arms. Oh my dear family, now all six feet under, each with a memory of one of their favorite things from me. They had gotten in a crash with a semi-truck on an icy road. They were on a mountain and it took several days to find their body... and where was I? I was sleeping cozy in my room without a care while the snow fell and the icy roads caused the death of my mother, father, and my twin brothers, Henry, and Mike. I let out a sigh as I played with the fabric of my black high waisted skirt, it’s soft and smooth, something that gives me happiness beyond all belief on any day. All except for this day, January 18th, my birthday. It has been a year since they were taken away.
I feel Tyler’s hands slipping further down my skin, now grabbing my hands. I let my eyes slip closed for the second time today, he always knew how to make me feel better, even if it was just a touch. I felt his thumb rub against the top of my hand, as if this was my own security blanket. I was surprised he was already so comfortable with me though we hadn’t talked in so long, but the friendship we had before was something unreal, something you only read stories about.
He pulled on my hand, tempting me to stand. I did so, meeting him once I extended my legs fully. He hadn’t changed, except for now instead of his shaggy hair he had before, he had a buzz cut, that I had to admit, looked very nice on him. He was not fully built, like a body builder, but he wasn’t lanky either. He had those dark brown eyes that complimented his tan, though once pail skin. All in all he had changed, he had grown into his face, and now looked more like a man, not the boy I had once knew. He occupied his one of his hands with my fingers, and the other with my dark brown locks of hair. He twirled my long hair around his finger, a faint smile on his face. I used to have short hair, cut right at the shoulder, never managing to do something with it, and now it was grown out and had curls and waves, something I didn’t much mind.
Slipping the hand that had been playing with my hair around my waist, he pulled me up against him, swaying slowly to an imaginary beat. I leaned my head on his chest, where I could hear his heartbeat, which was a lot faster then I suspected. I put an arm around his neck and swayed with him, tears slipping slowly down my cheek and onto his t-shirt. We stayed like this for a while, just listening to the silence and each others footsteps.
We stopped the swaying after a while, just caught up in the embrace, the sharing of feelings. He had his hands in my hair, smoothing it down with his palms and his fingers tracing through it like a brush. It was nice though, just to be there with him, sharing the silence.
He leaned his head low, distracting me from my thoughts, “I’ve missed you so much...” he said in a low and quiet voice. I nodded my head slowly, understanding his words.
“So have I...” I muttered into his warm and welcoming chest.
“How’s Larry doing?” Larry, my cat with seven toes on each of his front two paws. He was a sweetheart, a great cat. He managed to make his way into every conversation I’ve had on the phone with Tyler and my other friend Sophie. I smiled at Tyler, looking up at him fondly.
“Larry is doing his usual, he’s talkative and keeps stealing peanut butter from the cabinets.” I said bluntly. Tyler was beating around the bush, and this was something he used to do all the time. “How long?” I muttered, looking down at our feet now.
Tyler smiled kindly, “A time...” He said a bit too obviously. With a pointed look he managed to rethink his answer, now a more straight and serious look besmirching his face. “I’m here for two weeks, give or take.”
I raised my eyebrows at him and pulled away from him, “You need a place to stay?” I asked, almost hoping he would stay at my apartment, we needed to catch up.
“I’m glad you asked...” He said with much humor in his voice. I smiled up at him before he wrapped me in a hug. “Come on, pretty girl,” I let the pink arise on my cheeks, “I’ll take you home...” he offered and I simply obliged.
 Intoxicated Galaxies · Mon Jan 10, 2011 @ 02:17am · 0 Comments |
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