Sing Me a Song Chapter 1, a labyrinth fanfic

Sarah walked out, the lights glaring into her eyes. She was all calm and grace, prowling like a tigress. This was her domain. This was her spot. On stage, with a guitar in her hands, baring her soul to an audience every night to pay her bills. This is where she wasn't 25 year old Sarah Williams, the girl who had lost her father and step mother in a car accident when she was 18. This wasn't Sarah Williams who had to stress over whether she could feed her 12 year old brother with the wages she made working two jobs. She was just Sarah, sitting on a lone stool on a small stage tearing into her sets with a passion that could be mistaken for anger if her voice hadn't been like the call of a siren, soothing those who heard her and dragging them under to drown in the warm alto vibrations at the same time. She smoothed her mini skirt as she took a seat.

As soon as she sat, the audience went dead silent, attentive. Sarah settled herself on the stool and just gazed into the spotlight. Then her voice crawled up from her throat and slithered through the audience.

"You're in my head
You're in my brain
You're in my blood
As it is running through my veins
Now I will never be the same

You're in my bed
You're in my sheets
You're in my dreams
But I will never be complete
If you can't give me what I need

I want your love
Are you willing to give me time?
I want your heart
Do you want mine?
I'll bear my soul
Why would you turn away?"
--

The blond man sitting in the back lifted an arched eyebrow.

"Well really, how quaint." he whispered bitterly while listening on.

--
"You're in my way
You're in my face
Clouding my day
You've got me waiting for your calls
Maybe you want to see me crawl

Don't make me beg
Throw me a bone
Give me a clue
Maybe you'd like to see me go
I wish you'd let me know

I want your love
Are you willing to give me time?
I want your heart
Do you want mine?
I'll bear my soul
Why would you turn away?

Why would you turn away?
Why would you turn away?
Don't turn away.…"

No one noticed a tear slide down her face.

An hour later, after the set (and the encore) were well and done, Sarah slinked backstage to grab her purse. She grabbed a baby wipe and attempted to scrape the heavy make-up off of her face, only managing to smear the eyeliner to give her a smokey eyed look.

"Whatever." she grumbled as she snatched her things up and hustled to the door.

She kept expecting him to show up. She knew the signs. Her palms were sweating and the back of her neck was tingling. Why though? All those years ago…no, Sarah wouldn't think about that right now. She had done what was right. She had gotten Toby, she had defeated the Labyrinth, she had won the game.

She jumped into her car and drove home. California looked beautiful at night. Santa Cruz was a dream. After the accident, she wanted nothing to do with Connecticut. She wanted warm, friendly anonymity in a city where people come and go. She wanted sun and sand and saltwater. She was happy.

Sarah climbed the three flights of stairs to get to the apartment her and Toby shared. It wasn't giant, but it wasn't small either. It overlooked the pier, so at night you could see everything lit up. The first thing Sarah was going to do when she got in was take off her damn boots. Sure, they looked great on her, but they wre not made for waitress work. She slid the key into the keyhole and turned the doorknob. The first thing she saw in the dim light was the babysitter bleeding on the floor.