(A/N: This is the sequel to 'Nocturne'. And, again, it features a character death. This is the second in a series I like to call "Farewell". And, yes. I will be doing these for a little while. I did one for Jamie, now it's Coop's turn. Rated PG-13 for suicide and a few choice words Coop uses.
And, yes. I am on a major angst streak right now. ::sniffle:: I doubt I'm going to do one with Goat... unless something really weird makes me change my mind.
Disclaimer: I don't own MEGAS XLR. Nor do I own Whiskey Lullaby by Brad Paisley and Alison Krauss, which inspired this fic. Mainly, it's focused on the chorus:
"She put him out like the burnin' end of a midnight cigarette
She broke his heart he spent his whole life tryin' to forget
We watched him drink his pain away a little at a time
But he never could get drunk enough to get her off his mind
Until the night
He put that bottle to his head and pulled the trigger
And finally drank away her memory
Life is short but this time it was bigger
Than the strength he had to get up off his knees
We found him with his face down in the pillow
With a note that said I'll love her till I die
And when we buried him beneath the willow
The angels sang a whiskey lullaby" -Alison Krauss/Brad Paisley-
And the breaks in the POV's are from the song, sung as a lullaby.
Summary: Coop spent his whole life trying to forget what happened. ::cue guitar cords from the actual song:: )
Whiskey Lullaby
He sat quietly in his usual corner booth, with three bottles of whiskey and an ashtray full of smothered cigarettes, once-alert brown eyes downcast and glazed, almost as if he hadn't anything left to live for. The bartender knew him by face, but not by name. And that was fine for this has-been.
He took another swig of the bitter-tasting brown liquor, not even feeling the burn as it traveled a well-worn path down his trachea and into his stomach. He lit another cigarette off of the burning end of the current one before stubbing the old one out and replacing it with the new one.
The bartender shook his head with a sigh, walking over to the miserable occupant with a kind smile. "It's almost closing time, sir."
"I'know," he slurred, the words barely comprehensible, even to the old man who'd run this bar for the past fifteen years. And so, rising slowly, he stumbled his way out of the warmth of the bar and into the chilly night air, his mind lost in a turmoil of thoughts once again.
Try as he may, he'd never been able to forget. No matter how drunk he got, it stayed in his mind as fresh as if it had happened yesterday.
So much pain and devastation, brought about in a matter of hours that had felt like mere moments to him. He stumbled and nearly fell, but managed to brace himself against a brick wall, taking a swig out of the flask he'd taken to carrying in his hip-pocket.
('La la la la la la')
I watched him stumble, tears in my eyes, even though there was nothing I could do about it. Every time I tried to reach out to him, my hand just slipped right through him. I couldn't comfort him. I couldn't even try to help him.
"Jamie, there's nothing you could do," her voice whispered as a pair of arms wrapped around me from behind, Galetea pressing against my back, kissing my shoulder gently.
"I shouldn't have left him," I whispered back, pulling away.
(La la la la la la la)
He'd managed to drag himself back home, curled up on his bed, and nursed down another bottle of whiskey, tears streaming down his face.
"Damn you, Jamie. Why'd you have to die?" He cried out in an agonized voice, stuffing his face into the pillow for a second to muffle his sobs.
(La la la la la la la)
I felt incredibly guilty, but, like every time before this, I couldn't stop myself from following him home.
"Jamie, there's nothing you can do." She whispered against my ear, sweetly.
"I know, Gallie," I replied, my eyes beginning to water as Coop cursed out loud, knowing that I was the one who had put him there.
Galetea just wrapped her arms around me and buried her face in my neck.
(La la la la la la la)
He lifted his head, tears still falling from his eyes, before a strange calm overtook him. His eyes, still glazed, seemed to take on a life of their own as the blonde stumbled from his room, down the stairs (which took quite a bit of effort. And he could swear someone had been there with him... to catch him...), and into the basement.
His hand shook, mainly from the sheer amounts of whiskey in his bloodstream, as he pulled out the drawer.
(La la la la la la la)
I couldn't explain it, but, in that instant, I knew what he was going to do. I tried to reach out again...
"Jamie. You know we cannot interfere with the life of mortals," Galetea's voice rang out clear, making me shiver again.
"Gallie... I have to help him. He shouldn't have to die!" I reached out again, and was intercepted by her hand.
"He is too close to this realm, Jamie. If you touch him now, he will know you are close," her beautiful cerulean eyes met mine, and I could see a few crystalline tears in them.
And I knew. I knew it was too late to stop him, even if I had done something.
So I sat down to watch and wait. After all... someone had to be there for him.
(La la la la la la la)
He lifted the cold, lifeless piece of metal from the drawer, smiling at it's weight with an almost insane quality.
He cocked it, and lifted the smooth, cold barrel to his right temple.
Would it hurt?
Yeah, probably for the split second before he went to the other side...
And, taking a deep breath, he squeezed the trigger. And, it hurt like hell, but he still forced himself to stand, coughing and managing to fall face-down in the pillow.
(La la la la la la la)
"Where am I?" He looked bewildered, and I flashed my most welcoming smile before crossing the short distance to wrap my arms around my shattered best friend.
"You're with me now, Coop. It's all over now," I whispered, feeling my friend quiver, then start to sob into my shoulder heavily.
"Jamie... it's really you?" Tear-filled eyes lifted to mine, and I gave a small smirk before tapping my fist against his lightly, spurring him into a quick hand sign with me before he broke down on my shoulder again.
"Coop... it's okay. You'll never lose me again, I promise..."
The only sound that remained was his heart-wrenching sobs.
(La la la la la la la)
The funeral was even harder than mine had been, I realized. Even though Coop was by my side currently, it was still hard for me to watch them lower the casket into the cold, hard ground near my own grave, only his was beneath the willow tree. Not surprising, Kiva had remained at my grave to say a final good-bye with tears in her emerald eyes, holding a futuristic salute.
She couldn't know what we knew.
She couldn't know that she was next.
(::sniffle:: Wow. Story two of the 'Farewell' series is complete. It's Kiva's turn next...
Gawd, these stories are heart-breaking, but, once you read the sequel series to 'Farewell', I hope everyone will be happier.
-SnowChaser-)