So who ordered for a sequel? If you haven't read Stolen yet, I strongly recommend that you should first. And then stop. If you already have, welcome back, cricket! :) And if you're still mad at me for the ending, I know cliffhangers could be really infuriating, but I think sometimes they're essential. I didn't write it just to keep you hanging or solely leave an opening for a sequel, but I think cliffhangers are the most epic endings. Ahem, Inception, everybody? But that's a lot better story than mine. LOL.
Here's a glimpse. And yes, Vindicated is another song from Dashboard Confessional. Rated M, just in case.
PROLOGUE: Yellow
Time swiftly passed by until the calendar posted on the kitchen wall reminded that it's already been over a year. The climate changed as the seasons did; life went on for everybody, but the feeling had always been awfully the same, that same feeling of loneliness, heartache, and a slow painful death. It was supposed to heal in time, that's what they all promised. It was supposed to be buried into the new age and to fade away into the numerous demands that the process of moving on had all so required. But just who were they kidding? It's not what Chloe wanted. Moving on wasn't part of any option. She wasn't even trying at all. Truth be, all she ever needed was her dear Beca to come back, hold her again, kiss her again, love her again as if the mighty Phoenix had never even left in the first place.
It's been over a year since Beca Mitchell died in that bomb explosion, Chloe still refused to take it all in that the brunette was indeed forever gone. It was because of that long-stemmed rose – only Beca would have pulled it off, it was the redhead's strongest claim. And it didn't matter when everybody thought she was starting to go insane for even considering that the horrible monster was actually alive because, just in case, even if everybody else happened to be right, and even if her intuition happened to be wrong, Chloe had a little hope to cling on, and it was the closest being to feeling happy that she would ever be since losing the love of her life.
Her new home, a simple house away from her father, was a sanctuary. It was the perfect place to hide and find the solitude she needed. But for the sake of the other's sanity, like Aubrey perhaps who begged her every single day to move on, and like Ronie who sent her text messages in a daily basis as a way of checking in, Chloe would still get out of bed, still attend social gatherings, still practice her cooking skills, and try to live a life as normal as it possibly could (Beca would want that also anyway, right?).
"Look at the stars,
Look how they shine for you,
And everything you do,
Yeah, they were all yellow."
Although sometimes, normal included instances like this – waking up in the middle of the night and impulsively deciding to paint the bedroom walls yellow. A few more rolls, and the place would soon turn into an authentic sunny Yellow Room. Okay, so maybe it wasn't exactly a product of whim when it was the very color, not the dull black, that most reminded her of Beca Mitchell.
"I came along,
I wrote a song for you,
And all the things you do,
And it was called 'Yellow'."
And then Chloe finally decided to lie down on her bed and leisurely enjoy the scenery of the newly-painted walls amidst the dark. She couldn't help but snicker at the brightness of yellow paint striking across her eyes. Oh how Beca would have hated to see what her girlfriend did to the bedroom! The redhead chuckled imagining the irritated reactions she would have gotten until the paradisial tune was slowly being drowned by her gloomy tears as a product of the horrifying realization that it was never going to happen. Not anymore.
"So then I took my turn,
Oh what a thing to have done,
And it was all yellow."
"I miss you," she whispered into the tranquil air and paused. Chloe was seriously waiting for a response, and she would give the mighty Phoenix five reasonable seconds to do so. One... two... three... four... yet nothing, just another string of empty silence unfortunately came for her. "I miss you so much, cricket."
"Your skin,
Oh yeah your skin and bones,
Turn into
Something beautiful,
You know,
You know I love you so,
You know I love you so."
If only Beca was honestly just being a very quiet cricket this very moment, just too tough to say or do anything to make her presence detectible. If only she was actually there instead of her memory, then Chloe would have been holding on to her girlfriend instead of the dead red rose that she had consciously preserved to help her get through the nights and days; she wouldn't have to be crying to sleep again for the millionth time since.
Next time, I promise there will be more. There wasn't supposed to be a prologue, but I just missed writing this story so much I had to do something. Anyways, writing this sequel will be a tremendous challenge for me. I'm going to need your support more than ever, crickets! :)
Song: Yellow - Coldplay
Disclaimer: I don't own Pitch Perfect.