I was in a room; a white room that is. One table sat in the center of the room with two chairs facing each other from opposite sides. That's all there was; a white room, with a table, and two chairs, and then there was me. I occupied one of those cold, hard chairs.
My hands were trembling, but the room was not cold. No, I was trembling with fear and shock at what I had just witnessed. Stuff a sixteen year old should never see. A sixteen year old should never have to go through this. I'm too young.
Blood caked my hair and clothes, fresh blood. The blood was not my own, though I wish it were. I should be the one dead. I should be sitting there in the fiery wreck with my neck snapped and he should be the one walking. He's the one that deserves to live. Not me.
The door behind me creaked open softly. I did not turn; I sat looking straight ahead unfazed. Quietly, the figure walked across the room, shoes squeaking as he went. Without saying a word, he pulled out the chair across from me, set his coffee cup on the table, and sat down.
I didn't make eye contact. Why should I? Eye contact would be detrimental to me. I'd break down, I know I would. I'm not ready to be sitting here in this room and talking about what happened. Not yet.
"Ms. Swift you know why I'm here", he spoke very coolly, trying to instill some sort of compassion in his voice.
I never broke eye contact with the wall behind him. The wall was so white, so pure, so invigorating. It makes me want to just breathe, to sit back and talk my cares away. Maybe that's why it's there. Maybe that's why they put me in this room. I refuse to talk I won't say a word to these people. They won't understand; they'll put me in an insane asylum.
"Ms. Swift, I need to know what happened", he asked quizzically as I continued to stare off.
But even as pure as the wall is, it has its emptiness. It feels so void of color, so void of life. It feels like I do inside. Nothing is going to change what happened, what's done is done. I wish I could have him back, I wish we didn't go for that drive. He'd still be here. We'd still be together.
"Ms. Swift?", he asked concerned.
"Taylor…", I mumbled as I continued to have a talk with myself about the pureness and emptiness of white walls.
"I'm sorry. What did you say Ms. Swift?", he asked leaning in.
"Taylor. Call me Taylor", I said as I finally made eye contact with the man. Stocky built he was, he gave the stereotypical police officer vibe. Chunks of sugar from a glazed donut rested in his mustache like a bird to a nest. He even had his piping hot coffee next to him, as if saying it's all ready been a rough night.
"Taylor", he started, "We both know why I'm here."
I nodded. What did he want me to say? That I was locked up in a box as a child and have never seen CSI, Rookie Blue, or some other kind of cop show.
"I need to know what happened out there", he said as he reached across the table and put his hand on mine.
Compassion? Look, I know you want information. But I kind of have this thing about a personal bubble that you just reached your grubby fingers into. I mean sure you're trying to do your job, but at the end of the day are you going to be crying over me because I have the worst story you've ever heard. No? That's what I thought. Please stop touching me.
"I… I…", I stuttered, withdrawing my hands, tears beginning to flow from my eyes.
"Just explain what happened", he whispered, "Everything is going to be fine."
I gazed back to the white walls. Memories quickly came and went, tearing through my head. Flashbacks of the scene began to occur; the singing, the laughing, him. Why did it happen? Why did this happen to me? The beast that attacked, the crash, the blood, his lifeless hand in mine. The officer wouldn't understand if I told him the truth. I'd be locked away like a princess in a tower; locked away in an insane asylum where I'd never see the light of day again. No, I can't tell him.
"Everything is going to be fine", he whispered again as tear filled my eyes.
I dropped my gaze from the white wall down to him and looked deep into his pupils as if searching for something in the recesses of his mind. Scenes began to play again in my head as I looked at the dark black canvass of his eyes.
"Okay", I whispered as the memories engulfed my every thought.
He had just pulled in to pick me up from my house with his shiny red car. Today was our six months if you will, and we had the best night ever planned out.
I stuck my head out the door and waved to him as he turned off the ignition.
"I'll be right out", I yelled from out my front door as he exited his car.
"Gee, I don't know Taylor", he laughed looking down and tapping an invisible watch on his wrist, "You see I'm supposed to see this beautiful girl tonight."
"Cute", I said sarcastically.
"I thought so", he laughed back as he started for the door.
"No, no, no!", I half yelled, half hiccupped at him.
I hate the hiccups. They are the most obnoxious thing on the face of the Earth. One moment I'm fine and the next a lung is popping out of my throat. Honestly, whoever thought of the hiccup was one evil dude.
"Just give me like five minutes, please?", I said smiling and tilting my head.
"Well, I guess for you I can", he smiled back as he leaned against his car.
"Great", I grinned before I ran quickly back inside and into the bathroom.
The mirror is my greatest enemy. I mean seriously, I feel like it always has something new to show me and scoff about. It's always a little zit here, a small rash there, oh and that sunburn you had last week? Yeah, the one that was painful for two days; well it's kind of peeling today. Have a fantabulous day!
At least I didn't have those problems today. No, today I had the impossible challenge of taming my hair. Frizzy to the max it is. Geez, I might as well suffocate myself now with all the hair spray I'm trying to use. Forget you straightener, you always break when I need you the most.
After what seemed like an hour, I got my hair to a "respectable" state. But trust me, I wasn't jumping up and down about it. Definitely not a hair style I recommend for homecoming. At least I have the clothes I want already on. Otherwise, this night might have just been a waste. But at least he's here!
Ugh, I'm just so crazy about him. His name is Hayden Smith, and I think he's absolutely gorgeous. He's just got that right amount of sun on his skin, like he's not a kid that sits in a dark room all the day, but he's also doesn't look like he's suffering from a tanning addiction. On the plus he's strong too. I guess that comes from playing football, I don't think I've ever seen a scrawny football player, unless you go across town to one of the smaller high schools. Heck, I'd even put money that they got girls out there playing. Anyways, my baby Hayden has the most soft hair in the entire world! I'm not even joking. He says he doesn't do anything with it, but I don't believe him. He had to do something, cause he's hair is super soft! Sigh, I wish I could just snuggle up close to him every night and fall asleep to the beating of his heart and his quiet breaths.
I reached the staircase and almost half spontaneously decided to slide down the banister, but I didn't. I could hear people talking downstairs; then there was laughing, lots of laughing.
"That boy better not have left his car", I said to myself as I tried to form and angry face, but couldn't seem to produce it through my smiling. If there's one thing I don't like about Hayden, it's that he gets along too well with my parents. Like seriously, people could walk down the street with my parents, him and me and think that I'm the adopted one out of the bunch. But I guess it's better than having a boyfriend that your dad hates. But adopted isn't much better.
"So where are we going tonight", I heard my father ask from down the hall.
"Hayden and I are going to the lake. You and mom are staying home and keeping each other company", I said as I walked into the room.
"But Hayden was just telling me how he has all that extra room in the back of his car", my dad chuckled.
"Yeah", Hayden piped up with a big grin on his face, "It could be a lot of fun."
"Boy", I said raising an eyebrow and giving him the I'm-going-to-kill-you-later face.
"I'll be real quiet", my dad said, "You won't even know I'm there."
I was about to say something back when my mom yelled from down the hall, "Victor you aren't bothering those kids, are you?"
"No, honey I was just…", he started.
"Yeah, mom he was", I said trying to hide a smile.
"Victor what have I told you!", she yelled.
"We better go", I whispered to Hayden as I locked finger with his.
My mom was still yelling when we passed her going out the front door.
"He wasn't doing anything harmful", Hayden said softly as my mom gave him a skeptical look.
"Honestly, he's cool!", Hayden yelled as I yanked him out the front door, down the sidewalk, and next to his car.
I turned and faced him with a giant grin on my face. It's one of those stupid grins, the one's where it's just pure happiness running through your entire body. Like a kid in a candy shop. I never understood why they used that phrase. Because with every kid in a candy shop, there's a mom preaching good hygiene, dental care and giving them a million and one reasons why they can't have any candy.
"You nearly ripped my arm off", he said sarcastically and tried to get sympathy as he rubbed his shoulder.
"You big baby", I laughed as I leaned up and kissed him.
Little fireworks buzzed in the back of my mind. Sure, I've kissed him before. Heck, I've kissed plenty of guys before, but Hayden's always got that spark. Every time feels like the first time with him.
"Now Taylor", my dad said as he started from the front door.
I quickly pulled away and tried to hide the redness from my face. It's so awkward kissing in front of my parents because I definitely know they're just watching, thinking back to when they were a teenager and well… that's kind of creepy to say the least.
"Just remember to drive safe", my dad said as he stopped at the front of the porch.
"Always will daddy", I smiled back as I climbed in the passenger seat.
"Victor!", I could hear my mother scream.
Sighing, he turned back to the house and yelled, "Coming honey", which made Hayden and I giggle like we were six.
"So off to the lake, beautiful?", Hayden smiled as he turned the key.
"Yes sir", I grinned as I leaned over and kissed him on the cheek.
"Well away we go," he blushed as we back out of the drive.
"So your boyfriend picked you up, right?", the officer asked as we continued to sit face and face from across the table.
"Yeah, Hayden picked me up", I said nodding my head. Boy this guy wasn't the sharpest tool in the shed.
Pulling a pen and notepad out of his pocket, he began to write something.
Yep, I thought to myself as I glared across the table at him. He's already lost interest and is doodling. No cop is actually going to write this stuff down, if you do you have horrible memory. I didn't even give him the detailed explanation of all my memories. Basically, I told him what I have to so I can get by. I have a date, boyfriend picks me up, we head to the lake. Simple right? Not for this officer.
"Alright", he said looking up from his paper, "You can continue."
So there we were, Hayden and I, flying down country roads at night. Sixty, seventy, eighty the gauge went up and up. We didn't have a care in the world, at least we were together. Every now and then a car would fly past us going the other way, and we'd slow down just in case it would be the I'm-so-bored-so-let's-write-a-ticket police officer.
We reached the lake in almost record time. What? You think this is the only time we speed down country roads? As we pulled in with the radio blasting, he reached over rested his arm on my shoulders.
I smiled at him, noticing his warm touch. But something was urging me to look out the window, so I did.
Pulling into a parking spot at the lake, he turned radio down and looked at me and said, "Baby is something wrong?"
Turning back, I said, "It was just nothing. I was just thinking…"
"About?", he said back turning his head.
"You", I smiled as I leaned in and kissed him.
We fell into one of those deep passionate kisses. The ones you dream about, the one's that make your heart skip a beat. I ran my hand through his hair. Guess what? Soft as a teddy bear like I said before. I love Hayden so much; I wish I could just stay like this forever.
After what seemed like forever, we both pulled back and smiled.
"I love you", he whispered as he rubbed his hand on my cheek.
"I…", I started when the entire car shook, groaned, and made a deafening sound.
"What the?", Hayden yelled as it all went silent for a minute, "The heck was that?"
"Hayden", I whispered as I tried to pull him close, "I'm scared."
He was about to say something back when all the windows shattered in the car.
I shrieked and ducked down as far as I could go down in the seats.
"Hang on!", he yelled as he frantically tried to start the car. The engine groaned and sputtered, but it refused to start.
"Damn it, damn it, damn it!", he yelled as he smacked the dashboard.
A tree snapped to the left of us, as a loud growl of an animal was heard.
"Come on!", he yelled as he turned the key again and again.
You could hear it getting closer. It's panting was deep and coarse, the car shook a little with every step.
"Yes!", Hayden screamed as the engine roared to life. But the engine was not the only thing roaring. Whatever that thing was it sounded like it was charging, it sounded like it was coming right for us!
"Hayden!", I screamed as he threw the car in reverse.
The beast rumbled right in front of the hood of the car and narrowly missed us. It was hard to make out what it was. Some kind of bull looking thing I think.
"What the!", I yelled as Hayden squealed the tires and made a race toward the road.
"Why here! Why now!", he yelled as we took a sharp left down the road.
"What's going on!", I screamed frantically as I peered out of the broken back window.
"I'll explain later!", he replied as we took an extremely fast right turn down another road.
Lightning flashed in the sky as a storm brewed overhead. As it flashed, something appeared up ahead in the center of the road. But as quickly as I saw it, it once again became hidden under the cover of darkness.
"Hayden stop!", I yelled at him as I frantically tried to grab the wheel.
"What!", he said smacking my hand away, "What are you trying to do!"
"Ahead!", I screamed as I managed to get another of a push on the wheel and send us barreling left through a field.
A loud, angry roar filled the air as the beast howled with the close encounter with its prey.
"Thanks", Hayden muttered as we raced through cornstalks and ended up on another country road.
"You owe me an explanation", I said gritting me teeth, "What is going on!"
"Alright!", he yelled with a bit of frustration as he began to tug at his pants.
"Are you dropping your pants!", I yelled at him, "Have you gone mad!"
As he finally got a handle on his pants, he removed them to show a pair of hairy legs. Not like, I'm mister macho man with hairy legs, no like animal hairy legs.
"What!", I screamed as I flattened myself against the car door.
"Okay look! I'm a satyr", he yelled as we swerved down another street.
"A what!", I yelled as I frantically tried to unbuckle my seatbelt. I had to get out of this. This was just a bad dream. I had to wake up. Yes, I'm laying in bed right now and everything is fine. My world is still together!
"Greek mythology! Greek mythology!", he yelled, "Remember that class last semester! The one with the Gods and everything!"
"Wait", I said puzzled, "So that means you're half… half goat!"
"Yes!", he bleated as the car groaned and began to slow down.
"Faster!", I yelled, "Why are you stopping!"
"We're out of gas!", he yelled back, slamming on the dashboard, "We're going to have to fight this thing!"
"So you and your boyfriend went down to the lake? Am I correct?", the police officer said as he continued to write stuff down.
Oh my goodness! I just wanted to slam my head onto the table until my brain had the makings of scrambled eggs. Yes we did! Have you not been listening!
"Yes", I replied as I held in my anger.
"Alright", he sighed as he wrote more down, "And did anything seem out of the ordinary then?"
"No, sir", I lied. There's no way I'm telling him about that thing. I'm not insane. I am a normal human being. I am Taylor freaking Swift and I will not be made fun of or told stories about how I went insane and saw stuff. No, this was just a freak accident. That's all.
"And what happened after you were at the lake?", he directed at me as he took a sip from his now cold coffee.
Well…
"I'm not made to fight anything!", I yelled at Hayden as I frantically began to search outside around the car, looking for any incoming attacks.
"Listen to me", he said as he grabbed hold of me, "You're a demigod. Got it? You're a daughter of Aphrodite, Goddess of Love. That isn't your real dad at home, he's a step dad. He's there for your protection. Listen, I was sent to bring you to camp. I was sent to see if you were ready. I waited too long! I let a relationship form, and I became selfish! Now we might die because of me!"
My head was spinning as I tried to wrap my mind around everything. I'm a demigod! What kind of things can I do? What exactly is "camp"? Why didn't he tell me this before? What the heck is chasing me!
"So why are we running?", I looked up, clearly frightened by the events occurring.
"Geez", he yelled as he frantically tried to search the back seat for something, half ignoring my question, "Remember back to that class. Remember that bull creature. Remember what it is."
"The Minotaur?", I asked as my eyes grew wide with shock.
"Yes, found it!", he laughed as he pulled out a guitar and a small vial.
"Hayden!", I yelled, "The Minotaur?"
"Yes!", he yelled back startling me that he had actually listened to my question.
"Is it hunting me?", I said shying back.
"Hunting is an understatement. Stalking a kill is more like it", he smiled grimly.
"How do we kill it?", I asked, surprised at my own blood thirst.
"You kill it with these", he said as he shoved the guitar and vial into my hands, "I have a blade myself."
"What am I supposed to do with this!", I yelled in disgust. How the heck was I supposed to fight something with a guitar!
"You're a daughter of Aphrodite", he replied smugly, "It'll come naturally."
I was about to tell him he was crazy when a long, ravenous roar emitted from about a hundred feet up the road.
"Get out of the car", he said sternly, gritting his teeth.
"But…", I tried to retaliate.
"Now!", he yelled. As he yelled the Minotaur began to charge head on at the car.
Grabbing my stuff, I ditched the car and began to run away. I didn't want to fight this thing. I was cut out for any of this battle stuff. If I run, I'll be safe. I just have to run.
I hadn't made it a hundred feet when I heard the impact, Minotaur on metal. I heard a loud cry, a painful cry… Hayden's painful cry. I didn't dare look back. I knew what I would see behind me. I knew if I looked that I would breakdown, that I would give up. That I would die.
Something flew over head of me, something large enough to make me tumble out of stride and land on my stomach across the pavement. Looking up from my temporary skid, I saw a ball of metal. The Minotaur had laid waste to the car, leaving dents galore across the sides. But I hadn't seen the worst yet. No, I it was only when I looked to the pavement next to the car that I saw my boyfriend, bleeding… dying.
"So you're telling me it was just a deer crash, Taylor?", the officer said as he set down his pad of paper, satisfied.
"Yes sir", I said as my face dropped with a sullen look.
"Alright ma'am, you can go home now", he said standing up and walking to the door.
I didn't move; I sat still as tears began to form in my eyes. I miss him dearly already.
My parents came in, they helped me up and took me to the car. They didn't say anything to me, no comforting words, no sympathy. But that's okay, I didn't want them. Nothing they would say would make him come back. Nothing they say could undo the pain. He was gone. It's so hard to wrap my mind around never seeing him again. I'd give anything for him to be back.
We arrived home, still under silence, nobody said a word or made a move to say something. I ran from the car, ran as if it was the only thing left I could do. I raced all the way up to my room and flung myself onto my bed in a sobbing fit.
My parents let me be, they let me cry my heart out. Maybe that was for the better. I didn't have to say anything I would regret, how I wish they were gone and he was back. No, they saved me at that.
My tears didn't stop until my eyes reached the sight of the guitar leaning up against my closet door. Funny that's not where I left it, I left it broken on the side of road. But here it was, intact, with a note.
Cautiously, I walked over and picked up the guitar and laid it on my bed. Then it was time for the note. Carefully, I stooped down to pick it up and read it. Tears filled my eyes at the sight of it. On the note was written…
I held Hayden's hand close to my heart as he lay dying next to his once shiny red car.
"I can still save you", I whispered to him as my shaking hands tried to find the vial in my pocket.
"No", he whispered weakly, "Even with that, my wounds are too deep. Save it and drink it if you kill that thing."
"But nobody will ever believe what happened here without you! They'll think I'm crazy!", I said as I began to cry.
"Blame it on a deer", he smiled, "Police won't know the difference through the Mist."
"Don't go", I cried as I could hear the Minotaur getting ready to charge again behind me, "I need you."
"No", he smiled back with a heavenly smile, "It was I who need you. You're the strong one. You'll be okay."
Then with one last breath, he was gone.
Anger filled by body as I could hear the Minotaur beginning to bear down on me. I would kill this beast. It will not get it's satisfaction in another kill.
Sidestepping, his charge missed me completely as he went barreling by.
"Hayden says that I can use this guitar to kill you", I said wielding my guitar as the Minotaur rightened himself, "So let's see what I can do."
I charged the beast. I was exactly confident in myself to say the least. I mean Hayden had a knife on him, a sharp, pointy object that could cut through this ugly guy. Me? I have a big wooden guitar, an object used for playing music and not necessarily deemed as a powerhouse weapon.
But with any luck, I managed to send a crippling blow to his side as I swung the guitar madly around my head.
Groaning, but not faltering, the Minotaur smacked me with his massive head sending me flying across the field, charging after me after the impact.
I got back to my feet and planted them firmly in the ground as he began to charge at me.
"Come on", I said gritting my teeth, wield my guitar by the neck like a two-handed sword.
He was about ten feet away when I took a massive backswing over my head, and plowed the guitar through his cranium with a crippling blow. The Minotaur faltered as the wounding blow took a toll on his body. As I marveled at my handiwork, I realized my blow had come with a cost. The guitar Hayden had given me was now utterly destroyed, almost like a pile of toothpicks now.
The Minotaur struggled to get to his feet to attack again, but I didn't let him. Swiftly, I pulled the dagger I had secretly taken from Hayden's body and plunged it deep into the Minotaur's chest, turning the blade for good measure so it could not be removed.
With a howl, the Minotaur began to disintegrate until he was nothing more than a pile of dust.
Staggering back to Hayden's body, I began to cry. How was I supposed to go on without him? How was I supposed to survive? He's been my everything for a long time. You can't just expect me to pick up life without him.
As he instructed I drank the nectar, but not even the warm buzz it gave me could soften the cold, harsh reality that my boyfriend and best friend was gone.
I sat there crying, holding his lifeless hands until the police came. I guess someone heard the crash.
Heavy hands rested on my shoulder as they carried me away from him. Goodbye my love, goodbye Hayden.
Putting the note at my side, I smiled weakly and began to strum the guitar I had laid on my bed. I didn't know how to play; I didn't know what I was going to sing. But just like a fish just knows how to swim, I just knew what to do.
Strumming softly as I made beautiful chords, I began to sing. I began to sing like I had never had before, and it was beautiful. As tears began to fill my eyes, a song left my lips that had formed deep in my heart.
I was riding shotgun with my hair undone
In the front seat of his car
He's got a one-hand feel on the steering wheel
The other on my heart
I look around turn the radio down
He says, "Baby is something wrong?"
I say, "Nothing I was just thinking
How we don't have a song." And he says
Our song is the slamming screen door
Sneakin'out late, tapping on your window
When were on the phone and you talk real slow
'Cause it's late and your mama don't know
Our song is the way you laugh
The first date man, I didn't kiss her and I should have
And when I got home, 'fore I said amen
Asking God if He could play it again
I was walking up the front porch steps
After everything that day
Had gone all wrong or been trampled on
And lost and thrown away
Got to the hallway, well, on my way
To my lovin bed
I almost didn't notice all the roses
And the note that said
Our song is the slamming screen door
Sneakin' out late, tapping on your window
When we're on the phone and you talk real slow
'Cause it's late and your mama don't know
Our song is the way you laugh
The first date man, I didn't kiss her and I should have
And when I got home, 'fore I said amen
Asking God if He could play it again
I've heard every album, listened to the radio
Waited for something to come along
That was as good as our song
'Cause our song is the slamming screen door
Sneakin' out late, tapping on his window
When we're on the phone and he talks real slow
'Cause it's late and his mama don't know
Our song is the way he laughs
The first date man, I didn't kiss him and I should have
And when I got home, 'fore I said amen
Asking God if He could play it again
Play it again, oh, yeah, oh, oh yeah
I was riding shotgun with my hair undone
In the front seat of his car
I grabbed a pen and an old napkin
And I wrote down our song…
As I finished I look over at the note one last time, I smiled quietly to myself. On the note it read:
Remember Taylor. Music is the most beautiful thing on this planet. Music is a language that everyone in the world understands. It can cure an aking heart, it can cure a loss, it can cure loneliness. With it you can find happiness in the darkness moments. Music is your greatest weapon Taylor. I'll always be with you Taylor, no matter what.
Forever and Always,
Hayden
Smiling, I strummed my guitar one more time. This was my purpose. This was the ending to my song. No, scratch that. This was the beginning of my song. This was the beginning to Hayden and my song. This was the start… to Our Song.
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Author's Note: Please recognize that by using PJO and Taylor Swift in my story that I do not claim ownership or claim to the rights to either person's. Any of their work shown is credit to their sole work. However, original characters and storyline do come from the time and hard work that I put in, and are mine. Thank you for your time and don't forget to…. Review!