Why Don't You Stay?
-1-
"What d'ya got for me, girl?" Tommy asked with a small smile as he rolled in his chair so that he was facing the blonde seated on the couch.
She was staring at her clasped hands resting on her lap, unable to raise her eyes any higher.
"I... I finished something today..." she managed to force from her tight throat, "I've been working on it for a little while now..."
"Well, let's hear it!" he replied as Kwest re-entered the room carrying a mug of coffee.
Jude nodded with a sad determination in her eyes as she slowly rose and crossed into the room on the other side of the glass.
She didn't look quite like herself lately, and everyone noticed. She weaker, more worn, and even appeared older somehow. They all knew she was hurting, but each one was too afraid to question why. They'd seen her in pain, but this was a darker, deeper sort of hurt, and they didn't know what could push her over the edge... So instead of taking that risk, they just used fake smiles, falsely cheery words, and treats to try and help as best they could.
"Could I, um..." she spoke up, her voice quiet and shaky, and not at all like Jude, "Could... Could Spied play the music for me?"
"Course, whatever you want, girl..." Tommy replied with a sweet smile, and nodded to Kwest, who then stood and crossed to the other side of the room.
"Spied!" he called as his eyes found the blonde musician sitting in the lobby, "We need you in here a sec..."
Jude still wouldn't meet Tommy's eyes as she tried to mentally calm herself and hold onto her nerve so that she didn't chicken out again.
"I have to do this..." she repeated to herself silently.
"Dude...?" Spied's voice finally penetrated her thoughts, and she noticed his presence beside her for the first time, "Ready when you are... Got the chords?"
"Yeah, sorry..." she replied, putting some pages on the stand in front of him.
She played the intro to give him a feel for it and let the tabs do the rest.
"Okay..." she said, taking a deep breath before nodding to the two men staring back at her through the glass.
She saw Tommy's fingers count away for them and then felt the music wash over her, along with a huge surge of emotion, as Spied began to play her music to her song which would change her entire life within minutes.
"I've been sitting here staring
At the clock on the wall
And I've been laying here praying,
Praying she won't call
It's just another call from home,
And you'll get it and be gone,
And I'll be crying," her voice rang out, clear and strong for the first time in days, filling both rooms with the powerful and emotional sound emitting from her small form.
Then she saw it, something that she didn't want to happen. A woman entered the studio, crossing to Tommy, but stopping a few feet behind him to listen while she sang.
Jude's eyes darted away, desperately trying to avoid the eyes of the on-lookers as her voice shook a little with her next words.
"And I'll be begging you, baby
Beg you not to leave
But I'll be left here waiting
With my heart on my sleeve
Oh, for the next time we'll be here
Seems like a million years,
And I think I'm dying
What do I have to do to make you see?
She can't love you like me..."
Then her eyes unwillingly locked with his, and neither could break their sudden connection, so Jude just continued singing with all the feeling she had in her.
"Why don't you stay?
I'm down on my knees
I'm so tired of being lonely
Don't I give you what you need?
When she calls you to go
There is one thing you should know,
We don't have to live this way...
Baby, why don't you stay?"
As she felt her voice giving out, she looked away, unable to handle his piercing stare any longer. Her voice became stronger, after a moment, and she knew she had to finish the song or it meant nothing, so she took another deep but shaky breath before returning to the mic.
"You keep telling me, baby
There will come a time
When you will leave her arms
And forever be in mine,
But I don't think that's the truth,
And I don't like being used, and I'm tired of waiting...
It's too much pain to have to bear,
To love a man you have to share..."
The chorus rang out into the room again, and everyone could feel the pain in her words as understanding set in. In that moment, no one questioned why she was hurting. It was made very clear as she was forcing her words to come out and trying with all of her will to keep the tears that fell down her cheeks under control. Kwest's eyes finally broke from her to look at Tommy, who never took his gaze off of her as unshed tears formed in his eyes. As she saw the sadness on his face, Jude's voice became desperate and heart wrenching, and Kwest's eyes were also forced back to her by the sound of her voice.
"I can't take it any longer,
But my will is getting stronger,
And I think I know just what I have to do...
I can't waste another minute
After all that I've put in it...
I've given you my best,
Why does she get the best of you?"
Her voice broke as the instrumental break began, and she quickly wiped the tears that were falling, hating that people were seeing her like this.
"So next time you find you wanna leave her bed for mine..."
Jude sang quietly, and then paused, biting her lip, before she continued into the chorus again, her voice still quiet but with a lot of feeling as she sang her desperate plea.
"Why don't you stay?
I'm up off my knees
I'm so tired of being lonely
You can't give me what I need
When she begs you not to go
There is one thing you should know...
I don't have to live this way..."
She broke again, only this time, her tears won, and she sobbed quietly for a moment.
"Baby, why don't you stay..?"
She managed to force the last line out in a soft and weak sob that was barely over a whisper, and then the broken singer took in a deep, wiping the tears from her cheeks quickly, feeling their eyes on her and remembering where she was.
"Oh my god..." a small voice chocked out from the back of the room.
"Sadie," Tommy said in panic as he whipped around in his chair.
Her eyes were locked on Jude; a mixture of pain, sympathy, despair, and shock on her face. She let herself drop onto the couch, suddenly feeling overwhelmed.
All the color had left her face as she watched her pale, lost, and frail baby sister practically weep into the microphone. She began to also cry as she realized that she had gotten alarmingly thin.
"How did I not notice?" the older sister asked herself silently, "What happened... I used to know everything that she was feeling..."
Sadie's thoughts were suddenly interrupted by a voice that sent a rush of hatred that consumed her entire body and pain that made her feel as if she were drowning in it.
"Sadie, I..."
"How long?" she bit out, as her eyes slowly moved from the ground up to meet the eyes of the man who was kneeling down in front of her.
There was a deep look on anger and sadness in her eyes that he'd never seen in her before, and he couldn't see it any more.
"...Three months..." he whispered, as his eyes fell onto the ground below.
"Oh god," she sobbed out, her hand flying up to cover her face.
"I'm sorry..." a small voice whimpered, and Sadie's eyes shot up to the girl standing behind Tommy.
The girl she'd always seen as so strong, so together, so happy. She hardly recognized her as Jude as this new, wrecked girl repeat the statement again sorrowfully... desperately.
"Jude..." Sadie sobbed out, wanting to grab her baby sister and just cling to her with all the might she could muster, but she found herself frozen in her seat as she watched her rush out of the room.
"Jude!" Tommy's voice called out.
He stood, cradling his head in his hands, feeling lost and torn as he began to pace the room frantically, not knowing what to do.
"Sadie, I'm sorry..." he said sincerely, letting his hands fall to his sides. He opened his mouth again but his words were lost.
"I'm so sorry..." he repeated, tearing the cracked door open and running through it.
Author's note:
In this chapter I used a song by Sugarland called "Stay" which does not belong to me in any way, and neither do the characters in the story. Only the actually story line and dialogue are mine.
Also, this story will be a two-shot only. Sorry, but when I got the idea for this, I saw it as only being so long, and that, along with the fact that I'm currently writing three fanfictions and an original novel, has made it so that I have to keep it that way. But I hope you like it nonetheless!
-SF