Liv yawned and stretched carefully. She couldn't remember the last time she had slept so well. She was warm and cozy. The sun was shining through the windows and she could hear birdsong floating on the early morning air. She turned over with a smile, only to find an empty pillow next to her. Panic shot through her for just a second before she realised she could also hear the sound of an acoustic guitar being strummed softly in the next room.
She smiled, pulled a black button-up shirt from Lowell's drawer, and walked out into the living room. Lowell grinned at her, his eyes dragging up and down her form but he didn't stop playing. Liv sat down on his couch, her legs drawn up underneath her and her cheek resting on the arm rest. She closed her eyes and listened to the song he was playing. She had never heard him play like this. He usually sounded a little out of place on the acoustic, like he should be rocking out on the electric while screaming fans headbanged in the audience. This was smooth and sweet. Instead of strumming, he was plucking strings with his fingers and the intricate melody would have been equally at home on a harp. She listened, smiling, letting the sound wash over her in a wave. She was still a little drowsy and found herself dozing.
It took a little while for her to realize he had stopped. She opened her eyes again to see the guitar on a stand at his side and him, just watching her sleep. She looked down and realized he had covered her in a fuzzy, crocheted afghan.
"This doesn't really seem like your style," she blushed at his gaze and looked down, playing with one of the tassels.
"My grandmother made it. She raised me after my parents died and she gave it to me before I went on tour. It was the last gift she gave me before she died. I think she would have really liked you and would have been ecstatic to see it wrapped around the woman I love," Lowell grinned.
"Lowell, I…" Liv began, "what song were you playing? I thought I'd heard all the ones from your new album."
"This is a new one; I'm calling it 'Live.'
"After me? Or that thing we don't do anymore?" Liv smiled.
"A little bit of both. I don't know if you realise quite how thoroughly you have changed my life. This is about that change and who you are and who I'm becoming," Lowell looked down at his hands before picking up his guitar again. He didn't start playing again right away.
"Well, how is the writing process going?"
"Not very well, I'm afraid. I'm finding that there are really no words," Lowell resumed playing, fingers caressing the fret board.
"None at all?" Liv teased gently. "You're the one with all the pretty speeches."
"It just all sounds terribly cheesy. Listen." He strummed what she assumed must be the intro and started singing, "Oh Liv, you make me want to live."
Liv chucked a cushion at his head. "Those are not your lyrics!"
"You do realize that my newest hit single is about pocket dialling my ex while making out with my new girlfriend. Cheesy is what sells my records."
"Come on, Lowell, I know you have the heart of a poet beating somewhere in there."
"Well yes, but it beats rather slowly," he smoothly paused his playing to toss the pillow back at her.
"Just let me hear it," she begged. "I'm sure it's perfect."
Lowell smiled at her again. "Alright, but you have to remember, you asked for it."
I know the sound of loneliness
and the taste of winter.
I've felt the touch of sadness
and seen life lose its colour.
I've been standing on the outside
watching life go by
And I never dared to think
it would let me come inside.
But now I've found the girl,
the one who holds the key
She's opened up the door
to bring back life to me.
Liv
Just be the vibrant centre
of a world that's lost its flavour.
And be the breath of life
to a joy I can't remember.
I never thought I'd be alive again.
Lowell played a few more bars before ending the song. Liv looked at him, in tears and barely breathing.
"It needs some work. Maybe another verse. I could definitely write a bridge. And is the hook really hooky enough?" Lowell started rambling, setting his guitar back on the stand and refusing to look at Liv, afraid to see her reaction.
Liv sat down on his lap and stopped his words with a kiss. "It's perfect. You're perfect."
Lowell shook his head, "It's not enough. I can't say what you really mean to me. You saved my life, and not just tonight. You saved me the first time I saw you in the forest and every day since then just by being here, just by being you. And to think I thought I could communicate it with such a poor vehicle as this song."
Liv kissed him again. "It doesn't matter if the words aren't right. I know what they mean because it's in my heart too. At the very least, we saved each other."
Lowell buried his face in her neck and held her close.
Liv leaned back and tugged his chin up until his eyes met hers. "I didn't tell you this before but I should have. My heart was screaming it when I thought you were dead. I was worried I missed my chance." She kissed him one more time, savoring the taste of him, reveling in the soft scratch of stubble on her cheeks. "Lowell Tracey, I love you too."
