The song I used is called "My Funny Valentine" and it's by Rodgers and Hart.
Chapter 14
Silence Broken
Haru looked back to Griffin with wide, disbelieving eyes.
"You'll… you'll tell me?" She stuttered. Griffin shrugged.
"That is, if you really want to hear… and if you're not too tired… it's kind of a long story." He warned her. She shook her head vigorously for side to side, he ponytails swinging.
"Oh, I'm not too tired! Not at all!" Haru assured him, sitting to face Griffin who was laughing at her reaction.
"Well, ok then. Just warning you, it's no fairy tale. Don't expect it to be all nice and whatnot."
"Oh, no, no!" Haru nodded, attending him respectfully. Griffin sighed and thought back deep into his past.
"Ok… where to start…" He breathed, thinking about what would be a good place to begin. He still couldn't believe he was actually going to tell her after all this time.
"Well, I guess it starts way back when I was just a kid. You remember I lived with my grandfather here in the valley after my parents abandoned me, right?" He reminded Haru who nodded. "Well, I had a lot of time out here doing not too much. My Grandfather would teach me how to tend the bar and all, but I guess I spent a whole lot of my days playing that old guitar. There wasn't much else that could capture my attention, I guess. I used to play that thing all day until my fingers bled… that's how I became so damn good at it." He reminisced, remember his days as a teenager in the bar he still lived in to this day.
"Me and my Grandfather got along fine, too. He treated my just like I was his son instead of grandson, and he always went on about how I would inherit the Blue Bar and keep it up and going after he was dead. It was his dearest dream… him and his father built that bar with their own two hands and my entire family's been tending it since." Griffin explained. He checked Haru's expression. She didn't seem to be bored yet, so he decided to continue.
"Well, anyway, one night when I was about nineteen or so, me and my grandfather got into this huge fight. I didn't want to live out my days in that old bar, and I thought I was good enough to make it on my own as a musician. He told me I didn't have a choice, that it was what I owed him for him raising me and all." Griffin shrugged and thought.
"…He was right too… But I was stupid and young… So I ran off, took some of his money and his guitar and left for the city. Now that I look back on it, it was a terrible thing to do…I'm not proud of it, but what's done is done, I suppose."
Haru nodded somberly. It was good to hear she wasn't passing an judgments, so he felt the confidence to continue. He sighed, trying to remember things clearly.
"So I reached the city to tried to make it big with my old guitar. I spent a year or two wandering about, poor as could be, playing guitar on the street corners and waiting for my dream to find me. It was tough times. But that all changed in the matter of one night… I remember it was snowing…
Griffin walked into a bar, dusting the fresh
powder off his shoulders. The guitar weighed him down as usual. "What a dump…" Griffin said softly to himself as he
shut the door behind him. The lot that were sitting around were
greasy old grumps. Some were grumbling in low voices amongst
themselves. Other busied themselves with stiff games of poker. The
smell of smoke and bourbon was heavy on the air. Griffin took a seat
at the bar, careful not to sit to close to anyone else. "Gimme
a shot of rum." He said softly to the old bartender, sliding him
some coins. It was pretty much all he had… He might as well spend
the snowy night somewhat drunk if he could. "Hey, it's
Valentine!" A voice croaked from behind Griffin. Griffin turned in
spite of himself… he was shocked a woman actually had the guts to
come into a place like this. In the back of the dirty bar was a dusty
old stage. A stunningly beautiful woman with short, glossy black hair
stood upon it, looking unsettled. She had brilliant green eyes and
wore a spangled, crimson dress. The men hooted and hollered in her
direction, but she held fast. Griffin couldn't help but
stare at her. Of all the years of living in the city he had never
once seen a woman so beautiful as this. Some music began to whine out
of a tired old speaker and the woman called Valentine began to sing a
very melancholy, jazzy tune. Griffin was surprised. She looked even
younger than he did, yet she sang with such expertise.
"My
funny Valentine Her voice was just short of
angelic, yet the men in the audience wouldn't stop laughing and
tugging at the ends of her dress. However, she held strong and kept
on singing beautifully. Her face was nervous and worried, yet her
performance was impeccable. Griffin felt his heart clamoring heavily
in his chest.
Sweet comic Valentine
You make me smile with my
heart
Your looks are laughable
Unphotographable
Yet you're
my favorite work of art…"
"Is
your figure less than greek? She finished on the most
beautiful note, but no one clapped. They all hooted and holler and
yelled out obscene things in her direction while Valentine stepped
down quickly and went over to the bartender, looking
scandalized. "Is my shift over yet? I've been singing on
and off for hours." She said exasperated to the bartender. He
looked at her for a moment, then went back to what he was
doing. "Sure, you're done for tonight, sweet cheeks." He
turned away. Valentine opened her mouth with anger. Her lips were
rose red. "Aren't you going to pay me?" She sounded
frantic, "You've been promising me for weeks!" "Tomorrow,
honey. Come back tomorrow." Valentine made a noise of utter
frustration and clamored out of the door. Griffin watched her go with
a little sadness. He sat at the bar for a few moments and
thought. "Hey, are you-" "I'm not a
prostitute, so you can just forget about it, buster!" She screamed
at him. Griffin stumbled and scratched his hair. It fell in a stylish
mess around his chin. "Hey, I didn't say nothing about
that!" Griffin told her, "I just wanted to say… I think you
have a beautiful voice and I don't know what you're doing singin'
in a dump like this." He gestured with his thumb towards the run
down bar. Valentine sized him up with a look and sighed
violently. "It's the only place that'll hire me. A
singer with no band can't get very far in this place, no matter how
good she may be." She explained, "But I might as well head back
and go home. This whole thing doesn't seem to be working out."
She sounded terribly dejected. Griffin stepped a little closer with
caution. "You need a band?" He asked and she nodded
without looking at him. Griffin thought for a moment. "What
kinda name is Valentine, anyway?" He asked in a calm, mild voice.
He didn't want to scare her off. She stared forward with tight
lips. "It's just a stage name. My real name is Anya, but
everyone knows me as Valentine because my signature song is "My
Funny Valentine"… so you should probably just remember it that
way." She explained. Griffin looked her over with a worrisome
glance. "Well, I can play the guitar…" He started,
removing his old white instrument from his back. "Yeah, but
can you play it WELL?" She asked bluntly, finally looking at him,
however skeptically. "Well, you tell me." Griffin poised
himself and played the most skillful solo he could. Valentine's
face grew bright and excited as she listened to him play. After he'd
finished, she clapped. "That was great!! What did you say
your name was?" She questioned him, finally speaking to him with a
note of respect in her voice.
Is you mouth a little weak
When
you open it to speak?
Are you smart?
But don't change a hair
for me
Not if you care for me
Stay, little Valentine
Stay
Each
day is Valentine's day…"
"Griffin the guitarist.
Yeah, it could work."
"I
didn't say… but it's Griffin." He shook her hand. She put a
finger to her lips and thought.
"So just like that is how you
two met one another?" Haru asked, stopping Griffin's words. He
nodded.
"Yeah… it was just like fate stepped in and pushed us together. We spent a few months playing together, me and her. We went from street corners to night clubs and finally got up enough money to get a hotel room at this dive downtown. But for me it was heaven, I tell you. Finally off the streets and I was makin' money with Valentine. Us two became real close friends in those few months. We were always together either playing music, or eating out, or just taking a walk.
Then one day we met another street musician who was really tearing it up on the drums. His name was Lewis. Crazy guy, you could tell... well you have to be insane to lug a drum set around the city... but we introduced ourselves and he seemed keen on joining up with us…besides a drummer isn't must without the rest of the ensemble. He was totally off his rocker, but also really ready to stop living on the streets, so us two eventually became best friends down the line. It was then we knew our band wouldn't be complete until we had a bass guitar, so we put up ads here and there and held auditions for our final member. There was only one guy who really stuck out among them all. He went by the name of Joseph." Griffin's voice became dark and he squinted a bit. Haru tilted her head.
"What was so wrong with him?" She inquired. Griffin looked as if there was a bad taste in his mouth.
"If it weren't for him… well, let's just say he was mixed up in a really bad crowd from the start. His friends were the friends of all the high crime lords in the city and his record wasn't exactly clean either, but man could he play."
"Anyway, with the four of us complete we decided on our name and Marine Jazz was officially born. Valentine would write songs for us to play during the day and we'd play them at clubs and concerts during the evening hours. It was hectic, but we were surviving on a good amount of money. It turned out that the night we got a our big break was also the beginning of the end… well, for me at least."
"Joe was connected to some people who knew a guy called 'Iggy' who was a kind of Jack of all trades in the crime world. He dealed in drugs, illegal weapons, hits on people. He was a real bad guy. So this Iggy came to see one of our shows at some point or another on Joe's recommendation and he really loved it. Or I should say he really loved Valentine…
"Nice job tonight, everyone!"
Valentine cheered as they all retired to the green room. Lewis ran
inside and did a flip onto the couch. "That was a kickass
show!" He said, shaking his wild black hair all over the place. He
gave a hearty high five to Griffin who was sitting nearby. "What
the hell's wrong with you?" Joseph asked Griffin when he noticed
that he wasn't smiling. Griffin shrugged. "Just tired, I
guess." He lied. In truth, he was suffering from his nerves. "I'm
gonna go wash my face." He told everyone and went into the
bathroom. It was dirty and dank inside and several insects scurried
away in fear after the light had been clicked on. He sighed deeply,
his heart leaping. Griffin reached into his pocket, pulled out a tiny
box and flipped it open. Inside there sat a diamond ring, twinkling
in the dim light. It had taken him three years to buy it… he looked
at his reflection in the mirror with the utmost
seriousness. "Valentine, would you…" He choked, even
when it was his own reflection talking to him. "Oh… this is not
gonna work…" He told himself morosely. He put the box back into
his pocket. "No, I promised myself I'd do it tonight. I'm gonna
do it." His reflection nodded at him. He stepped out with
wavering confidence, hoping to whatever higher power there was that
Valentine was in a good mood. "Hey, V. Can I talk to you for
a sec?" He asked her. She was powdering her face and reapplying her
lipstick. "One sec…" She told him, examining her face in
the mirror.
"What's
wrong, Griffy?" She asked without looking back at him. She was
fluttering her eyelashes and posing for herself. Griffin frowned. "I
hate it when you call me that." Valentine swiveled around,
smiling seductively.
"I know." She said shortly.
Lewis
was beating his drumsticks on the air and making odd sounds with his
mouth, while Joseph sat by himself, looking dismal.
"Can we
just talk in the hall for a minute?" He requested again. Valentine
shrugged, looking bothered. She got up anyway and stepped out into
the dirty hall, her white high heels clicking as she went. After
the door was shut behind them and they stood in the dingy darkness of
the backstage hall, Valentine faced him. "What's up?"
She asked, sounding too busy to be bothered. Griffin felt all of his
confidence drain away. "Oh… it's just… Eh… we've
been really good friends for a really long time, right? And I…
Well, I guess I've come to think-" "Cut to the chase,
honey." She was examining her nails. Griffin was frozen. "I…
uh…" His voice was stuck. He reached into his pocket and felt the
box. Valentine raised her eyebrow, waiting for him to say something
impatiently. "Hey, there she is!" A raspy voice called
from the end of the dark hall. Valentine swiveled around as if she
was expecting someone. "Iggy!" She shrieked with
happiness. The tall and greasy Iggy was standing at the back of the
hall. Valentine clopped towards him and hugged him around the neck.
Griffin felt a surge of anger overtake him. "Oh, Griffy, I
forgot! Iggy's taking me out tonight, can we talk later?" She
called down the hall. Griffin nodded, feeling defeated. "Sure…"
He waved at her sadly as she went down the, arm in arm with Iggy,
talking excitedly as she left Griffin with nothing but her
echoes.
"She didn't even hear you out…?" Haru sounded terribly empathetic. Griffin shook his head.
"No… she never came back that night either… She would be gone for weeks at a time after she met Iggy… and each time she came back she'd have a more prestigious gig for us. Soon after that, we were high up on the charts. Not only did we rise in fame, were making good money too."
"Did you ever find the time to propose to her…?" Haru asked. Her voice sounded curiously downbeat when she asked.
"No, I never did. I still have the ring somewhere, in fact. I didn't have the heart to sell it or throw it away. Yeah, I ran out of time with her. It wasn't long after they met that Iggy and Valentine decided to get married and it was after the wedding that she really changed. She started to get mixed up in Iggy's bad life… it started consuming her. "
"I'll never know the full extent of what she did, but I know for a fact it wasn't good. However, we all remained friends through that time and continued to play together. One of our songs was number one on the charts at one time. Yes, in those short years the Valentine I had come to love so much died and this other woman was born. I almost like to think of it that 'Anya' was the one that died and 'Valentine' was the one who killed her. But the love I had for her didn't die. I stayed by her side for years after she married Iggy, hoping that she'd realize she was just digging herself a hole that she'd never be able to come out of. It was sad really, watching her become more and more miserable. I still thought I could save her, I guess… and after all the years we'd spent together, I thought she'd pick me…
Lewis came over and started drumming on top of Joseph's head.
"Give 'em
back!" Lewis bellowed, pushing Griffin over playfully. The two
wrestled for a moment, but Griffin won as usual. "I'll
give them back if you calm down!" He taunted Lewis. "No
way, Bro! I'm WILD, you can't tame me!" Lewis screeched and
stuck out his long tongue, then shook his great head of black and
bleached hair around. "Will you two just shut up already!"
Valentine commanded from where she sat. She had a miserable
expression on her face. They were all spending time in the VIP
lounge at a fancy club called the 'One Eyed-Cat'. It was owned by
one of Iggy's friends and they had planned to spend the night in
the private rooms and play a show the next afternoon at the
club. "Jeez… Valentine, you shouldn't get angry, it
doesn't suit your pretty face!" Lewis taunted, laughing.
Valentine flashed him a blazing green stare and he took a quiet seat
next to Griffin and spread out on the couch. She was humming a
familiar tune. "Ha, you still remember that song?" Griffin
asked her. "It's been years since you last sang it… 'My Funny
Valentine'…" Griffin said to her.
"Geroff!"
He swatted at him. Lewis only laughed and jumped around like a monkey
with a crazy black and white wig. He danced around a drummed on
Griffin's back. Griffin snatched his drumsticks away from him and
held them fast in his hand while smiling back.
"How could I possibly forget?" He
replied. Valentine gave him a genuine smile that died suddenly. A
look of deep thought appeared on her face as if she was considering
some great decision. She walked over to where Griffin sat, her hips
swinging. She put her ruby red lips next to his ear and whispered
into it, her hot breath tickling him. "I sang it for you…
every time…" She backed away after she spoke, staring at Griffin
with her gleaming, emerald colored eyes. His heart began to beat
again. "I'll be up in my room if anyone wants me." She
said, keeping her gaze on Griffin as she spoke. She lingered a bit
longer, staring deeply into Griffin's eyes, then drifted off. As
she passed Joseph she gave him a curt nod and he blinked back. But
Griffin didn't notice it at all. His heart was still pumping
painfully in his chest. He couldn't quite figure out what had just
happened… but suddenly he was empowered to do the thing he'd been
wanting to do ever since Valentine had announced her engagement to
Iggy. Griffin stood up, feeling braver than he had in years. "I
think I'm gonna go to bed too." He grabbed his guitar and climbed
the stairs to the place where the private rooms were. As he climbed
the spiral stairs he told himself that he was crazy, but he couldn't
stop himself. He'd been deeply in love with Valentine for seven
years. Seven long years. That couldn't possibly be for nothing. He
knocked on her door softly, hoping she was still awake. There was a
few moments of stillness, then her muffled voice came from behind the
door. "Who is it?" "It's me. Can I come in for
a second?" He asked her, the neck of his guitar clenched in his
hand. The door's lock clicked and Valentine opened it for him. She
had changed into a sleek, satin robe. "What's up, Griffy?"
She asked him, sitting down on her wide, velvet bed. Griffin stared
at her, his heart overcome with longing for her. "I… I
have something for you." He told her. He couldn't believe he was
actually doing this. "Ooh, a present? What is it?"
Valentine seemed excited and held out her hands expectantly. Griffin
laughed dryly and sat down in a chair opposite her. "It's
a present, yeah. But not like the kind Iggy usually gives you… it's
a bit different." He explained. "Just sit back for a
sec." Valentine slumped back onto her velvet comforter,
looking a bit bewildered. Griffin took some papers out from
his pocket and unfolded them in his lap. He got his guitar ready and
took a deep breath. "It's a song… I… I wrote it for
you." He told her shyly. Tonight of all nights he believed that it
might be his moment. Maybe he "A song…? For me?" She asked slowly. "Yeah…
Sorry if it sucks." Griffin warned her as he began to strum the
soft, melodic intro. His calloused fingers scraped against the steel
strings as he played.
"You
remember?" Valentine's tired face lit up some. Griffin stared
back at her. She could never know the wistfulness that coursed
through his heart.
"Hey
my love, it's you and me, the wanderin' dark and the salty
sea
Drown me in Amber 'cause you still hold the key
And
after all these years, my love, you still won't let me be…" As
Griffin sang to her with his unsure voice, all the love and longing
he'd felt seemed to pour out through his music. The song he'd
wrote for her, practiced to himself alone for years, dreaming of
singing it for her. The moment had finally arrived. Her face
was the most beautiful mixture of immaculate sorrow and rapture. By
the end of the song she was in tears. She sobbed into her hands as
Griffin put down his guitar. "Hey, don't cry! It's
supposed to make you happy." Griffin told her, rushing to her
side. "Griffin!" She howled, throwing herself onto him and
wailing with tears. "Valentine…" He grabbed her by the
shoulders and looked fiercely into her deep green eyes. "I love
you! I've loved you since the beginning and ever since then I've
wanted nothing but you." He told her, eyes blazing. She stared
stunned, the tears shining on her face reflecting in the candlelight
like dying stars. "You've gotten yourself into something
really bad here, V. But there's still time! Come with me, we can
run away and be free from it all. I swear, Valentine, I swear to you
I can save you from this… Just trust me…" Valentine
just cried harder than ever. She yanked on her smooth glossy hair and
wouldn't say a word. Griffin could do nothing but watch. She
swallowed and looked at him with dewy green stare. Without warning
she leaped onto his chest and kissed him passionately, wrapping her
arms around his body tightly. She kissed his face and neck while she
wept and after a few moments, she stood up, teardrops still flowing
down her face. Griffin watched her, utterly
confused. "Griffin… I'm sorry…" Griffin felt all of
the life drain from his body in an instant. She stared at him
motionless for a few moments, then suddenly slapped herself hard
across the face. "Hey, what are you doing!?" Griffin
exclaimed. Weeping with an air of madness, Valentine struck herself
in the face over and over. She did it with vicious strength,
screaming as she did so. "Hey, stop! What's wrong with you!?"
Griffin tried to stop her, but she moved away from him. She pushed
over a vase full of flowers that shattered on the ground, then
knocked everything on her vanity to the floor. "What the
hell, Valentine!?" Griffin shouted at her. With one powerful
motion, she used a broken shard of glass from the vest to rip a huge
hole in the front of her robe, then threw herself to the ground and
flailed about, screaming as if someone was killing her. She kept
hitting herself viciously. "Valentine, STOP!" Griffin
commanded her. He got down on his knees and leaned above her, pinning
her arms onto the ground by her wrists. She struggled and squirmed
beneath his body, shrieking even louder. "HELP, HELP!!"
She cried out with desperation. At once the door crashed open and the
shadows of four tall men fell over Griffin. He knew exactly
how it looked. "YOU!" Iggy's voice roared from the
doorway. Griffin's grip on Valentine had gone limp and she
scrambled out from underneath him. "Iggy, he tried to take
advantage of me!" Valentine sobbed. There were blossoming bruises
all over her face. Griffin rose to his feet, trying
frantically to explain. "No, I didn't! I swear!! I didn't
even touch her!" He protested to the three men that were now
surrounding him. Griffin looked at Valentine, helpless. She was
hanging onto Iggy's strong arm, looking as if she might be sick at
anytime. Her eyes pleaded with Griffin's. 'I'm sorry…'
They seemed to say feebly. "Wait, get away from him!" Iggy
shouted, waving his goons out of the way. Griffin was terrified
beyond all belief. All he could hear was his own blood pounding madly
in his ears. "Iggy… Please… it's not how it looks…"
Griffin pleaded, his hands clasped together as if praying. Iggy
looked at Griffin with a snarl on his face, but remained still for a
few moments. Griffin was panting, overwhelmed with fear and panic.
Without warning, Iggy punched Griffin with a blinding force square in
the nose. Griffin was thrown over backwards as he heard the bones in
his face crack and shatter. Blood exploded out from his wound and
stained Griffin's mustache and face. He howled in anguish as he
rolled about on the floor, consumed with pain. "You think
you can rape my wife!?" He screamed into Griffin's ear, split
flecks shooting out. He kicked Griffin hard in the back. "Iggy!"
Valentine shrieked. "Get her the fuck outta here." Iggy
yanked Griffin from the ground and threw him against the wall. He
threw his fists into Griffin's rib cage over and over without
wasting a second. Griffin choked for breath, and fell to the floor.
He felt like he was desperately trying to breath through a tiny
straw. Every inch of him was on fire. Blood was issuing from his
nose, creating a deep red puddle on the carpet. "You make me
sick, you creep." Iggy yelled at him first. He then spit on
Griffin's crumpled form. "Get this trash out of here. Make
sure he doesn't wake up." Iggy shouted orders at some men in the
hall. Strong arms pulled Griffin, bleeding and enveloped in
excruciating pain, up onto his feet. He was completley
broken. "Wait…" Iggy stopped in the doorway, he had
something long in his hands. He swung around and looked at Griffin
with sadistic pleasure. Griffin could see no it was an iron rod. A
crazed look appeared in his eye and he pulled it back and swung it
with terrible force into Griffin's shin. Blood… splintered bone…
blinding pain…
"You can't be serious…" She breathed, looking stunned. Griffin nodded to her.
"It's true. Every word. I still remember how it felt…." He recalled the feeling of broken glass trapped inside his body with a grimace. "It's an absolute miracle that I survived that night. I don't even remember most of what happened after that… I remember being tossed into some alley with my guitar… I remember waiting to die… begging for death to come… But it never did.
"Eventually, someone came and stuffed me into the trunk of a car and we drove off. I couldn't tell you how long it actually was, but it felt like years until they opened up.
"It was Lewis…
He broke into tears when he saw Griffin
gasping for life in the trunk of the car. "Griffin… what
the hell, man…" Lewis wailed. "Lewis…" Griffin
choked, trying to sit up, his entire body shaking with sharp, biting
pain. "It was…. It was a set up…" He sputter, blood issuing
slightly from his mouth. "Don't talk buddy… Don't try
and talk. They think I'm gonna bury you off in the woods. Listen,
if Iggy ever knows about this… I'm dead, you hear me? Can you
hear me, Griffin!?" Lewis shouted at him. Griffin felt his life
bleeding out of him. "Oh Goddess… Oh Jeez… I-I….
Griffin I brought you home! Here, see Forget-Me-Not Valley, right?
I-it took forever to find it… sorry…" He pulled Griffin up from
the trunk. Griffin screamed in utter torment. Every inch he moved was
like death creeping up in vicious electric shocked. Yellow light
flooded into his eyes. "Who's there? …. Oh gracious, get
him inside at once! There isn't much time!"
….And
that's all I remember…" Griffin told Haru, "I woke up a week
later, barely alive. Dr. Hardy had given me some kind of emergency
surgery and saved my life. After that he had to re-break all the bone
that had been broken and set them right again. He fixed it all but my
nose. It's been crooked ever since that time."
Haru's hands were over her mouth. She looked utterly horrified. Griffin laughed dryly.
"You think that's bad? Oh, just wait until you hear this…" It was hard to stop now that he'd almost reached the end. Griffin was feeling a masochistic sense of pride. "As soon as I recovered, I expected to see my Grandfather waiting for my return at the bar…" Griffin shook his head. He could feel the pain of the loss even now. "He died a year after I left… his bar was in shambles… he died thinking he dream would never come true… he died thinking I hated him." Griffin spoke, his voice filled with deep sorrow.
"And do you know what the 'cherry-on-top' to this whole miserable story is?" Griffin began to sound indignantly angered. "That Valentine… She stole my song and sang it herself… she copied off the sheet music I'd left in that room and told the world she'd written it. Top of the fucking charts! Everyone's favorite song, 'Drown Me in Amber'. Written by none other than Marine Jazz's own beloved singer, Valentine…"