Okay, here is another installment. I got started on this one almost immediately after I finished the last chapter that was updated but I lost inspiration when I couldn't listen to the song because I didn't have any internet for about a month. Then I got busy with school/work. I thought I would have plenty of time during the closure. I've only recently got back to it. I hope you are all doing well during this whole COVID-19 thing! Stay safe!
Also, this fic is more off of the music video than the song because it's not a song that really tells a story. It's also a little jumbled, like I threw it together, but hey I thought that anything was better than nothing. I didn't know how to make it better. If you have any ideas that could make it better, please let me know.
Disclaimer: I do not own this song, lyrics or these characters.
A young woman sat in a dimly lit room with various instruments surrounding her. She looked about the room, finding a few woodwind and brass instruments neatly set in their stands and cases on the walls. There were a few guitars of different sorts, a base here, an acoustic over there. A few percussion instruments were strewn about the room haphazardly, a tambourine-just one of the many, sitting on the closed lid of the piano. She was only interested in one of the assorted instruments though- the piano that she was sitting at. The room was a recording studio that was housed in the Red Bedroom Records office in Tree Hill, North Carolina.
She was the only one in the studio at this point in the day. It was, after all, kind of late on a Saturday. She could hear the thump of the base from the music playing downstairs at the Club, Tric, that was also housed in this building. In fact the person who owned the club also owned the recording studio, or at least it was in the family. She could only imagine what the club looked like at this point in the evening. On most Saturdays mid-semester, the place was crawling with college kids, celebrating after completing their various midterms. Tonight would be no different she supposed. It must have been overflowing with many different varieties of patrons.
She could hear the music stop and it was only then, when she could hear the faint sound of someone talking through a microphone that she remembered what day it was. It was the twelfth of October, the second Saturday of the month.
On every second Saturday of the month, they had set up a sort of concert series. They called it an all ages night, when high-schoolers could also come into the club to hear the bands that played. Anyone sixteen years or older could go in, of course if you were under the legal drinking age you received a special wrist band. They also had karaoke nights every once in a while. She liked to attend those to scout out new talent, she was after all a producer at said studio, not to mention a multiple platinum recording artist herself.
The brunette gently lifted up the lid that enclosed the black and white ivory keys. She softly swept her fingers across the keys, finding the proper placement for her hands. She didn't even need to look as she placed her left hand at middle 'C'. She had grown up playing after-all. Her old, beat-up childhood piano was actually sitting at home in one of the spare rooms. She felt like she hadn't touched it in ages. And with that thought she pressed down on the keys, she already had the melody memorized.
She sang the first word and immediately stopped. Her eyes filled with tears as her mind went through the words of the first verse and to the moment they reminded her of.
Last Saturday, early evening...
"Hales, you have to come out with us. It's tradition." the speaker on the line said. She had called to finalize their carpool plans.
"Brooke. I don't really feel like it. I'm just not feeling like I'm in the clubbing mood tonight." Haley whined and thought to herself 'or this week or every again, really.'
She was telling the truth. Truthfully, she felt like she was dying, dying from a broken heart. It was only yesterday morning that everything with Nathan had come to a head. The wounds were still raw and fresh in her mind. She felt like she hadn't moved from the room, the bed really since he had left. But she didn't want to air her family's dirty laundry to their friends, Brooke being the only one that knew what was going on with her current relationship problems.
"Drown your sorrows then. Just as long as you come out."
She thought about it and with a shit load of pleading on Brooke's part, she realized her friend was right. She could spend tonight forgetting everything that had happened the last couple of days. She decided then and there that she would not let the fight get to her during her night out with her friends. She thought, 'it all starts when I hang up.'
That meant that she needed to take a shower. It had to be a quick one though because she didn't have that much time before Brooke would be there to pick her up. It was tradition after all.
As soon as she hung up, that's exactly what she did. She took a deep breath and went for it. She rolled out of the King-size bed and walked to the bathroom, not even bothering to pick out what she was going to wear. She figured she would determine that after; even if she didn't quite feel like this was the greatest idea, she had to start somewhere.
She undressed and hopped in the warm shower, deciding to also shave her legs.
After spending as much time as she could allow under the water, she turned if off. Stepping out, she grabbed a towel from a nearby hook and dried off, wrapping it around her small frame. She wrapped her brunette hair up, so it would dry to her liking. After moisturizing and pampering her skin, she left the bathroom, making her way to the shared master closet. She looked longingly at the side of the closet that had all of his things on it and then bypassed it altogether.
As she looked through the various clothing pieces she had, she came across a little red number, with a boat neck and capped sleeves. She couldn't remember the last time she wore it. She decided to go with it, after not finding anything else that piqued her interest.
She ended up going all out. She deserved it after all. After donning her chosen outfit (complete with accessories), she went back to the bathroom and set about making herself look presentable to the masses.
...
A few hours later she was sitting at the bar with Brooke working on her third drink. Their group was facing the door at this point in the night. Later in the evening, when they got a little more alcohol in them they liked to see if any good prospects for the night walked in, having surveyed the entire patronage already. Most of them were still single or not otherwise engaged with a significant other. Haley was, in fact, the only married one in the group, if only just. There was one other that had a serious boyfriend of a few years. Both she and Haley were mercilessly teased about their ability or inability to look at another man objectively.
They were now at that point, having started before the brunette, because she had shown up to the club late. Her friends were definitely borderline alcoholics. Any chance they had to drink they would. 'It's five o'clock somewhere, right?'
She looked up just then, the conversation between the girls lagging a little as they ordered more drinks. That's when she spotted him. She didn't know how long he had been standing in the doorway of the club, but it couldn't have been long. None of her friends noticed him. Either that or they didn't say anything if they did.
There was something to be said about her state of mind that she hadn't even noticed some of his friends sitting in the corner of the bar. That's where he headed as she glanced over his form.
She shivered as if someone had just spilled a glass of ice-cold water all over her. He looked good. No, he looked great- so handsome in a navy blue shirt that brought out the cerulean-hue of his eyes. It was almost hard to watch him, but she also couldn't look away. It hurt to see him look that good. She vaguely wondered if he knew what he was doing to her. She pushed that thought out of her mind because he always looked good, whatever he was wearing or not wearing.
By that time, he was nearly to his group of friends. He must have felt her eyes on him because he stopped and looked around. He glanced at her, their eyes meeting. He turned away once again, smirking as he did so. She let out the breath that she didn't realize she was holding since the moment he walked in.
He knew exactly what he was doing to her and her already fragile and broken heart.
...
She came back to herself just then, reminding herself that she was, while not necessarily in the public eye at the moment, in a studio that was connected to a night club. Not the best place to cry. She should be at home where she could be alone and cry to her heart's content. And that's when she decided to go when she couldn't stop a few tears from trickling down her face. She swiped her hand to collect the few tears, trying to get rid of the wetness.
It was wonder she had any tears left to cry. Her tear ducts had to be working overtime, what with all of the crying she'd been doing lately. One second she would be fine and then something would set her off. She would either get really angry, furious really or really sad. She almost wondered if something else other than the situation at hand was setting her emotions and hormones off.
That's what she felt. She felt off, off her game.
She returned the piano lid to it's position covering the keys, standing up and walking over to the studio door that led to the booth and the lights. After making sure everything was locked up, she made her way out of the building and to her waiting car. Once she was outside, a cold October breeze made it's way across her face, making her eyes water even more. She shivered in her sweater thinking she should've brought something a little warmer to wear. It was an unseasonably cold evening in North Carolina.
Once she was safely tucked away in her car and turned it on, she could no longer hold in the tears that had threatened to spill earlier inside. They slowly spilled down her cheeks and dropped off into oblivion. She put the mirror down and looked at her tear-stained face, wanting to grab a tissue to wipe at the wet spots. She looked awful. Her eyes were red-rimmed and her face blotchy.
It was a good thing she was going home because she was in no way ready to talk to anyone, much less be around anyone at the moment. Her face certainly showed that.
She glanced over to the passenger seat searching for any sign of the tissues. She knew she had some in the car, she always kept some in there, just in case.
Rummaging through the mess on the seat, she did not find them and looked behind her at the back seat, thinking maybe she had tossed them back there at some point. When she looked back though, something else entirely caught her eye. Perched on the backseat was a picnic basket sitting atop a fringed wool blanket. Hanging off of the corner of the basket was a tan wool Fedora.
To most people, this site would warm their heart, but seeing what was in her backseat brought more tears to her eyes. It also brought a memory from the back of her mind to the front and center.
A couple of weeks ago, almost a month ago now, the newly married couple had gone on a short hike, complete with a picnic lunch at their destination, a picture perfect lake nestled in the nearby hills. At one point during their day together, during lunch, they had made a game out of throwing the grapes to each other to see who could catch the most. Nathan had won of course. Then a few minutes later, he had pulled her close so she was leaning against him. He proceeded to feed the grapes to her as if she was a queen, his queen.
They had been happy that day and for many before that. It certainly showed on her face as they sat eating lunch and then later making out on their picnic blanket.
The view had been wonderful. The sun glinting off of the surface of the lake. The cloudless blue sky above them. The mountain peaks around them. It was beautiful.
She was brought back to the present when a car that had driven into the lot looking for a parking place, honked their horn at her. She figured they were waiting for a spot and she was taking up a primo spot, right up front. She turned back around to make sure she was ready to go and pulled out into the night.
...
A few days earlier...
Haley Scott sat on the bed in the darkened master suite, the relentless tears coursing down her face. Used tissues were strewn about the room and on the bed. She had a plush throw wrapped around her small frame, but the warmth of the blanket did nothing to comfort her or stem the uncontrollable sobs wracking her body.
Less than an hour ago, she had to watch as the one man who once said that he would always be there for her stormed out of the room. She had followed him begging him not to go, pulling on his sleeve as he opened the door. He turned ripping the material out of her grasping hands and slammed the door. She hadn't stopped crying since that moment.
Before that, her day had been going really well too, or so she thought.
This latest fight was stupid, at least that's what she thought. She thought they had something good. It was only during the confrontation that he said that he had been holding onto something that wasn't working anymore and it was a long time coming. They had been torturing each other for too long, dancing around their issues.
She on the other hand could still feel the white hot flame of their relationship. He was her whole world and when he walked out the door, she felt like her world had stopped turning. She could feel her heart breaking into a thousand different pieces in that moment. That's when her tears had started to fall.
...
After the last vestiges of tears had been spilled all she felt was numb. She laid in bed for a few hours, wallowing in the feeling of indifference that followed. She didn't get up to eat, to answer the phone that kept ringing, she didn't even close her eyes to sleep away her emotionless existence at that moment in time. She felt well and truly alone in the world in the silence of the bedroom she shared with her husband.
Thinking of him, her anger swelled. His perfect face and sculpted body flooded her mind and she just wanted to throw something at the image. All she knew is that she would not answer if he called at that moment. She was so mad at him and her anger flared, sending her into an uncharacteristic fit of rage that she was just glad no one was around to witness. She was throwing pillows off of the bed, scattering the blankets on the floor. Once she stood up she wreaked havoc on the room around her, sending books flying off of tables and a lamp thrown against a wall here, a picture frame tossed over there.
When she finally settled down, she looked around the room. Resigning herself to the fact that throwing a tantrum was not going to solve anything. It was nearing midnight now. Even with her earlier anger at him, she hoped that he wasn't out at some bar somewhere, or God forbid, dead in a ditch somewhere.
She decided to just check on him. She couldn't rest easy not knowing where he was, if he was safe. Now how to go about finding out. She didn't want to seem weak by being the one to crack open her phone first to call him. She decided that she would call his brother, Luke. That would be the most likely place he would go, if he wasn't home. She did just that and breathed out a sigh of relief after learning that he was passed out in the guest room there.
After hanging up, she cried herself to sleep and woke up exhausted the next morning, spending most of the hours of the next few days in bed.
...
Haley was sitting at the piano at the house that they share when she heard the faint sounds of footsteps on the front walk. She glanced at the time. She noticed it was quite late at night.
'I wonder who that could be, and at this time of night.' She wondered almost out loud. There was no one around to hear her anyway. Why use decorum now?
She waited for a knock but it never came. Her curiosity got the better of her. She set down the spiral notebook in her hands that she had been using a few moments earlier and almost got up off the worn piano bench.
Before she could though, the door opened. She thought it weird because she could've sworn she locked the door earlier. She must not have been in her right mind still because it didn't even register that there was someone else out there in the world that had a key to the house.
She was completely surprised when the person walked in. The person in question stopped when he saw her and an understanding passed between the two.
An hour later...
Nathan was laying on their newly made bed. Just that evening in an attempt to get the fight and Nathan off of her mind, Haley had washed their sheets and remade the bed with the freshly laundered sheets. Nathan was definitely feeling the benefits of being at home in his own bed again after not sleeping in it for a week or two.
He noticed their mattress was so much better than his brother's guest room mattress. That thing had been as hard as fuck.
But it was nowhere near how heavenly the mattress had felt from their first night as husband and wife, that was actually not so long ago. That thing was the bomb. He remembered waking up and feeling so comfortable that he hadn't wanted to get out of that bed. It had all worked out because neither did she.
Thinking of their first morning as husband and wife reminded him of the rest of their honeymoon. It was one of the most amazing and exhilarating times of his life. They had gone to Hawaii and done all of the touristy things. They went scuba diving and surfing, zip-lining and hiking. There was even a couple's massage included with the honeymoon package that had felt wonderful. He remembered the look on her face as she glanced at him before the masseuse had started. She had a smile on her face that had stretched ear to ear. He could tell that she loved this new and exciting experience and that she could share it with him. He felt the same way.
At one point, they had the hotel pool to themselves. He was sitting on a lounger when she had beckoned him over to the side. She waved her arms around trying to get him to get in with her. He hadn't. He leaned down to drop a kiss on her lips after she had gestured for him to do so. Instead of meeting him for the kiss she had pulled him in to the pool. He tried to get her back and an all out splash war had been started. They were like two little kids, splashing each other full in the face while they had full reign of the pool.
He was brought back to reality when the en-suite door opened and the woman who had occupied his thoughts for most of his waking moments (and many of his sleeping ones as well) for the last few years walked into the room, wearing a robe over her tiny little frame.
As she got into bed, he knew he should say something, something about what had happened nearly two weeks ago.
"Haley, we should... we should talk about, about what happened." He sat up in the bed, stuttering over some of his words, waiting for the expression on her face to sour.
Haley looked at him with such love in her eyes then. She crawled over his body, knocking him down and hugged him. He was holding on just as tightly as she was. She answered, "Nathan. I don't really care at this point. I'm just so happy you're back where you belong."
When they pulled apart from each other, she had tears in her eyes. He leaned over and kissed them away in a soft and tender lip lock, wiping at the tears as he did so. "I am so sorry, Hales, for what I said. Seeing you at the club last weekend got me thinking about us, about our life together. And how much I miss it, miss you."
In his mind's eye he pictured her last weekend. He remembered walking into the club, and spotting her right away. She looked great in her red dress. At the time he couldn't quite place where he had seen her wearing it. In hindsight, he remembered it was a dress she had worn on their honeymoon.
To anyone else, she just looked like any other girl, a very pretty one at that, having a night out on the town with her girlfriends. But he knew her better than that. He could see the tall-tale signs of fatigue in her shoulders, and the hurt and sorrow in her eyes, even from afar.
For a second he forgot why he was even there. All he wanted to do was say 'screw it' and head right over to her and take her in his arms. He wanted to kiss the hurt away, the hurt that he had put there. He wanted to make it all better. He wanted to take her home and make love to her as long as it took to prove to her that what he had said was nowhere near the truth. He would be glad to prove it to her right there in that crowded bar, if she would let him.
He didn't, he turned his body towards the back corner and walked over to his friends, feeling her eyes on him. He couldn't take it though. He had to glance at her again. Their eyes met and it was like time stopped.
Haley's voice brought him back as she said, "Please, Nathan. No more talking tonight. I just want to be with you."
She didn't have to ask him twice. He had looked forward to this since the moment he had walked out the door. He flipped them over so he was on top, lifted up his left hand so she could see it and said, "this is forever Hales." He cupped her face and noticing a tear make it's way down the contours of her face, he wiped it away with his thumb. Even after there was no trace of the tear on her face he continued caressing her skin with his thumb.
His eyes traced the contours of her face. His eyes lingered on her lips which had tilted up into a half smirk on one side. She said his name, bringing his eyes back to hers with the sound of her voice. "Make love to me, Nathan."
He wasted no time in doing just that.
Shout out to Naley12 for being the first to review on that last chapter and she guessed the right song as well! And also, thanks for the kind words! Thank you for all of the reviews... Please keep them coming! The song for the last chapter if you didn't or couldn't guess was "Die a Happy Man" by Thomas Rhett. Let's see who can guess this one...
Do you know the song? It's one of my favorites. If you don't know, it's just loosely based on the music and music video. The whole premise is there but the details are a bit different. Please tell me what you think by leaving a review. All of your words are like music to my ears, so let me have em!