I hope all of you had a wonderful New Year's celebration!
I am sure you were asking yourself, "where are the flashbacks"? Well, I won't disappoint, well, I hope not anyway. There will be a few in the upcoming chapters. :)
Of course I must give thanks to those of you have already taken the time to read and review! It means more than you know!
Flashbacks in italics...
Happy
"Did you want to sit in on this"? Jason asked a now more than fidgety Annabelle as she was flipping a random guitar pick through her fingers.
" No, I think he can handle it on his own, well the both of you can handle it on your own" Annabelle replied as she squeezed Jason on the arm, getting up to refill her glass with water.
"Well, I think you should get over the whole not getting paid for a gig thing and just sit in on one song with us, especially this song" Jason plead as he grabbed his guitar out of the case and began strumming lightly.
"Oh you be quiet, I haven't gone all diva like that, yet" Annabelle responded as she rolled her eyes and took the guitar from Jason's hand and randomly started picking at the strings, to try to calm her nerves.
"Well, prove it" Jason challenged the younger girl, staring straight into her blue eyes, that now didn't seem so mischievous.
"You aren't going to let me out of this are you" Annabelle wondered out loud as she took a deep breath, not wanting to leave the security of the room they were currently in.
"I promise, it will be okay. Everyone will be so happy to see you up there, your best friend included. Just think of it as a super duper wedding present" Jason responded, trying his best to comfort his visibly nervous 'little sister'.
"Okay, but promise me I am only playing one song with you guys. I just want to say my congratulations and then head out. I still have the last part of my tour to get ready for, remember"? Annabelle stated as she began strumming a semblance of chords that began to form the tune of the song that the wedding party would soon be hearing.
"I promise, now come on, Austin has probably had a few by now and I think we need to rescue him from his aunt Rita and her insistence on him dancing with her" Jason chuckled as he placed his hand out for Annabelle to take, swiftly pulling her out of the chair she was occupying and out of the room, and on her way to see those who have been such a huge part of her life for so many years. She stopped at the doorway, squeezed Jason's hand and whispered, "I can do this, right"?
Jason just paused in his place, pulled Annabelle into a warm embrace and said, "I think you already know the answer".
"I want to thank everyone for joining Jenna and I on this special day. I hope you all have had a great time so far and I hope you enjoy what you are about to hear. I want to dedicate this song to my wife. You are my light, you are my life. I love you" Austin said as he looked directly into Collins' eyes, then soon turned around an motioned for a couple of his former band mates to join him on the stage.
The wedding party started to silence itself as the sound of notes coming from the piano, as Jason fell into musician mode, getting lost in the notes as he stroked the keys, building to the first lines of the song.
I wanna be
next to you
and watch you while you sleep
holding you
lost inside
every breath you breathe
I don't wanna live a day without you
I just wanna be the one that makes you happy, happy
I don't wanna live a day without you
I just wanna be the one that makes you happy, happy
one minute more
a thousand years
it's all the same to me
cause I'm incomplete
and I need you more
with every breath i breathe
I don't wanna live a day without you
I just wanna be the one that makes you happy, happy
I don't wanna live a day without you
I just wanna be the one that makes you happy, happy
I try to let you know
but my words get tangled up
and every time I find that I'm
outside looking in
can't let this moment go
when you're the only one
that makes me feel the way I feel inside
lately I'm falling for you
lately I'm falling for you
I don't wanna live a day without you
I just wanna be the one that makes you happy, happy
I don't wanna live a day without you
I just wanna be the one that makes you happy,
happy...
The crowd was still taking in the sounds of the last few notes, a few sobs were heard, and Collins got up from her seat and made her way toward the stage to show her friends her appreciation for the beautiful song she just witnessed. She kissed Jason on the cheek, made her way to her best friend, pulled her into a strong embrace and said "I am so glad you made it, you made me so happy, along with someone else, go, talk to her". With that she moved swiftly over to Austin, to properly thank him for his declaration of love in the one true way he was able to express himself.
The wedding party clapped and whistled at the newlywed's show of affection and then started to shout "encore" as the former band mates started to set their instruments down and Austin looked at Jason with a questioning expression and got a smile in return. He looked in Annabelle's direction and only was able to catch a glimpse of the back of her head as she made her way back into the hallway that opened into the reception lobby and led to the place that Annabelle was in desperate need to find. She creaked the door open slowly, took a deep breath, and stepped inside.
The amount of marble surrounding her gave her the feel of the cold hard truth that was swirling around in her head. She leaned forward on the counter, turned the nickel brushed handle and allowed the sound of the water to soothe her nerves as well as the coolness now running through her fingers. She was soon covering her face with a thin layer of water, allowing each pore to absorb the droplets, but now unsure which drops were from the faucet and which were from her own eyes. She dared to look at her features in the mirror, not wanting to see herself in this state, not wanting to allow herself to show any emotion, not wanting to realize that her heart was demanding answers, not knowing if she was ready give those answers. She blinked a few times, looking back down at her hands, now pressing themselves further into the cold hard surface, feeling her stomach churn, just a bit, as her thoughts overwhelmed her, fighting back the memories, after making eye contact with the blonde haired beauty during the ceremony as she stood next to Collins while she tried her hardest to focus on the vows being exchanged. Once again, she found herself locked into blue during Austin's confession of love as the notes from her guitar reached out to Simone's waiting ears.
Annabelle,
You hold the key now. The key to my heart. The key to my soul. The key to my life. If you chose not to keep it, please do not tell me; please do not return it to me. I don't want to see it unless it is in your hands. I hope that someday I will have the opportunity to exchange it for a different one. One that will be created for something that we chose together. I love you. Always.
From my heart,
Simone
She read the note, at least five more times. Seemingly not blinking each time the words crossed her view, rubbing the silver object in her fingers and the words sank in more and more with each passing moment. She began to sob, then heard the sound of light tapping on the paper in her hand. She was not producing tears of joy, these were tears of sorrow, of years of frustration, of years of allowing her heart to be fully awake, taken over by single look, a single touch, but deep down in her heart of hearts, that feeling was now disintegrating in the palm of her hands. She had finally felt that she had the world at her feet. Felt secure enough in the arms of another to allow this once rebellious girl, to love with her whole heart, without hesitation.
The path was not an easy one for the love most say they would never find in their lifetime. They knew their chosen careers would keep them from the comfort in each others eyes on a regular basis. Many discussions as to where they would end up, where they would call home had come and gone. Discussions wavered when each took that next step in their respective careers. They had pushed and pulled themselves in every direction to try and figure out what would be best. The day to day living found no place in their lives as each traveled to different places, different time zones and in different worlds. Annabelle had thought that all was well, even though the distance was great on certain days, weeks and months, that she would return to the place they both called home. She felt all of that security fall away at Simone's revelation. No matter how much she wanted her to be a part of her decision, Annabelle knew, it was not her place, to put Simone on another path than the one she was on, making her way around the world to be the eyes for the millions of people who could not see these locations for themselves, giving them the story behind the rolling hills and the ancient ruins. She was frustrated with her hesitation to accept Simone's importance to the magazine. She had felt Simone's hesitation when the contract from the record company came into play. She just wanted to live life, with Simone, no matter what was thrown at them.
They had been through so much. Just when she thought things were somewhat settled, Simone's promotion, while looking great on paper, began to erase Annabelle's hopes of starting and keeping their lives in northern California. The timing of Simone's move and the tour the fledgling band found themselves on, touched off the beginning of Annabelle's wall starting to cover her heart. She wanted to reach out and pull Simone back into their own little world. Knowing that Simone was not going to be there, at home, when she returned from the tour, pushed her even further into the realization, whether real or imagined, that their life together would never be settled. She allowed her stubbornness to overshadow the ability to be reasonable. No matter what Simone said or did, she already had it in her mind that Simone chose Los Angeles over her, she chose to do her job in another place, when she thought she would choose to stay in Berkeley.
That note was one last shot to reason with Annabelle. Simone wanted nothing than to stay and confront Annabelle face to face, to try and reason with her, look into her eyes, feel the warmth of her hands, soothing them after she had been pushing and pulling on the strings for the last couple of hours. She was hoping for some sort of contact, anything that would calm her heart that was beating out of her chest as she lay the note and the box on her bed. She did hesitate, willing herself to stay, but was soon being carried away by the words floating through the night air, speaking of love slipping away, of love in the past, of love as a memory. Hoping it was just the last song of the night, not what was really in Annabelle's heart.
Annabelle looked at her hands one more time, as the ache became too much to bear from being pressed into the multi-colored surface She took one last breath and went to reach for a paper towel to remove the remnants of mixture of tears and water. She turned toward the holder on the wall and was impeded by an outstretched hand, and was soon feeling the rough paper being pressed into her hand and that voice that haunted her dreams for the last couple of years, brought her back to reality, as it washed over her ears, she blinked one more time. Turning toward the voice she knew, in what seemed like another lifetime, her own voice absent at this moment, just found herself, once again, looking into blue, feeling the wetness on her cheek resurface, when she heard, "Hi" then feeling the pad of Simone's thumb sweep the lone tear away.
"Happy" is by Secrets in Stereo
Hope you all have a great weekend! Peace!