Life Of Bayla

|45|

A cacophony awakened me from my slumber.

The sounds were jarring at first till it slowly became melodious with each step I made out of my room and down the stairs. The melody was coming from the living room.

I brushed out the hair in my face and got a better look at him. There Aaron was, seated on a stool at the rear end of the living room playing the grand piano.

The music had dragged me to his side. It had been years since he'd played it and it was so beautiful.

My eyes fluttered shut as I was dragged into Aaron's head through the descant piece he played. He was letting out all his emotions as his fingers worked on keys, birthing a sweet, rhythmical succession of tones. I didn't know what feeling worked him. I couldn't place it. Through the music, I sensed pure joy, peace, pleasure then I felt anger, hatred and then it ebbed away, letting feelings like tiredness weave it's way in, weakness and a hint of sadness.

"So many emotions all at once", I whispered.

It was then he noticed my presence. He must've been way too engrossed with his music. "Shit. Did I wake you?"

I shook my head and smiled, "No. That piece was beautiful, Aaron. Is it an original?"

"Yeah", he replied distractedly.

"I figured".

Aaron looked lost in thoughts and not in a good way. He looked sad and it hurt me to see him this way. Aaron wasn't like this. He was an asshole with a perverse sense of humor. He was caring when he had to and was at some point the comic relief of my dramatic life. Seeing him looking so overwrought with emotions, tearing him apart made my chest tighten.

I thread my fingers in his hair and he leaned into me. He let out a long breath.

"Bay..." He breathed my name out, sounding defeated.

"What's wrong, Aaron?"

"So much", he replied. "So much I don't think I can even handle it anymore".

"Let it out", I cooed. Aaron's always been there for me. Now it's my turn. "Let it all out".

~~~~~

Aaron's life became a shit show when mom and dad's fights became regular.

Aaron decided to find reprieve in simply not caring. He didn't care about the repercussions of driving drunk that night when he went out partying with his friends so he ended up with a fractured arm. He didn't care that staying away from home stirred up a lot of anxiety within mom and the rest of his family. He didn't care he had been hurting Eleanor's feelings by not caring and he didn't care about jumping in to date Parrys just to blow off some steam even though he knew he was using her because she liked him. He didn't care about getting into a fight with Dean who tried to make him understand that him not caring wasn't good for him.

Soon Aaron fell apart and then he realized he had to do something about his life. He ended things with Parrys, patched things up with Dean and started afresh with Eleanor. Parrys was heart broken he had trifled with her feelings but she was cool with being friends, even though they both knew things wouldn't ever be the same again.

And just as things were going well for Aaron, dad had dropped the news of moving to Australia, permanently. If he moved to Australia, he'd never see his friends again and his departure would ruin all the progress he and his friends have made as regards their friendship. And as for him and Eleanor... everyone knows that long distance relationships don't work out because they hardly last.