Enemy Fire | J. Saltzman - Legacies [3]

E I G H T

Note: I've attached the music video to the song (Someone You Loved by Lewis Capaldi) used in the chapter. Feel free to play it when the italics start or when Taylor begins strumming her guitar. 

Warning: depiction of depression

Taylor sits on her bed, a guitar in her hand. Something felt strange at work earlier in the day: it wasn't just Bryce's antics or the fact that she basically came out to him without truly wanting to (though it felt so good to see his stupid smile disappear). It felt like a warm hug after a day in the cold.

That's why it scares her so much.

Her laptop sits just in front of her, Maya's smiling face on screen as the human girl rambles about her day and the idiocy of teenage boys. It's nice to hear about Mystic Falls even if she can't be there or even think of herself as someone who used to be in a town full of supernaturals.

It's times like these that she thinks of the people she left behind. Without really thinking, her gaze drifts to the door, her fingers softly strumming chords as she hums under her breath. The soft music relaxes her shoulders as she lays her foot out to be more comfortable.

"Oooo! Did you learn a new song?" Maya asks, a sculpted brow raised as a tease.

"What?" Taylor asks though her fingers don't stop. "I've just had this one on my mind recently. It's..." She rests her palm against the strings and leans forward. "I have this feeling sometimes, and the song just captures what it is, that's all."

"Play it. I need some background music, and Spotify just isn't you." The human girl grins as she begins to apply a thick coat of eyeliner. "Give me the song!"

"Ok, ok!" Taylor laughs with a shake of her head. "Don't judge, ok?"

"I promise! Now, sing, girl!"

Licking her lips, Taylor readjusts the guitar in her lap and begins playing. She lets her fingers strum the strings for a longer vamp, her nerves building up.

I'm going under, and this time, I fear there's no one to save me

This all or nothing really got a way of driving me crazy

I need somebody to hear, somebody to know

Somebody to have, somebody to hold

It's easy to say, but it's never the same

I guess I kinda liked the way you numbed all the pain.

Despite the tightness in her throat, she continues singing. A warmth spreads down her limbs as the comforting feeling she had earlier in the cafe returns only ten times stronger. Her gaze never moves from the corner of her apartment as if pulled there.

Now the day bleeds into nightfall

And you're not here to get me through it all

I let my guard down and then you pulled the rug

I was getting kinda used to being someone you loved.

I'm going under, and this time, I fear there's no one to turn to