Daylight (An Adam Levine/Maroon 5 fanfiction)

Chapter 25: How did this come so fast

Chapter 25: How did this come so fast

 A surge of electricity coursed through Adam’s veins. Nothing compared to the moment he was experiencing now.  After years of being locked in his head, a prison of his own thoughts, it was finally culminating, and he couldn’t believe it.  He closed his eyes periodically to soak up the laughter, the cries and most of all the cheer. Adam’s ears had not audited the sound of an adoring fan in almost two years. The time he spent living in the shadows of his memories sheltered him from the outside. The power of utter distraught consumed him and he felt safe wrapped in sadness. Sorrow was the only emotion he was used to. The constant ache in Adam’s heart had managed to shield every other emotion, making sadness his only feeling.

Two years of crying. Two years of misery. Two years without Hope. It all led up to this moment. Today was the day everything would change.

From the second Adam’s eyes eased open this morning, every minute felt like an hour.  The only thing he could think about was the evening to come. Adam knew it would be difficult, but he knew it was his only choice.

As Adam laid in the middle of his bed, he felt wave of serenity. He was able to sleep on what used to be Hope’s side of the mattress. The fact that he didn’t feel guilty, truly meant that his mind had healed and would continue to. Moments later, Adam’s eyes landed on the soft smile of his daughter upon her entry to his bedroom. She giggled and hoisted herself on the bed and under the covers joining her father in a sea of blankets.

“Morning daddy!” Maddie said as she threw her arms around Adam’s neck.

“How did you sleep princess?” He asked kissing her head.

“Good. I liked that cd you put on for me.”

Adam looked at her with a glowing smile, and laughed at the mess of chocolate curls on her face. The night before Adam had complied few of his favorite records and put them together. Each tune was selected either based on Adam’s emotional connection to the song or Hope’s. The track list was filled with The Beatles, Elton John, a few carefully picked Prince tunes.

 If he closed his eyes, he could remember the countless summer nights that he and Hope spent wrapped in each other’s arms. The summer wind blew in their faces as the stars above them told stories about the past. Adam could only hope to catch the memories that were falling before his closed eyes. He smiled to himself. Maddie was almost old enough to start asking serious questions about Hope. And he was finally in a place where he would be able to speak about her and share the happy times they had together

Hours later, Adam sat in the guys’ dressing room with his palms covering his eyes. He felt the nervous energy course through his veins. His foot shook incisively, if someone walked in, they might think the aftershock of an earthquake was happening. There were small spherical lights dangling above his body and surrounding the mirror with his reflection staring back at him. He only audited the scuttle of the crew members from outside of the room. Everyone’s bodies were consumed with excitement as well as anxiety. The first show in almost 2 years. There was a lot riding on this, and everyone knew it too.

His eyes fixated on the clock a few feet away from him. Adam only had a half hour left between himself and his thoughts. He heard a knock at the door, he had less time than he thought.

It was Jesse.

Jesse gingerly opened the door and looked his friend in the eyes and smiled gently. He felt the energy in the room as soon as he stepped in. No one else had dared to speak to Adam today about anything not pertaining to the show. Sound check was soon and Adam wanted to spend his last moments alone. Although, Jesse knew him too well. When Adam said he “wanted to be by himself”, that really meant “someone please come talk to me”. In a way, sometimes being friends with Adam was like having a girlfriend, but one you could have burping contests with,---- so the best kind of relationship.  

“Hey man,” Said Jesse. “How are you holding up?”

“I’m okay, I guess.” Adam replied somberly.

Jesse looked down at Adam. His fingers were tracing the outline of the “222” tattoo on his forearm. Adam was nervous. It was his telltale sign. Some people stuttered, some laughed or felt the need to sleep, this was Adam’s.  Jesse decided not to bring it up, or call any attention to it, otherwise it might hurt their performance or cause Adam more stress.  Jesse debated saying anything more, he threw his thoughts around in his head.

All he proceeded to say was “If you need anything tonight, you feel overwhelmed or something, just look at me and nod. I have you back.”

Adam smiled brighter than he had in a while. He couldn’t remember how good it felt to have someone say those words to him. Hope used to tell him things of that nature when they first started out and she was eagerly waiting backstage.

That of course was almost 16 years ago, maybe more. She was the perfect girlfriend to take on tour with and an even more perfect wife. Adam especially liked when she wore old band t’s that barely covered her stomach.

“Thanks man that means a lot.” Adam said. “It really does. Thank you for everything.”

Jesse nodded and lightly tapped his shoulder and told him that he would see him at sound check.

Fans cheered with utter delight. Screams echoed all throughout Madison Square Garden. This was the music event of the year. Maroon 5 having their first concert after a hiatus. Adoring fans traveled miles and miles just to even get a ticket in the highest mezzanine.  The band knew that his concert was everything.

Periodically Adam halted and stared at the vast sea of fans waving at him from all angles. He loved nothing more than this moment. The set was almost over and he felt calm. He looked over to the side of the stage where Hope would have been. A sudden surge of doubt come over him and he paused mid-sentence.  James kept playing and the only person who knew what was wrong, was Jesse. Jesse knew that he was searching for Hope backstage. Right before the last song Adam used to smile at her and Hope would reciprocate and blow him a kiss.

He looked back at Jesse and they shared a stare. Jesse smiled. It was one of those smiles that could cure the common cold or fix a broken heart within one second of seeing it.  The rest of the band caught on and played an interlude to a new song, never played in front of a crow before.

In the short time that the two friend’s stares connected, Adam felt a sigh of relief and made the decision to keep going. Adam’s eyes slid to one side of the stage once more, just making sure Hope wasn’t there. However, Maddie was.

Maddie giggled in delight watching her father preform on stage and their eyes connected and she blew him a kiss. The same hand, the same place, and with the same intent that Hope would’ve.

            A small tear formed in the corner of Adam’s eye and he blew a kiss back to his daughter.

            This was it, the last song of the set. Everything lead up to this moment.

            “Alright you guys,” Adam started as beads of sweat trickled down his face. “I’m not going to go into detail, but the last couple years have been rough for my family and I, as well as the guys too.”

The cheering came to a quite chatter, and pit of cell phone lights lit up the audience.

“I just want to say thank you for sticking with us, it really means a lot. You guys are the best fans and none of this would be possible without you. This next song is very near and dear to my heart. It’s a new one, and it’s helped me cope with the challenges that have been thrown my way.”

James’s hands started playing the opening chords of Daylight and Adam held his breath and let go. This was it. Everything had changed. Although, the change wasn’t as scary as he thought it was.

After he sang the final note, all of his fears regret and misery slipped away and floated into the atmosphere. Hope would always be in his heart and mind, his first love. He knew now that she would look down on him every day when the sun rose and as its rays lit up the sky. If he saw the daylight, that was all he needed.

Wow. This is it. My last post. I cannot begin to describe the support you guys have given me over the past year of me posting this. Your sweet comments have boasted my confidence and made me a better writer. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. I truly mean it. J Please tell me what you thought of this entire story, and series. I tried extremely hard to make this last chapter a good one. I hope it did its job.