Thru Fade Away - (Stone Gossard (Pearl Jam)X OFC)

14.

WARNING: MENTION OF DRUG USE

Mike looked up at Faye, as he stayed kneeling, waiting for a response.

Shock. That was all Faye felt. Words were just empty thoughts and nothing felt coherent. Her eyes welled up and widened, staring at the ring and then looking back to Mike.

"Faye?" Mike said, his nervous smile turning to a confused expression, his brows furrowed, wondering where he went wrong.

"I...." Faye began, any form of a sentence eluding her entirely. 

A single tear rolled down her cheek. She knew how much effort Mike put into this evening, how much he must have worked to afford such a beauty of a trinket.

"What's wrong?" Mike asked as he came up off of his knee and stood facing Faye. 

"I can't..." Faye said with a slight tremble in her voice. "I can't marry you."

Mike looked at her, wondering why. The feelings he had for her were crushing him under the suspense of what she had to say, and Mike's lips that were not too long ago formed into a smile, now became inverted into a frown.

"What do you mean? Baby, I fucking love you. I don't know what I have to do for you to see how much you mean to me. This took all day to prepare, this whole thing. I worked way over my hours just to afford a ring...I even got cleaned up, this shirt is new...What do I need to do?" Mike asked, the desperation in his eyes as it became too difficult for Faye to answer.

Faye realised his pain and the hard work he put in, just to make her happy. It killed her to see him want something so badly when she felt differently. She loved Mike, but not in the same way she loved Stone.

"I came here to speak to you about a decision I made when we were apart for those few days....but what you did, the rose petals, the meal, the wine...I would have been truly cruel to have rejected it all and I appreciate what you've done..." Faye said, taking a gulp as she proceeded to get to the meat of the subject.

"But?" Mike asked, eagerly wanting to know her reasons.

"I came here to tell you that...I think you're amazing...I do. We have a connection I have never had with anyone else, except for..."

"Stone." Mike continued her sentence, knowing where she was going.

Faye nodded and closed her eyes. "Yeah Stone...." She paused and so did Mike as his eyes looked to the floor, trying to figure out what Faye was about to tell him.

"I want us to be friends, I don't want to lose you. You're special to me Mike...I'm not saying this to get you out of the picture, because I don't want that." Faye continued. "I'm in love with Stone...I guess I always have been."

Mike closed the velvet box with the ring contained inside. He threw the box with force across the patio and then turned his back to Faye while he paced around, clearly not happy with how the evening had panned out.

"Mike...please...I..."

"You've been with him haven't you?" Mike interrupted, looking back at Faye, with discouragement painted across his face.

"Please Mike...."

"It's a simple fucking answer Faye." Mike replied with a hint of animosity in his voice.

Faye felt awful and her face told the story. She nodded and looked down, feeling guilty.

"We were supposed to spend a few days away from each other to figure things out...not fucking other people! I should have known...It was always gonna be that asshole!" Mike snapped, raising his voice.

"This is why I wanted to talk to you...I didn't know you were going to propose. I'm so sorry Mike, I am. You mean so much to me, more than you'll ever know." Faye responded, trying to get through to him.

"Cut the crap Faye. Get the rest of your shit and get the fuck out of my apartment." Mike said, calmly, trying to control the fire that was building in his chest, the rage that would inevitably come from this.

"Hear me out Mike...."

"FUCK FAYE! Get the fuck out! I don't want to see you...I don't want to fucking hear you...just get out of my sight." Mike scorned.

Faye couldn't hold back the tears any longer, she rushed inside and grabbed as much as she could of her belongings. She took some records that Mike had of hers, some books and some clothes she left there.

The bedroom had pictures on the dresser in frames, a few of them being her and Mike together, as well as a few photo booth strips of the pair, with wacky smiles and natural expressions. She took the strips of the photos and headed to the lounge to find a black plastic sack waiting for her on the coffee table.

Mike was sitting on the couch, close to the coffee table, where a line of white powder and Mike's credit card were laying.

Faye took a deep breath, realising what the white substance was. Mike had dabbled in Cocaine previously, but usually when he was drunk, or socially. This was different, it's like he was self medicating after how the evening had concluded.

Faye couldn't watch him take the drug, so she began to put her things into the black sack.

Mike put his finger on one side of his nose to block one nostril, as he snorted the white substance into the other. He sat back, touching his nose with his finger tips to ease the irritation and the itch that came when inhaling the drug. His eyes closed as he sat back and took a moment to readjust. His eyes opened gradually, as Faye continued to pack her things away.

"Can't you go any quicker?" Mike said in a bothered tone. 

He got up and snatched the bag away from Faye and started to carelessly throw her belongings in.

"Mike! What are you doing?" Faye asked, worriedly.

Mike stopped and saw the strip of photos of both of them from the photo booth. He took them between both hands and pulled them apart hastily, destroying the images that Faye wanted to keep as a memory.

"Pathetic." Mike said in anger, as Faye's breathing became staggered while she experienced anxiety that was about to hit her like a freight train.

"Mike...please...." Faye wailed.

Mike tied up the bag and walked with it to the front door that he opened, throwing it outside with a mighty swing. He stood aside and stared Faye down.

"Get the fuck out of my sight whore." Mike snarled bitterly.

Faye was in an anxiety ridden state. Her tears covered her face below her eyes, and her make up had run because of it.

"I'm sorry." Faye replied tearfully as she grabbed her purse and walked out the front door. She turned to face Mike.

"I called you a cab.... Fuck you Faye, I hope this hurts you as much as you hurt me." Mike said, before not hesitating to slam the door in her face.

Faye broke into a sob, she felt hysterical. She felt like she had let Mike down.

The cab pulled up shortly after and Faye shakily grabbed the black sack and got into the back of the car.

"Are you okay ma'am?" the driver asked, noticing the staggered breathing and sniffles coming from Faye.

"Can you drive to London Bridge Studio please?" Faye replied, her voice wobbly, like it was going to fall apart at any moment.

The cab driver nodded, and Faye's face fell into her hands as the car moved out onto the main road.