Storyteller

Chapter 20 (Five Years Later)

Faith POV: 

The alarm screams, 7:30 in the morning. The bright sunlight is peeking in through the curtains as I slowly rise, heading toward my only motivation on mornings like these. I stumble down the hall, knock on Gracie's door to make sure she's up, the same with Maggie and Audrey, before slowly tip-toeing into Clare's room, where she lays curled up with her toy bear. 

I sit on the edge of her bed, and run my fingers through her white blonde hair as I softly begin to wake her up. 

"Good morning' beautiful girl." I whisper, rubbing between her eyes. Her eyes flutter open, as she releases a soft yawn, and slowly sits up. I stand up, and grab an outfit for her to wear to school, and start getting her dressed. She's always slow to wake. "Gracie, you can drive your sisters home today, right?" I ask, slowly leading Clare downstairs.

"Yes ma'm!" She says, obviously the morning person of the family. She cooks up eggs for herself and her sisters, while I pack lunches and turn on cartoons for Clare. Audrey comes downstairs and throws a fit about another morning full of little kid cartoons. She gets over it quickly, and is now focused on her phone. "Alright, the bus is leaving!" Gracie shouts upstairs to Maggie as she shakes her keys and finishes her eggs. Maggie races down the stairs panting as if she had just ran a mile. 

Within five minutes, the house is virtually silent as I sit on the couch curled up with Clare. Her bus doesn't come until 9, so we usually chill out for a while downstairs after the girls rush to school. Today's cartoon is Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. Since there's such a large age difference, I've learned to miss the kid cartoons. Before, there were constantly streaming in our household and it was just annoying. Now it's a little sentimental. 

I hear the bus pull up out front, so I help Clare get her bag on, and I walk her out to the bus, giving her a kiss on the forehead before she gets on. The bus driver waves as she pulls away. 

I walk into work fifteen minutes late with two cups of coffee in my hands, both for me. Carrie watches me with surprise as I sit down in our designated spot, and pull out my notebook, before rubbing my forehead. 

"I'm sick of this." I say, taking a big chug off coffee. Carrie laughs, and grabs her guitar. "You need to start having issues in your personal life." 

"Well I thank you. And your life is much more fun to write about." She giggles, pushing her notepad my way. "Mike got scared by this one. I had to tell him that it's about your little screwed up dynamic." She says, motioning with her hands. I laugh, and read the lyrics carefully. 

"Good Girl?" I ask about the title. She shrugs, and pulls it back toward her. 

"It's referring to how naive you were." She says sarcastically. I laugh a little a nod. 

"That's a good song." I admit, thinking about the lyrics I had been humming on the way here. "I have a song." I say, scribbling down the lyrics. She watches me, and raises her eyebrows at the title. 

"Wine After Whiskey..." She says aloud, biting her lip and narrowing her eyes at it. I take a guitar off of one of the stands in the room and start to strum the melody I was thinking of. I start spitting out the lyrics I've already came up with.

"Once upon a time our world was on fire and I loved to watch it burn... Wild and reckless, never any limits... Guess I had a lot to learn... Cause fire turns to embers, embers to ashes that blow away too soon... Now everything after you is like having... Wine after Whiskey... It went from do anything for you babe... to you don't even miss me... Once you've tasted a love that strong you can't go back and you can't settle on anything less and that's what gets me. It's like having wine after whiskey." I sing, feeling myself shake a little. Carrie frowns sympathetically, and nods slowly. 

"That's good, Faith. That's a hit." She admits, leaning back in her chair. I nod, and bite my lip, trying to keep from crying. "Has he tried again?" She asks quietly. I nod quickly, and feel the tightness in my chest grow. "What are you going to do?" 

"I don't know... I just... I can't just let him back in, you know? Not after what he's done." I say, shuddering a bit. I look over at Carrie, and watch her frantically scribble words down on a paper. This continues for five minutes, before she throws it down in front of me. She smiles confidently as I read it.  Within four lines, tears are streaming down from my eyes, as I push it back toward her. "That's it. That's how I... That's the situation I'm in." I try to explain. She grabs her guitar and strums a few chords.

"I can see your eyes, staring into mine, but it's a battlefield and you're on the other side. You can throw you words, sharper than a knife, and leave me cold in another house on fire... I, lay low, lay low, and watch the bridges burn... I lay low, lay low, what more could I have done? Now you only bring me black roses, and they crumble into dust when they're held... Now you only bring me black roses, under your spell" 

"She told me twice, all her good advice... But I couldn't see, I was clouded by your lies... Up in smoke, a vision she foretold... She said stay away cause that boy's a warning sign... I, lay low, lay low, and watch the bridges burn... Now you only bring me black roses, and they crumble into dust when they're held... Now you only bring me black roses... under your spell."

"And I'm done tryna be the one, picking up the broken pieces... And I'm done tryna be the one, who says "I love you dear, but I'm leaving"... Now you only bring me black roses and the crumble into dust when they're held.... Now you only bring me black roses, but I'm not under your spell... "

She completes the song, my chest feeling as if it had caved in. I shake my head slowly and try to catch a grip, while Carrie puts the guitar down. 

"I should've listened to her... I should've stayed the hell away from him..." I cry out like a child. Carrie hugs me tightly and tries to calm me down.