Love Me {Sequel To Last Hope}

Chapter Thirty-Salty Like A Summer Day

"God I'm sick of sleeping alone." - All Time Low, Backseat Serenade

T E L L I E

"The value of this moment lives in a metaphor." His voice was rich and smooth. I was mainly entranced by his fingers on the guitar. He moved them so fast and perfect. Every chord he played was full, and there was no mess as his hand flew from the previous one. I didn't understand how he did. I'd tried playing a guitar once. Stupid thoughts when I was younger. Niall had tried to teach me. I'd given up after twenty minutes. My fingers were made for piano keys, not strings. But Zach...

Zach was made for guitars. He could hold them, and they moulded with his body. His fingers where at home on the strings. If anything he looked weird without a guitar.

As the days went by I grew closer to Zach then I ever had. Listening to him play the guitar was becoming a nightly activity. It was more about closeness then it was him trying to explain how getting Phoebe arrested was easy. It did sound easy in throat. But it made me nauseous. I was more worried about what she would do afterwards. Zach insisted after this there wasn't really a chance she wouldn't go to gaol. I was still unsure of what he was doing. But he was Zach. I trusted him more than myself. So I had texted Killian, telling him to make sure Phoebe knew I had crumbled and I was giving her every last cent.

I wasn't really. Zach's theory was if she was meant to be dead, what better than to bring her into the living? He'd taken all of my 'evidence' she was alive, and things that stunned me. Like the weird part of my cheque book. And the letter. And screenshots of texts.

I pushed the thoughts away, watching Zach's hands on the guitar. It brought me back. I watched him and I could feel the same rush I had when I was thirteen watching him and his shitty garage band playing every all time low song written. It wasn't the first time he'd played an all guitar acoustic of Backseat Serenade to me. I was sure it wouldn't be the last. Zach and I had never been like those couples who 'had a song'. But if we had to; if there was a song that was ours I'd say it was this. It wasn't a gooey love song, and it wasn't romantic and it contained the words Whisky princess. But I had heard him play this since we first started flirting. In every part of our relationship he had sang this to me. He's always been playing this song.

This song was how much I knew he'd grown. His voice wasn't as child like now. It had the same beautiful texture, and the way his accent twisted on the word salty made me melt even more. He still ended the song the same. That small word that did sound the exact same. He didn't stuff up on any chord at all. He could look away from his guitar and he could play it perfectly without a glance. I don't think anyone besides me had ever heard him play this. Nobody else had ever heard the way his voice was around salty, or see his hands on the guitar. So it was ours. This was what he played to me. And only me.

I could have listened to him for hours on repeat. I almost wanted to record it just so I could play it to myself in the nights when the sadness crept in. I was sure there would come a day when I felt like giving up. Relapse was common. And if I did... If I ever did... If I could have him there, I wanted this piece of him. Every part of him that was right.

I had never liked the idea of love much. I had been sure it was nothing but a figment of imagination. There was nothing but broken hearts and endless years when you gave yourself to someone. I wasn't wrong. Everything that had happened to me, or anything I had done, in the sake of love had done nothing but tear me down. Every little pain happened in the name of love. But if I could go back, I'd tell myself that wasn't it.

Maybe it was a horrible experience, but I was here now. And this was nothing but perfect.

I felt content. Even with the worries of Phoebe in my mind, I was mostly happy. It was such a strange feeling for me. It was still new and shinny. It was as if finally every was sliding into place me. Finally, it was everything it was meant to be. And so I listened to Zach sing. And I let the words run through my head.