The Pizza Hut Substitute | ✓

xxxi

(A / N )

Listen to the song, "Say you won't let go" by James Arthur for this chapter.

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[ 23rd November 2017 ]
[ The City Hospital ]

Elliot Carter.

There were many things he was known for in his vast circle of colleagues. Football. Straight A+ student. Underlying love for medical. But there was one thing nobody knew. One thing that he never dared to do again after he found his father leaving him. Him and his Mother.

Elliat  Carter was one of a kind. At the age of seven he performed his first ever stage performance. It was a Anti-bullying song. He left the audience in awe and tear-eyed as he wrapped up the show. Everyone thought this was what his future was going to be if puberty didn't ruin his voice. Singing was what he was going to do. That was for sure.

But that was in elementary school. Where dreams were seen just to be neglected. Where the word 'passion' was considered too strong for a kid of that age because apparently they are too naive to know what to do with their lives.

He continued to sing. He liked it, loved even. But then it came to a halt. Pause. End.

That was the day he found his mother crying in the bathroom with a pool of blood at her feet. Her hands dangling in the air, her hair a mess.

13 years old Elliot Carter was not prepared for that. Heck, nobody was.

So he left. He ran away. Elliot Carter abandoned his passion for the sake of a fresh start. They shifted to Santiago(*) and he never let the words escape his mouth in rythym ever again.

Fast forward seven years and there he was, sitting at the edge of a worn out couch, breathing in the familiar hospital scent that he had loathed for as long as he can remember. There he was with his old guitar that he took from his old trunk which was labelled as 'memories'

Now that was his present. Right there with Noelle.

Elliot cleared his throat. Inhaling a sharp breathe, he began,

"Hey Noelle. So . . . I really don't know where I'm going with this.Wh-why am I sweating ?!Oh  God!"

"Yeah, so ignore that. I am sure you don't know that I used to sing till like I was 13? I don't know. Its been so long. It kinda feels weird to hold this thing again but the sense of familiarity never fails to strike me. I just-' He gulped hard as he continued, '-I just wanted to sing something for you. Now, I'm already warning you I'm not that good. I suck at it actually. But f-for you I will try."

He took the guitar with his quivering hands, his breathe caught in between. The words didn't feel coming out of his dry mouth anytime soon. A stray tear escaped his eyes.

"I met you in t-the dark
you lit me up"

It felt good. Surreal. Illusory. But the circumstances were anything but that.

"You made me feel as though
I was enough. We danced the night away,

We drank too much
I held your hair back when
You were throwing up.

Then you smiled over your shoulder
For a minute I was stone-cold sober

I pulled you closer to my chest
And you asked me to stay over
I said, I already told you
I think that you should get some rest

I knew I loved you then
But you'd never know
'Cause I played it cool when I was scared of letting go

I knew I needed you
But I never showed
But I wanna stay with you
Until we're grey and old

"Just say you won't let go
Just say you won't let go"

I'm so in love with you
And I hope you know,
Darling, your love is more than worth its weight in gold

We've come so far my dear
Look how we've grown
And I wanna stay with you
Until we're grey and old

Just say you won't l-let go
j-Just say you w-won't let go

I wanna live with you
Even when we're ghosts
'Cause you were always there for me
When I needed you most

I'm gonna love you 'til
My lungs give out
I promise till death we part
Like in our vows
So I wrote this song for you
Now everybody knows

That it's just you and me
Until we're grey and old

And as he spoke the last words, he doubted that he had ever been so truthful,

Just say you won't let go
Just say you won't let go. . ."

He finished the song and as if  on que the tears slid down his rose cheeks freely getting rid of any barriers.

He felt so free yet so confined. So happy yet so miserable. So hopeful yet so wretched. It felt like his soul was set free just to be captured again.

Elliot captured her soft hands in his rigid ones and his heart skipped a beat.

"Noelle.. I...I don't know when this happened but I ended up loving you more than I expected. It's a good thing. Or maybe bad , I don't know. I just want you to wake up. "

"I want to see your eyes and tell you what color they actually are. I wants to see that shine in your eyes whenever you're happy. I want to be there to wipe tears, of joy ofcource, off your beautiful face. Most of all I want to hear you say that you love me. I want to know how it feels to be loved by someone. And only you could make me feel that."

"Noelle, I don't love you for your face or your beauty, I'm in love with your existence. Just the mere idea of you makes me happy and that means that even if you don't wake up, I will always love you."

Elliot was so caught up in his thoughts that he almost missed his mother saying,

"I'm so proud of you my son."

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F I N

                                                     

Naah, just kidding. I'm not gonna end it here. I mean I don't want to be killed by Y'all.
So, I hope you liked this chapter and honestly I teared up a little writing this.

Don't forget to comment your thoughts and also vote while you are at it.

(*) This is a random place I chose.

All the love,

A y e.