The Way It Was Before

ten

While Finn tried to chase the people out of the living room, I took a stroll to the back part of his house. To my surprise, there was a small group of people surrounding the bench on the left side of the pool, and at the center of them was Michael, who was singing and playing his acoustic guitar.

I'd never seen him look so peaceful with his eyes looking into the distance as if he was singing to a loved one or to a lost memory. The attention from the crowd around him didn't faze him at all. His voice was a rich baritone, a calm breeze on a summer day that curled around me and gave me goosebumps from head to toe.

When his eyes met mine, I lowered my head and walked to the other side of the pool where I met Claire, of all people. She was lying on one of the lounge chairs and holding a cup, her half-shut eyes watching him. I wanted to turn away and escape the pool area, but she talked to me before I could even take a step.

"You. You were that girl hangin' out in the band room," she garbled. "Clover's lil' sis. Aubrey, right?"

"It's Autumn."

She smiled. "So... what d'you think of him, Aubrey?"

I decided not to correct her. "Who?"

"Michael."

"Um..." I had no idea where this drunken talk was going, but it was hard for me to leave her in such a state all by herself. Plus, it seemed like she needed someone to talk to. Despite my hesitation, I sat on the other lounge chair and answered, "I-I think he's okay."

"Did you know that he was my best friend? He was my best friend in the whole wide world," she said, flailing her hands. "And I loved him. So much. He made me laugh a lot. When we were younger, I was afraid of us growing up because we might never feel that happy again."

I didn't know what to say, so I remained silent. Claire always carried an icy and proud air around her, but at that moment, she looked as vulnerable as a porcelain doll.

She pointed her index finger at him, who remained oblivious to what was happening. "That song he's singing right now... he used to sing it to me all the time."

"Maybe he still sings to you," I said.

"Nah. He's just being silly. He keeps playing that because he misses us. I told him to stop doing that. His worst enemy is his memory, and it's not my fault if he keeps fighting with himself every night."

Claire took a quick swig of her drink and coughed. I tried to take the cup from her, but she held up her hand and shook her head to stop me.

"Are you okay?" I asked.

"Super."

"Do you want me to leave?"

"No. I don't know who you are, Aubrey, but stay right there. I need to tell you somethin'."

"Okay."

She opened her mouth but didn't produce any sound. It was as if her words had so much weight in them, she was having trouble dragging them out.