the sound of reverie ⌁ hayley williams & john o'callaghan

prologue

the past year was a year that she never wanted to relive again. she was tired of losing friends and having her heart broken over and over again - she couldn't catch a break. it was always one thing after another, a heart attack after heart attack. honestly, it seemed as though everything was just going downhill. there was no hope, at least in her mind. sure, she had her best friends but she knew they were going through a hard time as well. she just hoped this would be the last heart attack for a while.

but right now, after he finally revealed the upsetting news, she couldn't believe what she was hearing. he had cheated on her? even after everything they've been through? but wait, he had cheated on her before they were even married, and she STILL married him. how could she have been so stupid? she didn't know though, but this was how she viewed love. you accept your spouse for who they are and what they do, even the bad characteristics, like the fact he's cheated before.

"Hayley?" Chad asked nervously.

she didn't know what to say, but then it came to her and the words escaped her mouth easily.

"i want a divorce." she said sternly, unable to comprehend what exactly was happening.

"i'm sorry, Hayley, you know i didn't mean to." he spoke quickly, as if he was really going to try and keep her from leaving him. "i wasn't thinking straight."

"which time are you referring to? before or after we got married, Chad?" she snapped, her eyes welling up with tears but she wouldn't dare let them fall. "y'know what? don't answer me. i don't wanna know." she said, getting up from the couch and walking upstairs to gather her things.

"we can talk this out, don't leave, please." he begged as he followed her up the stairs to their cold bedroom.

"talking it out isn't going to help, just drop it." she mumbled loud enough for him to hear, wiping her eyes quickly before pulling out her phone to call Taylor.

"Hayley.." Chad started off, "i'm really sorry, and i love you." he insisted, sitting down onto the bed as she packed a bag in front of him.

she ignored his stupid apology as she waited on Taylor to pick up, hoping to God he wasn't busy, and when he picked up, she let out a sigh of relief. "Taylor, can you come pick me up, please?" she asked, biting her lip nervously before continuing to pack up.

"yeah, of course. are you okay? what happened?" he asked, sounding concerned as she could hear him grabbing his car keys. "i'll be right over."

"no, and i'll tell you later." she replied, wiping her eyes again before zipping up her bag. "i'll meet you outside." she added, hanging up and picking up her bag.

"you're really leaving?" he asked, looking up from his hands at her.

"yes." she answered before walking out of the door and heading downstairs.

when Hayley had reached the end of the stairs, Alf, her dog, was sitting at the door waiting for her. she sighed softly and walked over to him, setting her bag down as she spoke to him.

"i'm sorry, Alfie, but i'll see you real soon, okay? i love you, be good." she said softly, kissing the top of his head and grabbing her bag.

the pup ran off to his bed and laid down, making her frown since she knew that Alf could tell she was leaving, which broke her heart.

sighing, she unlocked the door and stepped outside to the cold to see Taylor's car pulling up the driveway. with her bag in hand, Hayley walked over to the passenger's side and got in, setting her bag in her lap.

"hey.." Taylor said softly, looking over at her sympathetically, "are you alright?" he asked, backing out of the driveway.

"not really," she replied, rubbing her eyes and looking over at him, "but do you think i could stay with you for a few days?"

"of course, Hayls, my home has always been your home too." he answered, placing his hand on top of hers. "i'm sorry everything's going to shit." he said with a light chuckle, looking over at her once he had come to a stop.

she let out a laugh and shook her head, "it's not your fault, T. i really think the world has had it out for me the past year and Chad cheating on me is really just the icing on top of the cake, i hope." she confessed, avoiding eye contact.

the conversation had gone stale by the time they had arrived at Taylor's house and she had stepped out of the car with her bag in hand.

she knew Taylor was going to try and get her to talk about it, since "talking about your issues helps," but she really didn't feel like doing that. she was tired of talking about the past and having to relive past lives of hers. why couldn't people look towards the future? she didn't, but of course, everyone lives differently.

it's not that she didn't wanna talk about the whole situation, in fact, she really didn't want to. after you lose one of your closest friends, you lose part of yourself. and after you lose the one who was supposed to be the love of your life, you lose everything. it just becomes harder and harder to talk about when you can barely keep yourself together.

now, she knew what she wanted to do — cry until she couldn't cry anymore.