The Chairs Between Us

Stage Lights

The car ride to school was silent.

 I couldn't tell what Liam was thinking. 

Is he mad?  Is he confused?

We pulled into the school, the only cars in the parking lot were from the sports teams, everything seemed so empty. We got out and walked over to the theater. We ended up going through the back stage door because it was closest to the alarm. 

I was surprised that Liam was even allowed to have the alarm code and keys to the theater. 

Weird.

The stage was dark and cold like a haunted mansion. 

Our chairs and stands were already set up for the next concert. Liam set his stuff down, "I'll go set everything up. Be back in a couple of minutes." 

He disappeared off in the wings.

 I walked down the rows of the viola section.  Mr. Bennet already put names on each stands according to the seating chart. Liam's name was all the way at the front while mine was in the back. 

There was always a gap between us but for some reason, it seems so wide. Almost as if we were on two different continents. 

I sat down on the edge of the stage letting my legs dangle off the side, looking out at the rows of seats. The lights to the stage came on giving life to the theater. 

Liam walked out of the wings, "I turned on the heat so it won't be so cold." 

He sat down next to me, "Are okay? You don't look so good." 

I felt like I was about to cry, "I am not sure anymore. I just broke up my whole family and I don't feel sad about it." 

I laid back on the stage looking up at the lights, "My life just keeps getting worse... Anyways it's not like you have a time machine."

He laid back too, "Well you never know, how far back do you have to travel?" 

He gave me a warm smile.

"Before my mom met my stepdad... Before everything started... Before my brother left us." 

He was silent for a while, "If you don't mind me asking, what happened to your brother? You don't have to say anything if you don't want to."

I was hesitant at first, "... My brother was an amazing musician. He sang, played violin, cello, viola, guitar, and piano. His main instrument was piano... Our house was always filled with his music. He was that one who encouraged me to play viola. We went to competitions and placed at a lot of them. Sometimes competitions were out of state so we stayed in hotel rooms. One night, he insisted on making it home for another national competition the next day. I told him we could do it, even though my mom was against it. We almost made home until... a-a drunk driver ran a red light and T-boned us..."

I took a deep breath, "...My brothers side of the car was destroyed. I got deep cuts on my chest and side but my brother ended up being paralyzed... As days passed he became depressed by staring at all his instruments and his piano that he could never touch again.... I would sit in with him playing viola, doing anything I could to make him happy..."

"...One day when my mom was out shopping, he told me to kill him... J-just over dose him on morphine and let him drift away in sleep... I refused so many times but he kept begging. And begging... I left the house for a couple hours... I had to get away. But when I came back he was asleep. But... he wasn't breathing..."

"...By the time my mom came home I already called 911. They arrested me on suspicion of killing him. My mom just sat and watched... When I was released she didn't even look at me... She blamed me for everything. They day he died was the day I became invisible to her. No more talking. No more music... I-it was just all gone." 

The lights became fuzzy as tears ran down my face. I sat up and let my head fall into my hands. Then I was comforted by Liam putting his arms around me, "It's not your fault. It not anyone's fault."

I felt myself leaning into his touch. 

He released me and smiled, "Maybe if we practice a bit you will cheer up." 

I smiled at him and nodded. 

You always know how to make me happy. 

We ended up practicing for hours. 

Laughing, playing, just having fun. 

When we were done he turned off the stage lights. 

Everything seemed so dark again. 

He came out of the wings and grabbed my hand, "Don't worry about going home tonight, you can come over to my place. It will probably be better." 

We locked the doors and left. 

We were driving down the road with the windows down and the radio up. Everything seemed so normal.

Like a song that is perfectly in tune.