However Soft Your Symphony

come on, come on out

It was another four months before Theo appeared on Maisy's doorstep.

Maisy assumed it was one of her friends, or maybe the UPS guy when there was a knock on her door. It was late, she was in her pajamas, a complete mess. She swung open her door and almost stopped breathing when she saw Theo standing there, in front of her, with a bouquet of daisies in clutch.

"Hey," he said, awkwardly looking up to her.

"Hey," Maisy replied, breathlessly.

"I hope you don't mind- I brought you-" Theo stuttered, struggling to figure out exactly what to say. "Can I come in?"

"Of course," Maisy said, stepping back and letting Theo in. He looked around briefly.

"You have a nice place."

"Thank you."

"These are for you," he said, handing Maisy the daisies. Maisy smiled, whispering a thank you as she busied herself with finding a vase.

"I thought I saw. A few months ago?" Maisy said, trying to make conversation. "I was performing a set at-"

"The Cat Scratch Club," Theo interrupted. "Yeah, I was there. I... didn't expect to see you. I thought you were still in LA."

"I moved here, to Boston. To be closer to my family, and to get a fresh start. It's nice."

"Are you going to school?" Theo asked.

"No. I work full time. Do gigs at night. I met a guy at a few months back. I have a record deal. I'm producing a demo next month."

"Wow. I always knew you had it in you, Maiz," Theo said, his voice genuine. Maisy's heart twisted at the familiar nickname.

"Yeah, well..." Maisy trailed, pausing. "So how has life been treating you?"

"You haven't been keeping up?" Theo asked, his voice teasing.

"Can't quite blame me for wanting to keep my distance," Maisy smiled sadly.

"Again Again won a Grammy."

"Really?" Maisy said, genuinely happy for him. "Wow, congrats."

Maisy watched Theo closely as he shifted his weight uncomfortably, visibly nervous. 

"I guess I really have to thank you. Obviously for your work on Whispers, but... For the whole album. Most of it was inspired by you."

"You don't need to thank me, Theo. I just-" Maisy began, but Theo interrupted her.

"I do. When I wrote that music, you were a big part of me. You still are. More than you know."

"Why are you here?" Maisy said suddenly, in an attempt to get to the root of the issue. She didn't need Theo dancing around what really happened. She needed answers.

"Listen, I think..." Theo began. He took a deep breath. "Before... You know, before everything went down. I think I knew it was you. I didn't see the name, but I knew. It was this weird, unfamiliar feeling when we met. It felt like I was underwater. I was fully submerged and I was holding my breath. And then I met you, and it was sort of like I'd resurfaced. I was struggling before and then meeting you and being with you was like that first breath of air. I felt like I could breathe with you, Maisy. And that was it. And even if I didn't admit it to myself, I knew exactly what that meant. After I met you, I didn't think that I wanted to see you again. I knew that if you really were my soulmate, it would be going against everything that I worked so hard to promote. But at the end of the day? I couldn't help myself. You were so... You. And I loved that. I loved you. Soulmate or not, I fell in love with you. So, I am as much to blame as you are."