One day at a time..

Chapter 13: Bad idea

[Charles]

I stop dead in my tracks.

"Charles! What the hell man?!" I hear Duncan yell at me.

I snap out of my daze and make my way onto the stage. What the fuck? I think I'm seeing a ghost.

Alli? Is it really her? Is she really here? I'm so distracted that I almost fuck everything up as we begin with 'Find You There'. I barely focus on what I am playing. My hands manage to play while my mind races.

Why is she here? What does she want? What am I going to say to her? Can I win her back?

In between songs I run off stage. "Alli?" I ask as I jog up to her on the side of the stage.

"Charles! What the fuck?! You're in the middle of the show!" She growls at me.

"They can wait," I say.

"Damnit! Get the fuck out there!" she screams at me. "I came to see the show. We'll talk after," she says and her eyes soften.

So I run back on stage and continue with the set. What am I doing? I am playing a show when I should be winning back the love of my life. The next song we start playing is 'Just Keep Breathing'... how ironic. This was my song during my recovery from the surgery. This song kept me going. And now we are in Boston, where it all started. There is so much wrong with what is going on.

~

[Alli]

I see Charles talking to Danny and laughing. He seems happy. I'm glad because it'll be easier to tell him off and then test myself away from him. He grabs his bass and all of the guys make their way towards the stage. Suddenly, he glances in my direction and sees me. His place grows pale as he gets a blank look on his face. He looks like he has seen a ghost.

Am I a ghost? A ghost from the past? Is that all I am now? Just a part of his past that doesn't matter anymore?

He makes his way onto the stage finally and they begin to play "Find You There"... I feel my heart drop. This song describes how I have been feeling lately. How weird.

In between songs, Charles runs off stage, coming towards me. What the fuck is he doing? Suddenly, I am so pissed off. He has never risked fucking up a show like this. Of all the time we have had to settle things, now he wants to do it? In the middle of a show?!

"Alli?" He says after making his way towards me.

No. I'm fucking George Washington. Right now, I just want to hit him over the head. I felt butterflies in my stomach when he said my name which makes me even more angry.

I scream at him and tell him we'll talk later. Then they begin playing "Just Keep Breathing"... The song that became our inspiration to get him to pull through rehab and everything after surgery. How ironic, our first time seeing each other in how long and it is in the city that changed our lives forever. That's when I realize how fucking stupid I am. Why would I do this? Why would I come here? It was such a stupid ass mistake. I take one last look at Charles and then walk away without looking back.