Short Stories Inspired By Music

Song: The end By Silverstein Ft. Lights

“ Damn it! Valerie, I’m so sick of this bullshit! You have no reason to be so upset all the time. I give you everything you’ve asked for in our relationship and you still give me the cold shoulder! Ever since I met you, your face has always been what gets me through things, why can’t mine do the same for you? I always thought I was the one not good enough for you! I love you, but I just can’t take this anymore!” I had to let it out somehow, it was bad to suppress emotions. I grabbed coat and keys and headed for the door before this became something huge.

“Shane, don’t you dare walk out on me! You knew from the minute you met me, I had problems. You got yourself into this, so don't make me the bad guy! You thought you were all mighty and going to rescue me from my never ending darkness, didn't you? God, why did I even let you in my life!” Valerie  screamed back at me.

“Fuck you, Valerie! I need time to be on my own. I’m done! When I come back I’ll get my shit and leave, you cold hearted bitch!” I couldn’t believe her. After 3 years of being together, and treating her like a precious porcelain doll, she still wouldn’t open up to me. I was just so fed up of feeling useless and not being able to help her. I slammed the front door shut behind me and walked angrily to my car. 

I started the car and gripped the steering wheel as if I was going to break it like a twig, and drove  to calm my nerves down and drive around the neighborhood in a ‘peaceful’ night. It was about 9 o’clock at night and almost pitch black, except for the full moon that shone with a great force. I began to think over what happened this evening.

I went to work in the early morning, as did Valerie. I had a normal day at school(I was an elementary teacher).Valerie and I had a quiet dinner after we both got off work. We were in our mid-twenties, we had the rest of our lives ahead of us. I knew I couldn’t see myself with anyone else but Valerie. We had been secret high school sweethearts, but got together in our early twenties right after college.

I tried to look at the pro’s and con’s of ending the relationship. Maybe it just wasn’t meant to be for us. I highly doubt Valerie would open up to anyone. She was a tough cookie to crack, while I was wide open like a book. Even after knowing her for almost a decade, I still couldn’t read her mind. But Valerie, she always knew how to make me smile and laugh. She showed the brightness in the darkness, even though she wouldn’t take her own advice. She made me feel something I never felt before, true love. Maybe I was just being naïve about the whole thing. We loved each other, like yin and yang. We couldn’t be together without the other. 

Oh god, who am I kidding. Valerie will always be the love of my life, no one could ever take her place! Why did I even let the littlest of things get to me?

I looked at the clock and thirty minutes had pasted while I was pondering my mind. I need to rushed back home, to make sure she was okay before she did something helpless to herself. And maybe, just maybe propose marriage. She was the only one for me and I was just being silly in my own vain world. Five minutes later I was pulling up in my drive way, and I saw a sight that could not be any worse.

Fire, it enflamed our house. It was as bright as the sun, and as deadly as the dark. How had the fire started? I scanned my memory for a trace of clue, while I quickly shut off my car and ran inside.Then I remembered, Valerie had said she was cold earlier, and so I put the fire place on. It must have been a faulty wiring.

Heat and smoke surrounded me and my mind screamed to me “Valerie! I love you!” as if it was my last words to her. I raced to the stairs and ran up them quickly hoping they wouldn’t collapse from my weight. I coughed as my eyes were watering up a storm. Thank god, I had memorized the house blue prints so even in the dark thick misty fire I knew where I was going.

Our room was close to the stairs, so once I stopped my climb all I had to do was turn left. I tried swatting the smoke away even though it was a useless effect on the strength of the fire. 

Memories flashed through my head, like the first time Valerie and I kissed, and when she said yes to being my girlfriend. Also, on our one year anniversary and we went out to dinner and the waiter tried hitting on Valerie and I “accidentally” spilled my drink on him. I might add red wine looks great on white shirts for a six hour shift.

I neared the bed and saw Valerie passed out with a  bottle of vodka in her hand. I then proceeded to pick her up, but my mistake was letting the vodka fall out of her hands and fall into the fire. 

Bursting into bigger flames, the fire welcomed the drink with great acceptance. I didn't care about the heat, or getting hurt. My mine was focused on one thing, Valerie. I brought her out onto the balcony next to the stairs. I was too late my mind screamed, the stairs we starting to collapse from the sea of flames. I sat down onto the floor which seemed to be melting. All hope was lost for Valerie and I.

I held Valerie like a child with her small frame, she felt cold compared to my hot body. I checked her pulse just to make sure she was still with me, maybe just passed out from the alcohol not the fierce flames.

There was no pulse, but I saw her other hand(the one without the alcohol in it) was close. I opened her hand to find a few white tablets. She had overdosed, all because of me.

I screamed with the smoke burning my lungs, not caring that the fire was tearing me outside, but because of the pain inside.

“ Valerie, I love you so much. I wish I could take back everything I ever said to hurt you. You were the light in my darkness.” I sobbed as my vision began to blur and fade. I heard in the distance what sounded like a ambulance. I closed my eyes, but opened them again after fighting the darkness. 

It seemed in a pathway of the fire a bright white light clearing the burning amber flames. My eyes trailed them until I saw her, my angel.

“Valerie.” She smiled while wearing a beautiful plain white dress with white wings and a golden halo. She held out her hand and tilted her fingers back as if to tell me to follow the light to her. And so I did, I followed her into the depths of what looked like heaven, but could have well been hell.

Third Person:

The next day was like any other normal day. A woman turned her tv on to listen to the news.

“ And so Tom, no one really knows what happened inside the burning of this house, but the firefighters told us that the fire was caused by a faulty wiring in the couples house. Others think it may have been a planned  lovers’ suicide since both the male and female had traces of acetaminophen, commonly known as a pain reliever, in their bodies. They had been found at the top of the stair case, the man holding the female with a smile on his face.”