Switchblades and Infedelity - The Conclusion

nineteen

trigger warning - brief mentions of abuse

-six months later-

Six months. Six months have passed since Patrick last saw Nia. Patrick promised himself he wouldn't call her again, so he deleted her number off of his phone. In the beginning, his heart ached for her, but unlike the past eight years, he found that the pain of losing her subsided over time. He was finally healing.

Except for one thing: the pain of losing his son remained constant. The last time Patrick saw Costello was the same time Patrick last saw Nia, when he dropped the boy off at her house after he ran away from home.

Patrick so badly wanted to visit his son, but he knew that he wasn't welcome. Nia made it clear that she wanted things to return to how they were: she, happily living with her husband and son, with no ex-boyfriend getting in the way. Patrick respected this, and kept his distance. It pained him immensely, especially when his son's 9th birthday passed, but he did everything he could to stay away. He immersed himself in his work, and spent most of every day in the studio.

When Patrick isn't busy producing tracks for other artists, he finds himself writing his own songs. His lyrics are the one outlet he has to express his feelings about Nia and Stello. He carries around a small notebook at all times, and whenever he finds himself aching for his son or reminiscing of his past with Nia, he turns it into a lyric. He has been doing this every day since he last saw them.

Two months ago, Patrick had accumulated several pages of one-liners in his notebook and decided to rearrange them into a song. It was one of those rare days when he had the studio all to himself, so he recorded the entire song that same day, instruments and everything. He wasn't too fond of his voice, but it wasn't completely terrible either, he thought.

After working nonstop all day, he finished up around 8:30 in the evening.

Two weeks later, Patrick sent an e-mail. It was an impulsive e-mail. He didn't think much of it. Frankly, he didn't expect anyone to actually open it. Perhaps that is why he ended up hitting "send" in the first place.

The e-mail was addressed to a record label company based in Los Angeles, called Ruberiot Records. Attached to the e-mail was a file, titled "The Last of the Real Ones.mp3". Patrick forgot about the e-mail very soon after he sent it. It's a pretty big record label company. Nobody's going to read it.

Somebody read it.

—

After a long day of working with a small indie band called The Stand Up Arcade, Patrick locks up the studio and heads to his car. The sun starts to set as he pulls out of the parking lot and onto the road. He hums to himself as he drums his fingers on the steering wheel. It is a day like any other. He is content.

Patrick thinks back to approximately 8 months ago, when he was recording for a band called Pushing Daisies. He couldn't focus on his work at all. His mind was constantly preoccupied with the violet-eyed girl from his childhood. Although Nia had caused him a lot of pain and confusion since their reunion, it was good for him, in retrospect. He was able to move on. He isn't trapped in her orbit anymore. He regained a sense of identity.

He parks his car on his driveway and grabs the mail before heading inside. Most of it is junk mail. However, one envelope piques his interest. It is from Ruberiot Records. Patrick remembers the e-mail he sent two months ago. He tries, and fails, to not get his hopes up as he fumbles to open the envelope.

Patrick opens the letter and begins reading. Surely enough, the label wants to sign him. His heart drops to his stomach in excitement as he processes the contents of the letter.