Bad Habits | Herophine #1

X

-Vinyl Soul-

After the carnival we all went our separate ways, Eli and Hailey left in E's car, Jax left early and I really had no desire to third wheel again, so I said my goodbyes and drove home, I picked up two bags of nacho cheese Doritos on my way home, planning what show I was going to binge watch on Netflix or Hulu, what I wasn't counting on was walking into war of the lesbians at home. It was an audible scene of destruction, I couldn't see them, but they were loud enough for me --and the neighborhood-- to hear. I walked into absolute destruction when I opened the door. "I'm not a house bunny Logan! I need to go out, meet my friends, I don't have to be around here all day! We agreed on this when I moved in!" River yelled at my sister, their screams filling our two story apartment, I bit my lip wondering if I wanted to stay to hear this, but despite me wanting to haul ass to my room I was scared either would see me and drag me into it. "I'm not saying you need to be a prisoner or that you can't go out, but it beats hanging with those simpleminded freaks you call friends!" My sister shot back.

Damn it Logan, please don't go there. I thought. "Simpleminded?! So that was your first thought about me then? Wow Logan, this is all new to me, maybe you didn't have to move in with your simpleminded fucking girlfriend!" I heard stomps and a door slam. Shit, I quickly left the house again and began to drive around mindlessly, no location in particular in mind until I made a turn on a familiar street off the freeway, I ended up at Rooted.

I don't know what caused me to think he'd be there on Sunday the only day the bar is closed, or what kind of sorcery brought me back here over and over, but not only was Jax there, I was strangely glad he was, I pulled on the door, and an old school sound rang out in the bar, it sounded upbeat yet old and a man was singing about a loyal and no nonsense having lady in his life.

My baby don't stand no cheatin', my babe
Oh no, she don't stand no cheatin', my babe
Oh no, she don't stand no cheatin',
Everything she do she do so pleasin'
My babe, true little baby, my babe

I smiled at how simple yet sweet the lyrics were as I walked deeper into the bar, I knocked the door to his back office, his blue eyes were surprised to see me on the other side of the 'Staff Only' labeled door. He walked over to a record player he had the song going on. "Faith, what are you doing here?" He asked. "I'm sorry I didn't mean to interrupt. Um, my sister and her girlfriend got into a fight and I didn't want to stay and feel the negative vibe in the air." I explained. "What was that you were listening to...?" I asked curiously, he looked back at the record player. "That was My Babe by Little Walter." He explained scratching the side of his head. "I was just leaving, do you want to come with me?" He asked, I explained I'd come in my car, but he asked me to follow him, so here I was, doing seventy on the freeway, following Jax's Mustang to the Hills.

"What the fuck are you doing Faith..." I questioned myself, swallowing hard as we reached a secluded compound near the intersection of Beverly Hills and the Sunset Strip. "I'd give you a tour, but it might take days..." He said calmly after we both parked our cars out front, I tried hard not to scream when he told me there were a total of ten bedrooms, thirteen bathrooms and a tennis court on his property, including an additional house on the grounds with room to expand.

No wonder his father was being questioned so hard, it had to be illegal somewhere to live like this. He explained that people like Elizabeth Taylor and Prince owned this home once, I laughed nervously wondering what else the house provided, when I say this man was an enigma, he walked about the house like his Tiffany light fixtures didn't call me broke in about thirty different languages.

His room was on the first floor of the house and right next to it. "My favorite room in the house." He said with pride. "Dad had it soundproofed for me because he hates letting me live my life." He said as he opened a beautiful mahogany door, the inside looked like a record store, there was a record player, chairs and a daybed looking couch to the left of the room, I easily could be standing in a million dollars worth of vinyl records. "This is..." I shook my head slowly, "This is amazing Jax." I browsed through the heavy selection of music, there was a Billie Eilish record and I couldn't help but smile, I placed it back and watched him, organize a stack of records, he began to speak.

"In 1867 a German inventor by the name of Emile Berliner, patented the first ever vinyl record player, it was operated by hand, just like this one here, but it played seven inch discs only." He searched through another stack of organized vinyls as I stared and listened fascinated. "But, in 1901 the Victor Company released a record player that played ten inch discs like this one here, they called it the Red Seal."

He pulled out an Adele record. "Finally in 1948 Columbia Records releases this bad boy..." He unveiled a more modern record player than the wood one next to it and places the Adele record carefully on the spinner. he carefully placed the needle on the record and he turned up the volume, a crisp, fresh version of Adele's To Make You Feel my Love, blared through the speakers.

"With vinyl, not only can you hear the difference." He slowly walked over to me, towering his height over my own, I glared up at him, never having his eyes up close to me, they seemed bluer today as he stared at my green ones. "With Mp3 you lose the quality of the voice that's pouring through the speakers." He spoke softly, pulling me into his chest, lifting my chin to look at me as he slowly swayed us to the rhythm of Adele's heartfelt vocals.

I know you haven't made your mind up yet
But I will never do you wrong
I've known it from the moment that we met
No doubt in my mind where you belong
I'd go hungry; I'd go black and blue
And I'd go crawling down tthe avenue
No, there's nothing that I wouldn't do
To make you feel my love

His heart must've been beating three-thousand beats per minute, I felt it under my palm that he placed on his chest. "You're a beautiful girl Faith, my attraction to you is undeniable, but I'm not good for you, you deserve better than me..." He whispered as his face came closer to mine, as the song ended and drifted onto the next ballad, his lips connected to mine, it was a sweet, gentle kiss, I felt myself float in his arms as we danced surrounded by vinyls and slow songs. How wrong could he be when I was drowning in this very moment.