May Kings Fall

Part 2: The Present

"His name is..."

I stopped writing so I could take another drink of whiskey. I lifted the bottle to my lips but was filled with disappointment when nothing came out. This whole situation was just shitty. I looked around the apartment and nothing had changed. It was still the same shitty apartment I shared with my sister. I got up from the floor and sat on the couch. The only thing different in my apartment was a single coffee table that didn't match any of the other other pieces of furniture.

I was overcome with anger and sadness. I was angry that I finally had to deal with my emotions and grief. "Why is there never any goddamn alcohol in this god forsaken place?!" I raised the hand that was holding the bottle, ready to smash it against the wall when a soft click stopped me. I didn't bother to turn around to see who was coming into my apartment. I didn't really care to be honest.

"Claire...We've been looking for you. To think you've been here the whole time." I heard a deep voice tell me. I could feel a hand on my shoulder.

"I told you. I told everyone. I don't need to be babysat. It's been over a year. It's done, it's over with." I said harshly. I wasn't sure if this was actually me talking or if it was the whiskey talking. I turned around and knocked off the hand that was on my shoulder at the same time.

"Claire." I was now staring face to face with Denver, of all people.

"Of course it's you. It's always been you." I gave a small sigh in defeat.

"It's been two weeks, no one expects you to even be remotely okay. I know it's been difficult with the band taking off, having to deal with his family and your family. It's been stressful. We are just trying to help you..." He paused and gave me a hug. Which seemed to be just what I needed. "You never got a chance to grieve and work through your personal issues." Denver put his hand on my head. Tears started to fall from my eyes as I dropped the bottle of whiskey on the floor and embraced him. "I want you to know...you have people you can rely on. Now that everything has settled down it...is...it's good to take the time to break down and finally deal with all that has happened."

"I..can't...I...don't want...." I didn't even try to finish my sentence, instead I just wordlessly sobbed for what felt like hours.

"Let it all out." His hand had moved from my head to my back. I could feel my legs start to give out. Denver held me and moved with me as I once again sat down on the floor. "I'm so sorry, Claire. I'm so sorry." He kept repeating those words over and over again. I could feel my body finally wearing down. As I started to calm down and drift off I could hear another person enter the room.

"Who would have ever thought it would turn out like this?" The voice was female.

"No one knew. No one could have ever guessed." A deep voice said, I could only assume it belonged to Denver.

"God, the whole thing is just a mess...She hasn't opened the box yet...has she?" The female said.

"No...the lawyer told me he was going to come see her today too. So that probably didn't help either." Denver said softly. "I'm going to put her to bed. I'll be back."

"I'll come with you...you can set her down and I'll change her clothes."

"That will help a lot. Thanks, Stella." That was the last part of the conversation I caught before I fell completely asleep.

"Life is weird...life is strange...it's uncontrollable, exciting, spontaneous and enjoyable...I want to enjoy it with you." A deep voice said. It was soft, almost mellow. It was music to my ears, I could just listen to it all day.