Her Name is Memory

29| hyperactive mode

Chapter 29

Love is you and you are love

~Nathaniel's Lyric Journal

"LET ME PLAY IT AGAIN."

This was the line I keep repeating, fingering the tune against the guitar strings. My eyes focused on the sheet of music in front of me but the sound emitted didn't match what I knew it should be.

David groaned next to me. "We have been playing the same tune for ten minutes," he observed with mild impatience.

"Yeah but it sounds weird."

David has been coming over more lately to play music. Usually our sessions are a variety of different music one of us finds and we play it until we are experts. While it was typically enjoyable, this session was more challenging.

I played it again, slowing playing each chord. Despite my fingers aligning where they should be, it didn't sound good.

"What do you think?" I asked him.

He shrugged, settling into the basement couch. "Sounds like the same as the last one."

I shook my head. "No, it's different."

"Maybe that's not what is different. You're out of focus," David accused, strumming random chords.

I groaned, dropping the pick and putting the guitar aside.

"Maybe a little," I admitted. I ended up staying up most of the night. Even with three days passing since Elise and I argued, my chest was throbbing from the pain. A headache settled comfortably in my temple when I thought about it, which was often.

Elise hasn't texted me. I stopped by our spot a few occasions with the hope of seeing her but she disappeared. I wanted to shoot her a text but I didn't know what to say. I tried to write something but it ended up being about her bruises or Rose, and I didn't want to make it worse. Instead, I decided to wait for her to reach out when she was ready. She still hasn't.

"What's up with you? Whatever is bothering is clearly distracting you right now," David asked, his face focused on me with an intensity that I left me fidgeting on my seat.

"Well for one, stop telling people I wrote songs before I kick your hibllily ass. Lilly asked me the other day to play my songs at the diner. It's so bad," I joked to him. David chuckled at that response, but I could think about was Lily now constantly insisting to play it.

"Well how am I supposed to know it's bad if I can't see it?" David asked innocently though his eyes reveal a different emotion.

"See for yourself." I reached down for my notebook and tossed it over to him. David eyes slightly grew as if he didn't expect me to do that. He tentatively took the notebook and perused through the pages. He flipped through a few, his head tilting at a particular page before going to the next page. I held breath, especially since he would be the first person to see what I have written.

"The lyrics seem good," David eventually commented. Relief rushed into my body from the feedback. He flipped to a page and pause. "Summer Girl? This is the only full song you have. How does it go?"

My face burned at that song and lunged for the notebook. David deftly dodged the lunge, holding the notebook out of reach.

"Maybe another day," I suggested urgently, reaching a little further to snatch the notebook out of his hand.

"Is Elise the summer girl? Well that is just adorable," David teased before giving a pained laughter. "Have you performed it for her?"

"Shut up."