Only Love Remains - Paul McCartney Fanfiction

Chapter 1 - Lifeless Home

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Rolling my eyes and chuckling when I heard one of my songs play on the radio, I quickly changed to something else so I wouldn't have to hear myself. I don't like hearing my own songs, I always find something to pick at, and even though no one else notices it, I will make the biggest deal about how terrible it sounds.

I've been singing since I was little, so when my first single was released in '64, you could imagine how excited I was. It really changed a lot, people treat you different and it can be good or bad depending on the situation.

It's also how I met my now-husband, Paul. We married each other in 1967, 2 years after we met. It was 1965 and I was doing a show which had an amazing turnout, and Paul wanted to meet me so he found his way backstage. I liked The Beatles so I knew who Paul was, but I wasn't mad about them like everyone else, I just thought they had really good songs.

At first, we were both very shy and nervous, but it didn't take long for us to settle into things. Our conversation got seriously flirty very quickly, I can barely believe we were bold enough to say some of the things that left our mouth that day.

He's a great husband and has treated me right ever since we got together. Paul's always told me he loves me, I don't think he's gone a day without telling me that. Even now, in his worst and hardest time, he tells me it every day without fail. I don't know if it's just out of habit or because he really wants me to know, but it's sweet.

I found my way back home and pulled up at the farm, looking out at the land surrounding us before I went inside. To be honest, I was nervous about what would be on the other side of the door. Paul had developed a problem with drinking to try and wash away the sadness of his band's breakup. He loved that band like mad.

He didn't get violent or anything and I don't think he would do anything to jeopardise our marriage, but I was just worried because he didn't take care of himself properly. Sometimes I had to force him to eat after he would spend a day just drinking because he would skip meals from being passed out or too bloated to feel like eating. It really worried me sometimes, I hoped he wouldn't continue down this path forever.

I unlocked the door and could already tell Paul was still drinking. The place reeked of liquor and it was messy as hell, and I had only been gone for less than a week. I suppose I was always trying to clean up the place, a lot more than I wished I had to.

Paul was sitting down on the couch and surpassingly he had his hair combed nicely and had on a nice sweater. He looked up at me with tired and red eyes that looked like they had just been pouring tears all day.

"Sorry I'm a bit late, sweetheart, the flight was delayed by 2 hours," I said, sitting down next to him. I placed my hand on his cheek, which was hiding under that scruffy beard. I wasn't exactly complaining, he did wear a beard quite well. "Did you dress up for me?"

He nodded and stayed silent, just looking at me in a daze.

"You look very handsome, Paulie," I said, trying to get some conversation out of him. Lately, he doesn't even want to talk anymore and it's been breaking my heart. I just wanted to hear that voice more often again. The only time he would talk a lot was when he had a little outburst.

"I'm gonna sleep," Paul mumbled. I guess it was some kind of progress.

He was always taking naps throughout the day, I knew he was just more sad than tired. "I just got here though," I said, trying to encourage him to do more.

"Just let me rest, Ramona," he said.

I quickly looked over at the coffee table and got a glimpse of what he had been drinking. I don't know if that was across multiple days or if it was all from today, but either way, the amount still worried me. Paul had never hit such a low in his life.