Let Love Down

Prologue

Seven years ago, my mother was twenty-eight years old. It was a Tuesday in summer the day it all began. I ran down the stairs to my parents' room and opened the door. Mom was asleep, and Dad was at work like he usually was. I never really saw him as a kid.

"Mom! Wake up!"

I laughed and ran over to the left side of the bed.

"I'm up, Louise," she giggled in her adorable morning voice. She got out of bed, and I let her have a few minutes to get dressed.

"What are you doing up at seven in the morning?"

She laughed and held my hand in hers.

"I have an alarm clock, you know," I grinned up at her and her beautiful emerald eyes.

"Oh, right. Well, do you want to touch up on some songs we've written now that we're both up?"

I nodded and gave her a hug. We ran into the living room and sat at our grand piano. The moments we played piano really brought us happiness, even though I couldn't play hardly at all.

"Sometimes a story has no end," she began to sing softly. I played along with her on the piano.

"Baby, look," she laughed and repositioned my hands on the keys.

"That's the first chord you need to play. Got it?"

I nodded and smiled. The song we were playing was called Gypsy, and I adored it. We sang the whole thing, piece by piece until I could almost play it correctly.

"Do you have this song on a CD?"

I looked her in the eyes, genuinely curious. She looked at me as if I was insane, and then she shook her head quickly.

"Um, no. I can make a CD with this song on it though," she sighed. We finished the song, and she sighed once more.

"I'll make that CD for you in a little while, okay?"

I just nodded and changed the subject.

"So, can I fix your hair now?"

She snapped out of her brief, sad mood and smiled. We had only played one song on the piano, but I figured if we had played more songs, she would get emotional like she had the day before. Some songs tore her to pieces. I hated seeing her cry.

We walked into the bathroom and she sat on a stool. I grabbed the hair brush, a rubber band, and a few bobby pins.
She taught me this really cool hairstyle when I was a kid, and both of us wore it a lot of places together. I put her hair up into a bow on the top of her head. She looked in the mirror and showed all of her teeth in a smile.

"Your turn," she continued smiling.

We held hands and walked around the house for a while. We just talked, laughed, and talked some more. Then, when we got to the kitchen, she let go of my hand and wiped her eyes. I never noticed she was crying in the first place. She was so happy a minute ago.

"Baby, I'm so sorry we haven't done enough things together. I've been so busy working, and I am not the best mommy in the world."

I shook my head and gave her a hug.

"Don't be sorry, it's okay."

She grabbed my hand in hers one last time. We went back into the main room and she sat down at the piano.

"Sit down by me, Louise. This is a song you haven't heard yet. I wrote it a long time ago. Before you were born," she said, trying to smile. I put my head on her shoulder and took a deep breath.

"It's called Let Love Down," she pressed her fingers down on the keys.
After she got done singing, she was crying. She was crying so much that her small body shook every time a tear rolled down her face.

"Mom, what's wrong?"

She buried her face in her hands.

"Call me Stefani, I don't deserve to be called Mom anymore," she cried.
I leaned over and gave her a hug. I held her for a moment, and she finally pulled away. She continued to cry for what seemed like days. I had no idea what was going on.

"I'm sorry I'm being such a baby."

She tried to smile.

"You're not a baby," I laughed. She stood up and walked to her room.

"I'm going to make that CD for you, so I'll be back in a bit."

I nodded and sat at the piano. I remember staring at the white keys and feeling her tears on them.

She finished the CD and brought a backpack full of things into the main room. I looked back at her.

"What are you doing?"

She sighed.

"I'm just packing your things up. You're going to meet some of my good friends, okay?"

I just sat there awkwardly.

"Okay, but why?"

She unzipped the backpack and pulled one of my shirts out. She clenched it in a tight fist.

"Because Daddy is at work, and I'm going to have to go back to my job soon. I've been working, but on the computer. Now I have to go back. I promise we'll see each other again," she put the shirt under her arm and zipped the bag back up.

I fell for everything when I was little. Did I know what her job was?
No.
Did she ever tell me what it was? Never.
We got in the car after we ate some breakfast, and we drove to Jamie and Steven Cooper's house. I honestly thought Jamie and Steven were some of Mom's friends, and I thought that I was just staying for the week. She took me inside and introduced me to them.

We had a normal conversation, but it still didn't seem right. She lingered around the house until she forced herself to leave.

Mom gave me a hug, kissed me on the forehead, whispered, "I'm sorry, it's for your own sake," and left. I have never seen her in person again after that day. I'm fifteen now, and I've still never found my mother, Stefani Kinney.
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New fanfiction. I hope you all enjoy it!
I'll be updating other stories soon, I hope. <3