Witness: See Series (Volume 1)(62)
My frustration must have been apparent in my expression because Draven smiled slightly as he raised my hand to his lips. “Just let me make it perfect before you hear it,” he said quietly just before I felt him kiss my hand.
I closed my eyes as I felt his touch. Any anger I could have had was washed away by his simple request.
Draven often wrote alone. He’d lock himself away and ‘fight the beast’; that’s what he called his creative flow. I really didn’t care for such an ugly reference to his talent, but he used that word because when he had an idea for a song, it would haunt his every thought until it was written – perfected. He told me once that it was his beast because it took him away from me for long periods of time. I think that’s why I wasn’t too worried about how distant he’d been over the last month or so; I thought he was writing - and I had no idea that a real beast had invaded his life.
When we reached my house, he idled his truck by my garage. I refused to move; I wanted him to stay with me.
“Are you not coming in? I’m sure Kara already has breakfast ready. Are you hungry?”
His eyes fell to his lap. “I need to get back – take a shower and stuff. I want tomorrow to be perfect for you.”
“Let me help.”
A slight smile came to the corners of his lips as his emerald green eyes rose to meet mine. “Dad already ruined the surprise; at least let me make it more than you imagine it could be.”
“Are you gonna play that song?” I asked.
He was silent for a second as he searched for words. “That song was meant to bring silence to us, and I’ve managed to do that already in the worst way imaginable; now I have to figure out how to take us back to where we began, to undo the damage I’ve done.”
“That song was meant to bring all of the shadows - or at least a lot of them - to one place so we could help them. I don’t think it should matter where they are – if the song is powerful enough.”
“Let’s hope,” he said in a heavy tone as he tried to smile.
“I’ll play more of what I came up with for you. You don’t have to show me what you have.”
“I know you well enough to know the rest of the riff. You’ve already helped more than you know. I have to find the words now – ones that cause them all to come back.”
“K. I’ll think about lyrics and text you with what I come up with,” I mumbled as thousands of words began to echo in my mind.
“I think you need to talk to your mom…you’re growing apart from her again, and you don’t want to do that – not now. We have no idea when or how we may leave this world.”
“So you’re willing to leave with Austin? If I find him and get him to come back, you’ll go?” I asked, piquing with hope and excitement.
He nodded slightly. “But only once he knows everything about me; only if he still wants to take us to his perfect world.”
“He loves you. His people don’t know another emotion. He’ll want us to go.”
“He’s human, Charlie. His world is just like ours; they just see things differently. I don’t want to be the man that breaks the endless peace they have there.”
“You bring peace,” I argued.
“I bring darkness.”
“Darkness that can be redeemed into a powerful light. See the positive, Draven.”
“Trying,” he said as he leaned closer to me and let his lips gently touch mine. I kissed him back slowly, wanting to delay our departure for as long as possible.
Once his lips left mine, a beaming smile spread across his face. “It’s amazing how powerful you make me feel…nothing hurts anymore.”
I blushed as I reached for my hand to cradle his flawless jawline. “Promise you won’t let this darkness take you over – no matter how painful it is; if you promise that, I’ll promise to always take the pain away.”
“Promise,” he whispered as he stole one more gentle kiss.
I grabbed my bag and reached for the door. It took everything I had to walk away from him. I told myself that today I’d try and make peace with my mom, find Austin, and be ready to say goodbye to this life – ready to leave at a moment’s notice for Austin’s world.
He waited for me to open the back door before he drove away. The moment I opened the door, I heard my father’s haunting guitar blaring through the house. Kara was at the stove, and Monroe and her tutor were at the table. The smell of waffles made my empty stomach ache. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d eaten.
Monroe’s eyes moved across me, then she smiled subtlety as if she didn’t want anyone else to see her act normal. Her tutor seemed to notice, though, and she glanced at me and smiled.
“School has started already today, huh?” I said, trying to keep my voice at a normal level. My father’s guitar was so loud, I was tempted to talk over it – but I had to tell myself that they couldn’t hear it. He must have realized I was ignoring him because the sound began to grow calmer, yet held its intensity.
“We’re almost caught up,” Monroe’s tutor said as Kara walked over to me.
“Is she behind?” I asked ask I looked between Kara and the tutor.
“Monroe is a year ahead of her peers, like you were, but her move over here set her back a few weeks this semester. She really is quite brilliant,” Kara said.