The Party Scene

Lullabies

(Make it a sweet, sweet goodbye, it could be for the last time and it's not right. "Don't let yourself get in over your head," he said. Alone and far from home we'll find you...)

I ran out of the front door and down the path to the pavement, looking at each end of the street confused as to which way we'd came before going with my gut and turning right. I ran down the end of the road, collapsing against a tree as I tried to calm down. I could hear someone calling my name in the distance, but I just buried my head in my knees and concentrated on breathing. Suddenly, someone's arms were around me, and I panicked screaming and tried to get out of them, shuffling away before realising it was Alex, who looked terrified. His wide eyes were looking into mine, both of us with a look of panic on our faces. He took a deep breath before saying "Tell me what happened." I nodded, slowly crawling back over to him and leaning myself against the tree as I told him about the party I'd gone to, and why I reacted how I did back there.

He listened to every word, hugging me and soothing me as tears fell down my face when I recalled what Cory had done to me in his bedroom, how if his friends hadn't came in when they did something far worse could have happened. I told him what I did to him when I saw him outside after, and he mumbled "He deserved worse than that." Then I told him about how we went to the police and although only a few people told the truth, he lost his football scholarship and I was tormented so much I moved here. After I'd finished, we just sat there with him holding me in the darkness, not saying a word. It was nice to just sit there and look at the stars and just be with someone who cared enough to listen.

"Seen as you've told me one of your secrets, I'll tell you one of mine." He sighed, still holding me. I looked up and saw the pain in his eyes before he started, as if he'd never told anyone what he was about to tell me. "You don't have to..." I whispered, putting my hands over his for comfort. He looked down at me, a small smile forming on his face before saying "No, I want to. I trust you." I nodded, leaning my head on is chest as he told me about his brother Tom, who'd came with Alex, his mom and father when they moved to Baltimore, and how he'd began to get depressed and turned to alcohol to numb the pain. Although Alex was young, he could tell something was wrong with Tom, but no one seemed to be able to help him enough so in the end, he'd moved back to England to be with his biological mom while they stayed. But one day, they'd gotten a call to say that Tom had passed away, which broke both his parents. Alex was only twelve when it happened, and it made a big hole in all of the family, but they soldiered through and tried to stay strong for each other.

He'd written a song about it all, called 'Lullabies' that only his bandmates and close friends had heard, because he would breakdown sometimes singing it. This time, as tears fell down his face, I soothed and comforted him by stroking his arms slowly as he tried to calm down. We both sighed and he dropped his arms from around me and got up before helping me up, and we just stood there looking at each other and not breaking eye contact before I went over and hugged him tightly. "I'm so sorry Alex..." He wrapped his arms around me and rested his head on my shoulder as I buried my face in his chest "I know, I know." He whispered in my ear and I nodded, before I began to shiver at the icy night air, realising it was time for us to go home. Alex seemed to feel my shivers, and took his hoodie off and draping it over my shoulders as we began our walk home. Not saying a word to each other, we just walked hand in hand down the dark empty streets.