a letter to elise || lrh

chapter 4

"You know," Michael smiled at her, "I know a place where we can spend your dad's birthday." He tried to lighten up the mood and maybe it worked a little bit because Elisiana smiled weakly at him as if she was happy that he was making efforts to make her stop crying.

"Where?"

"You know that bar? 70's bistro?" Michael pulled her up to her feet and covered her head with his arms to keep her from getting soaked by the light rain. "Yeah, that's where my dad always performs," Elisiana said. She felt like crying again because, come on, why not? Michael wanted to take her a place where her dad spent almost half of his life in. "Why the hell would you take me there?" she exclaimed, gesturing at her body, "Look at me! I'm a mess."

"I work there as a waiter," Michael smiled at her, "And sometimes, I even perform a couple of my songs too, you know, with that guy, Calum."

"What?" she asked, clearly dumbfounded. Since when did Michael Clifford ever work? It was like a forbidden rule to him. Michael Clifford never works.

Michael noticed her puzzled expression, making him laugh out loud. "You know, there are many things that can happen in a month, especially when you're not here to see them."

• • •

They both entered the bar.

It was the same like it was a couple of years ago. The same old musky scent of beer and wine filled her nose, just like it did when her dad first took her there. Michael sat her on a nearby table by the stage before running off to the bartender. After a few seconds, he returned with two bottles of beer and large tray of mozzarella sticks.

"Is that for me?" she laughed as Michael set the tray in front of her.

"Nope," Michael put the bottle of beer in front of her, "This is for you."

She looked up at him as if he said something vile or offensive. "Michael," she said sternly, "You know I don't drink.

"Okay, I know, I know," Michael said, "But I know you're gonna need it for tonight."

"I'm 16," she whispered, not wanting to attract any attention towards them.

"And I'm a 17 year old kid who works part-time at a bar so who really cares if you drink?" Michael sat down beside her and pushed the bottle towards her direction, "Drink up."

"No," Elisiana said firmly.

"Come on," Michael rolled his eyes, "Just a taste."

Elisiana looked at the bottle for a minute. She had always wondered what beer tastes like and she was sure it wouldn't be as tasty as her friends described it to be but something about the way it sat there within her reach made her question if she wanted to drink it or not. She slowly reached for it, a bit hesitant at first, but she tried to man up and took a small sip from the bottle.

"Yuck!" she spat out, "What even is this thing?"

Michael laughed out loud, "Don't worry, I'll be the one to drink the rest of it but first-," he stood up, "I have to dedicate a special song to a very special girl." He ran up to the stage and grabbed the guitar sitting at the corner before playing one of Elisiana's favorite songs.

She watched Michael play just like she did with her dad when she was young and it diminished the sadness she felt. And then she felt like she was young again, sitting there while watching her dad perform. She started to remember how he'd laugh every time she pulled a face from the audience or how he'd dedicate songs to her.

She felt like crying.

The feeling of grief and misery washed over her all over again. She started recalling memories from her past with her dad and she felt her stomach clenching, her brain aching and her heart hurting and she wanted everything to stop. She stared at the bottle of beer beside her and without thinking, she took it and emptied the bottle in one go.

Her lungs burned and heat started to spread all over her body and it actually felt...good. She took the other bottle and downed it all before signaling a waiter, who was mopping up the floors, to come to her. "5 beers," she casually said.

The waiter gave her a look before walking away and returning with five beers on a silver tray. She thanked him before drinking it, bottle after bottle and soon enough, she found herself getting dizzy. Her head started aching but she continued, loving the feeling of heat washing over her. The alcohol was numbing out all her feelings and she felt as if she was about to pass out until a hand grabbed the bottle from her.

"That's enough," she heard Michael's voice from behind her. "You weren't supposed to drink that many."

"Give that back," she whined, standing up but falling back into her seat almost immediately.

"No, we're taking you home."

"But I don't want to go home," she cried, pushing Michael away from her.

She attempted to drink another bottle but Michael snatched it away from her.

"I am taking you home," he said, pulling her from her seat.

"No," she whined, "I want Major Tom."

"Wha-who the fuck is Major Tom?" Michael, exclaimed in frustration. He tried to lift her up again but Elisiana clung onto the table with all her might.

"I said, I want Major Tom!" she screamed and suddenly, she could hear voices talking around her. Michael apologized to the people around him before scooping up Elisiana from her seat.

"We're leaving!"

"No, I want Major Tom!" she screamed at him again and this time there tears were running down the sides of her face. She started screaming and trashing around until she heard someone adjust the microphone on stage. She looked up, her sight a bit blurry.

"Ground Control to Major Tom

Ground Control to Major Tom

Take your protein pills and put your helmet on

Ground Control to Major Tom

Commencing countdown, engines on," the voice sang.

Elisiana instantly shut up.

The last thing she remembered was looking up to see a blonde man with a guitar on stage. Everything was a blur and she couldn't see well but she knew he looked familiar.

She knew she has seen him before.

a/n

first of all, why are u guys so awesome??????????? like thank u i reached 1.1k in 4 days u guys r mah homies u earn ur homie badges aye

but thank u so much pls hold on i have so much plans for this book so yeah like keep on reading dONT GIVE UP ON ME PLS

and pls don't skip chapters bc u wont understand the plot or some of it won't make sense to u heh just hold on a little longer mr. breadstick is coming out for u

THANK U FOR THIS AMAZING COVER @curlypenguin i love it so much ayeee u rock hah (i like the typewriter so much tbh idek why)

I UPDATED IN TWO CONSECUTIVE DAYS IM ON ROLL (jk but mainly it's a treat for all u guys reading this bc 1.1k!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)

and holy cow i like david bowie's songs so much and this is like my special favorite and i put the link there in case u wanted to listen to it

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-athena