When The Lights Go Down

Things That Break

"Al?" FP whispers, his lips pressing against her shoulder. "Honey, wake up."

Alice grumbles and rolls into his body, nuzzling her face into his chest. "Morning." She mumbles. "What time is it?"

"Eleven," He informs her, stroking her arm. "Figured we could sleep in a little today."

"I'm okay," Alice insists, tracing shapes into his chest with her fingertip. "You could've woken me up."

"Not a chance." He argues, just as there's a knock on the door. "I ordered up some breakfast for us." 

"Good, I'm starving." Alice chuckles, watching as he scrambled out of bed to answer the door, slipping a t-shirt over his head before greeting the waiter.

She stretches out her sleepy muscles as FP thanks the waiter with a grin, slipping the younger man a hefty tip.

"I ordered the works." He jokes as he wheels the cart over to the bed.

Alice frowns. "FP you don't have to do all of this, really, I'm okay."

"You keep saying that." He begins. "But the woman I saw last night, the woman I held in my arms as she sobbed on the bathroom floor? She's not okay. I'm doing this for her."

Alice is silent, unsure what to respond to his words. His expression softens and he reaches out to stroke her cheek. "Just... let me take care of you. Let me make you feel at ease."

"You already do." Alice insists, catching his lips with her own. "Thank you."

"Anything." He smiles, turning his attention back to serving breakfast. "Soundcheck is in about an hour, but if you're not feeling up to it that's totally understandable."

"I should be okay," She shakily decides. The idea of stepping back onto the stage where she saw Hal for the first time in years was thoroughly unappealing and chilling. "Just stay with me?"

"Of course. I won't leave your side unless you ask me to." He flashes her a smile and her entire body calms at the sight.

<>

Steady as a needle dropping on a vinyl
Neon singer with a jukebox title full of heartbreak
Thirty-three, forty-five, seventy-eight
When it hurts this good, you gotta play it twice
Another vice

Alice croons out the lyrics with a slight shake to her voice. FP can tell in her body language that she's uncomfortable so he sits on a stool beside her, watching in awe as she gets lost in the music.

All dressed up in a pretty black label
Sweet salvation on a dining room table
Waiting on me
Where the numb meets the lonely
It's gone before it ever melts the ice

Another vice, another call
Another bed I shouldn't crawl out of
At 7 AM, with shoes in my hand
Said I wouldn't do it, but I did it again
And I know I'll be back tomorrow night, ooh

I wear a town like a leather jacket
When the new wears off, I don't even pack it
If you need me
I'll be where my reputation don't precede me
Maybe I'm addicted to goodbyes

The lyrics have a different meaning to him now and he visibly stiffens as she slips into the chorus again.

He always felt the song was personal, she always sang it with such profound emotion, he knew there was something deeper there. But knowing her story now? Knowing the pain and trauma she went through? It makes his eyes sting.