i n c o n s o l a b l e

- chapter 8 -

| Elliot |

Gone.

Mere minutes before she had been walking down the street, now she had vanished into the night.

"Dammit," Elliot swore under his breath, frustrated that he couldn't move any quicker without having hot pains run through his leg in warning.

He leaned against the building beside him, attempting to regain his breath, and bottle up the disappointment bubbling and boiling in his stomach.

***

Elliot settled in the old, cushioned seat and stared at the page in front of him; to many it would appear to be the equivalent to reading mandarin, but to him, it was a simple recipe for absolute bliss. He allowed his fingers to dance across the black and white keys, a slow, steady waltz at first, but quickly transitioning to something that resembled the forceful playing of Beethoven himself.

He played for what felt like a lifetime, pouring out his soul to the keys that had been stagnant for so long.

"What the hell do you think you're doing." His father's harsh voice said from the doorway, jolting Elliot out of his euphoria.

"I'm - I'm playing." He said quietly and avoided his father's hard gaze.

"I thought we talked about this, son."

"It was something I had to do."

"You're a man, not a wo-man. "

"I don't think playing piano has specific gender limitations."

His father stepped closer to Elliot, "We should have gotten rid of this ages ago."

"I mean no disrespect, but you're ignorance in messing with my bliss."

His father dropped his fist on the top of the piano, causing it to shutter. "What the hell happened to you?"

"If you would pay attention to me perhaps it wouldn't be such a mystery."

"There's nothing to pay attention to, since you broke your leg."

"That wasn't exactly something I intended on doing."

"Well what the hell do you plan on doing now, huh?" His father spat, "are you going to change your name to Mozart and become a pianist?"

"I-"

"Think about what you're doing son, what the hell are you doing with your life."

"I'm just trying to find myself dad, like every other teen on the planet."

"Listen here," His father said, standing directly in front of him and pointing his finger at Elliot's chest. "You are going to college. You are going to work your butt off and show the scouts that you're good enough to play. You are not going to start this again. You are going to do this because I am your father, and I am telling you so, understand?"

Elliot locked eyes with his father and nodded his head, "Yes."

"Good."

Once his father slammed the door shut behind him, Elliot stood out on the deck and gazed up at the sky, wishing that the stars would take him and allow the blackness of space to swallow him whole.