You woke up to a quiet house and the moonlight coming through the windows, unknowing the time. You get out of bed and make your way downstairs. The cool breeze in the house made goosebumps raise on your body - hoping no one was awake since you were just in a pair of your cheeky panties and Ghosts black shirt. You make your way into the kitchen to get yourself a glass of water. The clock on the stove read 0236. The thought of the piano invaded your mind and since you were awake, you headed downstairs.
Quietly making your way down the steps, you look around the room to see if anyone was down there. After scanning the room, you take a few steps back up to shut the door - not wanting to wake anyone and them hear you. The wood steps creak as you make your way down them. The air was still light and the temperature just a tad bit cooler. You walk over to the piano, set the lamp down and remove the sheet. Dust flies off the sheet and the gloss of the piano shines in the light.
You walk to the front of it, pull out the bench seat and sit down. Memories flood your mind of you playing the piano - you and your mom singing songs as you played. A gentle smile formed on your face and once your hands touched the lid to lift up and expose the keys, a warm familiar feeling warmed your body. Gently opening the lid, you lightly ran your fingers along the keys, not pressing them just yet to make a sound. You roll your neck to ease tension.
Your eyes close and you place both of your hands on the keys, gently pressing down and making the piano come to life. The room filled with an alto tone as you felt the piano vibrate from the sweet chords that were played. One song came to mind that you played quite frequently after your heartbreak. You repositioned your fingers, closed your eyes and let the music take you. As soon as your fingers hit the keys, your voice came to life.
"Didn't I give it all?
Tried my best
Gave you I had, and no less
Didn't I do it right? Did I let you down?
Maybe you got too used to me 'round
Still how can you walk away
From all my tears
It's be an road me here
But go on and take it, take it all with you
Don't look back at this fool
Just take it all with my love, take it all with my love"
Tears formed in your closed eyes. It had been forever since you played or even sang for that matter. It brought back memories - good and bad - and as much as you hated to admit it, you needed this release. You needed to let out some aggression.
"Maybe I leave, to help you see
Nothing is than this and this is we need
So is it over? Is this it, you're up so easily
I you me more than this
But go on, go on, take it, take it all with you
Don't look back at this fool
Just take it all with my love, take it all with my love"
The tune from the piano flooded downstairs making the notes bounce off the walls. It put you in a euphoria and as you sang, you moved your head from side to side really getting lost into the words.
"I will if I must
Slow it down and it home, I will adjust
Oh if only, if only you knew
Everything I do, is for you
But go on and take it, take it all with you
Don't look back at this fool
Just take it, take it all with you
Don't look back at this fool
Just take it all, with my love
Take it all with my love
Take it all with my love"
Your voice cracked towards the end of the song, but you tried to push through. Tears streamed down your face and as you tried to keep singing, your voice became shaky. You whispered the last few words and as you had got lost in the music, you didn't seem to hear someone approach you. You stretched your arms out on the piano, elbows locked in place and hung your head down. You silently cried to yourself.
You gasp whenever you feel someone against your back. You jerk your head back and seen it was Ghost. Your brows were furrowed and the saddest look on your face. He looks down at you, raises his right hand and places it on the right side of your face. He takes his thumb and wipes the tears rolling down your cheek. In that moment, that was what you needed. You didn't care if it was him or one of the other guys, you just wanted to feel safe because you felt like your world was falling apart.
You jerk yourself up and wrap your arms around his neck. He immediately returns the favor and wraps his arms tightly around you. Sobs cry out of your mouth as your body shakes. Ghost just holds you tightly. He reaches up with his right hand and cups the back of your head, while his left arm is wrapped tightly around your back. For once, in a long time, you felt safe.
Ghost felt your body relax, but his grip remained tight. He never said anything or gave soothing words. He let this be about you and that is what meant the most. You unwrap your arms around his neck and move away from him. You don't look at him but wipe the tears away from your face. He grabs you by the arm and pulls you to him. You gasp at the sudden movement, not knowing what he was about to do. He takes his hands and cups your tear-stained swollen face. His eyes find yours and they move back and forth between both of your eyes and then to your lips.
You swallowed hard and the only thing you can look at is his amber colored eyes and his skull mask. Your hands find his and you place them on top of his while he continues to hold your face. Time stood still in that moment and the more you looked into his eyes, you could see the hurt he had endured. It was as if he understood without knowing, but you could tell that this was something he had never done before.
"How much of that did you hear?" Your voice being shaky and a bit hoarse.
"All of it." His tone was soft and reassuring. This wasn't a side of Ghost you thought you would have ever seen. It shocked you.
You pull away and remove your face from his hands - not breaking eye contact. Finally, after several minutes, you turn and head back upstairs. Your mind was all over the place and confused. Was it because he's drunk? No, because you didn't smell anything on him. You tried to go over every possible thing that would make him act like that towards you. Price's words rang through your mind again "You can lie to yourself Simon, but I know."
Your mind kept wandering until finally you realized you were back in the bedroom. You shake your head, hoping that dissolves the thoughts and lay back down. Exhaustion came over you out of nowhere and you finally drifted back off to sleep.
A scream pierced through you as you watched your mother's lifeless body fall to the floor. Her blood splatter across your face and bits of her brain and skull coating you as well. You go to lunge forward, but the man behind you kept you still. She falls with her head positioned to the side and her lifeless eyes looking at you. A pool of blood quickly coats the hardwood floor.
"Someone shut her the fuck up" the cloth covered German says.
The man that was standing behind you places the barrel of his gun to the back of your head and wraps his left hand around your mouth. Your body shakes from rage and adrenaline. You cant break your eyes off your mother. She was so caring. Innocent and did not deserve this.
"Can I do the honors of her father?" you hear a familiar voice ask. Your head jerks up to one of the masked men standing beside who you assumed to be their leader - the German. Your vision was blurry, and you shake your head. No, it couldn't be.
The guy in the mask motions for the man holding your mouth to remove his hand. The German man nods his head in approval. The masked man steps forward behind your dad. He places his hand at the back of his head and pulls his mask off. All color drained from your face and your heart nearly stopped.
"S-Sam?" you barely mutter out.
"The one and only baby" he says arrogantly as he throws both of his arms out to show off.
"Why?"
"I hated your parents" he says with a dark tone.
"They loved you!" You scream at him, and it echoes through the house. "We were going to get married! It was two months away!"
He steps around your father and squats down in front of you. He takes his gloved hand and cups your chin hard, forcing you to look at him. "Who the fuck said I loved you, Harley?" He throws his head back and laughs seeing the hurt expression on your face. "I played you to get to them." He jerks your head back as he removes his hand from your face. He stands and heads back to his position behind your dad. "Yes, it took some time. Three years. A little longer than what I had planned for - right boys?" He laughs and the rest of the guys agree and let out a chuckle too. "I was never going to marry you. You're too damaged and after this, nobody is going to want you."
Your chest felt heavy. You couldn't breathe. "Now, be a good girl and enjoy the show." He pulls out his pistol and presses it against your dad's head. You shake your head violently and the man behind you grabs your chin to hold you still. You shut your eyes and the man who you shoved the dresser on in your closet sees this.
"No, no babydoll - you're going to watch" he says in a sinister tone. He grabs both of your eyelids and forces them open.
You watch Sam cock the gun, press his finger on the trigger and pull.
You wake up screaming and your chest heaving up and down. Your chest was tight, and it was getting harder to breathe. You looked to your left and seen the bed was empty. You crawl out of bed and land on the floor - your vision becoming blurry. You slowly crawl towards the bathroom, still hyperventilating. You couldn't breathe and felt like you were about to pass out. You crawl into the far corner of the shower and bring your knees to your chest. You wrap your arm around your knees and rock back and forth.
Memories flooded your mind of the torture you had to endure, and nothing was easing up. Your head became louder, and your hands flew up to the sides of your face. Tears flowed down your cheeks, dripping off your chin.
"GET OUT OF MY FUCKING HEAD!" you scream. You rear your head back and slam it against the stone shower. A headache coming instantly. Heavy footsteps ran towards the room. You didn't hear the bedroom door slam open due to the ringing in your ears. You placed your head back into your hands and sobbed. It didn't phase you whenever the light to the bathroom turned on. You felt a hand grab your arm and you looked up. It was him. It's always him.
He kneels in front of you. "I just want it to stop" you whisper to him. He stands up, still holding your arm and gets you to your feet. He walks you out of the shower, turns the light off to the bathroom and helps you back in bed. You lay on your back and stare up at the ceiling. You watch him undress down to his boxers, take his mask off, and get in bed. You still cant identify his face and that is a mystery you would love to solve, but not tonight.
He lays down on his back, takes his right arm, places it under you and pulls you to him. You nestle your head on his chest and throw your leg over his, your left arm is pulled up to you while your right one rests on top of his chest. You feel his right arm hold you and he takes his left hand and holds your right hand on his chest.
Just like the snap of a finger, your mind started feeling better. It was something about him that seemed to take the pain away. It was something about him that you could trust and maybe it's because when you looked into his eyes, you could see the same pain behind yours. He rubbed his thumb across your right hand and the sound of his heartbeat lulled you to sleep once again.
A/N:
Song: Take It All - Adele
I do not own any rights to her music.