Page 151 of The Jaded Notes

Your laughter, cruel, cuz you’re miles away.

I strut closer to her, sweat already beading on my lip.

I held my breath.

Pretended I didn’t care.

Bren joins in as backup vocals. We sing in unison while I break in with a few screams as he remains level.

Through static and silence,

Your ghost slipped through the wire.

A bridge back to heartbreak,

Lit in a fading fire.

Memories crash like waves I can’t outrun,

A haunting song that’s never truly done.

The guitar and bass set the pace for the chorus as Hawke keeps the beat. Hawke sings with Bren and me.

I’m caught in the echo,

Of everything we were.

Each word, a shadow.

Each breath, a blur.

I’m lost in the wreckage,

Where your heart used to lie.

Just a ghost on the line,

And I can’t say goodbye.

I work my way back to Bren as the band’s instruments carry the song. We begin the second verse just as before. Bren on backup vocals and me trying to make Livianna hear the emotion behind my words.

Your smile cuts deep,

A blade wrapped in charm.

You’re a flicker in the dark,

Still setting off alarms.

There’s a slight pause.

I’m tracing lines of heartache,

In the smoke of our past.

Your perfume still lingers,

And fuck this pain won’t pass.