Walls

Sydney walked into the make-up tent, and noticed that V wasn’t there. “Oh, she’s off with that man of hers. But she left us their newest C.D. to listen to.” Markus said before Sydney could ask anything.

All was fine until track number seven began to play, Sydney felt her pulse race some.

“He woke up from dreaming and put on his shoes
Started making his way, past two in the morning
He hasn't been sober for days

Leaning now into the breeze
Remembering Sunday, he falls to his knees
They had breakfast together
But two eggs don't last
Like the feeling of what he needs

Now this place seems familiar to him
She pulled on his hand with a devilish grin
She led him upstairs, she led him upstairs
Left him dying to get in

Forgive me, I'm trying to find
My calling, I'm calling at night
I don't mean to be a bother,
But have you seen this girl?
She's been running through my dreams
And it's driving me crazy, it seems
I'm gonna ask her to marry me
Even though she doesn't believe in love,
He's determined to call her bluff
Who could deny these butterflies?
They're filling his gut.
Waking the neighbors, unfamiliar faces
He pleads, oh he tries
But he's only denied
Now he's dying to get inside

Forgive me, I'm trying to find
My calling, I'm calling at night
I don't mean to be a bother,
But have you seen this girl?
She's been running through my dreams
And it's driving me crazy, it seems
I'm gonna ask her to marry me

The neighbors said she moved away
Funny how it rained all day
I didn't think much of it then
But it's starting to all make sense
Oh, I can see now that all of these clouds
Are following me in my desperate endeavor
To find my whoever, wherever she may be.”

Sydney heard a girls voice replace Alex’s,

“I'm not coming back,
I've done something so terrible
I'm terrified to speak,
But you'd expect that from me
I'm mixed up, I'll be blunt;
Now the rain is just
Washing you out of my hair and out of my mind.
Keeping an eye on the world,
So many thousands of feet off the ground
I'm over you now
I'm at home in the clouds
Towering over your head.

Alex’s voice sang out again,
Well I guess I'll go home now
I guess I'll go home now
I guess I'll go home now
I guess I'll go home.”

She felt her hand go to her mouth. She figured that he had gotten the letter, but the song confirmed it. The next song that played, Sydney knew went along with the previous song.

Tonight we'll lie awake
Remember how the coffee made us shake
On those long drives
One more long night
Another seven days
Heartbeat racing
The interstate, my home tonight
For one more long night
I'm sure as hell the happiest I've ever been

We get high
We let go
We've got more than we know
My friends are a different breed
My friends are...

There's a ghost in this room
I think I'll name it after all of you
And watch it hang over my bed like decorations
Celebrating memories that came and went
In light of all the time we spent
Listening to everything
Our parents told us not to take in

Now make a change
I'm counting down
The mile marks to every town
I'm falling more in love
With the distance put between us

We get high
We let go
We've got more than we know
My friends are a different breed
My friends are everything
Make this last, take it slow
We've got it all figured out for now
So let us live our lives without a doubt

Tonight we'll lie awake
Remember how the coffee made us shake
On those long drives
One more long night
Another seven days
Heartbeat racing
The interstate, my home tonight
For one more long night

From coast to coast
I'll make the most
Of every second
I've been given with this crowd
Without a doubt
You're all I dream about
At night we lie awake
With stories taking us back
To the nights we felt alive
The nights we felt alive

I would've married you in Vegas
Had you given me the chance to say "I do"
Could I make it any more obvious?
Could you be any more obvious?

I would've married you in Vegas
Had you given me the chance to say "I do"
Could I make it any more obvious?
Could you be any more obvious, could you?

She shook her head and ran from the tent, and around the corner. She slid to the ground; her back to the cement wall and her knees to her chest. She felt her hands shaking and she didn’t know what to think. She knew that V was pissed because she left Alex that night. And now she could see why V was as pissed as she was.

Sydney had changed Alex. She had a feeling in her gut that he wasn’t the same boy he was when she last saw him. The tears were still flowing down her face as she buried her face in her knees. She felt her body shaking and her stomach burning. A voice shouted, “Auntie Sydney!” Sydney looked up and Jesse came and ran to her. She hugged him and wiped away her tears.

“Are you okay, Sydney?” Marla asked.

Sydney nodded and got up. “You wanna come to the shoot?” They nodded and Sydney walked back to the tent. “Sorry for running away like that.”

Markus and David nodded and she sat in the chair. “Guys, this is my sister-in-law and my nephew. Marla, Jesse this is Markus and David. Markus designs the shoots and David does my hair.”

“Normally our make-up artist, V, does her make-up. But she’s off-”

“On tour with her boyfriend.” Marla finished. The two men nodded and Sydney sighed, “She knows them.”

“Them...” Markus said slowly. “As in the band?”

Sydney nodded, “Yeah. And I uh...I know them too.”

“Auntie Sydney and Alex likeeee each other.” Jesse said and Sydney sighed.

“Jesse, we were just friends.” Sydney said softly. “That’s all.”

“But-”

“Jesse, let’s go out so they can put make-up on Sydney and then we can watch her shoot.”

The two walked out, and Sydney sighed. “Alex? Who’s Alex?”

“The singer...” Sydney said softly, “of that band we were listening to when I ran.”

“The same one as that buff boy V is dating?”

“Yeah. Zack is the bassist. Alex does lead vocals and guitar.”

“And you and this...Alex...have some history?”

Sydney bit her lip, “Yeah, sorta. It’s very complicated and I don’t want to get into it.”

“Girrrl you have so many secrets. You and V used to be friends. And you know this band. Our little Sydney is full of surprises!” Markus said, placing his hand on his hip.

Sydney forced a laugh, “Yeah. There’s a lot of things that one keeps hidden. And there are very valid reasons why someone would keep something like that hidden. So please, just drop it.”

They nodded and finished her quietly. She got into the clothing and walked out. All throughout the shoot, Sydney kept thinking of the brown eyed, brown haired boy. And when the shoot was done, and she was back in her normal clothes, she took Marla and Jesse out to eat.

“Auntie Sydneyyy?” Jesse said climbing into the back of the passenger side. “Do you love Alex?”

“Jesse.” Marla warned, “I talked to you about this.”

Sydney was quiet for a few seconds and then she said softly, “How I feel about Alex is complicated, Jay. More complicated than you can ever imagine.”

There was a silence in the car and then Jesse said softly, “He misses you, too.”