Lost In The Stereo Sound

Alex's POV:
I woke up the next morning with a pounding headache and a frown on my face. I reached over to the bed-side table for my phone. I tapped the screen and read that it was 8:06 AM. Next to my phone was a glass of water and two aspirin tablets. Thank you, Jack I thought as swallowed the pills and water. A grimace formed on my lips again as I remembered the dream I'd had last night. It was the one I'd always had. It haunted me; I mean, I dedicated an entire song to it.

The night before she left, she'd slept over. I'd woken up in the middle of the night due to Natalie rolling over in her sleep. The moonlight shone on her face and she had never looked more beautiful. I sat up in bed and swung my legs over the side of the bed. I reached into my jean pocket and pulled out silver chain-link bracelet with a heart charm on it. Carefully, I put it around her wrist as she slept. As cheesy as it was, I wanted her to have a piece of me wherever she was. Feeling at ease, I turned back over and fell asleep positive that I'd explain the meaning of it to her when we woke up the next morning.

The vibrations of my phone disrupted my memory. I looked over at the caller ID and felt a sinking feeling in my stomach.

"Hey," I said into my phone. My voice was scratchy.

"Hey, baby," Zooey replied. "You sound like shit."

"Uh, thanks," I said growing annoyed with her by the second.

"I heard you were a shit-show last night," she said clearly annoyed with my behavior.

"How did you hear that?" I scoffed.

"You weren't responding to my texts and I got worried so I texted Matt," she explained.

"Are you fucking serious?" I asked with a sigh.

"Yeah, I am," Zooey practically yelled.

"That's so fucking shady, Zooey, going behind my back and asking my friends about what I'm up to," I explained trying to maintain composure. "You know that, right?"

"I was just worried about you, Alex," she huffed. "It's not like you have the best track record."

"You thought I was cheating on you?" I laughed.

"This isn't funny!" she hissed.

"Maybe I didn't feel like texting you every fucking second of the night," I retorted. "Ever think about that?"

"I... I just-"

"I have vocals to record in an hour," I interrupted. "I've got to go."

"Whatever," she said and ended the call.

We'd been fighting a lot lately. I won't lie, I knew I was being unfair to her, mean even. It was astounding how long this has continued. This relationship was a joke, but it was so much easier to be in it than being alone. My thoughts drifted back to the dream I'd had.

I woke up a few hours later and reached over to grab Natalie back in my arms. To my surprise, she was gone. I literally jumped out of bed and searched around my room for any sign of her. I grabbed my phone and pulled on jeans, a t-shirt and converse. I literally ran from my house as if I were being chased. Rain was pouring down but I couldn't care less. Within a few minutes, I was at her front door. The sun wasn't even up yet. I ran up to her door and rang the bell. No one answered so I pressed it again. My stomach was doing flip. This could not be happened. I rang it again. Maybe she was sleeping.

"You're wasting your time, son," a voice said distantly.

"What? Why?" I asked turning around to see her neighbor standing under an umbrella with a newspaper in his hand.

"She left for college an hour ago," he replied. "You know, moved away. Are you a friend of hers?"

"Yeah," I shrugged.

"Well, I'm sure she meant to say goodbye," he said trying to console me. I could only imagine the look on my face. I just stood there with my hair dripping wet. He gave me a small smile and turned to go back in his house. I walked home slowly, letting the rain soak me through. I was numb.

I cleared my throat and got out of bed. I shed my clothing and stepped into the shower, praying that I'd be able to forget her soon. Three fucking years.

Natalie's POV:
I woke up at Liam's place in an empty bed. A note lay on his pillow explaining that he'd gone surfing. A smile played on my lips at the thought of him. Being the good girlfriend I was, I pulled my cellphone out of my bag and texted him.

Meet me at our favorite breakfast place - Venice Beach :)

Knowing he couldn't resist butterscotch pancakes, I got out of bed and started to get ready. Not having clean clothes, I rummaged through his drawers trying to find clothes I could wear. I settled on a pair of plaid shorts he never wore and a white v-neck undershirt. I cuffed the shorts so they came up to my mid thigh and pulled them to the small of my waist. I found a rope, literally, and ran it through the belt loops so the shorts stayed put. I finished off the outfit by tucking the v-neck in the shorts. I looked in the mirror and laughed at how easily I could make this outfit fashionable.

I slipped on my converse and grabbed my bag and headed back to my apartment to get my car, the same one I'd had from high school. Slipping my sunglasses on, I put the top down and started on my way to Venice Beach.

I parked in the usual spot and saw that Liam's tattered Jeep Wrangler was already there. I walked down to our breakfast cafe and saw him sitting at a table sipping on coffee. He smiled as he saw me approach him.

"Hey baby," he said as I sat down next to him. He flashed a smile. "How did you sleep?"

We ate breakfast making conversation about various campus activities and future aspirations. Typical. He was so easy to talk to and just be myself with. Our relationship was so... stable.

"I've got to meet with my Accounting professor, so I should probably leave, Nat," Liam said reaching for his wallet. He put down two twenty dollar bills and kissed the top of my head.

"Alright," I said smiling back up at him. He waved as he turned to walk to the parking lot.

I waited a few minutes for the waitress to come back to our table. She handed me the check and I slipped the two twenty dollar bills in the small Thank You book. Not needing any change, I got up from the chair and decided to take a short walk down the boardwalk. I'd always loved the smell of the Pacific.

My hair was flowing in the breeze and I felt perfect. California was the perfect place for me.

"Natalie?" a voice from behind me asked.

Thinking it was a friend of mine, I turned around. I didn't recognize this person at all. A boy wearing black skinny jeans, a flannel shirt, and a beanie stood in front of me with his mouth hanging open.

"Can I help you?" I asked cautiously. I kept my distance from this stranger.

"Natty," the guy said, "it's me."

I took my sunglasses off and tried to place his face. When it dawned on me who it was, I gasped out loud.

"Alex. What are you... Why..." I attempted to say.

"We're recording a new record in Hollywood," he explained with a smirk on his face.

"Wow," was all I could muster out of my mouth.

"How are you?" he asked taking a step towards me.

"Fine," I replied, still in shock. There were a few seconds of silence before I said, "I've got a lot to do today, so I should probably go."

"Oh, yeah, alright," he said with a plain face. "Maybe we'll run into each other sometime?"

"Well, I mean you're in Hollywood," I said quickly. "Maybe."

"Alright," he said looking at me like he was disappointed.

"Bye," I said and quickly turned around to walk the hell away.

My head was spinning as if I were hallucinating him in California. I had all of my shit together for once and he came back into my life in a large way. I looked back saw him standing there staring at me as I walked away. This can not be fucking happening.