Status: FIN.
The Roots That Tied to My Feet
you left me
Melanie sat in front of her old high school desktop computer. Her desktop background was of her and Kennedy on the night of her senior prom; she couldn’t help but to smile at she looked at it.
The pictures that were on her pin board behind her computer hadn’t moved since she had left three years ago. She looked at the as she felt guilt in her stomach, forcing her eyes away.
She clicked the internet button on her computer and watched as Google popped up. She typed in two words, and with all the results that popped up she instantly felt ashamed.
198,000,000 results came up for The Maine.
She felt regretful as she looked through all the threads and listened to all their new music. She discovered that they were currently in the process of writing a new album; one that was going to be titled Black and White.
They had done it. They had worked so hard for so many years and when they had finally reached the height of their career she was gone. She had missed the most important parts of all of their lives; the people she used to call her best friends.
The people she used to love.
“Melanie, are you ready?” Ben asked, walking into her bedroom.
“Yeah, are you coming?” She asked, picking her purse up off of her bedroom floor.
“No if you don’t mind. I’m going to try to get some sleep before I work tonight with your dad,” Ben replied, peeling off his polo and letting it fall to the floor.
Melanie smiled and put her hand on his toned abs lightly. She pressed her lips to his taller frame, “Good idea. I’ll see you in the morning then? We’ll probably be out late.”
He nodded his head, “I love you.”
“I love you too,” she said sweetly before exiting her room and closing her door. She walked down the steps and met her sister in the living room.
They walked out of the house and got into Haley’s BMW before making their way to the venue. They talked about everything, catching up for the time they had missed over the past three years. Melanie was amazed at how much her sister had matured and felt a little bittersweet as she realized that her sister would beginning her life soon; she was no longer a little girl.
The girls walked into the venue at nine forty-five, just about ten minutes before The Maine was scheduled to go on. Haley and Melanie’s heels clicked against the floor as they walked through the scene and to the bar. Melanie ordered a vodka tonic, knowing this was all right because Haley would be driving home that night.
The sisters went and stood in the back of the crowd and waited with the sea of teenagers for the boys to come on the stage. As the lights dimmed and the screams began Haley and Melanie turned their attention from each other and to the five boys that had entered the room.
The lights began to shine brightly and guitar riffs were strung, making the whole mess come together in perfection.
Melanie listened as the drums began pounding to an unfamiliar rhythm and she felt guilty as she realized that she no longer knew every word to every song.
She felt her heart stop beating though as he spoke into the microphone, singing the first words of the unfamiliar song. “She’s eighteen and a beauty queen. She makes the boys feel so weak.”
Melanie watched as the crowd jumped up and down singing right along with every word wishing that she was once again their age.
Haley sang along with the band as Melanie stood there silently, trying to convince herself that she was happy to be there when every bone inside of her felt wrong.
How would they feel about her there? She had barely kept in touch with any of them, except for Kennedy. She knew they would be her friends still, telling her it was okay—but it wasn’t. She missed everything that was important to them because she was selfish.
The set was soon coming to an end and she felt herself feeling relieved as each song ended. They were good, really good, and she felt so bad for not supporting that for the past few years.
“Let’s go back stage,” Haley yelled in her ear. “Their set is almost over.”
Melanie followed her sister to the back of the venue and stood on the side of the stage where the boys were. They looked so happy, just enthralled to be out there. She could smiles on Kennedy, Garrett, Pat, and Jared’s lips as they moved around the stage giving everything their all as they played their instruments.
She finally let her eyes land on the boy in the center of the stage; the one person she had been trying to avoid all night long.
He was different now. He no longer wore oversized t-shirts with skin tight jeans and Nike’s. No, now he was suave. His hair was cut shorter and it was placed into a purposeful mess on his head. He wore tight black jeans with black military boots and his white button down shirt was misplaced showing the tattoos along his chest.
His voice had grown so much and so had his stage presence. He no longer turned his back to the crowd because he was scared of them. Now he faced them confidently a gloating smile on his lips; he was living the life.
“Thank you, we are The Maine!” He yelled, exiting the stage with the other boys.
The boys all came running off the stage and went immediately for water bottles and hand towels to wipe of their faces. The crowd went crazy screaming for just one more song, and the boys all made small talk as they prepared.
Melanie looked over nervously at Kennedy who was staring at her confusedly, “Melanie?”
She gave him a small smile, “Hey Kenny.”
“Oh my God, it is you,” he grinned excitedly. He wrapped his arms around her thin frame and pulled her against his sweating body. “Your hair…it’s so different! It looks pretty but I didn’t recognize you!”
“Yep, it’s me,” She chuckled awkwardly. “How have you been?”
Just as Kennedy opened his mouth to reply he was cut off by another voice. “Kennedy we need to get back-
His sentence stopped as he saw her and his excited grin turned blank. His mouth stayed open for a moment as his blue-green eyes stared into hers, but then his face held a look of anger. “We need to get back on.”
Kennedy looked at Melanie awkwardly as she stared at the boy who was beckoning him. “I’ll talk to you after the show.”
Melanie listened to his words and ignored the excited hellos from the other boys in the band as she stared at the boy who glared into her eyes. It was as if they couldn’t believe the other one was there.
Garrett pushed on his shoulders moving him to the center of the stage and disconnecting their eye contact. Melanie sighed as she looked away, feeling her cheeks flush.
“Well, that was awkward,” Haley said matter-of-factly.
Melanie nodded her head silently as she watched the boys retake their places.
“Awe, we can play one more song I guess!” He yelled into the microphone. “But we’re having a set list change,” he said.
Melanie frowned as she looked at the surprised looks on the other boys faces as they looked at him.
“This will be our last song,” he began. “We are The Maine, and I am John O’Callaghan. This song is called ‘You Left Me’.”
Melanie felt a wave of nervousness come onto her bones as the boys looked at her tentatively and began playing the notes for the song.
John looked at her, his eyes glaring into hers as her pressed the microphone to his lips, “ Oh you left me with a broken heart and now I see what I should have from the start. Yeah you left me with nothing but a kiss and now I'm leaving you with these lips.
“Everything looked fine from here. Everything looked more than clear, but now you are gone, and I'm still here. Check it out. So check it out I wrote it down in case you ever left this town. And baby you can't fire me 'cause I quit, right now.
“Oh you left me with a broken heart and now I see what I should have from the start. Yeah you left me, with nothing but a kiss and now I'm leaving you with these lips.”
Melanie felt her skin getting goose bumps as she listened to the words of the song. She knew he’d still be mad or hurt—of course he would. She hadn’t called him, wrote him, texted him; nothing. But, he hadn’t tried to reach her either and that wasn’t fair.
“ So now I'm pressing, but I ain't stressing. She's got a man; I'm with her best friend. Tried at love, but it never really stuck; she said its love, but I didn't give a fuck.”
Melanie noticed that John stared directly into her eyes as he sang the words powerfully. Everyone in the crowd sang along happily, obviously not noticing the change in John’s demeanor. Not like she expected them to anyways, they hadn’t known him forever like she had.
He sang the chorus again and whether he knew it or not he was wearing his heart on his sleeve. Every emotion he held for her was in his eyes and she could read him like an open book; he was hurt. He was hurt bad.
“ And now I'm better 'cause you left me. I just left 'cause you let me. Don't keep calling, just forget me. Don't keep calling, just forget.”
But whether John realized it or not she was hurt too, just as bad as he was. She just didn’t happen to realize it until now when she was wiping falling tears of her cheeks slowly and exiting the venue.
Melanie was over him, she was over them. She was over everything they used to be because they were horrible for each other, and this was exactly why: she and John O’Callaghan were in love one day and ripping out each other’s hearts the next.
The pictures that were on her pin board behind her computer hadn’t moved since she had left three years ago. She looked at the as she felt guilt in her stomach, forcing her eyes away.
She clicked the internet button on her computer and watched as Google popped up. She typed in two words, and with all the results that popped up she instantly felt ashamed.
198,000,000 results came up for The Maine.
She felt regretful as she looked through all the threads and listened to all their new music. She discovered that they were currently in the process of writing a new album; one that was going to be titled Black and White.
They had done it. They had worked so hard for so many years and when they had finally reached the height of their career she was gone. She had missed the most important parts of all of their lives; the people she used to call her best friends.
The people she used to love.
“Melanie, are you ready?” Ben asked, walking into her bedroom.
“Yeah, are you coming?” She asked, picking her purse up off of her bedroom floor.
“No if you don’t mind. I’m going to try to get some sleep before I work tonight with your dad,” Ben replied, peeling off his polo and letting it fall to the floor.
Melanie smiled and put her hand on his toned abs lightly. She pressed her lips to his taller frame, “Good idea. I’ll see you in the morning then? We’ll probably be out late.”
He nodded his head, “I love you.”
“I love you too,” she said sweetly before exiting her room and closing her door. She walked down the steps and met her sister in the living room.
They walked out of the house and got into Haley’s BMW before making their way to the venue. They talked about everything, catching up for the time they had missed over the past three years. Melanie was amazed at how much her sister had matured and felt a little bittersweet as she realized that her sister would beginning her life soon; she was no longer a little girl.
The girls walked into the venue at nine forty-five, just about ten minutes before The Maine was scheduled to go on. Haley and Melanie’s heels clicked against the floor as they walked through the scene and to the bar. Melanie ordered a vodka tonic, knowing this was all right because Haley would be driving home that night.
The sisters went and stood in the back of the crowd and waited with the sea of teenagers for the boys to come on the stage. As the lights dimmed and the screams began Haley and Melanie turned their attention from each other and to the five boys that had entered the room.
The lights began to shine brightly and guitar riffs were strung, making the whole mess come together in perfection.
Melanie listened as the drums began pounding to an unfamiliar rhythm and she felt guilty as she realized that she no longer knew every word to every song.
She felt her heart stop beating though as he spoke into the microphone, singing the first words of the unfamiliar song. “She’s eighteen and a beauty queen. She makes the boys feel so weak.”
Melanie watched as the crowd jumped up and down singing right along with every word wishing that she was once again their age.
Haley sang along with the band as Melanie stood there silently, trying to convince herself that she was happy to be there when every bone inside of her felt wrong.
How would they feel about her there? She had barely kept in touch with any of them, except for Kennedy. She knew they would be her friends still, telling her it was okay—but it wasn’t. She missed everything that was important to them because she was selfish.
The set was soon coming to an end and she felt herself feeling relieved as each song ended. They were good, really good, and she felt so bad for not supporting that for the past few years.
“Let’s go back stage,” Haley yelled in her ear. “Their set is almost over.”
Melanie followed her sister to the back of the venue and stood on the side of the stage where the boys were. They looked so happy, just enthralled to be out there. She could smiles on Kennedy, Garrett, Pat, and Jared’s lips as they moved around the stage giving everything their all as they played their instruments.
She finally let her eyes land on the boy in the center of the stage; the one person she had been trying to avoid all night long.
He was different now. He no longer wore oversized t-shirts with skin tight jeans and Nike’s. No, now he was suave. His hair was cut shorter and it was placed into a purposeful mess on his head. He wore tight black jeans with black military boots and his white button down shirt was misplaced showing the tattoos along his chest.
His voice had grown so much and so had his stage presence. He no longer turned his back to the crowd because he was scared of them. Now he faced them confidently a gloating smile on his lips; he was living the life.
“Thank you, we are The Maine!” He yelled, exiting the stage with the other boys.
The boys all came running off the stage and went immediately for water bottles and hand towels to wipe of their faces. The crowd went crazy screaming for just one more song, and the boys all made small talk as they prepared.
Melanie looked over nervously at Kennedy who was staring at her confusedly, “Melanie?”
She gave him a small smile, “Hey Kenny.”
“Oh my God, it is you,” he grinned excitedly. He wrapped his arms around her thin frame and pulled her against his sweating body. “Your hair…it’s so different! It looks pretty but I didn’t recognize you!”
“Yep, it’s me,” She chuckled awkwardly. “How have you been?”
Just as Kennedy opened his mouth to reply he was cut off by another voice. “Kennedy we need to get back-
His sentence stopped as he saw her and his excited grin turned blank. His mouth stayed open for a moment as his blue-green eyes stared into hers, but then his face held a look of anger. “We need to get back on.”
Kennedy looked at Melanie awkwardly as she stared at the boy who was beckoning him. “I’ll talk to you after the show.”
Melanie listened to his words and ignored the excited hellos from the other boys in the band as she stared at the boy who glared into her eyes. It was as if they couldn’t believe the other one was there.
Garrett pushed on his shoulders moving him to the center of the stage and disconnecting their eye contact. Melanie sighed as she looked away, feeling her cheeks flush.
“Well, that was awkward,” Haley said matter-of-factly.
Melanie nodded her head silently as she watched the boys retake their places.
“Awe, we can play one more song I guess!” He yelled into the microphone. “But we’re having a set list change,” he said.
Melanie frowned as she looked at the surprised looks on the other boys faces as they looked at him.
“This will be our last song,” he began. “We are The Maine, and I am John O’Callaghan. This song is called ‘You Left Me’.”
Melanie felt a wave of nervousness come onto her bones as the boys looked at her tentatively and began playing the notes for the song.
John looked at her, his eyes glaring into hers as her pressed the microphone to his lips, “ Oh you left me with a broken heart and now I see what I should have from the start. Yeah you left me with nothing but a kiss and now I'm leaving you with these lips.
“Everything looked fine from here. Everything looked more than clear, but now you are gone, and I'm still here. Check it out. So check it out I wrote it down in case you ever left this town. And baby you can't fire me 'cause I quit, right now.
“Oh you left me with a broken heart and now I see what I should have from the start. Yeah you left me, with nothing but a kiss and now I'm leaving you with these lips.”
Melanie felt her skin getting goose bumps as she listened to the words of the song. She knew he’d still be mad or hurt—of course he would. She hadn’t called him, wrote him, texted him; nothing. But, he hadn’t tried to reach her either and that wasn’t fair.
“ So now I'm pressing, but I ain't stressing. She's got a man; I'm with her best friend. Tried at love, but it never really stuck; she said its love, but I didn't give a fuck.”
Melanie noticed that John stared directly into her eyes as he sang the words powerfully. Everyone in the crowd sang along happily, obviously not noticing the change in John’s demeanor. Not like she expected them to anyways, they hadn’t known him forever like she had.
He sang the chorus again and whether he knew it or not he was wearing his heart on his sleeve. Every emotion he held for her was in his eyes and she could read him like an open book; he was hurt. He was hurt bad.
“ And now I'm better 'cause you left me. I just left 'cause you let me. Don't keep calling, just forget me. Don't keep calling, just forget.”
But whether John realized it or not she was hurt too, just as bad as he was. She just didn’t happen to realize it until now when she was wiping falling tears of her cheeks slowly and exiting the venue.
Melanie was over him, she was over them. She was over everything they used to be because they were horrible for each other, and this was exactly why: she and John O’Callaghan were in love one day and ripping out each other’s hearts the next.