Burn

Sing Me To Sleep

Sing me to sleep, I'll see you in my dreams,
waiting to say, "I miss you. I'm so sorry."

Forever's never seemed so long as when you're not around
it's like a piece of me is missing.
-Lullabies, All Time Low

Glass, cold as ice touched Rae’s red stained lips, the champagne flute letting the cool liquid flow down her throat. Music swelled in the posh apartment space, the people moving around the place nicely dressed and the smell of expense colognes and perfumes filling her nose, muddying up her senses.

The birthday party for one of her father’s coworkers was in full swing, people milling about and discussing different surgery tactics, swapping stories of the ER, are questioning about how families were doing and catching up. The whitewash walls were decorated with modern art and the furniture was stylish but certainly uncomfortable; Rae didn’t even try to sit in the strangely shaped chairs.

All in all, the apartment looked fresh out of a magazine. It was supposed to look artsy, but it looked nothing like art to Rae. But perhaps that was just her taste in art as she milled about, Trystan close by as her date and saving grace.

Though Rae knew many of the people in the room, she could hardly stand to talk to them about the hospital for more than five seconds. This is where Trystan came in handy, serving as a scapegoat, Rae insisting she had to introduce her friend to other members of the party. It was true, but a poor excuse.

“I’m so glad my parents don’t make me go to stuffy parties,” Trystan whispered to Rae, making the girl giggle. “I mean, I’m loving the free champagne, but all of these men are tossers. Don’t get me started on the women.”

“Rae Bastian!” a voice called, causing both girls to turn and face the voice. Richard Dane, a son of Dr. Bastian’s colleges greeted them with a handsome smile, kissing Rae on both of her cheeks. “Good to see you! I haven’t seen you since we were children!”

Rae smiled, though she did not particularly like him. He was as arrogant as his father with as foul a temper as his mother. “It has been a long time, Rich.”

“Who’s your bird?” he asked, gesturing to Trystan who looked at him with no interest, downing the contents of her drink to drown out his voice.

“Rich, this is Trystan,” Rae introduced politely. Trystan outstretched her hand because it was expected of her, not because she wanted to. This made Rae smile a bit. “Trystan, this is Richard Dane, Dr. Dane’s son. We grew up around one another, though Rae stopped coming around.”

“Can’t imagine why,” Trystan deadpanned, shooting him an extremely fake smile. Rae tried not to snicker at Trystan’s obvious distaste and Rich’s oblivious attitude. “It was lovely to meet you, Rach-“

“Rich.”

“Whatever, we’ve got to leave unfortunately. Cheerio, mate.”

Rae quickly said goodbye to her father, explaining that Trystan had the opening shift in the morning. He was reluctant to let her leave, but in the end he gave both girls a kiss on the cheek and told them to be safe on the way home, shoving money in Rae’s hands for a taxi even though she had cash on her.

Outside the cool night air painted goose bumps around their skin, their laughter filling the sidewalk as Rae stepped off of the curb, raising her hand as a taxi was going by. The cab came to a stop and the girls slid in easily, Rae rattling off her address.

The cab ride was filled with laughter, and it continued as the slide out of the car, Rae handing the driver the correct amount of money and thanking him. Together, they walked inside of the house, wishing each other a goodnight. They were both tired, and Trystan truly did have the morning shift the next morning.

In her room, Rae began to change into pajamas. Just as she sat in bed, there was a knock on the downstairs door. She wasn’t sure how she could hear it from so far, but it caused her to rise, walking down stairs. The lights in Trystans room where already off, meaning she was probably asleep; the blonde could fall asleep in three seconds.

Flicking on the porch light, Rae opened the door, her browse pulling together as she saw Harry leaning against her railing. The tilt to his lean and the way he hung his head, as if it were too heavy for him, told her all she needed to know. Without a word she walked out onto the porch, leading him into the house gently by the arm.

Trying not to be loud, Rae led the intoxicated boy upstairs and to her room, sitting him on the bed. His eyes were glassy and she shut the door to her room quietly, flicking the lights on. He recoiled from the lights, the movement making him fall backwards onto her bed, resulting in laughter.

“Shut up!” she snapped at him, making him quiet instantly. Rae tried to hide her fury, grabbing a water bottle off of her dresser and shoving it into his hands, sitting him up again. “Why the fuck did you come here?”

“Seemed like a good idea at the time,” he slurred, looking at the bottle of water with distaste. He set it on the bed, no interest in the contents whatsoever. Rae picked it back up and shoved it in his hands again. “Now I’m starting to think it was a horrid idea cause you’re being a twat.”

Running a hand through her hair, Rae kneeled in front of Harry, looking up at him. She was trying to be as earnest as possible. “Harry, you’re drunk and you showed up on my doorstep. That’s not exactly something to celebrate about.”

“And why not?” he questioned, giving her an irritated look. “I thought you would be thrilled to see me. Most girls are. Maybe I should go to them.”

Harry moved to stand but Rae beat him to it, grabbing his shoulder and sitting him back down. He tried again and she pushed him down harder, gripping his shoulder tightly. She felt like him, being aggressive. “You will sit here and you will drink that water, or so help me God I will kill you.”

“Aggressive. I like it.”

“Drink the damn water!” she hissed, letting go of his shoulder and walking to the bathroom, busying herself with brushing her teeth. She was absolutely furious with him. She in no way wanted to deal with his drinking habit. Trystan’s words came back to haunt her, or he’s good at hiding it.

Coming back into her room she found that he still hadn’t consumed the water. Temper flaring, she marched over to him, snatching the water bottle and twisting the cap off. He watched as she grabbed him firmly by the mouth, shoving the bottle to his lips and tilting his head backwards.

Harry sputtered for a moment but she held fast, making him drink what was left of the water. When he finished, she pulled it away, leaving him coughing as she tossed it in the waste bin. “What that really so difficult?”

“Yes, you were giving me a proper choking.”

“Then you should have drunk it.” She turned to face him. He seemed extremely out of placing, being drunk and sitting on her bed staring at her with an innocent expression. Why he had shown up on her doorstep, she had no idea. But she figured there was a reason behind most things he did, whether they were conscious or not. “Why did you come here of all places if you’re going to be a bladdered mess?”

“Like I said, it seemed like a good idea.” Rae gave him a look, fierce and demanding honesty. “And I may have lost my phone and keys.”

“I’m not a hotel, you know.”

“Yeah, a hotel wouldn’t yell at me so much.”

“I’m not yelling. I’m scolding, there’s a difference.” Rae sat next to him. “And I’m only doing it because you can’t keep coming to me drunk. I’m going to start ignoring the knocks on the door.”

“Well since you’ve already let me inside can you spare me the lecture?” he laid on his back, sighing heavily and letting his green eyes fluttering shut for a moment. Rae watched him, getting a chance to watch his gorgeous face relax. “I had a bad day, so I really don’t want to be yelled at more- and don’t ask if I want to talk about it, I don’t.”

“So what do you want me to talk about?”

He paused, thinking on in. “Yourself. Tell me about yourself.”

So she did. Rae told him everything about her and stories of when she was little. She even ventured as far as telling him about her mother and how wonderful she was. Harry smiled a lot throughout her speaking, though his eyes never opened. She got the feeling he was enjoying the sound of her voice.

For over an hour she sat on the bed facing him, cross-legged as he lay there on his back, eyes closed and responding when the time called for it. His hand found itself on her knee, drawing aimless patterns and drawings.

After a while, Rae felt tired, not really wanting to talk anymore. “I’m tired of talking about myself. Your turn.”

He didn’t open his eyes. “There isn’t really much to say. As a kid I was pretty lonely a lot. My parents were always busy doing things, so it was just me at my home. I used to read a lot, and pretend that I was the character in books. I remember for an entire month once, I was convinced I was Sherlock Holmes.”

Rae laughed at that one and Harry smiled. “Of all the people?”

He shrugged. “He seemed like a fancy bloke, with his intelligence and ability to figure anything out. I used to pretend to be him, trying to find out-“

Harry cut himself off, his eyes snapping open as he stared blankly at the ceiling. Rae watched him and waited for him to continue, but he didn’t, deciding that whatever he was going to say, he didn’t want her to hear. “Wanted to find out why your parents weren’t home?” she offered, suspicions confirmed when he looked at her in surprise. She gave him a sad smile. “Well as I’m sure Sherlock could tell you, there isn’t an answer to everything.”

“How can you be so sure about that?”

“Why was my mother taken from me?” Rae demanded suddenly, her question throwing Harry off track and making him lick his lips, trying to think of something to say. Rae didn’t normally ask people the question she often asked herself, but it seemed he was coming up blank, just like she did every time. “See, there’s no answer for that question. Trust me, I’ve searched the word over a million times for it.”

His eyes were sad. “We’re kind of fucked up, huh?”

Rae giggled, despite the serious talk. “Everyone is, Harold. Come on, I’m tired and I want to go to bed.”

With a yawn, Harry sat up, swaying a little from the alcohol in his system. Rae led him to the spare room that he was already accustomed to, helping him in. She felt like his mother, tucking him and placing a kiss on his head, feeling bad for him. He had grown up with a mother, but without a mother’s love. “I don’t think I’ll be able to sleep.”

Rae paused sitting on the edge of the bed and softly singing, “White lips, pale face, breathing in the snowflakes…”

Rae’s voice was soft and warm like heated milk, soothing Harry and causing his eyelids to flutter shut. She sang quietly, watching him as she went over the lyrics to Ed Sheeran’s song The A Team. Within a few minutes, Harry was asleep and Rae was leaving the bedroom, closing the door quietly behind her.

♠ ♠ ♠

Trystan's Party Outfit
Rae's Party Outfit

My video notes haven't been working that well lately, and I'm not entirely sure why, so heres an old fashioned one! I hope you guys liked that they revealed a little bit about themselves in this chapter! I know I did. I also got a tumblr the other day, and though I'm still figuring it out, you should totally follow me.

I've also been thinking on putting one of my original fictions on here. It's an idea that has been plaguing me the last few days, though I'm not sure I should do it or not. It's a pretty simple idea, but I think people would like it. Would yall?