Hello everyone and welcome to the first writing challenge of the year by WritingNook.Gr!
For the month of January, we have the most intriguing challenge! Here it is:
Choose a song you like and use every lyric to tell your own, unique story! The story can be an original story, part of your current WIP, au story of something you like, or even a fanfic! To make it more interesting, try not to surpass a 5000 word count. The song can be in any language you want and you can use its translation for the story!
I chose 2 characters from my current WIP because this song fits their relationship so well! The song is Angels Like You by Miley Cyrus and this is an AU fanfic. This passage is the translation of the one I wrote in Greek (would very match appreciate it if you gave it a thumbs up here), so I changed a few things to make better sense in English. I've also slightly changed the lyrics (me instead of you, you instead of me, that sort of thing) Anyway, I truly hope you enjoy!
Part 1
I finally find the courage to knock at his door but hearing him approach makes my hands shake again. I've made the right choice, I keep telling myself ever since I parked the car. We cannot live in this lie anymore. The way he smiles once he sees me breaks my hurt even more.
"Hi, baby." He pulls me onto him and my lungs fill with his scent; the ocean breeze combined with sandalwood and a hint of sweet vanilla. Warmth and comfort take me over.
"Hope I'm not late." Taking off my coat, I take my favorite seat on the armchair by the window. It starts raining and slowly the fog on the glass makes it impossible to see through. What an irony. It's just like the day he asked me to be his.
Elliot places a cup of warm coffee on the ledge next to me and finds a way to support himself. I could see from the reflection he has flowers in hand.
"I've been waiting for you," he says and hands them to me. Red roses, my favorite. "The words in my house were flat, one syllable, hard beginnings or endings, easy to line up –like wooden dominoes– easy to use, remember. I spent years trying to replace them with a fluency of crimson, indigo, emerald, lapis, vermillion. Oh, how I loved vermilion when I found you." That's my favorite poem.
"Every word a poetry. That's how it's always with you, you know that?" I gently place them on the coffee table and wrap my arms around his neck. My lips touch his, a kiss as soft as the rain falling on grass.
"Only with you baby."
"You know, everyone's noticed that you won't call me by name, only baby."
He pulls away and I see worry spreading across his face. "Is that a bad thing?" he asks.
Despite myself, my hand cups his cheek, thumb running gently over his lips as his promises fill my mind. It's now or never.
"We need to talk." I pull myself away and sit back, the warmth of the coffee my only solace. He doesn't react for a while, only his eyes move to observe me. I know he knows. The stiffness of his body gives away everything his blank face is trying to conceal.
"You've made your decision then." He takes the seat across from me but he avoids my gaze.
"You've asked me to be honest with you and... I haven't been in a long time."
He chuckles under his breath, head shaking in disbelief. "You're doing this for me?"
"I'm doing this for the both of us. Elliot, you've known me since we were kids. The more that you give, the less that I need. I-, I don't need anything anymore. Once I stop needing someone, once I run out of things to give and have nothing to receive, I- " I couldn't bring myself to finish the sentence.
If it were for anyone else, I'd be out the door already. They'd be mad at me, throwing insults one after the other. Liar, betrayer, a heartless bitch. The door would shut in my face and no matter how much I tried, I'd never open again. But no Elliot. He knows me, probably better than I know myself.
"I don't understand." Tears start streaming down his face and it's not long before I hear his voice breaking. "Everyone says you look happy." If I concentrate, I'm sure I could hear his heart shattering and the pieces falling on the floor. Mine, however, with its cracks and crooks, stays in its place. "And this, us... When it feels right, it has to be right."
I kneel before him so he can't avoid my gaze anymore. "Elliot, for years and years you've buried things inside your chest. It's time to make peace with them and let them go." More demanding than I intended but it seems to do the trick.
"I don't-"
"Elliot enough! Just say it."
Defeated and emotionally drained, he raises his eyes on me as a sob shakes his body. "I know that you're wrong for me. And I know I'm gonna wish we never met on the day you leave, You're the kind of woman no one can satisfy, that can't be content no matter how much you give her. You'll always want more."
His words feel like daggers in my heart, twisting and tearing the soft skin to pieces. Not because they are real but because he's held on to them for so long. Because this relationship has been tearing him apart but he hasn't found the strength to put an end to it. I wipe his tears and sit on his lap. He buries his head in my chest and strong arms wrap around my waist. His shoulders start to heave.
"I've brought you down to your knees a million times, my love. And every time you ask why I come back, I only say 'cause they say that misery loves company'." I regret waiting for him at the port before sunrise on every trip back home. I regret wrapping my limbs around him and whispering I've missed him. I regret undressing him before we even got to his apartment, the way my body responds to his touch, my passion exploding as I top him. I regret, I regret. There are so many things I regret.
I bite down hard on my lips, refusing to let the pain color my voice. It's a few deep breaths before I find the strength to speak. "No matter how magical our nights are, how safe we make each other feel, every single time I break your heart. And every time you take me back. This is toxic Elliot. It needs to stop." His breath is even now, the tears have dried from his eyes. I take the opportunity and stand, dragging him up with me. His legs almost give up under him but I don't let him back down. It's about time I help him pick up the pieces and move forward.
"It's not your fault I ruin everything."
He comes closer and I let him place a kiss on my lips. "And it's not your fault I can't be what you need," he whispers.
"You're wrong. I've told you a thousand times baby, angels like you can't fly down here with me. No matter how much I hate to admit it, your parents were right. I'm everything they said I would be."
Mentioning his parents might have been a mistake. I see a flame reigniting in him, his face set as if he is ready to take down anyone who'd dare stand in his way. He pulls me close and kisses me, his tongue violating my mouth and forcing me to return the kiss. I close my eyes and lose myself in the moment. Just two minutes, I promise. My body is ready to explode when I feel him pushing against my thigh through his jeans. I try to pull away but he keeps me captive. The hours I've spent in his bed flash before my eyes, making my core yearn for him and my hands roughly tangle in his hair. If you lay in his bed now, says a little voice, you'll hurt him even more. This time I force him away. I take two steps back and try to even my breathing.
"What the hell are you doing?" I am beyond myself at this point, both angry and afraid. "You know very well that if you keep this up, we'll end up naked! What do you want? Let me guess, I'll put you down slow, love you and then goodbye. Just like that?"
"You know what I want." Hands turn into fists on his sides and I can tell he's putting an effort not to raise his voice. "Before you let go, I want you just one more time."
"Elliot..." I don't have the strength to hold back the tears anymore. They run freely down my face, like little streams of pain and sadness. "I can't..."
"Shh." He pulls me up and I automatically put my legs around him. My fingers weave through his hair and I notice the golden strands have been drowned in the brown sea. Our kiss deepens and he takes us to his bedroom. He lays me gently in the middle of the double bed, the velvet covers our very own crimson paradise. "Just take off your clothes and pretend that it's fine." His mouth is on me before I have time to complain, while his hands rid me of my clothes. I don't even realize his naked skin is now on mine.
He starts teasing me, his tongue gently pressing my center, or his fingers caressing me if his mouth is trapped in my kiss. It's not long before my lips part and a low moan escapes them. He looks at me and I'm losing myself in the green fields of his eyes.
"I don't want to hurt you again." I hear me pleading with him, trying to make him see how much I need him to walk away. I am too weak, already surrendered.
"Don't worry my love, a little more hurt won't kill me," he says sweetly as his body enters mine.
I don't know how many times I let him finish inside me, or how many times I pulled him closer even though he was ready to end it. What I do know is that it's 6 pm when I wake up in his arms and I have merely two hours to get to my parent's house. My legs shake by the time I get in my car, and it's not just from the hyper activity of the last couple of hours. It's the thought of his face once he wakes up and sees my necklace on the nightstand.
I get home later than I hoped, the traffic only adding to my severe headache. I ring the bell and my sister welcomes me in, a lool of horror on her face as she looks me over. She drags me to the bathroom before our parents see me; the last thing I need right now is to be bombarded with questions.
"I'll tell you later," I promise Dawn, knowing very well she won't let me close an eye unless I tell her everything.
We take our seats at the table and the delicacies make my stomach growl. I just realized I haven't eaten all day. While father won't stop talking about his new trading deal, Dawn keeps looking at me with worry painted all over her face.
Do I really look that terrible?, I wonder. Mother is quick to confirm my thoughts, even if she tries to be settle about it. Seated to my right, she pretends to struggle to reach the cheese pallet on my other side and, careful not to draw father's attention, she leans closer.
"Tonight," mother says, "you don't look happy."
How can I be? The same words keep on repeating in my head, Elliot's soft voice trying to lull me back to sleep as he pulls me into his embrace one last time.
"Close your eyes," he says. "Dream. At least in our dreams, we can have forever."
Go to Part 2
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