Me Against the Music

Diana

LOOK HOW CALM SHE IS
Original poster
ADMINISTRATOR
MYTHICAL MEMBER
Invitation Status
  1. Not accepting invites at this time
Posting Speed
  1. 1-3 posts per week
  2. Slow As Molasses
Online Availability
10AM - 10PM Daily
Writing Levels
  1. Adaptable
Preferred Character Gender
  1. Female
Genres
Romance, Supernatural, Fantasy, Thriller, Space Exploration, Slice of Life
She didn't want to be here. When she left New York City, Heather promised herself that she would never look back. The choice she made wasn't easy. But it was the best for him. He had dreams and ambitions. Ones that sometimes she might have been jealous over, but always appreciated about him. He knew what he wanted out of his life and she didn't want to take it away from him. Staying away was the right thing to do.

But then her parents died.

For four years, Heather had been living with the help of her parents taking care of twin boys. Finding out she was pregnant was surprising enough, but having twins was a down right shock! Her parents were more than happy to lend a hand. With their passing it left Heather with a big hole and a lot of guilt. What would happen to her boys if she died. What if their father died and they never had a chance to know him? How in hells name was she going to pay all the bills on her own?

So there she was. Walking down the sidewalk with two addresses in hand. One for his place and one for where he worked. Her boys were being watched by a friend, and today she was going to show her face for the first time in 4 years to drop the biggest bomb her exboyfriend had ever seen.

Heather didn't know what to expect.
 
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Demetri was in the studio, laughing along with his friends. "Alright, alright guys, c'mon let's get back to work?" he asked the guys, seeing how they only wanted to play and mess around. His buddy, Ryn, finally agreed and turned up the volume in the studio, as they tried mixing it.

Demetri's heart stopped, hearing the song Ryn picked. It brought back so many memories. Of Heather. He chewed in the inside of his cheek, not believing after trying so hard for four years to cut her out of his mind...she came back in oh so easily. He raked his hair, and placed a fake expression on his face, bobbing his head to the music. He closed his eyes, remembering when he danced with Heather to this song. The same night they made love...and a couple weeks after, she left him.

Alone.

His feelings were even stronger than before, if it were even possible.
 
Heather stepped in to the building, green eyes glancing around curiously at the place. The studio was... not what she expected. In good shape for being as old as it was, it clearly wasn't a big name label... or as far as she could tell, even a real advertised business. Heather had thought Demetri would be working for a major record company mixing music by now, not in a building she was sure had to be a converted apartments.

There wasn't even anyone in the lobby to take names. So it was easy for Heather to let herself in and start looking around. The place was quiet. Pretty natural when rooms needed to be sound proofed for recording. Down at the end of a hall she found a door with a glass window and leaned to peek inside.

There he was. The look on his face struck her deep. That pensive, far off gaze. Whatever he was thinking about must have been sad for him. Heather prayed it wasn't about her. It would have made her timing all the worse.

She hesitated for a moment, but after swallowing her fear, she finally knocked on the glass door.
 
Demetri's shoulders jumped at the echo of the glass being knocked on. He was so into the zone, living in the past when Heather was around and they laughed at comedy shows, throwing popcorn at each other in a flirty way, making a huge mess on his couch only for them to make love on the floor, because the sofa was covered in crumbs.

Demetri looked over, and his eyes doubled in size, not believing his eyes. He fought the urge to pinch himself, wanting to know if this was some sort of beautiful nightmare. It wasn't.

This was reality. Demetri cleared his throat, cuing Ryn to cut off the music. "You can take a break, let Heather come in," Demetri told him in a low voice, not trusting his voice at the moment. Ryn nodded, knowing something was between Demetri and this Heather woman. Ryn didn't ask questions, just got up from his seat for Demetri to take it and went to open the door for Heather.
 
Heather nodded at Ryn when she stepped in to the room. The guy wasn't someone she knew and she decided it was probably better that way. She too cleared her throat, in that weird awkward way. Driving in to the city, she had an entire speech planned out. All of the things she had wanted to say to Demetri before she left, and all the things she wanted to say afterwards. Now that she was in the same room with him again, seeing him face to face, all she could remember were sublime nights tucked away in a booth at a booming club, whispering in each others ear about silly and amusing things.

"Hi." Was the only word she could get out at first. Coupled with a shy, curt wave.

There she went clearing her throat again. "Uhm... do you mind talking to me in private...?" she asked. It didn't matter to her if it were there or outside. But this was definitely a conversation she didn't feel comfortable outing in front of his friends or clients.
 
Demetri only stared at her, soaking in her presence. She was even more beautiful than he remembered, if it were possible. He looked at how her fiery waves laid so calmly on her shoulders. How her emerald eyes looked everywhere around the room, not wanting to focus on his eyes. "Huh? Oh yeah, sure," he managed to utter out of his mouth. He walked out of the room, holding the door open for her politely.

"Come and f-f-follow me," he stuttered quietly, and mentally cursed himself for acting so foolish.

They both walked into his little office, which was decorated in many things. Oh, and clutter.

He had a bunch of pictures of his big family on a large bulletin board on the farthest wall, pictures of his only sister glowing on her wedding day. Demetri and Heather went to that together, he remembered. It was the last time he had said he loved her. He remembered it like it was yesterday.

"So, it's been a while...what made you come back?" he asked her quietly, as he sat down on his stool. He hated chairs for offices. His office could have been considered a lounge, his desk looking like a bar almost.
 
It was hard to look at him, though she caught a glimpse of his physique while he led her to his office. He probably still spent every other day working out with random household items to have his arms look that damn solid. Heather was pretty sure her own looks hadn't held up over the years. After chasing two boys around, she barely had the energy to brush her hair and throw on her clothes.

His office was proof that little had changed about Demetri. Paperwork and personal items littered the place in a haphazard mess. This was definitely where her boys got their penchant for chaotically tossing their toys anywhere they'd would fit. The thought brought a slight curve of a smile to her lips. At least until she remembered what she had came for.

Heather slipped on to one of the stools. Finding the lack of a back or arms made her feel like she was about to free fall any moment. No doubt a side effect of a guilty conscience.

"Hmm. There's no easy way to dive in to this..." she started, dodging answering the question out right. Heather tilted slightly to the side as she reached in to her back pocket. Out came a photograph. She set it down on his bar topped desk and slid it across to him. Pictured in vibrant color were two identical boys, just barely close to four years old, grinning mischievously. One dangling a toy snake and another trying to chomp it with a dinosaur.

"That... I came here here to tell you about that..."
 
Demetri nodded, urging her on. What was she here for? To say sorry? To tell him why she left? What was it? Finally, she placed a picture on his desk, and slid it toward him. He bit his bottom lip, and looked at her as if waiting for her to say anything else she needed to say, then she didn't speak anymore.

He finally looked down at the two children. It didn't hit him right away, because he didn't possibly think that they were his. She would have told him, not leave him behind! Or...wait...
They had his eyes, his dark eyes...but they had soft specks of green, the green in Heather's eyes. They had his nose, and even his hair color. The smiles on their faces, however...were all Heather's, and their skin color as well. Wait, wait.

They had kids.

"They're our's?" he asked her, with his eyebrows quirked.

He was numb at the moment, not entirely knowing how to handle it all.
 
Heather ran her hands over her face. She almost wanted to wave her hands with spirit fingers and yell Surprise!, but it would have been so grossly in bad taste. She finally let out a loud sigh, clasping her hands together in her lap as she shrugged her shoulders. Even when she was nodding her head in affirmation.

"Yours. Ian and Caleb. I should I have told you sooner. ... Then even. It's just. ....Complicated!" Yeah, her entire list of reasons why she fled, all seemed inadequate now. They were really good reasons, at least that's what she kept telling herself. She watched the expressions on his face. The confusion. Realization. A glimmer of delight mixed in with that anger she knew would be coming. Heather was searching for any signs of regret or disgust. Something that might give her a reason to get pissed off an aggressive. Cause a big scene, threaten him with child support or be all around nasty. Anything that'd make her feel more justified for having kept his children and get rid of her guilt.

"You had a life and goals and so much that you wanted to do. A baby wasn't really part of that. Two babies, well," she laughed softly, despite the grim look on her face, "that was a fun surprise. Twins sure don't run in my side of the family..." Heather fell silent again. Brushing her hair back behind her ears just to have something to do with her hands.
 
"Twins and triplets run in mind..." Demetri trailed off, giving her a half-smile.

He was...shocked. "Heather, you're real silly, you know that? You left me...the love of my life left me just because she thought she would slow me down?" Demetri said, shaking his head as he held the bridge of his nose. "I loved you, scratch that...I still do!" he told her, his voice raising not purposely.

He looked down at them, taking the picture into his hands slowly, as if the picture would disappear in any minute. "Heather, why'd you keep them from me? Why now?" he asked her, his voice quiet and faint, not trusting it because he was afraid of the answer.

He was angry, but he didn't know who to be angry at or why. He was angry at himself, that's what it was. He was angry...at himself.
 
"You what...?" That stunned her. Really stunned her. All of the things he said was completely lost and forgotten by her. Only one phrase ringing in her head. I loved you... I still do. After all of this time, how could such simple little words churn up her insides, and bring a flood of emotions back so easily.

Heather finally shook herself back to present reality. She couldn't let herself get wrapped up in old feelings. Things were over and done and they really couldn't get all of that time back.

She blew out a slow breath, a sad expression crossing her face. "Eh... My parents died. I didn't want to keep them from you. It's not like I thought you would be a shit dad or something. It's just... It just seemed like more than you could deal with. And I lost my parents and all I could think about afterwards was what'd happen if I was gone. Who would have the boys... or you died and never had a chance to see them." The entire thing came out in a rush, and by the time she was finished her voice was cracking. Heather was dangerous close to crying and struggling to keep it under control. Another day she was going to think it hilarious that she was trying to be "brave mommy" when her boys weren't even there. But right at that moment, she just didn't want to let Demetri see her in tears.
 
Demetri almost jumped out of the seat, as he walked over to her, to place his hands warmly on her biceps. "Heather, look at me. Don't cry. I'm glad you came now rather than never, or ten years from now," he whispered to her, picking up her chin gently with his index. He looked into her eyes, urging her to believe him. "You shouldn't have left, you took not only my unknown babies away from me...but you took an even bigger piece, a piece of me that I've been trying to get back everyday for the past four years..." Demetri trailed off softly.

"Honey, I'm so sorry that they passed. I loved them as if they were my own," Demetri whispered to her, finally letting his index finger falter from her chin, placing it lazily on his side, but he still had his one hand on her arm gently.

Demetri ignored the painful pang in his chest, seeing as she didn't say anything about loving him, or not loving him anymore. He tried his best not to think about it.
 
He was making it near impossible to remain distant and objective. Demetri was supposed to be angry, screaming, completely pissed off at her. She was prepared for that. Heather wasn't prepared for soft expressions and warm touches. It was probably why, against her netter judgement, she was slipping off her chair to stand. Throwing her arms around his waist in a sudden hug and burying her face against his chest. A faint sniffle managed to escape, but Heather disguised it with a shaky laugh. The sound of her voice muffled against his shirt.

"I'm sorry, Demetri... really sorry. If I could take it back..!" A chance to make a different choice, and have a different life. Going down that road was a dangerous thing. Heather seemed to realize she had fallen back to that habit of clinging on to him. She disentangled herself just as quickly as she had hugged him. Taking a step back to distance herself as she rubbed the back of her hand against her eyes.

"Sorry, uhm. I- I want you to see them. Be a part of their lives. I just really don't know where to start. I need to sell my parents house and find a good school for them to start in next year and... it's.. all getting really overwhelming!"
 
Demetri felt old memories, and raw emotions from the past smack him like a rough wave when Heather went into his arms. He was about to wrap his arms around her, and murmur everything was okay because at least she came. That they could start all over.

But she was already out of his hands, leaving cold air to fill her space.

"Why're you selling the house? You loved that house, Heather. Is it the money? Do you need money? Why don't you move into their home, they live only a couple miles away. I'll help you pick a good school, anything. I just want to see them, and I really want to help. I have four years of catching up to do," Demetri murmured to her softly.

Including with you, he thought to himself. He would never say that aloud.
 
Heather laughed, a shaky sound that betrayed just how much the entire conversation was taking it's soul. She knew it wasn't going to be easy, but it wasn't going at all the way she planned it out. She was desperately grasping for a way to push through it and ignore how awkward it felt.

A hand ran through her hair, shaking it out and pulling it over her shoulder. A nervous habit she never had been able to break. "I can't afford to keep the house and everything else too." she finally said. It was clearly a point of exasperation for her, as she was now rocking back and forth on her feet in an impatient and fidgeting motion.

"I want you to see them, though. Be a part of their lives and everything. I told them a lot about you." Heather cast a grim sort of smile. "I might have fibbed a little bit about where you were... Daddy making music to help clear out rats from towns like the pied piper..."
 
"You'll be able to afford the house, if I help. C'mon, really Heather? You know you don't want to give up the home," Demetri told her in a soft voice. He noticed how nervous and frantic she was slowly getting. Once again, he placed his hands on her. He stroked her bicep comfortingly, hoping she'd just relax.

He let out a breathy chuckle, "That's cute. You were always one for fairy tales, Heather. That's one thing I love about you."

"What else did you tell them about me? That I was...a coward for not going to look for you?" Demetri asked her, his voice showing that he was hurt, and blamed himself for everything. For getting her pregnant, and making her leave.
 
"Are you serious?" Heather looked a little stunned. Did he really think that's what she thought of him? That she ever wondered why he didn't come looking for her? After the way she left, she was so sure that bridge was burned and there was no turning back.

She shook her head slowly. Reaching up to grasp his shirt between her fingers. Tempted to learn forward against him again, but being more concerned that he was twisting around his heart over something that was never his fault to begin with.

"I told them you were wonderful. About how you would smile for hours after a really funny movie. And how you would always pull over on the side of the road to help someone that was stranded. That we would talk about getting married in a club just so we could wear glow sticks, and that every time there was a storm you'd stay at my place so I wouldn't have to sleep alone. Everything about the guy I loved enough to make two adorable little beasts with."
 
Demetri gave her a soft smile, not able to contain it anymore once she explained all of the things she told their twins. He remembered how he helped Heather conquer her fears...they made love during a rainstorm. Just at the thought, Demetri's heart thrummed violently against his rib cage.

"Did you tell them how we met? How I was running away from a dog, and hopped your fence?" Demetri asked her with a soft chuckle, looking at her with a loving glance.

"I remembered, all I had to do was sing, and I could change your day from OK to great," Demetri thought aloud.
 
Heather laughed. It wasn't just his singing that could change the entire scope of her day. Demetri just made her happy. His presence made a room feel warm, and his words made her smile. It was one of those things she always took for granted. Never realizing just how much she really depended on him until he was no longer a part of her life.

"Demetri, I..." Her expression went soft again. There were so many things she wanted to say, and here was to opportunity to say it. Yet, she couldn't seem to dig up the words. Letting out a slow weary breath, Heather leaned up on her toes. She brushed a kiss against the corner of his mouth, holding gently to his shirt to keep her balance before she settled back on her feet again.

"I missed you. ...I should go." Heather was sure that in the future people were going to look back at her life and call her a runner! Because there she was again thinking about running, when it was the last thing she wanted to do.
 
Demetri's hand grabbed Heather's wrist gently, not wanting her to leave--again.

"You're not leaving, again. Not until I know you're coming back with the twins, our twins," Demetri told her quietly, looking down at their hands, he finally let go and looked up at her with pleading eyes. He wanted to take her in his arms, and kiss her and tell her all the reasons he loved her and still did, and wishing they could start over.

But, he didn't want to screw any of this up.

And what if she was even seeing someone?

Just at the thought made his stomach churn in a scary, nervous way.