Sarah Paulson Short Stories

Broken Strings - Wilhemina Venable

Tia loved to sing when there was no one around, it was something she enjoyed doing, but Tia had never been confident enough to do it in front of people; including her girlfriend Wilhemina Venable. As her fingers strummed on the strings and her voice echoed throughout the home; Mina had just left work.

'You can't play on broken strings' Tia's voice was so elegant, she just didn't know it, confidence was always something she had struggled with and although Mina had helped Tia with most of her confidence and anxiety based problems there was always something in the back of Tia's mind telling her she was pathetic, wasn't good enough, didn't deserve Wilhemina. 'You can't feel anything that your heart don't want to feel' this was one of T's favourite songs, a classic that was played through her childhood, one that she felt in her soul and one she loved to sing her heart out to when she could hear it echo around their minimalistic home. 'I can't tell you something that ain't real' it's one of the songs that Mina would like, Mina always appreciates Tia's taste in music, how T loves to play older songs; the better one's in her opinion and how she will blast 80's songs instead of the newer more 'relevant' music.

Wilhemina pulled up outside the house, parking her all white sports car in front of the door and slowly getting out. Tia was still singing her heart out upstairs, she hadn't heard Mina arrive. 'Oh the truth hurts' as Mina walked through the front door she heard a beautiful voice flowing around the walls of the house 'A lie's worse' Wilhemina hadn't realised it was Tia singing, she thought it was coming off the surround sound speakers 'How can I give anymore' Mina slowly walked up the stairs, not wanting to make a noise, she made it to the outside of the bedroom and put her ear up to the wall 'When I love you a little less than before' the door slowly creaked open, as Mina stepped inside she made eye contact with Tia, who looked like she'd been caught with her hand in the sweet jar.

The guitar slowly faded out while Tia kept her hands resting on the strings. She wanted to run away, hide in the cupboard, get out before Mina laughed. Mina was awestruck, she hadn't heard a voice like it before, so beautiful and angelic. Wilhemina wasn't sure what to say, for her it was extremely unusual to be speechless, but her purple figure was stuck in the doorway unable to move. "Please say something Mina, your scaring me" Tia looked into Mina's eyes and couldn't see any mocking in them; rather her eyes were filled with tears, glassy chocolate eyes blinked back at her, "Sweetheart that was amazing, how come you never sing in front of me?" Tia just looked at Mina, she wasn't expecting to be complimented, she had half expected to be laughed at, yes Mina always made sure Tia was happy but that didn't mean she wasn't harsh sometimes. Wilhemina tries her best to leave work outside the front door, but sometimes it creeps in like a bad smell, it's never purposeful, but it just cannot be helped on the days when it's been really bad. Tia had thought Mina was going to turn to her hard self, ask Tia what the hell the racket was and then walk off, but no soft Mina had come out and she was generally impressed by Tia's talent.

"I was always scared to, I thought you would laugh, say it was pathetic" Tia explained while moving her eyes to the floor, focusing on a spot of black. "Baby, that was amazing, seriously, you should sing more. I'd love to listen to you." Mina moved closer with her practised steps, "Will you sing more for me?" Mina asked with a hopeful look on her face. "Sure, what do you want me to sing, actually no I know exactly what to sing for you. Just give me two seconds, don't look at the lyrics; it's a surprise." Tia's worry and embarrassment has been replaced with a giddiness as she runs off to another room; she returns with a folder of songs and her capo.

Tia got herself set up and gave Mina a kiss on the cheek while ushering her to sit on the end of the bed, "Honey just sit there and enjoy" Tia said with a wink as she sat herself down on the stool.

~~~~~~
I'll use you as a warning sign
That if you talk enough sense then you'll lose your mind
And I'll use you as a focal point
So I don't lose sight of what I want
And I've moved further than I thought I could
But I missed you more than I thought I would
And I'll use you as a warning sign
That if you talk enough sense then you'll lose your mind
~~~~~~

It was 'their' song, Mina knew that straight away; why it was 'their' song she wasn't quite sure, she just remembers it's one of Tia's favourites and it eventually became something they resembled as 'theirs'. Mina is never the type to show her emotions, she took months to open up to Tia, trusting people has always been difficult for Wilhemina; what could you expect from someone who has been left by everyone important in her life, some even because of her disability. Venable was bullied as a child, even by her parents at some points, the only person who never turned their back on her is Tia. That's why it took her so long to open up, she was afraid that if Tia found out the truth she would leave, how wrong had she been.

~~~~~~
And I found love where it wasn't supposed to be
Right in front of me
Talk some sense to me

And I found love where it wasn't supposed to be
Right in front of me
Talk some sense to me
~~~~~~

Glassy eyes met each other over the top of the guitar, Mina's lip was starting to wobble as she listened to the smooth voice of her girlfriend. As Tia's voice started to shake she looked away, trying to finish the song without completely breaking down. Wilhemina reached into her pocket for a hanky to wipe her eyes, she smiled when she thought about how Tia would just wipe it on her shirt. Mina focused back on the song and started to softly hum the tune along with Tia.

~~~~~~
And I'll use you as a makeshift gauge
Of how much to give and how much to take
I'll use you as a warning sign
That if you talk enough sense then you'll lose your mind

And I found love where it wasn't supposed to be
Right in front of me
Talk some sense to me

And I found love where it wasn't supposed to be
Right in front of me
Talk some sense to me
~~~~~~

Tia looked up from the guitar again looking for chocolate eyes, she found them and you could hear the smile in her voice as she continued to sing, those eyes could bring so much comfort that nothing else could. Those eyes would be searched for in busy crowds, in conversations where she was starting to become stressed, in situations where she could feel her heart picking up; they were her safe space and nothing would change that. Even when Mina's eyes were filled with rage, Tia knew they were safe, knew she could trust Wilhemina to never purposefully hurt her or to ever direct her anger at her; because Tia had her own problems with trust. They always say that's why they're so good together, because they both have trauma, most shared some still hidden and they use this to look after each other and to understand each other in a way no one else ever could.

~~~~~~
Oh, and I found love where it wasn't supposed to be
Right in front of me
Talk some sense to me
~~~~~~

As Tia was coming to the end of the song, she nodded towards Mina trying to encourage her to sing along, because although Wilhemina would never admit it she loved to sing and in all honesty she had quite an amazing voice, but just like Tia she never shared it.

'And I found love where it wasn't supposed to be' they say together, Mina taking a bit of a lower pitch while Tia stayed up higher 'Right in front of me' Tia slowly stood up starting to walk towards Mina, they met in the middle and as the last line approached Tia let the guitar faded out 'Talk some sense to me' as they sang the last lyric their lips met and they shared one of the softest kisses imaginable. They stepped back from the kiss with the most heart warming smiles on their faces and just stood and stared at each other for a while, it could have been minutes or hours.

"Sweetheart that was the most amazing thing I've ever heard, I'm so lucky to have you" Mina said through a wobbly voice and tear covered face "Thank you, I- I don't know why we haven't sung together before" Tia stuttered, looking into the brown orbs that she found so much comfort in "Me neither sweetheart, me neither"

From that night on they made another promise to each other, to always sing and to never hide anything. They had a lot in common, of course they knew this already, but the fact they now have something else to share, it made them fall in love all over again.

wc ~ 1620

A/N
Hope you liked the first short story, I already have another idea in the works which I can hopefully start soon. Thank you for the support as always and please leave any suggestions in the comments. Until next time... Charlotte 🖤