SHATTERED

nineteen

saylor

"dude, thank you so much. this is sick."

"yeah, of course," i chuckled at the guy's grin. he was still staring at his tattoo in complete awe. "you're welcome to come back for another one whenever."

"oh, i definitely will," he quickly nodded.

once he paid for the tattoo, and i explained to him how to take care of it, he left. he was my last person to tattoo today, so i tidied up everything. after i did, i left the shop, and i started to make my way to the practice building to get some practice in before i went home.

as much as i would like music to be my full time job, it is not paying enough to do so yet. i was, however, able to switch to being part time at the shop.

i decided to take a cab to the practice building instead of walking there, because, quite frankly, i really didn't feel like walking right now. with traffic, i probably would've been better off walking there, but oh well.

i walked up to the door, and i fished my keys out of my pocket. i unlocked the door, and i walked in. i immediately paused as i heard an acoustic guitar being played. if i listened intently, i could hear singing as well.

alex.

i quietly closed the door. i probably shouldn't be here, listening to this right now, but... my curiosity is getting the better of me. i listened to them sing.

"she was sleeping in your clothes, but now she's got to get to class. how dare you? and how could you?" they sang. their voice cracked at the end.

they stopped singing, and the strumming of the guitar stopped as well. my brows furrowed together.

that was definitely an original song... it seems so unlike a song that alex would write though.

but honestly, if you actually listen, a lot of alex's lyrics are a bit concerning.

i thought about the lyrics. just from those few lines, i could jump to a likely conclusion about what the song is about. i really don't know anything about alex, but to think that they have, or may have been—

god, they would literally kill me if they knew that i heard that.

i swallowed as i took a step back. i quietly opened the door again, stepped back outside, and quietly closed the door.

i'm going to get some food first before i try and practice... that should put plenty of time between now and then, so that alex won't have a clue that i heard that.

i shoved my hands into my pants pockets as i walked down the streets. there's a new chinese place just a few blocks down that i've been wanting to try, so tonight should be good for that.

•

nearly an hour later, i've eaten, and i'm walking back into the practice building. this time, i made sure to be loud with opening and closing the door, almost like a warning to alex that i was here.

i walked over to my guitar, and i started to get everything set up. as i was doing so, alex started to walk down the stairs. i glanced over at them. their hair, which was getting longer than how they usually kept it, was covering their face some; it was mainly covering their eyes. still, i could see that their cheeks were kinda puffy and a little pink.

they let out a small exhale as they saw me. they pulled out a pack of cigarettes and a lighter as they walked to the couch. they took one out of the pack, placed it between their lips, and lit it.