Always Faithful

Chapter 3: Leave Me Alone

Dedicated to alpaljames

...

"I'm so tired of being here.

Suppressed by all my childish fears.

And if you have to leave,

I wish that you would just leave,

'Cause your presence still lingers here,

And it won't leave me alone."

...

     Though he has probably been in the bathroom for no more than five minutes, Brian feels as if he has been sitting on the floor for an eternity, the icy tile slowly stealing the body heat from him. Taking a deep breath, he eventually musters enough energy to push to his feet, sighing as he leans against the marble sink. Turning on the faucet, Brian splashes his face with cold water, smoothing the wrinkles from his shirt and running a hand through his hair before navigating his way through the mansion.

     He has only just rejoined the party when Carter appears at his side, an expression of smug satisfaction on his face, "I don't know what happened between the two of you, but Miss Roberts looked mighty pissed when she stormed outta here. Maybe, now that you're out of the picture, I'll have a shot at her."

     "You seem to be forgetting that she left with Detective Ramirez," Lavender replies as she sidles up to Carter, the two seeming rather cozy, almost as if Mendoza has forgotten the woman helping her host the gala is also her girlfriend.

     Carter sighs with what Brian knows to be genuine disappointment, "A man can dream I suppose, though I hope those dreams will one day become sweet, sweet reality."

     Before Brian has the chance to wipe the self-satisfied smirk off Carter's face, a waiter walks by balancing a tray of champagne flutes in one hand, Anderson gratefully accepting a glass and finishing the golden elixir in one, long swallow. Quickly thanking Lavender Mendoza for the party, Brian leaves without another word, stopping briefly to kiss Lizzie on the cheek before getting behind the wheel of his beloved car. Shrugging out of his sports coat and tossing it onto the passenger's seat, Brian begins the nearly three-hour drive back to San Diego, driving the first hour in a miserable silence. When he is unable to bear the quiet night any longer, Brian turns the knob on the radio, the only adjustment he has made to his 1965 beauty.

     Unfortunately, as the radio comes to life, Brian quickly wishes that he had suffered in silence as Loren Allred sings:

"When I'm standing by the ocean,

Or listening to the radio.

When I least expect it,

Ooh, everywhere I go.

I hear your voice,

And it brings me to my knees.

Just—"

     Brian interrupts Allred as she sings, blinking rapidly as he tries to hold back the tears that threaten to blind him and blaming the stinging sensation in his eyes on the wind that flies over the convertible's windshield. Silence reigns for nearly fifteen minutes, Brian practically jumping out of his seat and losing control of the Cobra when the radio activates of its own accord, Amy Lee of Evanescence seeming to whisper in his ear: