Storyteller

Chapter 24 (Four Months Later)

Tim POV: 

Faith sits under the bright studio lights at Good Morning America, and smiles at me. Her smile is a little droopier than a few days ago, but it hits me all the same. Her eyes are a little more tired, and her skin is a little more pale. She's sick... 

She wears my bandana on her head to cover up the scars. She speaks with Robin Roberts about her battle, which has just been made public this month. She's nervous, since this is her first interview in what seems like forever. 

"So how are you handling this?" Robin asks, placing her hand on Faith's knee. Faith looks down at it and smiles, before looking over at me. 

"I have an incredible support system at home. The girls have been taking this very well, and Tim's been by my side through it all." She says, for the first time ever mentioning our renewed involvement. Robin nods slowly. 

"That brings up a new topic. How have you managed to forgive Tim after the whole abuse scandal?" She asks, making my chest ache a little. Faith smiles. 

"We've known each other a long time. I knew when things began changing, and our circumstance started to shift a little. To be completely honest, he became an alcoholic. There were some mornings when he'd wake up and see the bruises on me, and have no clue what happened, and it horrified him. He just became this man who I barely recognized. Now that he's gotten treatment, I mean, it's like he's the old Tim. He's back to the man I knew when I first fell in love with him." She answers, feeling confident. 

"But, he attempted to kill you... I mean, how do you get over that?" Robin asks honestly. 

"I know this is going to sound insane, and people won't understand... But that was just a completely different man to me. He was drunk, and honestly not mentally sound. He was depressed, and anxious, and suffering. He wanted to take his own life, and in the past, I had been the one to stop him, or find him and save him. So, he decided that in order to kill himself, I had to be debilitated for the moment." She says, making me feel sick to my stomach. I don't even remember that day. 

"Why did he decide to do that in front of a stadium full of fans?" She asks. 

"I think he chickened out earlier than evening. I think he decided to do it then because that was his last chance that night." Her voice is starting to sound softer the longer she speaks. 

"So how has your relationship changed after all this?" Robin changes her tone and direction. Faith smiles a little. 

"When he first reached out to reconnect with the girls, I was still fearful. I mean, that was a large portion of our marriage that I was just a punching bag... But then seeing him with the girls again, and seeing how clear his eyes were for once just started to make that fear fade away." She says, as clips of us start appearing on the screen beside her. Faith looks at it and smiles. "I think our main source of safety since all of this has happened is our writing. We've started to write songs together again, which we stopped doing after we had Gracie." She says, as a piece of our song we wrote that I recorded plays in the background. She grins. 

"I want you back, back in my arms, back of the yellow cab, chasin' kisses in the dark... Back, back to your place with your red wine lips sayin' come here baby... I don't know what I was thinkin' when I let you go, and I ain't even gonna act... Like I don't need you, miss you, wish that you would come on home... Baby, I want you back.... Tell me what I've gotta do... Ain't no getting over you... Girl there ain't no movin' on... All I want is what we had...Baby I just want you back..." She smiles, and looks over at me. 

"He wrote most of that, but that's probably one of my favorites. It's honest." She says. Robin smiles, and a video pops up on the screen of me playing guitar and Faith singing. 

"I don't know how many stars fill the sky... I know we're here but I don't know why... Maybe there's some other life out there, but as long as you're here with me baby, I don't really care...There is only one great mystery, and I keep searching for the answer desperately... Tell me, tell me baby, tell me please, what did I ever do to make you fall for me? Don't know what happens when we leave this world, but I know I'll go right on loving you girl... I'll close my eyes and drift off into the blue.... and if I go first I will wait for you..." We sing. Faith tears up in the video, knowing this after her diagnosis. I stop playing, and wipe her tears. 

"It'll be alright, baby." I say softly, as she starts to break down. I put my guitar down and kneel before her. I place my hands on her cheeks, causing her to giggle through her tears. "I'll love you till this ole heart gives out, alright baby?" I say, kissing her cheek. She wraps her arms around me, pulling me in tightly. 

"I'll love you too." She says, through her tears. I smile, and pull out of her embrace. 

"You promise?" I ask, laughing a little. She nods, grabbing my hand and squeezing it. 

"I swear." She responds. 

"Alright. Now wipe those tears from your eyes, and I'll try to make you smile." I say, placing my thumb on the corner of her mouth. She smiles, before laughing and wiping her tears with her forearm. 

Faith turns back toward Robin, smiling helplessly. She bites her lip as Robin begins to speak once more. 

"So what does the prognosis look like for you now?" Robin asks. Faith sighs, and looks over at me. 

"Well, we're going a day at a time. I've had two tumors removed, and I know there's four more, three of which are inoperable. Currently, we are just trying to fight off what we can. There's no way I can be cancer free in my lifetime, as far as the doctors have told me, but as long as we keep up treatments and remove the tumors when we can, I'll likely die of old age before I die of cancer." She says, looking rather confident. The whole discussion pains me. 

"Are you afraid of this?" She asks. Faith nods, a few tears beginning to form in her eyes. 

"I'm afraid of a lot that comes with it... There's a good part of me that would rather die early than have my family witness me that sick. I'm not that afraid of Gracie or Maggie seeing me like this, because they've seen me healthy for a long time. But Clare and even Audrey... I don't want them to only know me as weak and tired, you know? I want them to see me as strong, and full of life. Tim's done his best shielding them from a lot of this, but I know that there's going to become a time where it becomes harder for him to do that." She answers, looking down at her hands. 

"So what's your plan now?" Robin asks, closing up the interview. Faith looks up and sighs. 

"To be with my family, and to write some damn good music." She laughs, biting her lip. 

"Well it was a pleasure talking with you." Robin concludes. 

"Thank you." Faith says as the camera turns away from her. She takes a deep breath, and stands up slowly, before walking over to me and hugging me. "I want to go home." She whispers in my ear. I smile, and nod, taking her hand and walking with her.