Robert said, "You need to bring your gift to the piano, Georgie. I want to play you something before you open it." They got off the couch and he led her by the hand to the piano.
When they sat on the piano bench, she sat very close to him, and he started playing her song for her. It was the version he had in his head, the more difficult one. She'd heard it before since he'd been working on it for a few weeks, but this time he played it straight through from beginning to end without stopping or trying different variations.
When he finished, she looked at him. He didn't say anything and waited to see if she would guess.
"Is – that for me?" she asked finally, with wonder in her voice.
"Yeah, Georgie. I wrote that for you," he said gently.
With her face glowing, she said quietly, "It's so beautiful. I love it."
"That's for you too," he said gently, indicating the song in her hand. "Open it, Georgie."
She untied the t-shirt ribbon and slowly unrolled the paper. He could see her start to read the lyrics and then she dissolved in tears, hugging him tight and crying into his chest. He willed himself to stay in control while he waited for her to recover.
When she was able to let go of him, he took the music from her and smoothed it so it would lie flat. He spread out the sheets on the piano and played her version of the song while he sang the lyrics to her. It was about how much he loved her and if they were ever separated, he would do anything to find her so they could be together forever.
Now that his intention to look for her was no longer a secret from the bastard, Robert felt free to tell Georgie his plan. He'd decided to write it into the lyrics of the song instead of just saying it. He wanted it to be something tangible, something she could hold onto to comfort her after he was gone. And he needed it to have the biggest impact possible, bigger than just words.
He managed to make it to the end of the song before he broke up but she was sobbing against his back before he got half way through. They hugged for a while before he felt like he could talk again.
He said, "There's a story with this," like she'd said to him. He'd planned to give her this speech, along with the song, when it was time for him to leave but Christmas seemed to have moved things up for both of them.
He held her by her arms so he could look her in the eyes, and said, "I wrote that for you to keep after I leave here, yeah? You're to play it, and know that you are loved – not that you were loved in the past – that you are loved – and that I'm looking for you." Her eyes got wide and her mouth opened a little but he continued, not wanting to risk breaking down again before he finished.
"That's why I named it 'No Matter What'. I don't care how long it takes me, Georgie, no matter what, I won't stop looking until I find you. And when I do –." He could feel the tears coming but willed himself to hold it together.
"When I do – I want to find you still alive." She closed her mouth suddenly and he saw it in her eyes, she had thought of suicide.
She said steadily, "You won't be able to find me. You don't know where we are," as if he shouldn't bother looking.
In that moment, Robert realized she'd more than considered suicide – she was planning it. This was why she'd been so calm when she brought up him leaving. She wasn't forcing herself to imagine the pain of losing him because she was planning to end it. Suddenly the tightness in his throat left completely as he realized how close he was to losing her. He gripped her arms tighter and thought fast while he looked in her eyes.
YOU ARE READING
Stolen Hearts (2012 Wattys Finalist)
RomanceA young man wakes up to find he's been kidnapped and being held a prisoner. He's told he won't be harmed and he'll be returned home soon, but can he believe them? Now he has to figure out how to survive while he shares his prison with one of the k...
