Just Press Play
This story won $50 and 1st place in the Carol J. Hatchel Short Story Contest on April 29, 2014.
Bill used the heel of his foot to close the front door of his house behind him. His fingers shuffled through the stack of mail in his hand as he walked through the entryway and toward his office. He tossed his bag into the chair in the corner before he sank himself into his comfortable executive computer chair. He sifted through the important items in his hand and set them in the mail holder. He threw the rest into the small trash bin on the floor next to him.
He wiggled the mouse on his desk, bringing his laptop to life. He slid the arrow across the screen and clicked on the internet browser icon to check his email. He typed in his information and hit the enter key. He quickly read over the subject lines to see if there was anything interesting or important he needed to tend to immediately. He noticed his mother had sent him pictures of her recent trip to Spain with his step-father. "I'll look at them later." Everything else was spam. He didn't even bother to delete them. It had been a long day and he was exhausted. He clicked the x in the corner, closing the internet browser.
His desktop wallpaper stared back at him. It was a picture of him and Chaslyn that had been taken on their second date. They'd gotten together with a group of friends to play volleyball on the beach. They were very competitive when it came to the game and had both called, "I got it!" when the ball was hit over the net to their side. They crashed into one another and fell to the ground together, Chaslyn landing on top of him. They both dissolved into laughter. They heard someone call, "Bill! Chas!" They looked up as the picture was snapped. It was the same day he realized she was the one for him.
Bill stared into the eyes that smiled back at him from the computer screen. They seemed to shine with happiness. The wind coming off the ocean had whipped a strand of hair over her cheek and a bit of sand was stuck to her chin. Bill felt his stomach tighten and anger rise up in him. He quickly moved to close the laptop. He closed his eyes and took a few deep breaths to calm himself. When he opened them again, he noticed the iPod she had left behind. It was lying at the back of the desk, partially covered by a stack of papers.
He leaned forward and gently lifted the papers off the tiny, pink device. His index finger tapped the screen lightly but it remained black. "Must be dead." He shrugged and stood to leave the room. He hovered in the doorway for a moment, staring at the floor in front of him. With a slight shrug, he turned back toward his desk. He opened the top drawer and plucked the white cord for his own iPod from among the contents inside. He slid one side into his laptop and the other into Chaslyn's iPod. An apple appeared in the middle of the screen as the gadget seemed to breathe in life. The icon flashed on the screen to indicate it was charging. Bill set the iPod next to the computer's mouse and left it there to charge while he went to prepare his dinner.
Bill awoke the next morning feeling more tired than before he'd gone to bed. He lay in his over-sized bed and stared at the ceiling while his mind tried to transition from a dream-state into reality. He didn't really remember any of his dreams from the night before but he knew it was a restless sleep. He yawned and stretched his tired muscles before swinging his legs over the side of the bed and sitting up. He sighed before standing and making his way to the attached bathroom. He slid back the curtain and turned the knobs to start the shower. He peered at himself in the mirror for a moment. He could see the exhaustion written across his face. His eyes looked dull with full dark circles clinging to them. When the room was filled with steam, he shed his boxers and stepped into the water. He allowed the water to wash over his chest and shoulders, causing his flesh to turn a bright shade of pink before he went through the motions of making himself clean.
Forty minutes later, Bill was cleaned, dried and in fresh, comfortable clothes. He hummed an unknown tune as he prepared coffee in his kitchen. While it was brewing, he opened the refrigerator and grabbed a handful of blueberries. He tossed three into his mouth before putting the rest into a small bowl. He poured a tiny amount of cream over them and grabbed a spoon before fixing himself a large cup of coffee. He carried everything with him as he headed into his office. He set the bowl to the left of his laptop and took a long sip of coffee before placing it next to the bowl. That's when he noticed Chaslyn's iPod. He'd forgotten it last night.
He opened his laptop and ejected the iPod before unplugging it. He set it to the side and slowly ate his breakfast while he looked over the pictures of his parents' vacation and deleted all the spam in his inbox. All the while, his eyes would shift over to the iPod. Finally he could ignore it no longer. He opened the top drawer of his desk and dropped the white charger back inside. He moved a few things around until he spotted his ear buds. He untangled them from his phone charger and closed the drawer again. He inserted the tiny speakers into his ears and plugged the cord into Chaslyn's iPod. It immediately lit up. He slid his finger across the screen and decided to just randomly shuffle the songs. He tapped his finger and sound flooded his ears.
The drums did a quick "duckada-duckada-duckada-duckada-duckada" before the happy melody of That Girl by Plain White T's vibrated against his ear drums. The corner of his mouth twitched upward in a crooked smile.
I met a girl and it was easy to see
That she was falling hard for me.
That girl, she wanted me to know.
By the time the night was ready to end
She grabbed ahold of both my hands.
That girl, she wouldn't let me go.
And now I'm singing,
Do-do-do you wanna be on top or on the
Ba-ba-bottom? Don't make me stop
'Cause I know-oh-oh
I'm in la-la-love with you, girl.
I can't stop singing,
Do-do-do you wanna spend the night
And wake oh-oh-up under the morning light?
'Cause I know-oh-oh
I'm in la-la-love with you, girl.
His mind immediately drifted back to the first night they kissed.
"I've got you! I won't let you fall." Bill grinned as he watched her teeter unsteadily on the ice.
Bill had always loved to ice skate and when he found out that Chaslyn had never been, he insisted that they do it straightaway. He glided backwards effortlessly while guiding her along. Her face seemed unsure as she concentrated on remaining upright. They made two full laps before Bill announced. "I think you've got it!"
No sooner than the words had left his lips, Chaslyn's balance was thrown off. She leaned backward to counterbalance her weight but over-compensated. Her feet came out from under her and her left foot crashed into Bill's knocking him down with her. They crashed hard onto the ice.
"Chas! Are you okay?" Bill spoke quickly as he climbed to his knees. Chaslyn's body shook all over. "I'm so sorry. Are you hurt?" It took a minute for him to realize that she was laughing.
"I'm okay." She chuckled. "But I think I'm gonna crawl back to the sidelines, if that's okay with you."
Bill smiled with amusement as Chaslyn was true to her word. She crawled off the ice and hitched herself up onto a bench. He plopped himself next to her and watched as she unlatched her ice skates. "You're done for the day?"
She raised an eyebrow at him. "No. I'm done for life." She tossed the ice skates to the side. "I think I bruised my ass." She smiled mischievously as she turned to him. "You wanna kiss my ass?"
He couldn't help but laugh. "You want me to make your boo-boo better?"
She pouted. "Yes."
He hesitated a moment before leaning in to kiss her full lips. It took a second for her to respond but she became a full participant as her hands wove into his hair. He teased the seam of her lips with the tip of his tongue and she granted him access, parting her mouth slightly. Their tongues delicately played a cat and mouse game.
When they finally parted, both were breathless. Bill leaned his forehead against hers briefly.
"I think we have a problem." Chaslyn whispered.
Bill's brows furrowed and he leaned back slightly to look into her eyes. "Did you hurt yourself when you fell?"
"Yeah." She said as she smiled.
Bill looked her over, searching for an injured part of her body. "Where are you hurt?"
"My heart." She said as she placed a hand against his cheek. "Falling for you was something I hadn't planned on."
Bill blushed once he realized what she meant. "Then we do have a problem." He said guiltily.
"What's that?" She inquired.
"I've fallen for you too." He said against her lips as they entangled in another sinfully, sweet kiss.----------------
The doorbell echoed through the house, waking Bill from his walk down memory lane. He paused Chaslyn's iPod and place it and the ear buds on the corner of his desk. The doorbell rang out again as Bill padded through the house to the front door. He pulled the door open to see his identical twin standing in front of him. He had a look of concern etched on his face.
"Hey, Tom. Come in." Bill said before he turned to go back into the depths of his house.
Tom stepped in and closed the door behind him. He followed Bill into the sitting area and sat opposite his brother. "How're you feeling?" Tom asked tentatively.
"I've seen better days." Bill joked. "What brings you here?"
"Can't a guy just be concerned about his little brother?" Tom asked defensively.
Bill smirked. "I've known you my entire life. You do nothing without there being an ulterior motive."
Tom held his hands up. "Okay, okay. I wanted to come see you and while I was here, I figured I'd ask if I could borrow your camera."
Bill frowned. "It's not my camera."
Tom nodded. "I know."
"I can't give you permission to use her camera."
Tom glanced over at the box sitting beside the front door. "Bill, it's just sitting there in that box of things she left behind. I promise I won't break it."
Bill turned his head. "Fine." He said as he lifted a hand, shooing his brother away. "Use it. It's not like I can stop you anyway."
"Thanks, Bill!" Tom said as he stood and fished the camera from the box by the door. "I swear I'll be really careful." Bill nodded silently as he followed his brother to the door. Tom pat Bill on the back lightly. "You need to get out of this house. You look like shit."
"Thanks." Bill replied with a sigh. "I can always count on you to make me feel special."
Tom gave Bill a quick hug and whispered, "Call mom" into his ear before he bounded toward the door. "I'll get this back to you as soon as I can."
"Sure, sure." Bill waved at Tom before he turned back toward his office. Tom was out the door again and on his way to go take pictures of things Bill wasn't sure he wanted to see.
Bill shuffled back to his office and sat back in his office chair with a thud. He pressed his thumb and index finger against the bridge of his nose to will away the headache that threatened behind his eyes. He sighed heavily as he reached for the cordless phone on his desk. He quickly dialed his mom's number from memory and listened to it ring as he waited for her to answer.
"Hey, baby!" Her voice rang through the airwaves and Bill felt his heart swell.
"Hi, mama." He said quietly.
"I've missed you!" He could hear the smile in her voice. "Are you doing okay?"
"Yes." He lied.
"Bill." She said in that tone all mothers have when they magically know that something is wrong.
Bill sighed deeply before he began to confess his feelings to his mom. They spent a several hours on the phone while Bill regurgitated the emotions he'd been holding in. She listened patiently just like she always had. When they said their good-byes, Bill hung up feeling lighter. He sat in silence for a few moments thinking about how thankful he was to have such a supportive mother.
His eyes quickly averted to look at Chaslyn's iPod as it lit up by itself. His brows knit together with confusion as he reached out to slide the iPod toward him. He looked down at the screen to see unfamiliar cover art staring back at him. Bill picked up the ear buds and placed them in his ears before tapping the screen.
A melancholy guitar wept gently against his ears. Bill closed his eyes as the soulful voice of Tony Lucca pierced the air with the haunting lyrics to Bad Guy.
Oh, Lord. Please, no. Not this again.
Looks like a tear's done fell and things are underway.
I'll wait for the morning to wave my hopeful white flag.
My chamber's empty now and I've nothing left to say.
Taking our corners at opposite sides of the bed.
What's that you said?
Make me out to be the bad guy
And I'll make you out to be the girl who's up to no good.
Round and round we'll go in circles.
Feeling misread and misled once again, so misunderstood.
Ain't like we ain't done made this mistake before.
Empty bottles, it's closing time.
It ain't no time for waging war.
Draw up your defenses and I'll go do the same.
The last one standing is gonna be the last one to blame.
Wait for the smoke to clear.
Wait for these words to disappear.
Bill's memory faded back to their very last fight.
"Where were you?" Chaslyn asked with her arms crossed over her chest. Her hair was pulled up in a messy bun as she stood in the living room in her faded cotton pajamas.
"Chas, baby. What are you doing up?" Bill slurred as he stumbled through the entryway and into the room. He swaggered toward her and slid his arms around her waist. His lips swept across her neck.
"Bill, stop." She pushed him off her and he staggered backward. "Where've you been?"
He rolled his eyes. "I was working, baby."
"At four in the morning?" Chaslyn glared at him.
"Well, yeah. No. I mean-"
"Which is it?" She said through clenched teeth. "It's kinda hard to come up with a lie when you're drunk, isn't it?"
Bill sighed. "I'm not lying. I mean, I was working but then the guys wanted to go out for drinks afterward."
"And all the phone lines were down?" She placed her hands on her hips. "You could have called and let me know you'd be late."
"Chas, it's not a big deal. You need to calm down."
"Calm down? You want me to calm down?" Chaslyn's hands waved in the air for emphasis. "I would tell you how often I had to put up with you coming home, reeking of alcohol but it'd be easier to count the number of times you're sober! I'm tired of cleaning up your vomit and finding you passed out in the bathroom floor!"
Bill's hands went limp at his sides. "I'm sorry, baby. I promise, I'll stop. This is the last time."
"I've heard that before." Chaslyn sighed. "Just- Next time call or something."
Bill closed the distance between them and his arms encircled her waist. He brushed her cheek with an alcohol soaked kissed. "Let's go to bed."
"You need a shower first. Maybe it'll sober you up a little." She pushed him away from her again and stepped around him. She walked out of the room without even a glance back to him.
He stood in place for a moment before deciding the couch looked far more comfortable and so much closer than the bed he shared with Chaslyn. He fell into the couch and was snoring before he knew it.
Bill had to pause the song. His breathing had increased and he felt a lump forming at the back of his throat. He looked up at his wall calendar and saw the red circle marking the sixth month of his sobriety. He took a deep breath before pressing play again.
I'm sorry.
Sorry.
Wait for the smoke to clear.
Nobody makes it out of here, yeah.
Make me out to be the bad guy.
And I'll make you out to be the girl who's up to no good.
Oh, no no.
Round and round we'll go in circles.
Feeling misread and misled once again.
So misunderstood.
Feeling misread and misled.
I misheard what you said
And I guess you must've misunderstood.
Oh, Lord. Please, no. Not this again.
Bill pulled the ear buds from his ears as he tapped the screen to stop the music once again. With a nod of determination, he stood and headed for his bedroom. He took out a pair of jeans, a black T-shirt and a charcoal button down shirt. Something comfortable yet nice looking. He set them out on the bed before walking into his bathroom for another quick shower. He wanted to look his best for her.
Nearly an hour later, Bill pulled up to his destination. With Chaslyn's iPod in his pocket, he killed the engine of his car and reached for the bouquet of flowers he'd bought along the way. He stepped out and shut the car door behind him before pressing the button on his remote to secure the car. His eyes squinted in the afternoon sunlight as he gazed into the cloudless sky. He walked across the well-manicured lawn until he reached his journey's end. He took a deep breath before reaching out his hand.
His fingers touched the cold, gray marble. He set the flowers on the ground in front of him before falling to his knees. He traced over her name with his fingertips before he whispered it aloud. "Chaslyn Elizabeth." His hands began to tremble and he let them fall to his lap. He looked around to make sure he was alone before looking back at her headstone.
"Hey, baby. I'm sorry I haven't been here since- Well, you know." Bill took a ragged breath. "It's been almost six months but I've made some changes since I last saw you." His eyes closed as a few tears slipped down his cheeks. He opened his eyes and sniffed. It took a moment for him to speak again. "I've stopped drinking." He smiled. "I wish I had listened to you about that sooner. There are a lot of things I would like to go back and change but I guess everyone is right. Hindsight is 20/20." He chuckled and wiped his nose with his sleeve. "I just came to tell you I'm sorry. I'm sorry for all the bad things I put you through. I'm sorry for taking you for granted. I wish I had told you 'I love you' more often and I'm sorry I didn't. I miss you, baby girl, and I wanted to give you something even though I don't even know if you can hear me right now."
Bill pulled Chaslyn's iPod from his pocket. He placed the ear buds in his ears and scrolled down to the song he knew would be stored on the tiny device. He pressed play and listened as the guitar played a soft melody. He took a breath and began to sing along to the music.
"Thank you for this moment.
I've gotta say how beautiful you are.
Of all the hopes and dreams I could've prayed for
Here you are.
If I could have one dance forever
I would take you by the hand.
Tonight it's you and I together.
I'm so glad I'm your man.
And if I lived a thousand years, you know
I never could explain
The way I lost my heart to you that day.
But if destiny decided I should look the other way
Then the world would never know
The greatest story ever told.
And did I tell you that I love you tonight?
I don't hear the music
When I'm looking in your eyes
But I feel the rhythm of your body
Close to mine.
It's the way we touch. It sends me.
It's the way we'll always be.
Your kiss, your pretty smile...
You know I'd die for.
Oh, baby. You're all I need.
And if I lived a thousand years, you know
I never could explain
The way I lost my heart to you that day.
But if destiny decided I should look the other way
Then the world would never know
The greatest story ever told.
And did I tell you that I love you?
Just how much I really need you?
Did I tell you that I love you tonight?
Tonight...
And if I lived a thousand years, you know
I never could explain
The way I lost my heart to you that day.
But if destiny decided I should look the other way
Then the world would never know
The greatest story ever told.
And did I tell you that I love you?
Just how much I really need you?
Did I tell you that I love you tonight?"
A sudden breeze blew through the trees and danced across Bill's tear-stained cheeks. It was then he realized Chaslyn had heard it all. She had heard it all and she forgave him. He pictured her smiling down at him as the wind seemed to whisper "I love you" against his ear.
Lyrics © "That Girl" by Plain White T's, "Bad Guy" by Tony Lucca, and "Greatest Story Ever Told" by Oliver James