Page 40 of No More Love Songs

“Just because I don’t want you to say mean things and make me cry doesn’t mean you have to lie to me, Kit,” she mumbles, picking up the pad of paper dedicated to new material and jotting something down.

“And just because I’m always patient with the backwards things you say to me because some asshole fucked with your head too many times, doesn’t mean I’m okay with being called a liar.” It comes out colder than I mean it too. But it needs to be said, so I don’t apologize. “If you know two things about me, Sky, know this. I will never intentionally hurt you. And I will always tell you the truth. Period. And you’ve been around me long enough now not to get confused about that anymore. Got it?”

Her face is so still, for a moment I think maybe I pushed it too far. Then something shifts in her eyes, and the thing that always seems to keep her distant and guarded, disappears. “I think I do now.” Then she makes another note.

“Um, what was that?” I point at her pad of paper.

“What was what?”

I have to hand it to her; she does oblivious almost as well as Ari does. And at thirteen, that kid is in her prime for faking innocence.

“Don’t give me that. You know exactly what. Why do you keep taking notes after I say something?”

She smirks. “Worried you’re being plagiarized?”

“I am now!” I close the notebook and get up from my chair to see what I’m missing.

This time, she doesn’t snatch it out of my sight. On the contrary, she holds the pad up for me to see. They’re not lyrics. Just words.

Seen

Honest

Safe

She flips it back around toward her and I watch her add another word. Trust.

“I’m collecting feelings I want to write about,” she says, keeping her gaze on the paper in her hand. She lifts her eyes to look at me and smiles wryly. “You’re serving as an excellent source of inspiration, thank you.”

I’m tempted to make a joke but that would be the coward’s way out. I’m not ready to say anything real though either. So, I just nod and sit back in my chair. Setting her notebook of shitty lyrics past to the side for now, I adjust my guitar and get down to business.

“Alright, so what is this song we’re working on tonight?” I bite my lip to keep from referencing her list of words again. I can’t keep tugging at a string I’m in no position to unravel.

“Glad you asked.” She flips forward through the pages on her notepad until she’s almost near the beginning again. “I started playing with it after that storm we had last night. Anyway, you read it first, tell me if I’m onto something or not, and then we can decide how to move forward with it.”

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When her wind blows harder

Than her heart beats

Thunder cries out in fury

And lightning strikes whoever speaks

The emotions just take over

Her body crashes to the ground

The clouds take out the sun

And the hail starts shooting down

Just let the storm unfold.

Watch the rain wash her clean

Hear her story told

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