Page 53 of Broken Chorus

But I’ll save you if it kills me

Don’t you let your darkness win

Shred those letters that you sent me

And those photos of forgotten years

Don’t throw me a lifeline, please

All I’ll do is pull you in

Laughing legends watch their failed creations

With hateful souls and laughing eyes

Stitched together mortals

Unraveling the more they try to shine

So what’s the point of reaching

For the stars when stars are dead

What’s the point of dreaming

When every night you wake alone in bed

I heard my demons crying

And welcomed them back home

Tip the bottle back

Gulp down the Jack

Embrace oblivion.

I walk this desert

In shoes of broken glass

A heartbeat away from disillusion

This life wasn’t meant to last.

Silence filled the space when Aaron finished playing, their eyes met, then he ducked his head, bright pink spreading over his cheeks as a wave of shame hit again.

He hadn’t just finished the chords.

He’d finished the words too and they crushed a piece of Hawk’s soul, especially the part about not throwing a lifeline, because that’s what they did for one another. All of them. They’d saved each other and saved themselves in the process.Aaronhad saved him from self-destructing after his brother died, plucking the bottle from Hawk’s hand and downing the rest of it so Hawk couldn’t sneak it later when he’d already had too much.

Aaron squirmed, huddling in on himself while everyone stood, eyes wide, staring at him like they weren’t sure what to make of what they’d just heard. Even the fury he’d seen in Declan’s eyes was gone, replaced by awe, while Aaron just looked panicked and lost.

Yeah, that wouldn’t do.

Not only did Hawk clap, but several of the others in the room joined him while Hawk slid from his chair and stepped up in front of Aaron, cupped his chin and raised his head until he could look him in the eyes again, but it was Declan who spoke from somewhere behind them.

“You’re our singer, hands down, you don’t get to deny it again, ever. No offense, Micah.”

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