Growing Up McGee

The Tragedy - Chapter 17

Disclaimer: This is one of the cool things I was talking about adding earlier! I pasted a link to a cover of the song that I think would sound like Morgan's version. She does mess up on a few of the words in the video but just ignore that lol

*Here's the link to the song for reference: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VJhxPaXN0Do*

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Present Time

Morgan walked onstage to see a stool and a microphone. Looks simple enough. She walked over, sat on the stool, and propped her guitar up on her knee. That's when she saw the crowd. The auditorium was packed. Her hands started to shake a little bit, but she knew she couldn't freak out in front of everyone. So, she forced herself to start playing the beginning chords of the song.

(Play "Breathe" by Taylor Swift)

- McGee POV -

He saw Morgan, with an acoustic guitar in hand, walk up on stage and sit on a little stool behind a microphone. He immediately felt his blood pressure spike. If she had her guitar, that meant she was going to be singing, too. It's not that he had no confidence in her, but he had only heard her sing a few times in the car, and she wasn't very loud. He always assumed that she could carry a tune since she was in chorus, but it stressed him out not knowing her full ability. All he could do was watch.

- 0:00-0:15 -

She started playing the guitar, which sounded good so far. He felt like he had heard this song somewhere, but it wasn't really ringing a bell.

- 0:16-2:00 -

When she started to sing, his eyes widened a little bit. That was not what he was expecting. She sounded really good. Surprisingly good for a twelve year old. Someone who didn't know her might assume that she sang all the time and took professional voice lessons. He was genuinely impressed. After a minute of taking it in, he started listening to the lyrics. "Cause it's a tragedy and it will only bring you down, now I don't know what to be without you around." That's probably a coincidence. He thought to himself. A lot of songs have lyrics like that, and she wouldn't pick it only because of the lyrics.

- 2:21-4:02 -

However, as she sang, the lyrics kept getting more and more relatable. Too relatable. He realized that it wasn't a coincidence, and she probably picked this out for a reason. Every word that she sang was heavy with emotion, and he was bracing himself for a breakdown, but it never came. She pushed through the next chorus, sounding more confident than she did when she started.

- 4:03-4:44 (or end) -

The last part of the song hit him like a ton of bricks. Morgan was now staring in his direction, but he was sure she didn't see him, because she would have freaked out by now. It seemed like every word that she sang was directed at him. Is this why she didn't want me to come? He started to tear up a little bit. Was this her cry for help? He thought he understood her emotions and what she was going through, but he couldn't help but feel guilty that he missed something. What had he done?

- Morgan POV -

She strummed the final chord and stood up. That's when the audience went into an uproar. It was the most applause and attention she had ever received in her life. As she stood there, taking it all in, she spotted a familiar face, lurking in the back. Her father. She felt frozen for a second. Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit. When she finally snapped out of it, she quickly walked backstage, where she was met with more cheers. She did her best to say thank you to everyone, but she knew her Dad was going to come looking for her, so she frantically pushed past the crowd and darted out of the chorus room door. Luckily, Cormac was still sitting in the car, where he had now moved on to People magazine. She ran to the car, opened the door, and jumped in the back.

"Cormac, we have to go now!" She almost yelled.

"Why, what's wrong?" He asked frantically, putting the car in drive.

"I saw my Dad in there." She told him, holding the guitar tightly.

"Why is that bad?"

"He wasn't supposed to see me perform." She answered, still freaking out.

"Why? Did you do bad?"

"No, I actually did pretty good."

"Were you actin' like a stripper?"

"Ew, no!"

"Then why couldn't he see it?"

"I may have picked the song because it reminded me of my Mom." She confessed. "And I didn't want my Dad to think I'm still depressed about the accident."

"Well, are ya?"

Morgan sat there for a moment, silent. "I shouldn't be."

"Listen," Cormac said sympathetically, "I don't think he was hurt by it. I would just explain why you chose it. He'd understand."

"Maybe." Morgan answered. She was silent the rest of the drive home, dreading her father's visit the next day. 

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Hope y'all liked this chapter! If this is something you would like to see more often, please leave a comment and/or vote! Thanks for reading! :)