1:04 a.m.
Everyone has gone into the house at midnight. Shawn and I sat outside by the fire pit, relaxing on the olive cushions of the brown wicker couch. The fire crackled and the moon was bright, slightly hiding behind a few pine trees in the distance.
"Sing for me." I say.
"I'd have to get my guitar." Shawn replies.
"Go get it. I'll wait."
"Now isn't the time."
"Why not?"
"Because," he sighs. "I'd rather do it back home."
"The mood's right." I sit up and face him. "Please?"
He sighs, and then nods. "Give me a minute." Shawn stands up and quietly enters the house. I take out my phone and check my notifications. I answer a few texts, emails, and listen to my voicemails before Shawn comes back out with an acoustic guitar.
He sits down on the couch and rests the guitar against his left knee, his left hand holds the neck of the guitar while he holds the pick with his right.
"Jasmine, this song was about Stephanie." Shawn explains. "So, it explains what happened with us."
"Play it," I tell him.
He clears his throat and starts to softly strum the sound of a sad tune.
" I wanna go back
Forget that it's over.
Paint it in black
When you left me alone
I never knew
She was sleeping next door
With the kid I
Grew up with.
And I can't go back to her, no."
The tune changes and he starts to sing with more emotion into it.
" You told me that you were happier
With him
But you want me to stay.
And you tell me that you needed time
But you
You pushed me away.
And when you try to take me back
My heavy heart just breaks.
No, I can't lift the weight."
I watch Shawn as he strums and sings. There's something in his eyes that tell me this song crushed him. Listening to this song was me listening to their story. This is all that happened between the two of them.
Something about him playing guitar and singing made me want to hug him. But it also made me want to jump on him. He eventually finishes the song and sets the guitar down on the floor, resting it against the couch.
"Can I ask: how'd you find out?" I ask Shawn.
Shawn leans back and I lean against him, my head resting in his lap. He casually strokes my hair and I watch him.
"There was a party," he says, "and I went upstairs and found her with a good friend of mine."
"Was it Chris?" I ask.
"No." Shawn shakes his head. "Chris was the one who told me about her and the guy."
"So what happened after you saw her?"
"She asked me to close the door." Shawn says. "That didn't even hurt. What hurt me me the most was she looked me in the eye as she fucked him. And after she was done, she asked me to take shots with her."
"Did you?"
Shawn nods. "Only because I wanted to get over it. And her."
I stand up and face him, my hands resting on my hips. "There's a canoe here, right?"
"Yeah, why?" Shawn replies.
"Show me." I place my hands in my short pockets.
He stands up and starts to walk and I follow in pursuit. "Here it is."
