Song lyrics denoted by ~.

~He is gone like meaning from a song
He is done like a vampire in the sun
Apologies but no thank yous please
He is gone like a bullet from a gun
So my wheels are turning
And this heart is yearning~

Everbody always thought I was the brainless one, the airhead, the one with no common sense.
Maybe I ain't no genius.
If I was I wouldn't be sittin' here right now, watching your chest rise and fall.
The rhythm of your breathin' is artificial, forced into you by that damn machine.
I don't know why I'm here, 'cept that you're the only link I have to him now.

~Oh daddy give me one more chance
Just another dance
Across the floor, spin me round
Pull me up, push me down
Throw me back but pull me up
Close to your heart~

They say that life is just one big chain of "what ifs" and "if onlys".
What if I hadn't believed ya when you told me that Matty only love me cuz he couldn't have you?
If only me and him hadn't been fightin' just before you got there, fightin' because you were comin' over to hang out AGAIN.
I know you was lonely.
I know you missed your friends and work and havin' somebody to hold you at night.
But those were your choices, Jeff - not mine, not Matt's, not anybody else's.
Your choices. And we were the ones that had to pay for 'em.

~He has thrown like a teenager from home
Webs been spun and
The funeral march has been sung
And our wheels are turning
And this heart is burning~

Maybe if I'd stayed there, talked it out, none a this woulda happened.
But you pissed me off and I hit you, called you a liar, a bastard, a slut. Every name I could think of, I threw at you with my fists.
And when Matt came downstairs, it was you he rushed to, you he was comforting.
Not me.
So I did the first thing that popped into my head.
I ran.
We spent three weeks in this damn place. Three very long weeks.
I couldn't see Matt. Sugar wouldn't let me.
But you…you sat here with him, day after day, night after night.
You were the one that held his hand, whispered to him to come back to us.
To you.

~Oh throw me back, pull me up
Crash into me and then break apart
But pull me up
Just to your heart~

I snuck in to see him one night.
Nobody was around.
Nobody but you.
Your head was layin' on the bed next to his arm, your hand wrapped tightly around his.
Both of ya looked so peaceful, so content, that I couldn't wake you.
I heard the doctors talk about Matty's condition.
Brain damage. Severed spinal cord. Things about quality of life and vegetative states.
I knew it was time for him to let go.
I just wasn't sure who he was holding on for.

I said my goodbyes to him, made my peace.
I was the one holding his hand when he died.
I was the one that made the arrangements.
And out of spite, I was the one that paid for his headstone.
I saw the one that you picked out, and I picked out one that was bigger.
Matt woulda hated it.

I hated you.
You probably thought I didn't know about you going to see him every day.
You probably thought I would've been mad or somethin'.
Honestly, I don't think I woulda cared. You belonged there just as much as me.
Deep down I knew that, but a part of my heart wouldn't let me say it out loud.

I was yours long before I was his.
You were his long before I was.
I miss you both.
I look down at your hand in mine, and I realize that for once, I'm the one with all the strength, all the power, all the love.

My leg brace scrapes against the chair, another sound I've gotten used to, along with the hiss of the respirator that breathes for you.
Ha! Betcha didn't know I knew that word.
I know all kinda stuff now, stuff I never wanted to know before.
The sad thing is, I don't even have to ask why you did it.
When I found you there, layin' across his grave, your hand pressed against his name on the marble stone, I just thought you were sleepin'.


When I touched your shoulder to wake you up, I thought you was cold because of the night air.
It wasn't until I was tryin' to breathe the life back into ya, and I heard the sound of the sirens in the distance that I realized something.
I loved you.

~Follow my eyes across the room
You drunken groom
What a surprise, the music stopped
The other shoe has dropped
If you go, then I go
If you throw, then I throw
But you know and I know
I just can't dance with anyone~

I know that you loved me too. You just loved him more.
I wish I could tell you that I don't hate you.
I wish I could see you smile.
I wish I could look into your eyes and tell you that he always loved you best.
I wish…I wish…I wish.
I feel a hand on my shoulder and I know that the time has come.
I look up at Sugar and see the dried tears on his face, the dark circles under his eyes.
He misses both of ya too.
The doctors come in with some papers and we both sign 'em.
They turn off the machine and step back against the wall, waiting.

We've been waiting too, but it won't be much longer.
I kiss your cheek, move a few locks of hair off your forehead, then look up at the ceiling.
I take a deep breath and tell Matty that you're comin' home to him.
I tell him I love him.
I tell him I love you.
I say I'm sorry, that I miss him, and I ask him to take care of you.
I ask you to take care of him.
And then…your chest stops moving; the doctors write some stuff on the papers and leave.

I look at Sugar and see him cryin'. We both kiss you, and he smoothes the sheet over your chest.
He grabs me, pulling me close to him, whispering words of comfort in my ear.
The question is, is he trying to comfort me or himself?
It don't matter now.
He's gone.
You're gone.
I'm still here.
Maybe someday I can tell ya both how sorry I am, how much I love both of ya.
Until then, me and Sugar will take care of each other, just like the two of you.
God, I hope nothin' happens to him, cuz we all know I can't make it on my own.

Read Story #3 Eventually