I’ll keep you safe, through the tides unwind.
I’ll be your lifesaver,
Even if you don’t want to be mine.
I’ll guide you to safe shores,
And keep you alive until your real love arrives.
When Adrian sang the chorus again, Logan felt a surge of life stirring within him, a bittersweet spark in the darkness that had swallowed his world. This time, the chorus carried a depth that hadn’t been there before—Adrian sang with an intensity that was both passion and agony intertwined. Logan could feel every ounce of emotion poured into those words; he felt Adrian’s hurt bleeding through, raw and exposed.
But Logan didn’t need tofeelit to understand. He lived that pain daily, carrying it like a wound that never healed, an ache that gnawed at him every second. He knew with chilling certainty that it was Adrian’s shattered heart woven into each lyric, his sorrow crafting every line, his pain binding the melody together. When Adrian sang the chorus one last time, his voice rose in a shout that echoed across the ocean, bridging the distance between them, electrifying the air.
Logan’s breath hitched as Adrian’s voice poured through his earbuds, haunting and beautiful, every word heavy with truth. His skin prickled, hairs standing on end as Adrian’s smooth, deep voice resonated with fierce intensity, singing each word as though it were his last confession. Logan knew, in that moment, that Adrian meant every syllable, that his heart had been poured into this song—a love letter written in heartbreak, echoing across the miles that had torn them apart.
Then the music softened, dropping to a hushed, haunting tone, and Adrian’s voice trembled as he sang the final verse.
I saw the parts you keep hidden from the light,
I loved you in your darkest, most fragile fight.
I always wonder if you ever think of me,
Does my memory soothe you like the sea?
If you’re broken now, I can’t fix you,
Nothingof my soul survived the final dive.
But if you’re damaged, maybe you need me as much as I need you?
I am fractured, but if you are whole, then I’ll find my peace in your joy,
I believe my fate was to cross paths with you,
To be the one who saves you,
Logan’s shattered heart broke further, splintering into pieces as he watched Adrian struggle to continue. His voice wavered, barely holding the melody, his breath catching on each word, until a single tear slipped down his cheek, landing softly on the guitar. Logan’s hands gripped the edge of his seat, helpless, as he saw Adrian lift his head, his face streaked with raw anguish, his eyes reflecting a depth of sorrow that was almost unbearable to witness. A choked cry escaped Logan as he took in the full weight of Adrian’s pain—so familiar, yet somehow deeper than he’d ever known.
That last sentence was a whispered confession, a tender farewell, the last thing he would hear from Adrian:
So when the end draws near, and life leaves you,
I’ll be here, waiting to save you.
Tears streamed down Adrian’s face as he abruptly rose and left the stage. The screen went dark, and the video ended, leaving a suffocating silence in its wake. Logan cast his phone to the other side of the couch, yanking his earbuds out and letting them fall onto the pristine carpet and couch, his body finally surrendering to the torrent of emotions he had kept buried. He let himself cry, truly cry, as hot tears poured from his gray eyes, carrying the weight of all the pain and self-hatred he’d suppressed for so long. The ache in his chest was like a living creature clawing through him, devouring him from the inside, a torture he knew he deserved.
He sat there, lost to time, sobbing until he was breathless, his words breaking through the silence as he whispered, “I’m sorry,” and screamed, “I love you,” as if Adrian could somehow hear him across the miles. It felt as though he were drowning in his grief, the weight pressing harder and harder, an agony that didn’t subside but only grew, each tear a testament to how deeply broken, how utterly in love he still was. He’d made the choice he thought was right, yet his heart bled openly, calling to Adrian with a desperation that felt like it would consume him whole.
Eventually, Logan reached for his phone, fingers trembling as he pulled up Adrian’s Facebook page, his thumb hovering over the message button. He needed to reach out, to say something, to cross the distance. The image of Adrian’s face, etched in grief, filled his mind, and fresh waves of self-loathing washed over him. But still, all he wanted was to hold him, to pull him close and tell him... tell him what?
The tiny green dot glowed like a pulse—steady, unrelenting—next to Adrian’s name. A beacon. A wound. Proof that he was there, somewhere, existing in the same digital ether, breathing in the same time, though a world apart. Logan’s fingers trembled above the keyboard, the weight of unsent words pressing against his chest like stones in a riverbed. It would take only a moment. Just one flicker of courage, one keystroke, and he could cross the distance.
But could Adrian see him? Was he watching that same small dot, tracing Logan’s presence like a ghost?
The song still rang in his ears—Adrian’s voice, raw and golden, weaving the shape of them into melody. A song for him. A song about them. A song that held him captive, wrapped in the echo of a love that never learned how to end. And still, he was silent.
In the quiet aftermath of his breakdown, Logan couldn’t help but long for those stolen moments: sitting with Adrian on a beach, watching the waves, listening to him play their songs. He wanted to kiss him, to run his fingers through his hair, to drown in the warmth of his whiskey-colored eyes.
