Sheet Music - A Rock 'n' Roll Love Story

Annie pulled away from his touch and squeezed her eyes tight.  The calculated movement slammed into Michael’s heart with the impact of a sledgehammer.

“Please don’t do that,” she insisted.  “If you touch me, I’ll get distracted and I won’t be able to say everything I came here to say.”

“I’m sorry.  Go on,” he answered, removing his arm from the back of the couch.

Annie stood and walked to the window and stared blankly at the city streets below.  “I want you to realize I completely appreciated everything you did for me at your house.  If I didn’t thank you then, I’m thanking you now.  If it weren’t for your generosity, I would have been sent to another hospital and you saved me from that.  But living in that house was a nightmare for me.  It consumed me.  And I’m not saying that to hurt you, Michael.  I just want you to understand what I was dealing with.”

She pressed her face against the cool glass.  “God, I loved being with you,” she sighed heavily.  “I felt a connection to you that I couldn’t possibly begin to describe except to say it came as close as anything to my ideal of perfection.  But, I had so much going on inside myself I had no idea how to release it.  The baggage overshadowed everything.”

Michael sat silent across the room, concentrating on every word that left her mouth.  Some of it was painful to hear but he was grateful the conversation was taking place at all.

“Is that why you left me?” he asked.

Annie’s back stiffened when she heard his question.  “Michael, that isn’t why I moved out of your house,” she blurted.

She heard him get off the couch, walk across the room, and stand behind her.  In the reflection of the glass she saw his hands lift as if to embrace her but instead he slid them into the front pockets of his jeans.

“Then why did you leave?” he asked, moving around so he could see her face.

Annie’s head dropped.  “Because you cheated,” she answered softly.

He stood upright and turned her by the shoulders, forcing her eyes to meet his.  “Annie, I never cheated.  Not once.  It wasn’t even a consideration.”

“People were telling me things…”

“Who?  Gary?”

“Yes, but Beth was saying the same thing.”

“Beth?  And you believed her?”  He moved away from her in anger.

“I also called your hotel room and twice a woman answered the phone.”

“When was that?”

“You were in Los Angeles.”

Michael raked his hands through his hair, thinking.  “Damn it, Annie.  I switched rooms with Brian in Los Angeles.  He wanted the room with the bigger window and he had a girl with him that night.”

Annie shook her head in disbelief.

“Listen to me,” he said, spinning her around again to face him.  “I never cheated.  And you are the first woman I’ve ever said that to and actually meant it!”

Annie began to cry.

“Why didn’t you talk to me about this, instead of running?” he asked, anger masked his eyes.

“I was too afraid.  It was easier to run than to stay and fight.”

“Wow, and I thought we had something worth fighting for.”  He sat back against the window ledge and sighed heavily.  “All this time you thought I had been unfaithful?”

She looked at him.  His eyes were filled with emotion.  “I’m really sorry.  Maybe I was wrong.”

He caught her gaze and skewed his face.  “Maybe?”

She wiped the tears from her face again.  “I was wrong.  But the drugs in my system didn't exactly help me to think straight.”

He grinned.  “I’ll give you that.”

Annie sat up on the window ledge beside him with her back to the skyline.

Silence fell between them, each caught in their own thoughts.

“Never?” she asked in a hushed tone, her eyes meeting his.

He shook his head.  “No.  I wanted you.”

Annie squeezed her eyes shut and tipped her head back against the glass.  “I have no right to ask this but, what about after I moved out?”

The smile faded from his face.  “You can ask me anything you want, and I promise I will be completely honest,” he whispered.  “But be sure the truth is what you really want to hear before you ask the question.”  He studied her face thoughtfully.  “Do you still want me to answer that question?”

Annie nodded.

He turned away from her and gazed out the window.  She could see the tightness in his jaw and suddenly wished she hadn’t asked the question.

When he finally spoke his words were soft and regretful.  “Annie, for a long time after you left I was convinced you’d be back.  But when you signed yourself out of rehab, and  left no contact information, it became obvious you no longer wanted to be with me.  Whether or not I wanted to, I had to make an attempt at moving on.”

Annie covered her face.  He reached over and pulled her hands away and made her look at him.  “I never said I was an angel, Annie, but you were the only one in my heart.”

“It’s okay,” she lied.  “I appreciate your honesty.”