Composer 4.15

~Charity~

"What's your plan?" I asked not too sure I really wanted to know. "I'm going to kill James." He said, his voice betraying no emotion. "How will you do that?"  "I have a potion that you can drink and once James feeds from you he will be poisoned."  "Are you sure it will work?" I asked feeling hopeful. "Don't worry, I've used it before." Kai told me how James rose to power, joining a coven as a lowly vampire and having Kai poison the "food supply" until James was the head of the coven. All  I had to keep James interested in me, keep him from getting rid of me too soon, Kai needed time to gather all the ingredients of the potion and to keep James from suspecting anything.  

Each morning I awoke wrapped up in Kai's arms, there I was safe. He tended my wounds with a sadness I had never seen. "I hate this you know. I hate what he does to you. I hate him."  "I know." Once I was tended to, we lay together and talked of freedom. "Where will we go?" I asked. "I have no idea, I've heard stories of a land full of Fae, I hope we can find it as I've never met one before." He said with a sigh. " I hope to see my Aunt again, I miss her. I think she'd like you." I said. "I think that would be nice." He said with a yawn. He'd been up all night most every night this last week making sure everything was in order. Tonight we would put our plan into action.With everything in place I started to doze off, I was fighting to stay awake when Kai said "Sleep, I'll wake you in a while" Safe in his arms, I slept.

"What is this!" I was awoken to the sound of angry voices and the slamming of my cell door. I quickly opened my eyes to find James standing over me. I was still wrapped in Kai's arms. "Kai, wake up!" I said as I elbowed him. When he saw James all the color drained from his face. " I'll ask one more time" James said "What's going on here Malakai?" Kai just stood there placing himself in front of me.  " You think you are protecting her!?! She's mine!" James screamed at Kai.
I was frozen with fear, James was here, he knew about us.  Kai lunged at James catching him off guard and shouted at me to run. I ran faster than ever, but I still wasn't fast enough. I made it to the door at the top of the stairs but when I opened it there were two vampires waiting. Grabbing me by the arms, the led me back down the stairs and into the cell, followed by several more vampires. They threw me back in the cell at James's feet, I glanced at Kai he had a look of defeat on his face, he had been forced to his knees by one of vampires, James grabbed me by the arm and hauled me to my feet. He held me In front of him while he spoke to Kai.

"So the Fae as fallen in love with a human. Tsk tsk, Malakai, you know the rules it's bad enough that you broke the rules, but to do so in front of my coven, well that's just unforgivable." I never took my eyes off Kai. James looked from Kai to me and back. "You leave me no choice, you will die tonight Malakai, but I will let you enjoy our entertainment first." Wile James was talking the other vampires in the room had closed in around us, with a sickening grin James knocked me to the floor and said "have at it boys!" The whole of James's coven descended upon me, save for the one that held Malakai in place, forcing him to watch. My screams filled the air, it seemed to take forever, but eventually the room grew dim and I faded into blackness. This time was different, I was no longer afraid, I no longer hurt. It was like being in Kai's arms once more, I was safe and secure, and I didn't want to wake up.

Composer 4.14

~Charity~

Malakai became the only thing keeping me from giving in when I was on the brink of death. In a sense he truly was an angel, my angel. I had no idea how long I'd been here, having lost count of the days long ago. My life had become a routine. The nights belonged to James, whom I had never stopped fighting. But my days, those belonged to Kai, seeing him every morning made the nights bearable. I looked forward to his visits, knowing that he would be there to greet me when I woke every morning gave me the strength to resist James.

Over time he and I had become something akin to friends. He had told me all about his life. He was found as a baby by James's mother and was raised along side him as his brother. Fae and Vampires are mortal enemies, even more so than Vampires and werewolves. Thousands of years ago there was a war between the two, and the vampires slaughtered the Fae, nearly causing their extinction. The cause of the war has been lost to time, but neither side ever forgot their hatred of the other. So because Malakai was Fae, James and his family were outcasts. Once his mother died James came here with Malakai. He told me how he longed to see the outside world, having been forbidden to go outside for fear of being discovered. When he told me how he had disposed of the others who had been here before me, I was a bit shocked, but I realized Malakai was just as much a prisoner as I was. He did as James asked since he was the only family he had. 

One day I woke up to find Malakai sitting in my cell. Since I was not expecting him I screamed. "I'm sorry, you scared me" I said apologizing once I realized who was there. "I did not mean to startle you, I only wanted to be here when you woke up, I needed to tell you something." He had a strange look on his face so I asked him "What's wrong?" His eyes looked sad and he said . "I heard James talking and he said that he was getting a new acquisition soon. He's going to get rid of you."  "Oh" I said "You mean he's going to kill me."  " That's the plan." he said so matter of factually. "How can you be so calm!" I yelled, starting to panic. I had thought Malakai was my friend, and was hoping that I could convince him to let me go.

Malakai did not answer, instead he walked over to where I was sitting sat down, took both my hands in his, and looked me in the eyes and said "I promise that won't happen." "How can you be so sure?" I asked tears beginning to cloud my vision. Wiping my tears away he said "I never cared what happened to any of the humans before now, but you're different. I care about you in a way that I never thought I could. Charity I love you, and I promise that I will find a way to free you." His confession took me by surprise. " I think I love you too." I answered "What do we do now?" "Don't worry love. I have a plan." 

Composer 4.13

~Charity~

I opened my eyes to the most wonderful sight. I saw a man with the most beautiful wings standing over me. "Am I dead? Is this heaven?" I asked the winged man. "No to both" he said. Oh, I had thought last night that James had surely killed me. I was so tired and in so much pain."What's wrong with me?" I asked when I realized I could barely move. The man just looked at me and went back to what ever he was mixing up. "Will you answer me, please?" I asked.  "Do you speak to your food?" he asked. I was a bit confused. "What?" He sighed and spoke as if he was speaking to a child. "You are food, I don't speak to food, do you?" Food? what did he mean by that? OH! That's when it hit me, James was a vampire and they...fed....on...humans. Once he had finished mixing up what ever it was he came over to me, I moved back towards the wall wincing as I did so. Was this man going to hurt me too? He held out the mixture "Drink." I was afraid not to, so I drank the strange concoction. I immediately felt better, I thanked him as I handed the bottle back. "so what are you?" I asked. "I'm Fae" he said as if it should be obvious. He headed out of my cell locking the door behind him. I lay back on the pallet that was on the floor and looked around, except for the faint glow of candlelight from beyond my cell, I was surrounded by darkness.

I couldn't believe vampires and fae? fairies? were real. All this time I had thought they were just stories, made up to entertain children. I felt someone watching me as I lay there. I looked over to see the winged man staring at me. When he realized I had seen him he disappeared  around the corner and I was alone once more. I was intrigued by him. Who was he? Why was he here?

I was startled awake by the creaking of my cell door. James was back. I scrambled to my feet and as far back as I was able to go, which wasn't very far. This time he wasn't alone. "Come here my dear, don't be afraid." James said. "Go away! Leave me alone!" I yelled as loud as I could.  He and the other vampire just laughed as they advanced. They each grabbed one of my arms and led me back to the pallet of the floor. "Please don't do this." I pleaded through my tears. They lowered me to the floor so I was sitting between the two of them, and they each took one of my arms, lowered their heads and sunk their teeth in. I begged the whole time for them to stop, but they wouldn't listen. When they were finished they let me go and I slumped to the floor like a rag doll. I watched them leave, tears slowly falling down my face. Was this to be my life? To stay here and be food for monsters?

The following morning the winged man was back, this time I just lay there as he entered the room with his concoctions. He went to work cleaning my wounds and applying some form of paste to them. "Why do you do this, why not just let me die?" I asked. "It is my job to care for the humans, as long as they are here." He answered. "How long is that?" I needed to know. "Depends. Some are with us longer than others." He said handing me something to drink. I couldn't lift it to my mouth, so he helped me. I glanced up at him as he lifted the liquid to my mouth, he had the most beautiful eyes. They were a pale grey, like the sky just before it snows. His eyes caught mine and for a moment we just sat there. "I must go." he said as he got up. "Wait." I said grabbing his hand "Tell me your name, please." "Malakai" he said pulling his hand free and walking away once more. I was so tired, laying my head back down I fell into a dreamless sleep.

Composer 4.12

~Berlin~

Who ever decided you had to wait forty-eight hours to report someone missing was an idiot. As soon as Charity had been missing long enough I called to police back and filed an official report. I was told a detective would be sent over to interview me. I waited for what seemed hours before the detective   arrived at my house. I invited him in and we sat in the living room. He introduced himself as Michael Thompson.

"Mrs. Wright." detective Thompson began

 "It's miss, I'm not married."

"My apologies, miss Wright. What can you tell me about Charity's disappearance?"

I told him about our fight, how we hadn't spoken for several days, but that she wouldn't run away. I suppose he thought I was her mother, since he asked if her father was in the picture. "No he's not. Neither is her mother." That got a strange look from him so I explained that I was her aunt and both her parents were deceased. He asked if she had a boyfriend, to which I answered no. He asked for a list of her friends so I gave him the few names that were her friends.

He looked through her room for clues, though he found none. Once he was done he thanked me for my time and left.

 I wasn't sure what to with myself, so I went into my office and started playing, as I played the notes turned into a melody that was both sad and beautiful at the same time. I quickly wrote down what I had been playing. I stayed in there for hours the barking of the dogs finally broke my concentration, they needed food. After I fed the dogs I sat back down in the living room and was overwhelmed by my thoughts, my regrets. What if I never saw Charity again? I was filled with regret, I thought back to all the times I had place work first, now I had my career, at what cost? I had lost everyone I cared about. I cried. I cried for charity, for Tanner, for all the birthday's I had missed because my stupid career was more important.

Upon waking up the next morning I had come to a decision, I was going retire and focus on bringing Charity home, even if it took everything I had I would see her returned to me. I finished my piece the following week, I had planned on selling it, but it was too personal, so I kept it.  I told my job what had happened and that I was taking a leave of absence, they were all very supportive telling me to let them know if I needed anything. I never realized until that moment just how empty that phrase really was. Did I need anything? Yea. I needed my Daughter back.

Composer 4.11

~Charity~

Wh-Where am I? I thought as I woke up. My head was killing me and everything was dark. What happened?  I thought back trying to remember what happened the night before.

The day of the audition was here and even though she said no I planed to go anyway. I thought that if she saw how good I was my aunt would let me join the company. I should have just stayed home. After I had the worst audition of my life I ran out of the dance studio to the park and sat there crying my eyes out, when he showed up. Where was he, was he here now? "May I sit here?" he asked. He had the slightest accent that I couldn't place. "Yea" I replied between sniffles. He asked if I was alright, I just nodded my head. I turned to look at him and saw the most handsome man I had ever laid eyes on. "I'm fine, actually I should go." I said starting to get up. "Please don't go" he said. Even though I knew it was getting late and I needed to get home I sat back down with this strange man. He introduced himself as James, I told him my name and he asked why I was crying. I don't know why, but I told him everything, I told him about the audition, and Berlin thinking I was too young to dance professionally. He told me that he knew the man who ran the dance company and he could help get me a second interview. I started to get a bad feeling, "I really have to go now." I said walking away. "STOP." With that one word from James I froze in place, try as I might I couldn't move. "You're mine now" James said as he walked by me. As he walked it was as if I was being pulled along by a leash, I was walking along behind James, unable to stop. We walked to a car he had waiting "Get in" He pointed to the back seat and as I got in he told me to sleep, and though I was screaming on the inside I did as I was commanded.

Now that I was here in this dark place, what was going to happen? I wasn't sure I really wanted to find out. I felt around in the darkness, three of the walls were solid, the fourth wall had bars. Oh my gosh, I was in a cell. At that realization I fell to my knees and sobbed. I wanted to go home, aunt Berlin would be so worried when she realized I wasn't there. As I sat there crying, I heard footsteps approaching. I instantly got up and moved as far back into the cell as I could. The footsteps got closer and a light turned on, as I squinted my eyes against the bright light I made the figure out to be James. " What am I doing here?" I demanded. He just smirked at me as he opened the door and walked towards me. I moved back until my back hit the wall, James was still advancing. "Stop! Don't come any closer!" I knew my words were useless, when James continued his advance. Once he got close enough he grabbed me pulling me close. Faster than I could react he grabbed my neck, bending my head to the side he did what I thought was only possible in the movies, he sunk his teeth into my neck and began to drink. I screamed as his teeth pierced my flesh, as he continued my vision began to darken, the last thought I had was this is how I die.

Composer 4.10

I finally made it! I was a composer! I had been given the chance to write a piece for an upcoming movie, and If the director liked it then I would get to do all the music. Well they liked what I had come up with, so I got to do the movie. That job turned into more jobs and before I knew it everyone wanted me to compose their music. I had been so busy with my job, that I missed Charity's birthday.

 I got her a cake before I headed out, but wasn't able to be there. She was fifteen. She still insisted on becoming an acrobat, I still didn't like it but I knew even without my support she would do it anyway. The Laveau blood was strong with her, I think she inherited mom's rebellious streak. So I enrolled her in some extra classes and let her go to the show whenever it was in town. I told her I would support her choice on one condition, she had to keep her grades up and she would go to college.

By the time Charity was seventeen, she was at the top of her class both in dance and academically, I knew she would be going to a top college next year.

"Aunt Berlin!" Charity hollered as she came in the front door. "In here." I called from my office. "you'll never believe what they told us in dace class today, they're looking for a dancer to join the company, and they offered me an audition!" She was so excited she was practically jumping up and down. "That's great Charity, but before you get all excited, I need to know a few things." I began. "How long would you be gone for, what about school?" "Well" Charity started. "It would be for at least a year, longer if they needed me, and I can do my school online. Please say yes." I wanted to, but I just couldn't, she was too young.
 "Charity" I said " I'm happy they offered you the audition"
"But you're not going to let me tryout are you?"
"I just think you're a bit too young for that right now, maybe when you're older."
 "I'm seventeen and this is a once in a lifetime opportunity! I'll never have a chance like this again!"
"Yes you will, you're still young. You will have plenty of opportunities in your life. My answer is no. End of discussion."
"whatever" At that Charity walked upstairs and I heard her bedroom door slam. I sat down and went back to work. I knew she was upset, but she would get over it eventually.

The next few days we hardly spoke to each other. If I got home first, she would head straight upstairs to her room and if she was home first as soon as I walked in she would leave the room. I figured I'd just give her some space and she'd come around. After several days of the silent treatment enough was enough, I got home late one evening and went straight upstairs to deal with Charity only to find she wasn't home. I called her phone, no answer, I called around to the few friends that she had, but no one had seen her, so I checked with the dance studio, but they were already closed. Where was she? I was trying not to worry, but she'd never done anything like this. I sat down on the couch trying to think of what to do next, I had such a headache so I lay back on the couch. Next thing I know it's morning. I ran upstairs and checked her room, but the bed hadn't been slept in. I was starting to get worried, I called the school to see if she had made it, but they said she wasn't there either. Now I was panicking, With shaking hands I called the police. " Hello? Yes I need to report a missing person. Yes I'll hold." I paced back and forth across the room while I waited for someone to answer. "Hello? Yes I need to report a missing- forty-eight hours? Yes I understand." After they hung up on me, I sat down and cried. Where could she be?

Composer 4.9

Life with a toddler was interesting, Charity was constantly getting into something. She was a bright child and learned to talk easily, walking however she was a bit behind in. The doctor said she was just a bit delayed since she was so early and she would catch on soon. She did finally when she was almost three.

 got offered a spot in an orchestra, in Paris. I jumped at the opportunity. I didn't have any reason really to stay in Bridgeport, and there were too many memories in this apartment, so I moved. The nanny was willing to come with us to Paris, so I paid her way as well as ours. Paris was amazing, I got us a small house right in the center of town. 

Charity wasn't very stable on her feet. She had been walking for six months, but still fell a lot. When I asked the doctor about it, he said since she was so early she was just behind, she would catch up soon. He also suggested a dance class might help, since it would teach her balance. I looked up toddler dance classes and found one that would take charity. She was a natural, once she got the hang of it. I could see her becoming a ballerina as she got older.

My position with the orchestra paid very well, I now had more money than I'd ever dreamed of, so I bought the biggest house I could. It has an amazing view of the Eiffel Tower. 

As Charity grew up, I made sure she had the best of everything, the Best clothes, the best dance instructors, the best schools. Our nanny decided to take a job with another family with small children, so now it was just Charity and I. Charity was a beautiful child, she had her mother's hair, and her father's eyes. She was a shy child, very quiet. Her quietness was fine by me, it allowed me the concentration I needed for my work, though sometimes I did worry that she was a bit too quiet, we could go days without seeing each other, and when we did we barely spoke. 

One day Charity announced over dinner that she had decided what she wanted to be when she grew up. "Aunt Berlin, I've decided I want to become an acrobat when I grow up, we went to a show in dance class, and it's what I'm going to do too. " I nearly choked on my food. "That's nice dear, but ballet is just as nice you know." I answered. she just shrugged and went back to her dinner. Don't get me wrong, I want her to be happy, but I also want her to have the life she deserves. For the past several generations my family has struggled, I now make more than any of them, I now have the life that my ancestors dreamed of having. I'm not about to let Charity give up on all the hard work of the past generations on a whim. Ballet has a much better financial future, not to mention prestige. I refuse to let her throw away her life to become an acrobat.

Composer 4.8

A month passed, and the baby was almost ready to be released from the hospital. I had spent the last month getting everything ready for her. The hardest part was getting the room ready. She would be in Tanner's room, so I had to pack up all his belongings. I cried the whole time,  I donated some of his things and the rest I packed up and sent back to the caretaker at our old house, that way mom didn't have to see any of it.

I hired a live in nanny for the baby, since I worked. It may sound selfish but I had no plans to quit my job, I was going to be a famous composer, and I wasn't going to let raising my niece get in the way. I still needed to decide on a name for her, the nurses kept asking me, but I hadn't picked one out yet. Everything was ready for her, I was just waiting on the doctor to say she was strong enough to come home.

Two months after she was born I brought her home. I had to pick a name before she was released, so they could put it on her birth certificate, I named her Charity. She was still so small, but she was healthy. I loaded her up in the car and took her home. Marissa, the nanny, was waiting at the door for us, I had to work get to work, so I handed Charity to her and headed out. I finally was getting back on track with my job, with everything that had happened I had gotten behind, I had temporarily been replaced in the quartet since they still had shows they needed to perform. I hadn't played in a few months so I was a bit rusty, though I knew it wouldn't take me too long to get back to where I was.

The first week having Charity home was a bit of an adjustment, I had to get used to Marissa being there. In addition to her looking after the baby, she also looked after the house too. I would snuggle Charity before leaving for work, and again when I got home. Some nights all she did was scream, all night long. No matter what Marissa tried, she just wouldn't stop. Those nights I thought I was going to go crazy. Don't get me wrong, I loved my niece, I just wasn't cut out for the mother thing. I wasn't very good at it, I didn't really like kids.

Mom still wasn't doing well, Dad wanted to come visit and meet his granddaughter, but mom wouldn't come and he didn't want to leave her alone. I sent him pictures, and he would talk to Charity on the phone, but it wasn't the same. I hoped mom would get better, I missed her so much. Before her breakdown dad and I weren't very close, now however we had the kind of relationship a daughter should have with her father.

Time passed and it was Charity's first birthday. I had the apartment decorated in varying shades of pink, and had a cake ordered from a local bakery. It was just a small party, just Marissa and I. Marissa took plenty of pictures of me helping Charity blow out her candles. All the photos I took of Charity I put in an album for mom, I knew some day she'd come around and I didn't want her to feel like she'd missed anything.

Composer 4.7

I woke up some time the following afternoon. At first I was confused as to why I was sleeping in Tanner's bed, but it didn't take long for the events of the previous night to come back to me. So many things needed to be done, I needed to call mom and tell her what happened, I didn't want to. I really didn't want to, but I had to. I picked up my phone and dialed. "Mom?" I said barely keeping myself together. "Tanner was in an accident last night, he's gone mom." I heard her scream, then I heard dad pick up the line. I told him what had happened. He was eerily calm while I was telling him all that had happened. He said they would catch the next flight here and hung up. I called my boss and told him I needed some time off work, he told me to take all the time I needed, however long that was.

I kept myself busy the rest of the day cleaning the apartment, and making room for mom and dad. I left Tanner's room exactly as it was and shut the door. When my phone rang I was not expecting it to be mom's number, they should be on the plane headed here by now. "Hello?" Dad was on the other end, mom had freaked out on the plane, and had to be escorted off, dad said she wasn't doing well, so they weren't going to be able to come back right now. Great.

The next few days passed in an blur, the coroner released the bodies and sent them to the funeral home. I spent most of the day on the funeral arraignments.  Mom had gotten worse, she wasn't eating or sleeping. Dad took her to the doctor and they said she was practically catatonic from grief. She basically had shut down, so neither one of them were going to be at the funeral. I still hadn't been back to the hospital to see the baby, I just couldn't deal with that right now.

The day of the funeral, I made my way to the cemetery, Tanner and Emily would be buried side by side, I was the only one to attend the funeral. With mom being as famous as she is, I had been reading all about Tanner's death and mom's breakdown in every magazine, so the funeral was kept secret. Mom didn't need that in all the tabloids. I stayed at the cemetery all day, I just couldn't bring myself to leave. " What am I supposed to do now? How am I supposed to take care of a baby, your baby. If you hadn't been so STUPID you would be here right now!" I was yelling at Tanner's grave. 

 I still didn't know how, but I knew I had to find a way to raise my niece. I had to do it for him Wiping my tears away, I vowed then and there, I would never open my heart to anyone again. If I didn't love, I couldn't be hurt. 

I went back to work two weeks later, I just couldn't sit at home any longer. I had gone to see the baby a few times, I really didn't know what to do when I went, so I would just sit there and watch her sleep. Dad and I talked nearly everyday, he kept me updated on mom. She suffered a mental break down when Tanner died, to deal with her grief her mind reverted back to a point before we were born, so I couldn't even talk to her, she didn't remember me. Not only did I lose my brother, I was also losing my mom too. Dad was doing what he could to help, she was on medication and in therapy, but they still couldn't get her to accept his death.

Composer 4.6

~Berlin~

I rushed  through the doors of the ER and headed straight for the nurses desk. " I'm looking for my brother and his wife. Tanner and Emily Wright." I said as I walked up. "Please have a seat, and the doctor will be out to talk to you shortly." The nurse said pointing towards the waiting area. I didn't want to have a seat and wait, I wanted to know what happened, but I sat down anyway. The call that I thought was mom turned out to be the police letting me know that Tanner and Emily had been in an accident, both of them had been rushed here along with the driver from the car they hit. All I had been told was to get here as son as I could, so I threw on some clothes and caught a cab here.

I sat, I paced, I sat some more.

I had been waiting almost an hour when I saw the doctor headed my way. "Wright?" he said. I jumped up out of my chair and met him half way. "Have a seat" he said motioning to the chair I had just vacated. "I'm afraid I have some bad news, your brother had severe internal injuries,and though we tried all our efforts he didn't make it, I'm sorry" I felt like someone had reached into my chest and pulled out my heart, Tanner was dead. "What about Emily and the baby?" I asked though I didn't want to know the answer. "Emily was rushed for an emergency c-section in an attempt to save the baby, but we couldn't stop the bleeding and she died in surgery. The baby was delivered and is in the NICU. When you are ready I'll have someone take you up."

I just sat there, I heard what he said but all I could think was my brothers dead. I didn't know what to do next, I was numb. I don't know how long I sat there, but I finally decided that I needed to see the baby. I walked back over to the nurses desk and asked to see the baby, the nurse showed me the way.

Standing outside of the NICU, I really wasn't sure what to do, after standing there a few minutes, the doctor  came out to speak to me. "Can I help you?" "Yea, I'm here to see my niece? Nephew? Sorry they didn't tell me if it was a boy or girl." I said realizing I didn't even ask the other doctor. "What's the last name?" the doctor asked.  "Wright." I answered. "Oh" He started "It's a girl, I'll take you to see her. Don't be alarmed by all the monitors, she was very early, only thirty weeks. She is on a respirator since her lungs are underdeveloped, we gave her some medicine to help mature them." I just nodded and followed him.

He led me to an incubator with the tiniest little baby in side, she was hooked up to all kinds of wires and tubes, I wasn't really sure what I was supposed  to be feeling. I didn't stay long telling the staff I needed to get home, make arrangements for my brother. On the way out I asked the doctor what was going to happen to the baby. "When she gets big enough, I suppose you get to take her home." His answer was something that hadn't even considered. It was all too much, I couldn't deal with this right now. I felt like I was walking through fog, I don't remember going home but here I was. Walking through the house that's when it hit me, They were gone, this was it, it was just me now. I walked into Tanner's room and sat down on the bed. Seeing all his things, I couldn't hold it in any longer, I fell to my knees and I cried. I cried harder than I thought it was possible, I cried till I had nothing left to cry. I managed to pull myself up onto the bed where I fell asleep.

Composer 4.4

~Berlin~

I can't believe Tanner! He went and got married and didn't even tell me till Emily was moving in. I don't know what's gotten into him lately. Well what's done is done, though I would have loved to have been a fly on the wall when he called mom and told her the news.

Emily was nice, though the situation was a bit awkward to say the least. I tried my best to get to know my new sister-in-law. She was from a small town, a crappy family, left home to come to the city when she was seventeen.  Not much to tell really. She was amazed by the apartment, and was a bit shocked when she found out who our mom was, even when mom and dad got re-married, mom never changed her name. She was still Laveau, where as Tanner and I were Wrights, so the connection was not immediately apparent. I did my best to make her feel like part of the family, though we didn't get along too well.

Since Emily didn't have a job, nor did she really need one now, she took it upon herself to take care of the house while Tanner and I were working. I think the long days alone started to get to her, cause she and Tanner started fighting quite a bit, and since their room was right across the hall from mine it was hard to miss. I tried to smooth thing over between them, but more often than not I just got caught in the middle. When they weren't fighting they were all over each other, it made living with them very uncomfortable.

The months passed much the same, alternating between fighting and loving, after one particularly bad fight I sat down with Tanner to try to talk things out. "What was this one about?" I asked. He just gave me a look and said, "I didn't make it to the dr's appointment today, I told her I would try to make it, but I got called in for an extra shift at work, so I did't make it."  "Doesn't she understand that you need the money to take care of her and the baby?" I asked. "Yea she does, she just wishes I could be more involved. I wish I could too." I knew there was more to it than that, but I wasn't going to push it. I only hoped that once the baby was born things would get better between them.

"Berlin! we're leaving now, be back later!" I heard Tanner call from the door way. He and Emily were going out for a while which gave me time to work. My progress at work had slowed down considerably since Emily had moved in. I still was part of just a quartet, still hadn't made it to the full orchestra. I was falling behind in my plan, I should have been further by now. I worked till midnight, I was more tired than I realized, as soon as I lay down I was asleep. I was woken up less than an hour later from my phone ringing, I reached over and answered it without even looking, thinking it might be mom, she was in Italy, her and dad had decided to move there when her tour was over. "Hello?" It wasn't mom....

Composer 4.5

~Tanner~

Married life was not what I expected at all, of course I guess it helps when you actually know the person you are marrying. Don't get me wrong, Emily is great, it's just, well I thought getting married and her moving in would make things easier, guess I was wrong.

It wasn't all bad, not at first anyway. We would spend our free time taking silly pictures, and just enjoying our time together. I would go to work, and she would take care of the apartment, she did a great job of it too, but as the months progressed, and it got later into the pregnancy, things changed. I don't know if it was hormones or just her personality coming out, but we ended up fighting all the time. We fought over the smallest things, I'm late getting home, fight, she burned dinner, fight. When we weren't fighting you couldn't keep us apart, those times were fewer and fewer.

After one particularly bad screaming match, I went into the kitchen to cool down where I ran into Berlin, she asked me about the fight, and I told her the basics, I was supposed to meet up with Emily at the DR's, but had to work instead, which was the truth, well mostly anyway. I left out the part that I volunteered to work, I just needed a break from everything.

"Berlin! We're leaving now, be back later!" I called to Berlin as Emily and I headed out. I knew our fighting was getting on Berlin's nerves, and I needed to try and fix things with Emily, so we went out for the evening. It started out great, we got all dressed up, and went out to a nice dinner. Emily was seven and a half months pregnant, but she was still just as Beautiful as the day I met her. After dinner we went dancing, which was great, we stayed for a few hours, till her feet started to hurt and we left.

"We should go see a movie" Emily said as we got in the car. "Sure, what do you want to see?" I asked. "I don't know, lemme see your phone, I'll look up and see what's playing." I gave her the phone and headed towards the theater. "Whose Katie?" She asked out of the blue. "What?" I asked not sure what she was talking about. "Katie. You have like a million texts from her. Who is she?" Sensing a fight starting, I tried to avoid it. "She's just bartender I work with." That didn't help. "Had a nice time, let's do it again soon?" She started reading my messages back to me. "Look. She's no one, just a girl I work with. I stayed late to help train her one night, that's what the text was about."  "Yea right Tanner. You expect me to believe you?." Believe what you want, I know what's true. I can't believe you would think I would actually cheat on you."  "Did you?" I couldn't believe she was accusing me of cheating, sure we didn't know each other all that well, but surely I hadn't given any reason for her to think  that. I was so angry I could barely concentrate on driving. "Tanner!" she yelled just as I missed the red light and our car sailed through the intersection. Metal scraping, glass shattering, Emily screaming. Then everything went black. 

Composer 4.3

~Tanner~

I didn't expect Berlin to go off on me like that, but I guess I deserved it. After she walked off and I heard the office door close, I called Emily. I told her I wanted to be there for her and the baby as much as shed let me. We ended up talking for almost an hour, getting to know each other a bit. Guess I should have done that to start with. By the time I hung up, Berlin had come out of her office to get something to eat, so I apologised for yelling at her earlier. She asked if I had told mom, yea I told her, can't say she was too happy. She chewed me out worse than Berlin had, though she did offer to come back which I turned down. I wouldn't be responsible for messing up her plans as well.

Emily and I talked every week, she lived on the other side of the city so we didn't see each other often, but we made sure we went out at least once a week. I hadn't known her very long, but I knew I cared for her, even without her being pregnant.

One day she called and asked me if we could meet up, we needed to talk. We met up at the diner once we were seated I asked her what's up? "I lost my job yesterday, and I don't have enough money to pay the rent, so I'm planning to move back to my hometown." She lived clear across the country. While it's true that I wasn't thrilled to find out I was going to be a dad, the idea had grown on me and now I couldn't imagine not seeing my kid. "You can't move back, what about me being a part of this?" "Sorry Tanner, I have to what's best for me and the baby. Back home I have some family that can help, you can visit if you want, but I have to go, I have no other options here." I didn't have a plan, but I had to come up with something. "When are you going?" I asked, not really wanting to hear the answer. "At the end of the month when I lease is up." Good that gave me sometime to figure out a plan. She left first and I sat there thinking for a while. 

I ended up going back home not too long after that, still not having a plan. I got home and Berlin was still at work, she worked long hours, many nights putting in overtime, so usually I had the house to myself for a while before I had to go to work. I went into the office intending to look up something on the computer, when I hit me, I called her up and told her my plan. "I have it all figured out where you don't have to move back home." "What's your plan?" she asked me a bit skeptically. "Marry me."

I know it was a snap decision, but I couldn't think of anything else. 

Composer 4.2

~Berlin~

I was steadily progressing at work, life for me was pretty routine, get up, clean the house, feed the dogs, go to work, come  home put in a few additional hours online, the bed.

I worked hard, Tanner partied hard. After working  for only a year there was an audition with the orchestra, I didn't get in to the full orchestra, but I did get in with a quartet, which was a start. I was so excited to tell Tanner the good news, but when I got home he was sitting on the couch staring into space. I could tell something was wrong, so I walked over and sat down next to him.

"Spill." I said. He looked at he and I could tell it was serious. "I messed up. I messed big time." Thinking he was in trouble with the law, I told him "Don't worry, we'll fix it. How much do you need? " He just stared at me for a minute, coming to the same conclusion that I had. "What? No, not that kind of trouble. I wish it was that kind of trouble." Confused I asked "Then what kind-" I didn't get to finish as Tanner blurted out "I got a girl pregnant, I was careless, we were drunk. It was just once." I was speechless, I knew Tanner was having 'fun' but I thought he was smarter than that. "What am I going to do?" He asked. A million comments swirled around in my head, both good and bad when I finally said, "Suck it up." "What?" He asked shocked at my comment. "Suck it up, be a man. You knocked her up? Well that was stupid, now you have to live with it, so man up. Fun's over, time to be responsible." I think my statement surprised both of us. "It's not that easy, Berlin! We haven't been dating that long , what do you expect me to do, marry the girl?"

Tanner was off the couch yelling at me now, so I yelled back. "Do you want your kid to grow up without a father like you did? Cause that's what will happen. You need to talk to her, and figure things out." I walked off too mad to hear his response. I still had so many more questions for him, but now was not the time. I went to my office and started working on a new piece for the piano I was working on. Several hours passed, and I went into the kitchen to get a snack, where I ran into Tanner. He apologized for yelling at me, and I asked him the questions I still had. What was her name, had he told mom yet, when did I get to meet her? Her name was Emily, and yes he told mom, who was even madder than I was,  offering to move back and help him figure things out. Fortunately he told her no, I would have smacked him if he had said yes, mom was finally living her dream after years of sacrifices for our sake.

Composer 4.1

~Tanner~

Bridgeport. What can I say, it's a city. I can't say I love it, won't say I hate it either.  It was Berlin's dream to move here, I just didn't want to stay home with mom and dad. Not that I would have minded getting to know dad some more, see he was presumed dead most of my life and just recently came back to us, it was pretty awesome having him back, though I don't think Berlin shares my feelings on that. Anyway mom, being a rock star, decided to go on an international  tour, something she kept putting off for Berlin and my sake. Dad went with her and for the next year, they will be touring all over the world. So that being the case I came here with Berlin. I work at a club here in town as a bartender, I'm pretty good at it too. The pay is nice, and the ladies are nicer. I decided long ago to have the most fun I can in life since it is so short, so I live everyday to the fullest. No long term plans for me, who knows what the future holds.

Berlin on the other hand has the next ten years of her life planned out. She's going to be a famous composer, and she's the kind of person that won't stop till she is either. Me I don't care for fame, I'd rather have fun without the whole world watching.

As soon as we moved here we pooled our money and bought a nice penthouse apartment, room for both of us without being crowded. We both needed jobs so we set out to get one, I scored a job at the first club I walked into, and Berlin got hired at the music company. When she got home she started working right away, she's so boring, sometimes I can't believe we're twins. I on the other hand went to one of the clubs in town, and spent my night drinking and chatting up the ladies. I stayed out all night going from one club to the next checking out the local scene. When I finally went home Berlin was leaving for work, I mumbled a good morning and headed to my room where I crashed. 

The good thing about my job was that I only had to work when they needed me, the rest of the time I was free to do whatever, which in my case usually meant hanging out at one of the clubs. One night at work I got to talking with the most beautiful woman I'd ever seen. Her name was Emily, and I made sure to get her number.

Composer 4.0

~Berlin~

Bridgeport! The city of my dreams! A lot of famous composers got their start here, and I plan to be among them. When I told mom I wanted to move here she was not too happy. She didn't want me to live in the city alone, so Tanner decided to move with me. Mom had set up a trust fund for each of us years ago when we were kids, and now that we were eighteen, the money was ours and between the two of us we had enough to rent one of the nicest penthouses in the city, a huge three bedroom with a nice view. 

We moved in and quickly got to work redecorating. One room became my office, where I moved in the piano. The room right next to the office became my room and the farthest room became Tanner's room. 

We both needed jobs, so as soon as we got settled in we went to find one. I got hired by a music company, right away. Because of who my mom is, I started out as a roadie. Some people don't like to use their parents' fame, but to me it's just another advantage I have. Tanner got a job at a local club bar tending, so if I had any desire to go to a club, I could have gotten in for free. Tanner in the other hand lived the club life, sometimes it was hard to believe we were twins, though we really didn't look alike anyway. I took after dad and Tanner takes after mom. It's weird to think about my dad, he's only been around for the past few years and he and I aren't as close as he and Tanner are. Anyway as soon as I got home from filling out all the necessary paperwork to start my job, I got on the company's website and started working. Tanner says I'm boring, but I have it all planned out. I'm going to be at the top of my career by the time I'm twenty-three, then I plan to find a husband and get married by twenty-five, then maybe have a kid by thirty. I'm not set on the kid thing yet, I don't care much for them. Once they're older they're not so bad, but babies and toddlers, annoy me.

I went to bed early, Tanner wasn't home yet, he was out having fun somewhere. The next morning I got up and fed the dogs, I have two of them. QT, who I've had since I was a kid and her puppy. Then I headed off to work, when I left for work Tanner was just coming in, he mumbled a hello, and stumbled off to bed. 

By the end of my first week I had already been promoted to being a roadie working with the local symphony. It was my job to help set up the equipment they would be using for a show. I would stay and listen after they would start playing, dreaming of my turn in the spotlight.