Total pages in book: 143
Estimated words: 138287 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 691(@200wpm)___ 553(@250wpm)___ 461(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 138287 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 691(@200wpm)___ 553(@250wpm)___ 461(@300wpm)
I rolled my eyes and picked up the MP3 player, putting the earphone back into my ear. “What else do you have?” I scrolled through but the more I looked, the less I actually saw. “There are too many songs. I don’t know what to pick.”
Connor leaned his head against mine and I turned to him, my eyes smiling, watching him pick a playlist for me. “I got one I know you’re gonna love.”
The playlist was called Best of 80s and the first song began to play. Immediately, my shoulders started to move to the beat and when Connor watched me, grinning, I uttered a sunny, “Oh, I like this.”
“I knew you would.”
“What’s it called?”
“‘Sussudio.’ Phil Collins.”
I loved it and I sadly wondered where it had been my entire life. It was so catchy and jovial, and it made me feel like dancing. Of course, I didn’t, but I wanted to.
Song after song played. “Jump” by Van Halen. “Tainted Love” by Soft Cell. “Need You Tonight” by INXS. “Jessie’s Girl” by Rick Springfield. “Another One Bites The Dust” by Queen. “When Doves Cry” by Prince. “Don’t Stop Believing” by Journey.
Connor took me through a bunch of them and I loved them all so much that I just knew I’d been born into the wrong generation. I felt like I now lived for the 80s and when the MP3 player beeped through the earphones, then again and again, Connor checked the display. “The battery’s dying,” he said gravely.
“Oh no,” I was genuinely upset by this news.
He plucked the earphone from my ear. “Don’t fret. I’ll charge it. You can listen to it tomorrow.”
But I was positively outraged. “Tomorrow?”
Connor grinned. “Yeah, tomorrow.”
Oh, this just wouldn’t do. I sat up. “Lee?”
“Yeah,” he called out from the back.
“Do you have an MP3 player?”
Lee responded, “Sure do.”
“Can I borrow it? And, more importantly, is it fully charged?”
“Yep. And yep. Come grab it.”
My relief was palpable. “Oh, thank God.” I pointed to Connor. “Stay there. I need your mega eighties song knowledge.” I ran in my socks, grabbed the golden MP3 player, and returned in less than a minute, throwing myself down next to Connor then thrusting out the device and letting out a desperate sounding, “Help.”
“All right,” Connor murmured. “Don’t shit a brick.” He went through Lee’s songs before going straight to the online store. “We good. I’ll sort you out, Emmy.” I waited as patiently as I could. Connor added song after song and he made a thoughtful sound. “I’m straying a bit here into some earlier stuff but I think you’ll like it.”
“I don’t mind. Just hurry.”
Soon after, I would learn that Queen were one of the best bands to have even blessed this crazy world with their music. When Connor told me the lead singer, Freddie Mercury, had died in the early nineties, I felt severely depressed. Especially when Connor played “Don’t Stop Me Now.”
I wasn’t even ashamed for being so suddenly overwhelmed that I began to cry.
“Baby,” Connor said when he noticed, turning to me. “Why the waterworks?
“I’m sad.” More tears fell but I turned on my side to face him. “Freddie was way beyond his time.”
“He was,” he agreed quietly. “They weren’t ready for him, for what he brought to the industry. But here we are, years after his death, listening to his music.” He gently wiped my cheek with the backs of his fingers. “Being moved to tears. I think that says a lot. That’s why music is so important, yeah?”
I simply nodded, because the thickness in my throat made it hard to speak.
“Bohemian Rhapsody” came next and I closed my eyes, taking in the lyrics. The sudden change in pitch caused my arms to break out in goosebumps. Connor ran his fingertips across them and I sighed softly. I know. I was a mess.
Too far into my life, I was beginning to understand. Connor was right. This was why music was important.
It was a sad song but I loved it on another level. Lying on my back, I let the tears leak out the sides of my eyes.
I sometimes wish I’d never been born at all.
Oh, God.
I felt that. I felt it deeply.
“Genius,” I whispered emotionally and Connor blinked at me, a small smile curving his lips. He watched me without shame, taking in the expressive emotion I couldn’t hide, and he seemed to revel in it.
When the song finished, I blew out a long shaky breath from between my lips and swallowed hard. I turned to Connor and found a slight frown creasing his brow.
“What is it?”
He shook his head slowly. “Sometimes I forget why we do this.” He twisted to lie on his back, putting a hand behind his head. “You just reminded me.”
The conversation waned after that. We listened to Queen’s greatest hits in complete silence and although I was an emotional wreck, I was secretly overjoyed to have somebody to share this experience with.