Tempest Daniels was new to the apartment complex, he was a freelance music composer that worked mostly with indie game developers, it hadn't taken off yet so for now he lived here. He had been mixing audio but could not focus with that blasted music, so he walked across the hall and knocked on the girl's apartment door across the hall
She hadn't bothered to lock her door, she was to devastated when she had made it back. She was face down on the floor just crying. She wasn't even able to hear the obvious knocking on the door:
He felt a bit bad cracking the door open, ready to shut it and look away if needed but he spotted her on the floor. He didn't know she was crying, so first he called out to her, his voice carrying over the music "Miss?! Are you alright miss?!"
She heard a voice and looked up from her place on the floor. She turned down the music and looked at the man at the door. "W-who are you?" She hiccuped:
"Hey I'm sorry for barging in…I'm new in the apartment and umm heard this loud music…I was gonna ask you to turn it down but then saw you on the floor…"
She sat up and wiped her eyes. She honestly looked like a disaster. "I-I'm s-sorry. Hic I'll turn it down." She sniffed and slowly stood.
"Hey it's okay miss…you need me to get anything for you…you look a bit rough." Tempest's chest hurt as he looked on at this girl's pain.
She tried to smile and shook her head. "I-I'll be fine. I'm Joanna, but you can call me Jo." She said making her way over to him sticking out her hand.
"I'm Tempest, you can just call me Temp." He responds as he shook Joanna's hand firmly "Are you sure you're okay Jo?"
She nodded trying not to burst into tears again. "I- just had a rough day…"
Tempest nod and head back to his apartment, not realizing his door had not shut fully. The woman's pain had reminded Temp why he had moved. It had been a year but it still felt fresh. He sat at his piano keyboard and started to play glad Jo had turned down her music. Tempest started to sing gently as he played.
Joanna closed her door and leaned against it. She slid to the floor and started to cry again, the kind where your stomach hurts and you feel like you may throw up. She covered her face with her hands and hiccuped still sobbing. But they died down and she breathed shakily hearing the soft piano music…
A soft voice carries just above the piano.
"Why must the good ones leave?
Just thought there was more for you to receive.
Why must the kind move on?
It hadn't even seemed long…
Why did the world take you?"
The voice said, shaking at each line as…she was brought fresh to his mind.
Jo heard every word, feeling it hit her in the pit of her stomach. It brought on new tears, and she let them slide down her cheeks. She hummed along softly as the piano did.
"They say it gets better, that the pain isn't forever, but I'll say…they didn't know you.
They never felt your sweet embrace,
or seen your acts of loving grace…
they never knew your soft kind ways…"
it was becoming harder for him to keep going, but he felt he had to.
She started visibly shaking, the lyrics were hitting her hard. She couldn't take it anymore- maybe she had just met this guy, but she needed to go talk with him. She stood and walked out of her apartment and knocked on his door/
Tempest stopped playing, jumping a bit at the knocks. He wiped his face quickly and got up from the piano. He opened the cracked door
"H-hey Jo. Can I help you with something?"
She looked up at him. "You know how you asked if you could get me anything earlier?" She asked softly.
"Yeah I remember…did you change your mind?" He asked in a soft tone
She nodded a bit. "C-could I get a hug?"
Tempest looked to her in a caring manner "Of course Jo." He responded and held out his arms to her
She hugged his waist and birdied her face in his chest. "I-I heard your singing…" she said softly.
"Oh y-you did now…h-how much did you hear?" He asked as his face flushed with color
She pulled back. "I- may have heard the whole thing…." she mumbled.
"Oh…I uh…thought I was better…" He muttered, not meeting her eyes