The next morning, we come back to Sylvie who is drinking at a bar called Suicide hall. It got its name because some people would step off the pier next to it and take their lives. Only because they feel they have nothing to live for. That's why it got its name. Sylvie had just finished another drink and placed it on the table.
"One more," Sylvie told the bartender
"Ah, ma'am, don't you think you had enough? It's practically morning already!" they said
"One more, I said!"
"All right. All right. My shift is over anyway, so let's settle the bill, okay?" Sylvie gave him some money, "Jeez, you're in a bad way, ain't ya? Worse than most that wind up here."
Another man came in, "Here's the morning shift. Maybe he'll know what to do with you."
Sylvie scoffed, "Yes. Yes, what to do with me. That's the question, isn't it? That's always been the question, ever since the beginning."
'He looks for sympathy, I give him sorrow. He asks for honesty, I've none to borrow. He needs my tender kiss, he begs it of me. I give him ugliness. Why does he love me? He yearns for higher things, things I can't give him. The rush that music brings, I can't deliver. And even when he sings and soars above me, I try to clip his wings. Why does he love me? One more drink, sir. That's what I need, don't you think, sir? Leave the hurt behind...'
The bartender didn't do anything.
"Did you hear me? Another drink!" he gives her another.
'He wants the girl I was, wife and mother. At least, he thinks he does. He needn't bother. Beneath this mask, I wear there's nothing of me. Just horror, shame, despair. Why does he love me? How 'bout you, sir?' Sylvie asked the bartender, 'Tell me, what am I to do, sir? Leave the hurt behind.'
Bucky walked in with a towel, 'Morning, Bernie. Coffee, please. Hurry up before I freeze. I'll just take it black.'
He soon noticed Sylvie, "Lushton! Fancy meeting you here."
"Mr. Barnes," Sylvie greeted
"Drowning your sorrows, are you?"
"On the contrary, I'm celebrating a reunion with old friends. Friends I had long thought dead and buried. And you?"
"Me? I've been for a swim. This town is coarse and cold and mean. It's hard to keep your conscience clean. Faceless in the crowd. Anything's allowed. And so I come at dawn each day, come to wash it all away. Sink into the sea. Blue and cool and kind. Let it set me free. Let the past unwind. Leave the hurt behind.'
"Mr. Barnes?" Sylvie couldn't help but notice how sad Bucky was.
"What do you think will happen, Lushton? At the concert. Have you thought? When she hears him sing again? When he sings..."
"Mr. Barnes, I wish I knew. But I'm afraid his music has always been somewhat of a mystery to me."
"But there's more to this than the music, Ma'am! Believe me. I saw it. There's something... I don't know. Just take him away. Now. For all our sakes. Sail across the sea. Put us out of mind. Close your eyes and flee,' Bucky came over and made her close her eyes, 'Let yourself stay blind.'
Bucky tried to leave but Sylvie stopped him, "What do you mean? What are you talking about?"
"Trust me, Ma'am. Don't let him sing. Once she gets into his soul, there's nothing he won't do for her," Bucky got out of her grasp and left, 'Leave this place behind!'
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The Phantom of the Opera (Loki X Reader)
FanfictionA voice calls from the shadows of the opera house to innocent chorus boy, Loki Laufeyson. Only ballet mistress Natasha Romanoff knows that the voice is that of the Phantom, a disfigured musical genius who haunts the catacombs of the theatre. When te...
