Emma went back into the studio and asked the producer if she could use his phone; hers was in the car that Addie had conveniently left in. He pointed down the hall to his office which would be quieter for her. Fortunately for Addie, her phone didn’t pick up and all Emma could do was yell at her over voicemail. After she got done telling her what would happen when Emma got home, she hung up and headed back to the room.
“Do you happen to know whether a bus comes by here or if there is a taxi company I can use?”
It just so happened that, as the producer was answering her, Nick came out of the booth and almost ran smack into her.
“Emma?”
She was absolutely mortified; she didn’t want her ex to thinking she was there to see him or, worse yet, that she was following him around.
“I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to be here. I was supposed to help Addie get the baby from Howie and then they took off on me and stranded me here.”
Emma took a deep breath; there was no way that Nick was going to buy that since he hadn’t even seen his friend and his wife. She was so embarrassed and asked the producer for the cab number again.
“If you just wanted to hear my music, you could have asked.”
“But….wait….no…that’s not what I’m here for…not that I don’t want too…I swear this is Addie’s fault.”
“Isn’t it always?” Nick said with a laugh. “She’s usually responsible for setting people up. It seems to be her specialty.”
“I know.” Emma admitted. “I’m just going to call for a cab and I will be out of your hair, I promise.”
He couldn’t explain why watching her head down to the office made him feel sad. There was work to be done and Emma seemed like she wanted to make a quick exit. She returned a moment later, thanked the producer for his help and turned to leave. However, before she was out of the door completely, Nick called her back.
“Since you have to wait for the cab and all, you think you could take a listen? Maybe you can figure out what’s wrong with the song.”
“I really don’t want to be in the way.” Emma told him. “I don’t want to be a distraction while you’re trying to work.”
The producer watched the interaction between the two and smiled. He knew who Emma was and he found it amusing that neither of them was admitting that Nick wanted her to stay and she didn’t want to leave. Nick had complained to him that, after running into Emma at the hospital, he wished his ex would just leave and let him be in peace. From the current look on his face, the producer knew he was full of shit.
“Why don’t you take a seat?” the producer said as he pointed to the chair next to him. “This one needs to get it together and finish this piece before I leave. Since he’s not getting anywhere with it, he probably could use all the help he could get!”
Nick flipped him off as Emma reluctantly took a seat. They waited for Nick to get back in the booth and put his headphones on. The song he was working on happened to be a cover of a song that Idina Menzel had done on the Beaches movie soundtrack. The music was haunting and Nick had been mesmerized the first time he heard it. He called her a few months ago and asked her for permission to do a cover of it on his album; she graciously told him he could.
The problem was, when Nick was singing it, he just wasn’t getting the same feel for the song. He knew it was beautiful and spoke from the heart but something wasn’t right. He had been hoping that this song would fit in the album perfectly but he was starting to think he made a mistake.
“You ready?”
The producer was waiting on him so he took a deep breath and waited for the music to start. Emma didn’t recognize the song but the instrumental part was stunning; her attention was grabbed as soon as Nick started singing. His eyes were closed and she could see that he was having trouble getting into the right head space. He sang the first verse but something just wasn’t clicking.
“Maybe you shouldn’t do this song,” the producer called into him, “you’re having a really tough time with it.”
“No,” Nick said adamantly, “I want this one. Start it up one more time.”
He was about to close his eyes but he saw movement in the booth. Emma had moved her chair closer to the board and was watching him intently. For some reason, that movement caused some kind of change in him and he started singing.
I’m sorry if I wasn’t there
Or acted like I didn’t care
You were always there for me
Seeing what I couldn’t see
I’m sorry if you felt alone
I should’ve call, I should’ve known
There’s nothing that I wouldn’t do
To get just one more day with you
So don’t the last time I hurt you
Be the last time I heard you
Don’t be the last time I held you
Be the last time I felt you
Wouldn’t let you get away
If I had another day
Don’t let the last time I saw you
Be the last time
Be the last time
Emma listened as the music flowed from the speakers. She could see Nick watching her from inside the booth; she felt like he was looking for something from her. Listening to him sing such an amazing song brought her to tears. Between the lyrics and him pouring what seemed like his entire soul into it, the song seemed to take on a life of its own.
Nick could see his ex’s reaction to the music but couldn’t describe it. He watched as the tears slid down her face and continued to sing. Putting his all into it, he finished the song, staring into her eyes the whole time.
I'm sorry if I got too loud
Or if I didn't make you proud
You always gave me what you could
When I was wrong you understood
Sorry if I made you mad
If I could I'd take it back
You're not where I thought you'd be
But you'll always be a part of me
So don't let the last time I hurt you
Be the last time I heard you
Don't let the last time I held you
Be the last time I felt you
Wouldn't let you get away
If I had another day
So don't let the last time I saw you
Be the last time
Be the last time
So don't let the last time I hurt you
Be the last time I heard you
Don't let the last time I held you
Be the last time I felt you
Wouldn't let you get away
If I had another day
So don't let the last time I saw you
Be the last time
So don't let the last time I saw you
Be the last time
Be the last time
Be the last time*
There was complete silence as the music ended: Nick finished the last line and waited a moment to take a breath.
“That was amazing!”
Nick didn’t even hear his producer talking, all he could focus on were Emma’s eyes and the sadden look in them. He didn’t understand what was going on but he was going to figure it out. As the producer finished the last retouch of the song, Nick turned to hang up his headphones and push the microphone over by the wall. It completely caught him by surprise that, when he turned back around, Emma was gone.
He went flying through the recording booth door, totally ignoring his producer calling out to him. Nick took off down the corridor and up the stairs to the door leading to the parking lot. Bolting out, he scanned the parking lot looking for any signs of her; she had completely vanished and left Nick wondering if she had even been there at all.
**Last Time by Idina Menzel “ Beaches Soundtrack
Last Chance by Kyrie
