"Colder Weather"

"She'd trade Colorado if he'd take her with him,
Closes the door before the winter lets the cold in,
And wonders if her love is strong enough to make him stay,
She's answered by the tail lights,
Shining through the window pane"

Arthur watched the redhead walk out of the house and down the drive. His heart was clenched in his chest, his fingernails beginning to draw blood from his palm. His lip was beginning to swell from where his teeth had dug in. The pain didn't stop the tears from rolling down his cheeks.

"He said,
'I wanna see you again,
But I'm stuck in colder weather,
Maybe tomorrow will be better,
Can I call you then?'"

He was disgusted with himself. He just walked out on the blonde, left those green eyes shining with tears. He couldn't blame him for not answering his calls or returning them.

He set his pen down and folded the paper, and shoved it in an envelope.
_

"She said,
'You're a ramblin' man,
And you ain't ever gonna change,
You've got a gypsy's heart to blame,
And you were born for leavin'"
_

His letter had tears on the page, and some of the ink had come off onto the water. It laid crumpled on the ground beside him. His reply had spoken the truth and nothing but the truth.

And they both knew it.
_

"At a truck stop diner just outside of Lincoln,
The night is black as the coffee he was drinkin',
And in the waitress' eyes he sees the same 'ol light shinin',
He thinks of Colorado,
And the girl he left behind him"
_

His hands were fisted in his pockets. He had left his car at his brother's house, but no he was regretting it. The cold chilled him to his core. He ducked into a small coffee shop and sat down, warmth trying to find its way back into his bones. He was hardly aware of his waitress, but when he looked up, he felt his heart beat begin to go insane.

Her eyes were his shade of green. No… almost… duller.

But the same light shined in them.
_

"He said,
'I wanna see you again,
But I'm stuck in colder weather,
Maybe tomorrow will be better,
Can I call you then?'"
_

He was standing in a payphone, snow clinging to his read hair. His green eyes fell shut in anger and guilt. He slammed the phone back in place.

"She said,
'You're a ramblin' man,
And you ain't ever gonna change,
You've got a gypsy's heart to blame,
And you were born for leavin'"
_

The green eyes opened as the phone stopped ringing. He was laying in his bed, his pillow covering his ears. Fresh tears were on the bed below, and they wouldn't stop raining down. His heart was almost numb by now, and his hands had drawn blood again…

"Born for leavin'"
_

By now, the snow had a thick blanket on the ground. He was soaked from head to toe, the snow somehow finding its way into his shoes.

20 miles…
_

"It's a winding road,
Between the lost and found,
You're a lover, I'm a runner,
And we go 'round and 'round,
I love you but I leave you
I don't want you,
But I need you,
You know its you who calls me back here, baby"

He was numb everywhere. The cold was beginning to get to him. He couldn't find the will in his body to move, but he couldn't stop. Not now.

10 miles…

"Can I see you again?
Cause I'm stuck in colder weather,
Maybe tomorrow will be better,
Can I call you then?
Cause I'm a rambling man,
And I ain't gonna change,
I got a gypsy's heart to blame,
And I was born for leavin,
Born for leavin…"
_

The final steps weren't even felt. The name was mumbled on his breath. A phone buzzed in his pocket. He pulled it out numbly and answered the phone.

"He didn't make it, Alistair."

He stared at the burnt remains of the house.

"Ah know."
_

"And when I close my eyes I see you
No matter where I am
I can smell your perfume through these whispering pines,
I'm with your ghost again,
It's a shame about the weather,
I know we'll soon be together,
I can't wait til then."

The green eyes opened. The room was white, and blurring whenever he moved his head. He turned and waited a moment before he opened his eyes. As he opened his eyes, he was there, pulling open the curtains. Alistair tried to sit up,

"Arth—"

Arthur came over to him, and put a finger to his mouth to stop his speech.

"Look, it's warm today."

Alistair looked back at the window, and opened his mouth to answer.

But the spirit was gone.

"I can't wait til then."

Song: Colder Weather

By: The Zac Brown Band