[INTRO] [female vocals] [369 Hz sub pulse + distant highway ambience + tape hiss] Funny thing about storms... You never realize how loud they were Until they're gone. Years have a funny way Of teaching the lessons You couldn't hear when the world was screaming. [VERSE 1] I was dating your friend. You were just somebody I knew. One afternoon we were heading uptown. I went to turn onto a road that was closed. I corrected it... And the lights came on behind us. The cop searched my car, Found a spoon in the console. Just a pudding spoon I'd forgotten was even there. They tested it anyway. Negative. The whole thing was ridiculous. Then you looked over, Shook your head, Laughed... "You dork." I still hear those giggles. Funny... I barely remember the traffic stop. But I'll never forget your smile. I think that's the day The first spark found me. [VERSE 2] Not long after, You were living a couple counties away, Trying to stay ahead of probation. I didn't even have your number. You got mine from a friend. Out of nowhere, My phone rang. You said you just wanted to talk. So we talked. For hours. Laughing... Like we'd known each other forever. Then one day you told me the truth. You were on the run. You asked if I'd come get you. I never even hesitated. I said... "I'm coming." The first time I drove you back, Something in my chest said... This isn't right. After work that night, I turned the car around. And came back for you. [VERSE 3] Once we were together... We were inseparable. You became my shelter. You sat beside me in hospital rooms. Held me together When my world was falling apart. You weren't trying to fix me. You just stayed. Not because I made it easy. Not because I deserved it. You just stayed. [PRE-CHORUS] When Bon Jovi came on... You'd grab my arm like a guitar neck. Playing every solo Like the spotlight belonged to you. Head thrown back. Half the lyrics wrong. Making up the rest. I'd laugh so hard I couldn't breathe. For a few perfect minutes... The world couldn't touch us. [CHORUS] Looking back now... I can see the headlights. Every road I took too fast. Every bridge I almost burned. I thought love meant never stopping. But you knew something I hadn't learned. Sometimes the strongest thing Isn't running through the storm. It's surviving long enough To let it pass. [VERSE 4] When they came to take you to jail... I promised you You'd never sit in there alone. I made sure there was money on your books. I waited for your calls. Every single day. Didn't matter what it cost. If the phone rang... I answered. Good thing I did. Because somewhere between those conversations... We stopped talking about "someday." We started talking about forever. About getting married. About the life We were going to build. Three days after you came home... We did. August seventeenth. I married my best friend. My weirdo. [VERSE 5] We were never boring. That old '88 Lincoln Town Car... A boat with wheels. If we hit the hill just right, We could coast all the way To the gas station on fumes. Skate parks. Late nights. Road trips. Stupid jokes. The kind of memories Nobody thinks are important... Until they're all that's left. [BREAKDOWN] I remember every fight Like broken film strips. Pieces missing. Pieces twisted. But I remember you standing there When most people would've walked away. Because you saw the damage. And somehow... You still saw me. [FINAL CHORUS] Looking back now... The storm feels smaller. Not because it wasn't real. Because you carried part of it Without letting me know. I used to think You were trying to slow me down. Now I think... You were trying to save What was left of me. I thought I was the fire. But you... You were the light Trying to lead me home. [OUTRO] [female vocals] [heartbeat slowing + distant highway ambience] If there's a place Where old songs never fade... I hope somewhere... You can still hear us laughing. I wasn't running from you. I was running from myself. And I'm sorry... It took me this long To know the difference.
