I Was Expecting You

I Was Expecting You [Intro — dark piano, rain, distant thunder, fire crackle; intimate smoky female] [Spoken, calm] You thought I chose the cabin because no one would hear you. [pause] I chose it because it was yours. And I was expecting you. [Verse 1] I poured the wine, I lit the flame, Left three empty glasses beside the names. Silver on the mantel, trophies in a row, I watched you count the things I already knew you’d know. Then you laid a photograph beside my wine— Your own face staring back at mine. You watched me twice, convinced you’d found the clue. [Spoken, tender] You thought it meant you were next. Oh… You really didn’t know. [Chorus] I was expecting you, Long before you crossed that floor. I knew the hands that built these walls, I knew who owned that door. I wasn’t looking for another man, Wasn’t adding to the few. You came looking for a monster— [drop] I came looking for you. [ghostly female echo] I was expecting you… [Verse 2] You asked about the men who disappeared, I heard suspicion where I’d hoped you’d hear. You talked of surrender, watched me for a lie, I thought you’d finally understood why I’d brought you here tonight. Then you moved my glass away and said, “Let’s just talk.” [half-beat silence] [Spoken, relieved] I thought you knew. [Verse 3 — tension rising] I found her name in records from a cage, An assassin staring back from a faded page. One prison birth, one hidden date, Two newborn children sent to separate states. Two different homes, two different names, Two lives that learned the same dark games. I followed your trail until I found what lived in you lived in me somehow. [Chorus — stronger] I was expecting you, That’s why I chose this place. I wanted you to look across that table and recognize my face. You came looking for a monster, Certain every clue was true. [band drops] You were right about the monster. [beat] There were two. [Bridge — piano only] [Spoken, female] You said, “Let’s just talk.” And for the first time that night… I let my guard down. [Silence] [Verse — fragile] I never saw it coming, There was nothing left to fear. I’d spent so long trying to find you, And finally you were here. The truth was almost on my tongue, The word I’d crossed the years to bring— [whisper] Brother… [sharp cutoff] You never let me finish. [Silence] [Spoken, distant female; paper rustle] There was an envelope in my coat. You found it later. Didn’t you? [close whisper] For my brother. [paper unfolding] Her prison record. Our birth record. Two adoption papers. [pause] Twin births. [heartbeat stops] [Final Chorus — ghostly female layers building] I was expecting you, I knew exactly who you’d be. You thought your picture marked a victim— It was how I knew you’d found me. I was expecting you, I knew the cabin, knew the door. I didn’t come to disappear like all the men before. You thought the hunter changed positions— [band drops] [Spoken, intimate] No, brother. You killed your mirror. [Outro — rain; dying fire; male breathing] [Spoken, male, shaken] “For my brother…” [pause] “No.” [ghostly female voice, impossibly close] I was expecting you… [echo recedes] I was expecting you… [long pause] [final whisper] You weren’t expecting me. [final piano chord]