9.) Ghost in the Passenger Seat

I was only looking ’Cause I was bored enough to hurt myself again Didn’t think anybody saw me Didn’t think anybody ever would Then you did I was done with the apps, done with the fake Done with the smiles people learn how to make Just killing time, thumb on the screen Already knowing love don’t pick guys like me Then there you were, nowhere to script First few words hit like a mindfuck quick You talked like depth had a body and breath Like pain could sit down and finally confess Hours went by, didn’t feel real Like holy shit, somebody knows how I feel Not small talk, not surface, not pretend Not another dead road dressed up as the end You met every thought with a sharper one back For the first time in years I was not off track You saw the grief in me The man behind the pages The wreck behind the thinking And you never judged a thing Now you’re the ghost in the passenger seat Every night drive puts your shadow on me I still look right like you’re riding with me Streetlights blur, but your memory’s clean You loved my car, loved the roads, loved the view Loved the part of me nobody else got through to And I swear to God these wheels still grieve You’re the ghost in the passenger seat You never flinched at the dark in my head Never made me feel like I should speak less You knew what loss does, knew what it breaks Knew why some of us write just so we don’t cave You kissed me in public, no shame, no fear No looking around like “hope no one sees us here” You held me like I was enough Like maybe being loved didn’t have to be rough You wanted a clean way out A life with no poison hanging around Said after me you started fighting back Started the program, started escaping that trap When we were together you were sober and clear Longest you’d been in so many damn years You saw a future, toxic-free And for a minute you could almost breathe Now you’re the ghost in the passenger seat Every backroad paints your silhouette for me I still hear your laugh when the tires sing Still feel your eyes in the dashboard gleam You loved my driving, loved the night, loved the skies Loved those quiet little worlds in our drives And I swear to God these wheels still grieve You’re the ghost in the passenger seat You were the first one that matched my pace Matched my depth, my pain, my brain, my rage Not a mask, not a role, not a temporary high You talked to the wounds I could never describe And I knew what you fought, knew the weight was insane Knew the people around you kept feeding the pain Knew the help was broken, knew the locks got tight Knew the system did more harm than right You wanted out bad, wanted peace, wanted clean Wanted one good life with me in the scene Wanted love without fear, wanted truth without shame Wanted “stay with me” to mean more than a phrase Then the pain got louder than the dream we could see Now I’m driving with a ghost where your body should be I never told you I was falling in love I held it back ’Cause the past fucked me up I thought if I said it You’d disappear like the rest Now silence is a knife Still stuck in my chest They failed you They broke you And I still see your face when the streetlights smear I should’ve said it I loved you, I swear Now every road says you’re still here You’re the ghost in the passenger seat In every cold start, every curve, every midnight street I still look right like you’re touching my hand Like one more drive could change how this all ends You loved my car, loved my heart, loved my mind Loved the parts of me the world leaves behind And I swear to God these wheels still grieve You’re the ghost in the passenger seat You were gonna get out You were gonna get clean I never said I was falling in love Now every road leads back to you