When we got home I crashed on the sofa beside Ray. "Hey to you as well Frankie. Ash is in the basement." I smiled and went to get up. "I'll go check on her Frankie." Gerard disappeared off to the basement.
"She asked me to file for guardianship of her. I said yes." She was down in the basement quite a while with Gerard and Ray was getting dinner ready. I sat in the living room and thought about how I should have gone after her as soon as she had left the class.
"Frankie? You okay dude?" I looked up to see Mikey and Ray in the doorway. Wiping my eyes , realising I'd been crying, I nodded. "Yeah. Just feeling like I should have done more to protect her during class today." Mikey sat beside me. "Dude, you didn't know it was going to happen. The main thing is she's safe. She came here and stayed with Ray." I knew he was right.
"Come on dinner is ready." We got up and headed to the dining room. Ash and Gerard soon joined us and Ray dished up the food. It was silent at the the table until everyone was done and Ash offered to clear the plates. Mikey hung back while we went and chilled in the living room. I crashed out in my bean bag and Gee sat next to me.
"You can't hide that cloud of worry from me. You're worried about her aren't you?" I sighed. "I just don't know how much more she can take before she has a breakdown. I think I love her and I don't want to lose her."
"Hey. Ash went up to bed. She looked exhausted. What's everyone's plans for the evening?" Mikey plopped his skinny butt on the sofa. Before any of us could answer Gerard's phone rang. "It's Brian."
"Hey guys. Good news, I've managed to secure some tour dates. Thing is you need to head back to Jersey this weekend." My eyes went wide, my heart began to race. What about Ash? I couldn't leave her here, but I wasn't sure how the guys felt about it. "That's great news!" Gerard replied. "See you at the weekend."
We were sat discussing the tour when I heard Ash scream. I don't think I'd ever moved so fast. I burst into her room and pulled her into my arms, holding her tight. "It's okay. It's not real." Gerard and Ray stood in the doorway. "We need to get Ash away from here. Take her back to New Jersey with us."
She looked up at me. "Y...you guys are leaving?" I scratched my head nervously. "Our manager called. We've got a tour coming up. We won't leave you here Ash. We are just waiting on the court date to get your guardianship papers." Ray explained.
"Oh..." Mikey handed a piece of paper to Ray. "Looks like they want to see us first thing in the morning. Come on everyone, let's try and get some sleep." Gee stayed behind.
"Frankie you need to get some sleep. I'll stay here with Ash." I didn't want to leave her. Ash looked at me. "He's right Frank you look shattered. I'm sorry I keep waking everyone up." This broke my heart knowing she felt like a burden. Gee and I both smiled. "We don't mind and anyway I'm sure Gee might be a vampire... he never seems to sleep..." I chuckled.
As I left her room I heard her whisper. "Night Frankie." I headed to my room and flopped on the bed, not even bothering to get changed. They were right, I was exhausted. I dreamed about her, about our future.
