I'll Wait Forever

-26-

Me and Emma talked for hours about anything and everything. I guess we just felt really comfortable around each other. I told her everything about my life, from growing up to meeting Gerard in the woods late one night. She asked a few questions, but generally just listened and nodded along. After I told her about my life, she described hers. She eventually told me about her dad. He committed suicide, and she came home to find his body. That fact alone is heartbreaking, but what made it worse was that he hadn't hung himself or taken pills, he shot himself in the head, and, from what she told me she remembers from that night, it was a gruesome scene. I didn't press for details, simply letting her tell me what she was comfortable with.

After our seemingly endless talk, she fell asleep on her bed with me right beside her.

I woke up the next morning to an alarm clock blaring and a sleeping Emma next to me on her bed. How she was able to sleep through that loudass obnoxious sound, I did not know.

"Emma, wake up. We're gonna be late. The bus comes at 6:25 and it's already 6:10." I shook her slightly, but it was a fail, to no avail.

"Five more minutes..." She grumbled and pulled her pillow over her head. I sighed and retreated to my own room before slipping on some cleanish clothes and heading towards the bathroom. I knocked on the door, but there was no response. Maybe someone just left the door closed. I twisted the handle and pushed it open, only to see Ronnie bent over the tub and shaving his legs.

"Don't you ever fucking knock?!" He yelled. I muttered a quick 'sorry' before sprinting down the hall and into Emma's room.

"You walked in on Ronnie in the bathroom, didn't you?" She asked without looking away from her mirror.

"Yep."

"He was shaving his legs, wasn't he?" She ran a thin layer of eyeliner over her lids.

"Yep."

"Thought so." She laughed before leaving her room and gesturing for me to follow her.

"Where are we going?" I asked.

"You'll see..."

She led me down the hall and into the spare bedroom at the end. "This is the guest bedroom, but we never have guests. So, I use this bathroom in the mornings to avoid anything to do with Ronnie and his hairless legs." She smirked. "You're welcome to use it too, just don't hog the shower."

---

After finally making our way out of the house, we made it to the bus stop just as the bus was pulling away. And they didn't stop for us. I groaned in frustration.

"Is there anyone that could give us a ride?" I asked, leaning my head on Emma's shoulder.

"Not that I know... But technically we didn't have to be at school until 7. Maybe you could call Gerard..?" She suggested.

"Yeah... That's probably our only option..." She smiled as I dug my phone out of my pocket.

I dialed the number. It rang once, twice, three times, four-

"Hello? Frank, is that you?" Gerard's voice sounded from the other end of the phone.

"Yeah, um... Me and my friend sort of missed the bus... Any chance you could take us?"

"Yeah... Sure, I'll be there in 15 minutes." I heard him start to move around.

"Thanks Gerard!" I called just as he hung up on me. Dick.

"Okay, he'll be here in like 15 minutes, so yeah..." I trailed off.

Emma and I sat in silence for a while, just dancing alone to the beat of hearts, until she suddenly broke the silence, "Tell me about Gerard."