+Bad Catholics+ Frank Iero

+3+

Friday flew by, to my dismay. It was one of the first chillier days of the season- fall was creeping on, and at the least it was something for me to look forward to. There was something about reading a book underneath my favorite tree in the courtyard during lunch when the air was crisp, and wearing a sweater wasn't too hot or too cold. The colder months were my favorite- mostly because it meant I had another year of school.

Things seemed to go back to normal, or so I had thought. Though Frank wasn't pestering me all day, he wasn't causing as much of a ruckus, either. Through every class we had next to each other, he was doing the same bizarre thing he was doing in detention the day prior. No matter the lesson or the lecture, or even the classes that his friends were in- he was bent over his desk, writing in that notebook.

I wasn't sure where my curiosity had spawned from. Keeping to myself was rarely something that didn't come easy- perhaps it was that I had never even seen Frank do anything that resembled schoolwork. At that point, there's a chance the kid couldn't even read based on how little work he's done since the day I met him. Regardless, it was the only thing I've ever actually seen him take seriously, only I didn't know what it was. Part of me kind of wanted to know, in a strange way.

I shifted my focus back to schoolwork for the rest of the day, telling myself that it wasn't important. Nothing was, really. It was all tunnel vision until the end of that Senior year- all I had to do was power through the whispers and the crumbling steeple on that campus church for one last school year. The moment I held that piece of paper in my hands, I would be leaving for college in another state. Though what was left of my heart lied in Jersey, too many other things lied along with it. Things I couldn't bare to be around any longer than I had to.

I left without a sound once the day was over, dreading the weekend. There was nothing around to distract me once my schoolwork was finished- and it normally was by the end of the night Friday. My only choices were to re-read one of my books, or go on walks.

Turning the corner, Frank's car was still resting in the parking lot, but this time void of him and his friends. I shook my head and walked quickly toward home, my shoulder giving me the 5 o'clock ache from all of the textbooks by bag held.

Now that my father was gone, I lived with the only person that was left to take guardianship. Beth didn't bother me much- though I hardly knew her. She was the mother of one of his oldest friends, and knowing that I had no family other than him, she was the only choice he had. Her home was only a block away from the one I lived in with my father. The only real downside is she was terribly old, and most of the time she didn't remember much other than who I was and what time her favorite show was airing on television.

The door creaked as I walked in, immediately approaching the stairs. Beth was watching her shows in the living room, and knowing she didn't like to be disturbed when her soaps were on, I went up to my room. I tore my uniform off and slipped on a pair of jeans and a large crew neck that I nabbed from my dad's closet years ago. It didn't smell like him anymore after being washed, but I liked to pretend that it did.

It only took a few minutes for me to lay my books out on my desk before there was a knock on the door- and my heart began to pound.

No one came to this house other than myself and Beth's caretaker, and she wasn't scheduled to be there until Saturday morning. Everything about growing up with my dad made normal things kick my fight or flight response into gear, and I couldn't stand it. But old habits die hard, and I fumbled through my desk drawer for the pocket knife I kept just in case- not that I ever had the gusto to use it. It was just something my dad told me to do when strangers came over.

I tumbled down the stairs and tried to stand on my tip-toes to see out of the small window at the top of the door, but I couldn't reach. Looking over at the back of Beth's head, I sighed and turned back to the door. Hands shaking, I turned the knob slowly and opened the door.