A Way Back Home | Adopted by Gerard Way (Book Two)

Guilt (51)

When I open my eyes, I find myself staring directly into the soul of Jersey the cat. Her green eyes are only a couple inches from mine, and before I can react, she proceeds to rub her face against mine, cheek to cheek, purring. If I woke up like this every morning, maybe I wouldn't hate mornings so much.

"Hey, girl," I say quietly, scratching her behind her ears. Raven and Ryder are probably still asleep in their rooms. "What time is it, anyway?"

I reach down on the floor, searching for my phone until my fingertips brush against it. When I hold it in front of my face and see the time, I immediately feel sick. The onslaught of messages from Laura ranging from worried to furious only makes it worse.

"Shit, shit, shit," I say, jumping from the couch and pulling my hoodie over my head. I'm no longer trying to be quiet by the time I'm at the front door, hopping around as I try to pull my shoes on with one hand and type a frantic message back to Laura with the other. It reads, "I'm sorry, I woke up late! On my way now!" I hope that's enough.

Ryder appears in the living room, rubbing his eyes hard enough to see stars. "What the fuck is going on out here?" he asks groggily.

"Laura wanted me home earlier this morning. It's almost noon, Ryde!" I say as I yank on my laces, tying my sneakers too tightly. "She's gonna kill me."

"Oh, shit," he says, suddenly alert. "I didn't realize it was so late. Should I come with you incase she—"

"No. Absolutely not," I cut him off before he even gets to finish his sentence. "I think someone else showing up, a guy she doesn't know, would only make it worse," I explain quickly. Laura still thinks I'm straight, after all.

My hand is on the door handle when Raven says from behind me, "Where you going, Way?"

I'm really starting to panic now, knowing that every second I'm not home is another second of Laura getting angrier about me not being there when she wanted me to. "I'm supposed to be home!" I yell over my shoulder, leaving it to Ryder to explain the rest.

I don't run. Or, I didn't think I did until I ran down the stairs in the apartment building, flew out the door, and down the street towards Laura's house. If I'd lived here longer, I might know a shortcut. Unfortunately, I don't know a shortcut and the small town is a lot busier today than I'd usually expect it to be early on a Saturday. The way back is also usually quite nice. Some of the houses are beautiful. They're old, they have character. I don't get to stop and look at them now, though, as they zoom past, my heart pumping and my lungs burning by the time I get to Laura's doorstep.

She opens the door for me, as though she'd been standing, peering out the window, waiting for me. Instead of passing the threshold like she's obviously expecting me to, staring at me with an unreadable look on her face, albeit an unpleasant one, I collapse on the top step and lean against the railing.

"I r- I ran home... c-can't breathe," I choke out.

From the corner of my eye I can see her stand in the doorway with her arms crossed, that expression never leaving her face, for a full minute until my lungs have recovered. I'm afraid to look up at her.

"There was one condition when I allowed you to stay out last night," she reminds me sternly.

I tuck my hair behind my ear like shy little kid and keep my eyes on my feet. "We overslept," I say quietly, bracing myself for her yelling.

I hear her inhale deeply, then exhale all the air in her lungs. "Don't do it again."

I blink, my eyebrows knit, but assure her, "I won't."

"Good," she says. "Now come in, get some water. And I made lunch."

"Can I just sit out her for a minute? I need some air." I still haven't taken my eyes off my shoes, yet I can imagine her rolling her eyes at me behind my back.