Categories > Celebrities > My Chemical Romance > I Find It Hard To Stay
“I think this is it,” Pen said, looking out the window as they drove down a block of nearly-identical houses. Bob pulled to a stop at the end of the driveway.
“Are you ready?” He asked her, taking her hand for a moment and squeezing it.
Pen took a deep breath. “I think so,” she told him, face whiter than normal, hands shaking a bit.
“It’ll be fine,” Bob assured her, kissing her hand before letting it go. She mustered a small smile despite her nerves, and shakily got out of the car. Bob exited as well and walked around to grab her hand. They walked up to the door together. Pen rang the doorbell and knocked lightly.
A woman answered the door; she was in her mid-forties, but she appeared to have aged much more in the past eleven months. Her red hair was streaked with gray, and a few extra worry wrinkles had found refuge on her face. Frown lines sagged at her mouth, and the light in her green eyes had been extinguished.
Pen’s mother had not had a good year. After kicking her daughter out, Mrs. Rowan thought that she would be happy, or even relieved. But relief hadn’t come. With each day that passed, her shoulders had sagged more, and a weight in her chest seemed to get heavier and heavier. After a month, she had put out a missing persons on her daughter, but to no avail. No hospitals, no prisons, no half-way houses, no morgues had anyone that matched her description. After six months, Mrs. Rowan lost any hope of ever seeing her daughter again.
“Hi, Mom,” Pen said quietly. Mom. A word that Mrs. Rowan hadn’t heard in almost a year. It sounded so foreign, and yet so familiar. Not a day had passed in over eleven months that Mrs. Rowan hadn’t missed being able to hug her daughter, or kiss her, or just listen to her tell about her day.
“Pen,” the mother whispered. She couldn’t believe it; she had convinced herself that her daughter had dropped off the face of the earth, and now here she was. “You cut your hair,” she reached out and touched the chin-length red bob. Pen smiled and nodded. “You look so different,” her mom lamented. “But exactly the same. Just like my little girl,” she smiled finally, for the first time in what seemed like an eternity.
“I’m so sorry Mom,” she whispered, tears sliding down her cheeks.
“I should be the one who’s sorry,” Mrs. Rowan said. “I can’t believe I ever thought I could live without my daughter. What kind of mother does that? I am so--”
“Mom.” Pen interrupted, taking her mother’s hand. “I forgive you, if you’ll forgive me.”
“Oh, honey. I love you, and I’ll never stop loving you.”
“Ditto.” With that, Pen ran forward and embraced her mother, dropping Bob’s hand to wrap her arms around her mother’s small frame. Mrs. Rowan hugged back, holding her daughter as tightly as possible to make up for the lost year. When they finally pulled apart, Pen grabbed Bob’s hand once more and introduced him, “Mom, this is Bob. If it weren’t for him, I wouldn’t be standing here today.”
“It’s nice to meet you,” Bob murmured, holding out his hand, which Mrs. Rowan shook.
“It really is,” she told him, nodding. “Please, come in. What have you been doing for a year?”
The house looked exactly the same as it had a year ago, except…except now, there were photographs everywhere. Photographs of Pen; as a baby, as a little girl, as a preteen, and, more recently, as a teenager. The three of them sat on the old couch, settling in nervously.
And Pen told her mother everything; walking in the snow, being found by MCR, the drugs, the booze, even the baby. Pen thought that she would be mad, disappointed, upset, something. But Mrs. Rowan just listened, nodding occasionally.
When she was done, Pen took a deep breath. “Are you angry?” she asked.
Mrs. Rowan took her daughter’s hand, “I’m so sorry that you had to go through all of that. I wish I could have been there to help you, but I’m glad you had someone,” she smiled at Bob then. “Thank you for loving my daughter the way I should have.”
All Bob could do was slip an arm around Penelope’s shoulders, nodding and smiling. “She helped me just as much as I helped her,” he told the mother.
“I’m glad.” Mrs. Rowan hugged her daughter once more, something that she had missed. “How long are you here for? Can you spend the night, or the weekend? I can make up the guest room. Or your old bedroom.”
“We’d love to, Mom,” Pen loved being able to say that word. “But Bob has work tomorrow.”
“At least stay for dinner.”
Pen looked up hopefully at Bob, who smiled down at her. “We’d love to,” Pen told her mother.
Much later that night, after Pen and Bob had made the drive back to Chicago, the couple was laying in bed, arms wrapped around each other, trying to fall asleep.
“Penelope?” Bob lightly nudged her, leaning forward to touch his forehead with hers.
Her eyelids fluttered open and she smiled at him, answering in a hoarse voice. “Hmm?”
Bob looked at her in the dark; her eyes, shining in the moonlight streaming in through the window, her red hair falling into her face. He reached out and brushed it away, tucking the loose strands behind her ears. “Nothing. I just love you.”
“I know. I love you too,” Penelope smiled, showing white teeth, scooting in closer to Bob. “Just…make sure you’re always here.”
Bob nodded and pulled her in, kissing the top of her head as they both fell asleep.
Holy shit, you guys. For serious, that was the last chapter. Kinda sad, huh? I'm always a little bit sad when my stories end...Did you like it? Good ending? Kinda corny? Sorry about that, I guess I got carried away with the whole reunion thing. I liked the ending though (after re-writing it eight-thousand times!). So yeah. Ahh, man.
OKAY. NOW FOR THE FUCKING SURPRISE! I'm VERY excited to say...SEQUEL. Yes. I realize that I have been known to say that I am AWFUL at writing sequels, but that's because I usually use up all my idea for one story in the first installment, so there's no need for a sequel. But with this, I have a LOT of ideas that could go with a sequel, and I feel really confident about it. So yeah. That was the surprise."Bee-Tee-Dubs: Here's the sequel.":http://ficwad.com/story/134957
GO COMMENT! PLEASE! Last comments on this story, ever! Tell me what you ultimately think of the finished product. Okay. Thank you very much to ALL my readers, and even more to those who commented! Love you so much! OverAndOutxx
[Insert Disclaimer Here]I do not own any of My Chemical Romance, nor do I own Bert McKracken[or however the hell you spell it]. Honestly, if I owned Bob Bryar, I'd be doing unspeakable things to him RIGHT NOW. Just putting that out there. I do, however, own all original characters of my invention, including, but not limitted to: Pen Rowan, Mrs. Rowan, the doctors, the drug-dealers, etc...Okay.
“Are you ready?” He asked her, taking her hand for a moment and squeezing it.
Pen took a deep breath. “I think so,” she told him, face whiter than normal, hands shaking a bit.
“It’ll be fine,” Bob assured her, kissing her hand before letting it go. She mustered a small smile despite her nerves, and shakily got out of the car. Bob exited as well and walked around to grab her hand. They walked up to the door together. Pen rang the doorbell and knocked lightly.
A woman answered the door; she was in her mid-forties, but she appeared to have aged much more in the past eleven months. Her red hair was streaked with gray, and a few extra worry wrinkles had found refuge on her face. Frown lines sagged at her mouth, and the light in her green eyes had been extinguished.
Pen’s mother had not had a good year. After kicking her daughter out, Mrs. Rowan thought that she would be happy, or even relieved. But relief hadn’t come. With each day that passed, her shoulders had sagged more, and a weight in her chest seemed to get heavier and heavier. After a month, she had put out a missing persons on her daughter, but to no avail. No hospitals, no prisons, no half-way houses, no morgues had anyone that matched her description. After six months, Mrs. Rowan lost any hope of ever seeing her daughter again.
“Hi, Mom,” Pen said quietly. Mom. A word that Mrs. Rowan hadn’t heard in almost a year. It sounded so foreign, and yet so familiar. Not a day had passed in over eleven months that Mrs. Rowan hadn’t missed being able to hug her daughter, or kiss her, or just listen to her tell about her day.
“Pen,” the mother whispered. She couldn’t believe it; she had convinced herself that her daughter had dropped off the face of the earth, and now here she was. “You cut your hair,” she reached out and touched the chin-length red bob. Pen smiled and nodded. “You look so different,” her mom lamented. “But exactly the same. Just like my little girl,” she smiled finally, for the first time in what seemed like an eternity.
“I’m so sorry Mom,” she whispered, tears sliding down her cheeks.
“I should be the one who’s sorry,” Mrs. Rowan said. “I can’t believe I ever thought I could live without my daughter. What kind of mother does that? I am so--”
“Mom.” Pen interrupted, taking her mother’s hand. “I forgive you, if you’ll forgive me.”
“Oh, honey. I love you, and I’ll never stop loving you.”
“Ditto.” With that, Pen ran forward and embraced her mother, dropping Bob’s hand to wrap her arms around her mother’s small frame. Mrs. Rowan hugged back, holding her daughter as tightly as possible to make up for the lost year. When they finally pulled apart, Pen grabbed Bob’s hand once more and introduced him, “Mom, this is Bob. If it weren’t for him, I wouldn’t be standing here today.”
“It’s nice to meet you,” Bob murmured, holding out his hand, which Mrs. Rowan shook.
“It really is,” she told him, nodding. “Please, come in. What have you been doing for a year?”
The house looked exactly the same as it had a year ago, except…except now, there were photographs everywhere. Photographs of Pen; as a baby, as a little girl, as a preteen, and, more recently, as a teenager. The three of them sat on the old couch, settling in nervously.
And Pen told her mother everything; walking in the snow, being found by MCR, the drugs, the booze, even the baby. Pen thought that she would be mad, disappointed, upset, something. But Mrs. Rowan just listened, nodding occasionally.
When she was done, Pen took a deep breath. “Are you angry?” she asked.
Mrs. Rowan took her daughter’s hand, “I’m so sorry that you had to go through all of that. I wish I could have been there to help you, but I’m glad you had someone,” she smiled at Bob then. “Thank you for loving my daughter the way I should have.”
All Bob could do was slip an arm around Penelope’s shoulders, nodding and smiling. “She helped me just as much as I helped her,” he told the mother.
“I’m glad.” Mrs. Rowan hugged her daughter once more, something that she had missed. “How long are you here for? Can you spend the night, or the weekend? I can make up the guest room. Or your old bedroom.”
“We’d love to, Mom,” Pen loved being able to say that word. “But Bob has work tomorrow.”
“At least stay for dinner.”
Pen looked up hopefully at Bob, who smiled down at her. “We’d love to,” Pen told her mother.
Much later that night, after Pen and Bob had made the drive back to Chicago, the couple was laying in bed, arms wrapped around each other, trying to fall asleep.
“Penelope?” Bob lightly nudged her, leaning forward to touch his forehead with hers.
Her eyelids fluttered open and she smiled at him, answering in a hoarse voice. “Hmm?”
Bob looked at her in the dark; her eyes, shining in the moonlight streaming in through the window, her red hair falling into her face. He reached out and brushed it away, tucking the loose strands behind her ears. “Nothing. I just love you.”
“I know. I love you too,” Penelope smiled, showing white teeth, scooting in closer to Bob. “Just…make sure you’re always here.”
Bob nodded and pulled her in, kissing the top of her head as they both fell asleep.
Holy shit, you guys. For serious, that was the last chapter. Kinda sad, huh? I'm always a little bit sad when my stories end...Did you like it? Good ending? Kinda corny? Sorry about that, I guess I got carried away with the whole reunion thing. I liked the ending though (after re-writing it eight-thousand times!). So yeah. Ahh, man.
OKAY. NOW FOR THE FUCKING SURPRISE! I'm VERY excited to say...SEQUEL. Yes. I realize that I have been known to say that I am AWFUL at writing sequels, but that's because I usually use up all my idea for one story in the first installment, so there's no need for a sequel. But with this, I have a LOT of ideas that could go with a sequel, and I feel really confident about it. So yeah. That was the surprise."Bee-Tee-Dubs: Here's the sequel.":http://ficwad.com/story/134957
GO COMMENT! PLEASE! Last comments on this story, ever! Tell me what you ultimately think of the finished product. Okay. Thank you very much to ALL my readers, and even more to those who commented! Love you so much! OverAndOutxx
[Insert Disclaimer Here]I do not own any of My Chemical Romance, nor do I own Bert McKracken[or however the hell you spell it]. Honestly, if I owned Bob Bryar, I'd be doing unspeakable things to him RIGHT NOW. Just putting that out there. I do, however, own all original characters of my invention, including, but not limitted to: Pen Rowan, Mrs. Rowan, the doctors, the drug-dealers, etc...Okay.
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